WUR’s Most Unique and Crazy Competitions
It is that time of the year again – Soil Drilling Championship is upon us! “What is that?”, you ask. Well, it is one of the many crazy competitions that you can join as a Wageningen University & Research student. In this blog I would like to tell you a little about the fun side of studying here and encourage you to join some of these fun competitions!
Soil Drilling Championship
This is a traditional competition organised by a study association called Pyrus. It has been taking place every year since 1998 and each year the organisers present students with a different challenge.
To prove yourself, you and your team must be able to use the Edelman soil auger faster than anyone else. This year, they are expecting about 120 teams or 1,000 participants. Whether you win or not, you are guaranteed to have a great time, and the muddy evening is always followed by an afterparty!
Wageningen Worm Charming Championship
Worm charming is the practice of attracting worms out of the soil by creating vibrations on the soil. The goal is to catch as many earthworms as possible in 30 minutes. The teams can choose the means of creating the vibrations, and creativity is highly encouraged. Many teams also decide to dress up, since there is a prize for the best outfit! The video of this year’s championship went viral on TikTok, so check it out! And don’t worry, the worms are released back the day after the event. 🙂
The Dutch National Hedgelaying Competition
Hedgelaying is an old craft that has been practised all around Europe for centuries. It involves cutting, bending and braiding stems of shrubs and small trees to form dense hedges. The Dutch National Hedgelaying competition is organised by NK Maasheggenvlechten and takes place at a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Even though this competition is not organised by the university, teams from WUR join the practice lessons every year and then the final competition. I participated earlier this year and it was great fun! You do something good for your health by spending the day outdoors, you learn an ancient craft and also contribute to preserving a UNESCO site. So it is a win-win situation regardless of whether your team wins the competition or not.
So here is just a small taster of the kind of fun competitions that you can join as a student here at WUR. It is also a little teaser because we have a blog about a very tasty competition coming up. So stay tuned for that!
Cheers,
Margaréta