From the Centres

National Sports Centre - Papendal, The Netherlands

P.A. van Beek MD, PhD

HistoryThe National Sports Centre 'Papendal'was designed and built for the Neder-landse Sport Federatie (NSF).The NSF is the confederation of all

Dutch sport associations and sport-related organizations, covering 90 affi-liated members with a total of ± 4.5millions df participants.Papendal was officially opened in

1971, but many adaptations and exten-sions have considerately enlarged thepossibilities since then.Papendal was set up in the first

place for sport: training sessions,matches, training courses, sports daysand sports scientific research and a lotof facilities have been installed in

Address for Correspondence: Dr PA vanBeek, MD, Sports-medical Centre, NationalSports Centre, Papendal, Arnhem, TheNetherlands

(C) 1990 Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Ltd0306-3674/90/010007-03

order to meet all these various needs.As a result of a necessary business-likeapproach, Papendal has also accom-modated a variety of totally differentevents such as workshop-sessions ofschools and sport academies, seminarsof firms and associations, sales-meetings, instructional meetings, ex-hibitions, presentations, conferencesranging from small to large and fromsimple to complex.

LocationPapendal covers a total area of 132.5hectares; the buildings and sports-accommodations lie hidden by treesand shrubs, interspersed by sports-fields. A network of asphalt roadsmakes it easily accessible and thecentre is completely adapted to thedisabled.Papendal is located in the eastern

part of the Netherlands, near toArnhem, close to the exits of impor-tant motorways, which are part of the

Different views of the Dutch NationalSports Centre - Papendal

Br. J. Sports Med., Vol 24, No. 1 7

on May 30, 2020 by guest. P

rotected by copyright.http://bjsm

.bmj.com

/B

r J Sports M

ed: first published as 10.1136/bjsm.24.1.7 on 1 M

arch 1990. Dow

nloaded from

international A-route network.Arnhem has excellent (inter)nationalrailway-connections.Not far from Papendal there are

many interesting sights. The NationalPark 'de Hoge Veluwe' with thefamous Kroller-MUller Museum in theheart can be reached by bike, the'Open-Air Museum' contains manycharacteristic Dutch buildings such ashouses, cottages and windmills to aone-to-one scale. The Arnhem Muni-cipal Museum is the region's leadingcentre of art and in Arnhem also theAirborn Museum as well as the 'Bur-gers Zoo' annexe Safari Park can befound. The city centre of Arnhem hasa lot of interesting items, with all thedesired attractions on offer.

FacilitiesOutdoor sports facilities

Tennis courts Four tennis courts,complete with dressing rooms andshowers, lie in the wood in quiet,secluded surroundings. The courtsmeet the international requirementsconcerning size and equipment.

Grass pitches Papendal owns anextensive area of 'cultured nature' inthe shape of grass pitches which canbe used for all kind of sports such assoccer, handball, korfball, rugby etc.One of the pitches has especially beenlaid for hockey.

Artificial pitch Near the grass pitch-es lies a special 108 x 72m artificialpitch (polygrass), which is mainlyused by hockey- and soccer players.This pitch has been fitted with lightsand is not only used for trainingsessions, but also for matches.

Hard pitch This 30 x 45m asphalt-surfaced field may be used for variouspurposes such as wheel-chair basket-ball and roller skating.

Baseball ground Like all the otherareas, the baseball ground meets theofficial international requirements.The ground has been fitted withdug-outs, a practice-area for pitchersand a movable practice-cage for bat-ters. The ground can also be used forsoftball and hockey.

Athletics track The athletics tracklies in a hollow and the track waslowered 5 metres so as to eliminate theimpact of winds as much as possible.The six lane track has been coveredwith a synthetic surface and all tech-nical events can be practised in thecentre area.

Golf course A nine-hole golf coursewith natural slopes covers a part of the

Papendal grounds; it has two puttinggreens and a driving range withseveral tee-points.

Mini golflink Near the main build-ing an eternite and a concrete golf-course are located which are used a lotfor different national and internationalmatches. These links have beenadapted for the disabled.

Cycle-track Part of the asphalt roadscan be closed as a cycle-racing-track.This 2 km track gives cyclists everyopportunity to train in a safe environ-ment.

Training circuit Papendal has anextensive training-circuit with both aheavy and a light area, a trim andfitness course. In this circuit there area number of slopes for intensivetraining or cycle-cross.

In addition, a special conically con-structed track was made for thetechnical preparation and training ofspeed-skaters, a practice-track forshot-putting and discus throwing andan illuminated p6tanque (jeu deboules) court.

Indoor sports facilities

Sports hall Papendal has a unique 80x 24m sports hall with ample seatingaccommodation for spectators. Bymeans of electrically movable parti-tions it can be divided into threeseparate halls. A special footbridgehas been constructed all along theceiling for the possibility of video-recording. The sports hall has equip-ment for all kinds of indoor sports,including fencing, archery, wrestling,boxing, judo, karate.The specially equipped gymnasium

has a landing area, a trampoline andhighly modern training facilities.A weight training hall contains all

the necessary equipment for weightlifting and keep fit training.A hall is also available in the same

building for instructional purposes.

