Triton loses Varsity crown in the last few metres

The 141st edition of Varsity, the biggest student rowing competition of the year, happened during a lovely spring day, albeit with strong winds and white caps on the water. Skøll's Old Four, with Olympians Olav Molenaar and Jan van der Bij on board, crossed the finish line first.

Shouting, crying and embracing each other, Skøll celebrated their first victory ever. While receiving their medals, the chequered rowers were lifted onto their shoulders to loud cheers. ‘To think I'm still alive to see this,’ said one of Skøll's supporters.

Triton was off to a strong start and was even ahead of Skøll for three-quarters of the race. However, they let the victory slip through their fingertips in the last few metres, much to Utrecht supporters' disappointment. Had they won, this would have been Triton's third Varsity win in a row. 

Red underwear and torchlight
The women's main event was also won by a team featuring Olympic rowers. Laga, from Delft, rowed to victory with a significant lead. The team included Laila Youssifou and Tessa Dullemans, silver medallists in the double four at the Paris Olympics, as well as reserve Olympian Willemijn Mulder.

Nereus was the favourite due to its team with four Olympians, including Karolien Florijn, but the Amsterdam team didn't manage to meet expectations. The Utrecht teams Triton and Orca both failed to reach the final.

Afterwards, Laga members dressed in red underwear and tie and then jumped into the canal in jubilation. They sang the club's song around the boat, splashing and partying, while the four winning rowers held up a red hand torch.

Boat trailers next to barbecue pits
Varsity is the competition where the three faces of student rowing meet each other: top-level sport, tradition and excessive drinking.

The rowers' domain is a terrain full of boat trailers, oars in the grass, and athletes with tense faces. This is where participants warm up, coaches discuss the races beforehand, and the boats are launched on rafts.

A few hundred metres away, you'll see lots of colourful uniforms and hear lots of noise. Students in club attire – ties and jackets with frayed edges, badges and history – are gathered here, beer in hand. They throw clods of grass and ‘gebrast’ each other (a rough tradition in which visitors from other associations are pulled to the ground, only to be helped back up again in a spirit of brotherhood).

Fortunately, there was no sign of unrest, as had been feared ahead of the event due to an incident between Nereus and Njord.

No pub row, but Utrecht did well elsewhere
Utrecht's Old Four couldn't win, but Utrecht did well outside the main event too. Triton won the Men's Advanced Four with Sam Meijdam, Joppe Visch, Toon Clabbers, Bart Berbers and coxswain Eline in ‘t Velt. The First Year Light Women's team, with Willemijn Jongenotter, Fietje Heeroma, Jolijn de Wal, Anne van der Vlist and coxswain Yalin Bleeker, also won a trophy.

There was no pub crawl this year because the Old Four didn't win the main race, so Janskerkhof was quiet. However, the other Triton teams celebrated at café De Vrienden, which was filled with people in dark blue jackets until the early hours.

Orca also won the double-two (with Robbert Kooiman and Vincent de Vries) and double-zero (with Niels Kanters and Niels Schievink).