Here you can read the weblog of Johan WillemsteinFriday, 4 May 2012Just over two months to go until the 96th edition of our event. I am writing this from the comfort of my own home, in an easy chair with my feet up. I've recently had an osteotomy, so I'm confined to crutches for a few more weeks, but I hope I'll be back on my feet and able to join in during the Four Days Marches. The Queen's birthday honours were awarded recently and I am proud to announce that two of our organisation's volunteers also received a decoration, both partly for their services to the Four Days Marches and to walking in general. Great news! Over the past few weeks, we have had numerous meetings with Nijmegen City Council and Stichting Vierdaagsefeesten about when and how the opening ceremony will take place. In any case, there will be no street parade, as previously announced, since no suitable routes through the city centre are available. We are now looking into a completely different sort of opening, preferably for both the marches and the festivities at the same time. All being well, a final decision will be made very soon. Despite the fact that the Ministry of Defence's involvement has been secured for this year, albeit it with the necessary changes and cuts, we are not (yet) able to look to the future with enough confidence. Further austerity measures at the Ministry of Defence mean that the Ministry's continued participation and support are anything but certain. Together with the walking association, KNBLO-NL, we are making every effort to keep the Ministry of Defence involved in walking in general and the Four Days Marches in particular. Apart from that, we have been very busy over the last couple of months, meeting with our accountant to discuss the 2011 annual accounts, sharing ideas with the board of the Association of Holders of the Four Days Marches Golden Cross, dining with our organisation's honorary members, putting together the guest lists for the 96th edition, meeting with our PR committee, having an extended interview with the De Gelderlander newspaper and setting up a committee to prepare celebrations for the 100th edition in 2016. Cancellations are also being processed, registration fee collections being prepared, dispensation requests being considered, publications being worked on and wristbands being ordered, etc. Finally, the start and finish location will have a completely different set up. All registration desks will be located in the Julianapark, freeing up the whole of the two squares (Wedren and Julianaplein) for walkers to sit and rest, have a drink and enjoy the convivial atmosphere together. We expect this physical separation of the administrative and recreational processes to help us get busy periods, especially Friday afternoon, even more under control. The new map will soon be posted on our website. Friday, 13 April 2012Today, at 9.30am, the draw was performed under the watchful eye of the notary. And although we are extremely pleased about the fact that we have received the largest number of registrations since 2005 (49,896), this automatically also means we have to disappoint 4,896 people. This is much to our regret, but we have no other option if we want to keep the event controllable. Perhaps we will be able to please some of the unlucky ones with a starting ticket after all. Entitled participants have 14 days to cancel their registration, should they want to. They will then be refunded their registration fee, minus an €6 administration fee. Starting tickets that become available again due to these cancellations will be distributed among those who missed out in the draw. Last year, 719 starting tickets were redistributed this way. Everyone who has full certainty on their participation can now go full steam ahead in their training and preparation regime. I advise everyone to take that seriously. Experience shows that thorough preparation is an undeniable necessity if you want to complete the Four Days Marches successfully (and enjoy it). Because that is not something that comes easily, barring the odd exception. And if you want, you can also take part in the Four Days Marches Sponsored Walk. Last year's participants were delighted with the facilities offered, as well as with the charities they were walking for. And when you do decide to walk for charity, our system will make it very easy for you to find as many sponsors as possible. And importantly: 100% of money raised will actually go to charity. Please check www.devierdaagsesponsorloop.nl for more information. Wednesday 14 March 2012The first registration period has now closed and the second has already been open for more than a week. As of 13 March, 42934 walkers had registered, so it looks as if we are going to reach the limit of 45,000, or at least come close. If necessary, a draw will take place on Friday 13 April. Slowly but surely, walkers who want to raise money for a charity of their choice are also signing up to use the special website www.devierdaagsesponsorloop.nl. 118 walkers had created a page on the site as of 13 March; they are supported by 482 sponsors who have already pledged a combined total of € 14,968 for 36 different charities. I hope that many more walkers will follow the example of the first 100. The format of the new opening ceremony is starting to take shape. We are working on a plan which would see a procession of selected participating walkers and groups walk through Nijmegen's city centre heading for the Wedren, accompanied by oompah bands, music and fanfares. A sort of street parade, if you will. A brief but stylish ceremony will be held upon their arrival at the Wedren, and will include the raising of the flags, the national anthem, the Four Days Marches song and an official opening of the marches. The ceremony has been scheduled to take place at the Wedren just after the registration desks close on Monday 16 July, i.e. just after 5pm. No major route changes are being made for 2012. Entry into Elst on the 1st day will follow a slightly different route for the 30km and green 40km distances (+ 350 metres). This is due to railway changes. A very small change will be made