In May 2024, four intrepid adventurers travelled from the UK to Bischheim, near Strasbourg in France to compete in the 2024 Sjoelen World Cup.
Being able to double the size of the UK contingent in the eight months since the previous world cup was a great achievement in itself, but when Sander Logtenberg, the Philippines’ only representative in the competition asked if he could fill the fifth spot in the UK team for the team competition, it meant we were able to field the first ever UK team in a Sjoelen World Cup team competition.
The team comprised existing players Bethany Burrow and James Atherton, along with new joiners Tom Burrow and Constance McIntosh Smith.
The results of the UK players were “as expected”. All four qualified for the first round of the individual knock-out competition, where they were summarily dismissed due to the tournament structure pitting them against the top players.
In the men’s competition, James was eliminated by the top men’s qualifier, Henk van der Ree Doolaard (NED) and Tom had the great fortune of being knocked out by then reigning champion, Siem Oostenbrink (NED). In the women’s competition, Bethany played against Ida Maytum (NED), the runner up from the 2023 edition, and Constance was eliminated by Elly Mensen, the then reigning champion.
It sounds all doom and gloom, but one of the great things about the World Cup is to play against players who are much better from you and learn from them.
In the team competition, the UK played against a strong French team in the qualification round… and against an equally strong (but different) French team in the ranking round.
Constance and James were thrilled to be selected to adjudicate the team final (Netherlands v Germany) and 3rd-4th place play-off (Suriname v France). It felt like an acceptance into the international sjoelen community that we are grateful for.
Almost as important as the play was the opportunity to talk to our fellow players from all over the world – friends made at the last World Cup and new friends from this one. We also witnessed the first Para Sjoelen International Competition, co-hosted by France and South Korea. We’re really excited about this development in the sport and hope to do more in this area in the UK in the near future.
Many congratulations to Johanna, Gilles and their team of 60 volunteers for such a fun and successful World Cup. We don’t yet know where the next edition will be – scheduled for 2026 – but we can’t wait!
