Starting from the new academic year, vocational students are also welcome at ACLO. The organisation is allowing a maximum of fifty of them to participate in a pilot project to assess the demand for student sports among this group.
The students come from Noorderpoort, Alfa-College, Terra MBO, and ROC Menso Alting. Only those in their final year of study are eligible to participate. ‘They have already completed all sports activities within their programme’, says Noorderpoort spokesperson Mark Timmers. ‘So, engaging in sports at ACLO is a great next step for them.’
Lottery
Interested students can apply through their own institution from July 1 to August 20, according to Timmers. ‘If we notice that the interest exceeds the fifty slots available, we will hold a lottery.’
Once admitted, students can register for all courses offered by ACLO as well as join student sports associations. They will pay the regular student fee of 60 euros.
KEI Week
The trial with vocational students is not an isolated initiative. The organisation of the KEI Week previously announced that fifty vocational students would be allowed to participate in the introduction period. This involves a different group: whereas the KEI participants come from all years, only final-year students will be able to become a member of ACLO.
After one year, the involved parties will evaluate the pilot project, says Timmers. ‘We want to know if there is sufficient interest and if vocational students enjoy participating in sports at ACLO.’
Should all vocational students be allowed to enroll at ACLO in the future, then the sports centre will face a space issue. The possibility of exchanging facilities is therefore already being discussed with the vocational institutions, says ACLO chairman Justin Uitendaal. ‘That is something we currently do with the Hanze University of Applied Sciences for example, which allows us to the Willem Alexander Sports Centre.’