The official opening of the new grandstand of the football department of Swift ’64 in 2019. Archive photo: Fotostudio Wierd
The Swift ’64 omni association in Swifterbant is being discontinued. This was decided by the Members’ Council last Tuesday. The individual sports departments (gymnastics, badminton, handball, darts, table tennis and football) each continue as an independent association.
The General Sports Association Swift’64, founded on May 22, 1964, known in the village as the omni, has played a decisive role in organizing various sports in the new Swifterbant. There was nothing. The value of the omni for the proper organization of sport and thus of the sense of community in the village has been extraordinarily great.
Too much work for volunteers
Swifterbant has since grown, become more diverse and mature. The sports are increasingly going their own way. However, keeping the omni running is experienced as restrictive by the departments. It is a (too) great burden for the scarce volunteers. The financial connection and organizational security that the Omni years provided has little added value for the departments in its current form. In practice, departments set their own course with regard to members, finances, governments, unions, sponsors and other external parties. The potential added value through sharing experiences, organizational insight and financial supervision is no longer there. The centrally organized financial supervision, necessary because of the legal association structure, creates a lot of extra work and adds nothing to the proper functioning of the departments.
Much needed sports hall
The collaboration ends as an omni association. But the collaboration will continue when it comes to a shared vision of the sport in Swifterbant and the realization of a good infrastructure for the sport, such as the much-needed sports hall.
The social importance of accessible sport for health and encounter, for everyone at every level and for all ages is embraced by all departments.
Sports platform Swifterbant
There is discussion with Dorpsbelangen Swifterbant about setting up Sportplatform Swifterbant, to which other sports providers are also invited. More on that later.
