25 Years of InterShoot - Some memories of Wil (Geerts) and Nicolette ten Bosch from the Scoring Room
It all started in 1977 as a competition between five countries with some 60-odd shooters in Zoetermeer and it has now grown into an event with almost 200 participants from even all over the world.
After having had the event in Zoetermeer twice, we started looking for a larger accommodation and that turned out to be the lovely ambiance of the Houtzagerij, lovely ambiance being the hall, not the area. Almost every year we had a stolen weapon or burgled car. The current accommodation, Ockenburgh, is a lot safer.
The initial fun started for us with the counting of all the targets in the Zoutmanstraat at the home of Stek and after the matches we dumped the used targets at the Oranje Nassau and Zoetermeer shooting clubs. After all, targets with one sticker on it were still very usable for training purposes.
The scoring was initially a real manual job and also the processing of the results took a lot of time, but over time the organisation turned more professional and now InterShoot is viewed even as preparation for the real large events such as the European and World Championships.
The computer entered the scene and the first time it didn’t work out so well – in fact it was disastrous. It took us some twelve hours to find out that it didn’t work and the results then had to be processed manually. We’re still talking about ‘the Hans van Zessen’s Tower’, as that is were it all happened. Stek was completely fed up with computers, but eventually he had to accept that sort of technology and these days we have the first list with results available some ten minutes after the final shot, thanks to the computer.
In the Houtzagerij we have also been locked up once. The gate was already closed when we were still working in the scoring room. There was no telephone, mobile phones didn’t exist yet and there was someone who got quite scared. After a lot of trying we found a passer-by who was prepared to inform the police, who drummed up someone from the organisation in the Bel Air hotel who came to back with a key to save us. In the end we managed to join the rest of the team in the hotel for dinner where the traditional Dutch ‘zuurkoolschotel’ was being served already.
The atmosphere in the scoring room is different, but the drinks afterwards in the garden room of the Houtzagerij always were something special. Especially the price giving ceremony in that room, with the personal comments for the winners that Stek always had, is something we still miss today.
In the Houtzagerij we had a whole set of rules we had to adhere to, especially for food and drinks. These days, in Ockenburgh, we have our own ‘catering’, fantastically taken care of by Annemieke de Vos. For all helpers of both the main hall and the scoring room and (they are no very close together now) her ‘domain’ is a much loved resting spot.
The group of shooters did change drastically over time, but the hard core stayed and things are still very cozy indeed. Especially amongst the Brits there is a group that still visits us after all these years for the atmosphere, the people and …….. Bel Air.
Every year we look forward to a small week of intensive cooperation, at which we cannot miss the cake. It’s a tough job, but gives a very satisfying feeling afterwards and especially now with the closing party, for everyone including the shooters, that is being offered to the helpers as a ‘thank you’ for their effort and spare time.
After having had the event in Zoetermeer twice, we started looking for a larger accommodation and that turned out to be the lovely ambiance of the Houtzagerij, lovely ambiance being the hall, not the area. Almost every year we had a stolen weapon or burgled car. The current accommodation, Ockenburgh, is a lot safer.
The initial fun started for us with the counting of all the targets in the Zoutmanstraat at the home of Stek and after the matches we dumped the used targets at the Oranje Nassau and Zoetermeer shooting clubs. After all, targets with one sticker on it were still very usable for training purposes.
The scoring was initially a real manual job and also the processing of the results took a lot of time, but over time the organisation turned more professional and now InterShoot is viewed even as preparation for the real large events such as the European and World Championships.
The computer entered the scene and the first time it didn’t work out so well – in fact it was disastrous. It took us some twelve hours to find out that it didn’t work and the results then had to be processed manually. We’re still talking about ‘the Hans van Zessen’s Tower’, as that is were it all happened. Stek was completely fed up with computers, but eventually he had to accept that sort of technology and these days we have the first list with results available some ten minutes after the final shot, thanks to the computer.
In the Houtzagerij we have also been locked up once. The gate was already closed when we were still working in the scoring room. There was no telephone, mobile phones didn’t exist yet and there was someone who got quite scared. After a lot of trying we found a passer-by who was prepared to inform the police, who drummed up someone from the organisation in the Bel Air hotel who came to back with a key to save us. In the end we managed to join the rest of the team in the hotel for dinner where the traditional Dutch ‘zuurkoolschotel’ was being served already.
The atmosphere in the scoring room is different, but the drinks afterwards in the garden room of the Houtzagerij always were something special. Especially the price giving ceremony in that room, with the personal comments for the winners that Stek always had, is something we still miss today.
In the Houtzagerij we had a whole set of rules we had to adhere to, especially for food and drinks. These days, in Ockenburgh, we have our own ‘catering’, fantastically taken care of by Annemieke de Vos. For all helpers of both the main hall and the scoring room and (they are no very close together now) her ‘domain’ is a much loved resting spot.
The group of shooters did change drastically over time, but the hard core stayed and things are still very cozy indeed. Especially amongst the Brits there is a group that still visits us after all these years for the atmosphere, the people and …….. Bel Air.
Every year we look forward to a small week of intensive cooperation, at which we cannot miss the cake. It’s a tough job, but gives a very satisfying feeling afterwards and especially now with the closing party, for everyone including the shooters, that is being offered to the helpers as a ‘thank you’ for their effort and spare time.
Wil en Nicolette