A sporting street

Biesland

Ine and Ruud

The Gardelaan in Biesland is a street where neighbours really do things together. Nearly 20 years ago, Ine Vrij moved there with her husband Ruud. They wanted to get to know their neighbours, so they organised a New Year’s drink – something they’ve kept up every year since. Everyone on the street knows each other. They water each other’s plants when someone’s away, lend a hand when needed and bring soup if someone is ill.

For Ine’s birthday, Ruud built a small wooden bookcase for the street – a mini library where anyone can take or leave a book. At the hospital where Ine worked until she retired, she still hands out around 80 books and magazines each week, all donated by hospital staff.

Liesbeth

Liesbeth van Hoef also works at Maastricht UMC+ and volunteers with De Zonnebloem: an organisation that helps people with physical disabilities. She moved to the Gardelaan 25 years ago.

“When we first arrived, everyone here was a real Maastrichtenaar,” she says. “We’d lived in The Hague before, so people thought we were from Holland. But I’m from Roermond!” These days she has neighbours from all over the world: South Africa, Italy, England, America, Iran, Turkey and Iceland. And, of course, Brazil – the homeland of Walmari Pilz and Vicente Golin da Cunha. They moved to Maastricht in 2005. Walmari does research at the MUMC+, while Vicente works for the chemical company OCI Nitrogen.

Walmari and Vincente

“In Brazil we’d been playing padel for years,” says Vicente. “It’s a mix of tennis and squash and very popular in South America. When the first padel court in Maastricht opened at tennis club Kimbria on the Mergelweg a few years ago, I started playing there.” Meanwhile Ine often played badminton in the street with her neighbour opposite, Fabienne Meijers. Fabienne is a freelance graphic designer and also volunteers for Veldeke Krink Mestreech. “Badminton got a bit boring after a while,” says Ine. “Then one day, we saw Vicente coming home covered in sweat with a strange-looking racket. I immediately asked what sport he played – Which turned out to be padel.”

Fabienne

Ine went along with Vicente once and was hooked straight away. She joined a 50-plus beginners’ group. Liesbeth and Fabienne started taking lessons too. “After a while, someone started a WhatsApp group for all the beginners: about 40 people of all ages from different neighbourhoods,” says Liesbeth. “You need 4 people for a game, but the WhatsApp group makes it really easy to find players.”

“It’s such a nice way to meet new people. I’ve made new friends through padel. It always puts me in a good mood,” says Fabienne. Vicente adds: “I play 5 times a week now. Not just at Kimbria, but also at tennis club Ready in Geusseltpark. It’s an addiction, but a healthy one!”