Utrecht student sports awards presented
RUS best sports team of the year, The Utrecht Buccaneers best association
Sneakersgala, photo Sportraad
HU student Gaya van Nifterik was named Sporter of the Year at sports center Olympos. She was selected for the Dutch women's rugby team. She also reached the national finals with her club RUS. That performance also earned RUS the title of the Utrecht student sports team of 2025 during the sneakergala.
The winners of the awards were determined on the basis of jury verdict and audience votes. There were multiple nominees in all categories.
Anne Bastiaansen was this year's best board member of all 31 student sports associations. The treasurer of basketball club SBU, who studied Mathematics and Cultural Anthropology at UU, took on the job of putting the club's finances in order. Earlier, she had found errors in them.
Ice hockey club The Utrecht Buccaneers was the best club of the year in 2025. The small association often shows up with many members during activities of the sports council and other associations. At the Sneaker Gala, they were once again prominent.
Other awards included prizes for former HU student Iris Kranenburg of dance association Studance (volunteer of the year) and for the lustrum committee of volleyball association Van Slag (best committee).
The prize for the very best collaboration went to the party that SBFU and STUdance organize together: the Valentine's party. Basketball players and dancers found each other in the process. A surprising and not obvious combination, the jury thought.
The best new initiative came from volleyball clubs Van Slag and Protos. They are the initiators of "Nieuwe dag, nieuwe bak" (“New Day, New Beer”) which closes the day or starts the evening. More and more other sports associations drink a beer with them, strengthening the mutual ties, according to the jury.
Finally, the biggest blunder of the year occurred during the previous edition of the sneaker gala. During a running race, STUdance member Robin Goebel tripped over her own legs, landed hard on her face and even ended up in the hospital.