This article is written by Willem Korenromp and is republished from the SAX magazine with permission.
The name of the club has a cool ring to it, the Slapping Studs. And let's be honest. You have to be a bit of a tough person. Because ice hockey is not exactly what you would like to call a soft sport. With high speed skating, body checks and rough opponents, it is a physical sport. And that's exactly what most students like about ice hockey.
Erik Ekevik is standing outside of the ice hockey rink. The sweat drops of his head. The Norwegian student of physiotherapy is attending the first try-out of the season of the Slapping Studs. "I just love to skate", Ekevik says. "Playing ice hockey is one of my favourite things to do. You've got a stick, a puck and a big goalie in front of you. It makes it hard to score. Most of the time you're in the rink for just one minute. You have to give one hundred percent. It's like holding your breath for one minute and give everything you have got."
The student from Oslo is just one of the international students on the ice. Apparently ice hockey is 'hot' for foreign students. Ekevik is an experienced player. Back home in Norway, he also played ice hockey. "That's why I also wanted to play here. I did some Googling and found out about the Slapping Studs. I also had contact with another Norwegian student who played here. That's why I decided to sign up."
Although ice hockey is a rough sport, the game is not only practiced by men. Among the ice hockey players there are some girls. One of them is Sofia Iliycheva. The player has an interesting story, because she is also a player for the Bulgarian national women's ice hockey team. "In Bulgaria, I had to train every day", Iliycheva says. "That's the main difference with playing here. And in Bulgaria, I only used to play with girls. Here we play in mixed teams."
Iliycheva studies Tourism and Leisure Management at Saxion Deventer, but two times a week she takes the train to play ice hockey at IJsbaan Twente in Enschede. "But it's definitely worth it. I knew there was an ice skating track here, so I went there to get some information. They gave me a list of contacts for the Enschede Lions and the Slapping Studs. I decided to join the Studs. It's only students playing here. You get a lot of contacts. That makes it a lot of fun. And that's what is all about. Having fun, right?"