to the route for all distances for the entry into Berg en Dal on the 3rd day, i.e. at the end of the Zevenheuvelenweg (+ 260 metres), so as to ease traffic flow. The police have also requested a minor change to the green 40km route upon return to Camp Heumensoord, also on the 3rd day (+ 620 metres). Participants will be registered in the same way as in 2011, i.e. wristbands will be scanned at the start and finish and checkpoint cards will be punched en route. Groups and contingents will once again receive a wristband and lace chip, and will be checked electronically en route. Friday, 27 January 2012Not long to go now until Monday 6 February, the day when registration will open at 0.00 hrs for the 96th International Four Days Marches Nijmegen. Numerous walkers will again be sitting at their computers with baited breath, waiting to be one of the first to register. Not that being up in the middle of the night is in any way necessary, seeing as this does not bring any advantages whatsoever. In actual fact, a rush to register in the small hours will only overload the system, if anything, thus increasing the chance of annoying system faults. So please don't rush. Please also note that those who successfully completed the 95th Four Days Marches, those born in the year 2000 and first-timers taking part in the Via Vierdaagse 2012 project are the only people allowed to register during the first month. Everyone else can register during the second month. If demand exceeds the number of starting tickets available, we will draw lots amongst individual participants going for reward 1, just like in previous years. Via Vierdaagse participants, walkers who turn 12 in 2012 and those excluded by the draw from taking part in both the 94th and 95th Four Days Marches will be excluded from such a draw. As of 6 February, walkers will also be able to support one or more charities by actively recruiting sponsors through the site www.devierdaagsesponsorloop.nl. After a late start on 1 June last year, 258 walkers raised a grand total of € 190,000 for charities of their choice. Of course, we should be able to raise much more than that, so please, all you walkers, join in! The special website not only makes it easy for you to do so, it also makes finding sponsors a piece of cake, and every last cent of the sponsor money will go to the charities. So once again, JOIN IN! We had already decided to stop holding the opening ceremony in the Goffert stadium, and we have now decided to have a simple but stylish ceremony at the Wedren instead. We've got 4pm on Monday afternoon in mind at the moment, but still need to consider the exact details of the ceremony, so I'll come back to you on that at a later date. As far as we can currently tell, spending cuts at the Dutch Ministry of Defence will have the following consequences in 2012: There are a few other changes too, but they mainly relate to internal operations at the Ministry of Defence. Despite the fact that the above changes will entail additional costs, we are, at the moment, extremely pleased that Camp Heumensoord will be built again in 2012, and it's also looking as though it will be in 2013 as well. It is the building of this camp above all that enables all those Dutch and international military contingents to participate, and to be honest, we can't really imagine holding the Four Days Marches without them. It is crucial that they can continue participating, not only for the sake of history, but also for that of the event's format and image. Friday, 23 December 2011In the past two months we have been traditionally busy working not only on the preparations but also on the 2012 budget. It is clearly noticeable that the economic crisis does not pass by our event. Besides the generally rising costs, other matters are also emerging. The decrease in sponsorship fees is an example of this, as well as the extra charges as a result of the government withdrawing its support. Staff (paid staff and around 300 volunteers) € 11.00 Participants often ask me what they get for their money. Now you know. And on top of that, you will get a great atmosphere, music, fun and international unity. Furthermore, at the end of your great achievement there is a glorious entry. It can't get any better than that. Tuesdag, 16 November 2011November is upon us once again. Over the last few months, we have been busy with the evaluations which have highlighted enough points for attention that we can deal with for the 96th edition. Here are the key points: As far as the opening ceremony is concerned, we have already decided to stop holding the event in the Goffert stadium. Over the last few years, the stadium was never more than half full and just 5% of walkers attended the opening ceremony. And since the event is primarily organised for the walkers, this percentage is not enough for us to continue as we have done. We are currently thoroughly discussing the matter with Nijmegen City Council to see whether we can organise a simple public ceremony. There is nothing yet to report on the busy Friday afternoon on the Wedren or developments relating to wristbands, etc. These matters are still being looked into in great detail. Plenty of discussions are being held on the matter of Ministry of Defence cut-backs. It is clear as crystal and common knowledge that the Ministry of Defence is having to make massive cut-backs, and this will also affect their support of our event. Consequences will be felt in and after 2013 above all. We are currently first of all looking into how we can make cuts in 2012 without all too drastic consequences. And also: there is great enthusiasm for continuing with the sponsored walk initiative, since almost € 200,000 was raised by just 250 walkers, even though the initiative was only launched on 1 June. The initiative will commence at the same time as registration (beginning of February) this time around. I'd like to take this early opportunity to call upon everyone to join in. It (practically) doesn't cost a penny and gets such a good result. Former publications can be found in the Archive (button Event). |
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