Swimming pool The 30 x 25 mswimming-pool has a depth of 2 m andis equipped with a 1 m and 3mdiving-board, 12 swimming lanes forcompetitions, waterpolo goals andthree underwater windows with spe-cial audio-visual facilities. Moreover,there is a separate 9 x 18m instruc-tion-pool. The temperature of thewater is 280C.

Main buildingThe main building comprises 17 meet-ing rooms with capacities rangingfrom 10 to 175 people. All technicalfacilities are available, projection,sound-systems, video-cameras, video-recording and reproduction-systems,simultaneous translations as well assecretarial assistance and copy-facilities.The main building is equipped with

three restaurants with a total capacityof 240 seats, three lounges for recep-tions, a separate bar and a largeterrace. The kitchen-staff are special-ized in preparing meals for sportingpeople, but can also cater for parties toa maximum of 8000 participants.

HotelThe hotel has room for more than 240guests in one- two- or four-beddedrooms. The hotel is fitted with alaunderette and laundry-service andseveral up-to-date instruction-rooms.

8 Br. J. Sports Med., Vol 24, No. 1

on May 30, 2020 by guest. P

rotected by copyright.http://bjsm

.bmj.com

/B

r J Sports M

ed: first published as 10.1136/bjsm.24.1.7 on 1 M

arch 1990. Dow

nloaded from

CampsiteThe campsite is especially meant forlow-budget groups up to 160 persons.There are permanent tents (on raisedfloors and with matresses) and nearthe tents there are two large recreationcentres, each with its own sanitaryfacilities, completely furnished kitchenand playground.The campsite is eminently suitable

for schools, clubs and educationalinstitutions to hold their workshop-sessions, lectures, discussions or train-ing camps.

LaboratoryThe NSF possesses a Department ofSport Accommodations, specialized inresearch in the field of sport. It coversresearch for the durability and qualityof all kinds of subsoil (indoor as wellas outdoor); furthermore advice isgiven as to the maintenance of (mainlyoutdoor) sports accommodations aswell as to the construction of new(indoor) sports accommodations allover the country. This department hasa staff of about 20 employees.

OfficeThe NSF-office has just moved into abrand new four-floor headquartersbuilding, giving enough space to theactivities of the 70 staff-employees. Inthis building can be found the Section'Topsport' of the NSF, covering thefinancial, social, mental and medicalneeds of the elite athletes.The medial aspects are clustered in

the Sports-medical Centre.

Sportmedical Centre

The Sports-medical Centre consists ofa staff of 3 medical doctors, 2 phy-siotherapists, 2 medical assistants and2 secretaries. A grant from the Minis-try of WVC has created the possibilityof engaging another 4-6 medical doc-tors for the coming three years. Theywill cover the medical aspects for aspecific sports-association (athletics,swimming, handball, rowing, rugby,judo, triathlon).The Sports-medical Centre has the

following facilities:

0 6 medical consulting rooms, 6

medical examination rooms, anurse's station, a casualty area,X-ray equipment, a laboratory foranalysis of bloodsamples (includinglactate)

* physiotherapy area with 10 treat-ment couches, a massage area, a'wet area' for ice treatment and thehydrotherapy pool, an area forrehabilitation (including Cybex-equipment)

* exercise-testing area, with treadmill(Woodway), bicycle ergometers(Lode), oxygen-measurement(Metabotest, Oxyconsigma), tele-metry-equipment, ECG-equipment,resuscitation-facilities

* high speed videosystem for move-ment analysis, in cooperation withInstitut of Biomechanics of the VrijeUniversiteit, Amsterdam.The Centre's educational work in-

cludes the training of physiotherapistsin their final year, the training ofmedical students in their final stage,and the training of medical doctors intheir last year of specialization forsports-medical doctor (a 4-year spe-cialization).

NewsB.A.S.S. GuidelinesThe British Association of Sports Sci-ences has published two handbooks,at £4.50 each incl. p&p, available from(and cheques payable to): NationalCoaching Foundation, 4 CollegeClose, Beckett Park, Leeds LS6 3QH,UK.

Biomechanical Assessment of the EliteAthlete edited by Roger M. Bartlett,"forms the current laboratory workingpractices for use by laboratories andsports biomechanicians accredited andregistered by the British Association of

Sports Sciences (BASS). Taking theform of guidelines, its sectionscomprise Introduction, includingframework and sample budget, Cine-matography, Force Platform, Elec-tromyography, Other Motion-Analysis Techniques, InformedConsent, and References. This is in-tended to become the practical work-ing manual in this area and subject tocontinuing review. Doctors and chir-opodists will hope that future versionsstart to breech the gap between labora-tory studies and clinical practice.

Position Statement on the Physiolo-gical Assessment of the Elite Com-petitorProduced by a BASS Working Party,this sets out guidelines on all aspectsof physiological testing to be followedby the nationwide network of labor-atories working together under theaegis of the BASS/NCF/Sports Councilscheme. Its sections cover Introduc-tion, Pre-Test Preparation, AerobicPerformance, Anaerobic Performance,Advice on Laboratory Procedures, andReferences.

Br. J. Sports Med., Vol 24, No. 1 9

on May 30, 2020 by guest. P

rotected by copyright.http://bjsm

.bmj.com

/B

r J Sports M

ed: first published as 10.1136/bjsm.24.1.7 on 1 M

arch 1990. Dow

nloaded from