The Inventory Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in the Netherlands contains ICH of which the communities, groups or individuals involved have written a safeguarding plan. Those plans are reviewed by an independent review committee. Every three years an evaluation of the safeguarding takes place.

Description

Lanenkaatsen (Frisian lane handball) is held in Harlingen around the longest day of the year, around June 21. For one week, handball is played on 'de Lanen' (the Lanes), a street in Harlingen, from 7:30 pm until dark. This is the local variant of the handball game popular in Friesland. Handball is played by two teams of three. In both serve and return, the art is to hit the ball inside the court out of reach of the opponent. 

From Monday to Thursday are the preliminaries, where the teams compete against each other in different groups on the basis of a knock-out race. There is interaction between the public and the handball players, with jokes and comments being made back and forth because, besides being a sporting event, it is above all a social one. On Thursday afternoon, a school championship of lanenkaatsen is played. On Friday, the finals are played, with the players wearing traditional red and white Frisian sashes. Traditionally, the winners will have their photo taken and it will be added to the gallery of honour from 1950 to the present day. They receive a garland of flowers, a cash prize and side prizes made available by local businesses.

Lanenkaatsen is a low-threshold event, open to all. Handball players can sign up for one of seven groups in the months before. The groups consist of different age categories for men and women, boys and girls. The composition of the teams is based on a draw, and part of the tradition is to respect this draw - with a witticism.

Community

The submission was made by the board of Stichting Comité Lanenkaatsen (Lanenkaatsen Committee Foundation). This board makes preparations between January and June and makes sure everything runs smoothly during the week of the competition. It does this together with a large group of volunteers, consisting of the match committee and an announcer, a corps of judges (the referees led by a Head Referee), a work crew that builds up and dismantles, photographers and employees of the 'Lanenshop' who take care of the catering, the draw and the provision of information.

Handball players can sign up for one of seven groups from mid-April, which are different age categories for boys and girls and men and women. Around 300 handball players sign up on average.

Among the audience are residents of Harlingen and the surrounding area, tourists and the residents of 'de Lanen'. The latter group makes their facades available for decoration and temporarily sacrifices their parking spaces.

The event is made financially possible by sponsorship from the business and middle classes of Harlingen and surrounding areas and by the more than 200 ‘friends of lanenkaatsen’.

History

Back in the 1930s, the youth of the time were already playing handball on 'de Lanen' and the Kleine Ossenmarkt in Harlingen, initiated by the Jewish Pais family. They had a greengrocer's shop and provided prizes in the form of fruit and peanuts. After the Second World War, the then neighbourhood committee restored this handball match in 1950.

In the 1970s, the event gained prominence in the region. More participants from neighbourhood villages signed up. The matches were handled by a few referees, and during the following years this group grew into a whole corps of judges.

In the late 1980s, women also participated for the first time with their own group. In recent years, there have been two women's groups, one aged 11-35 and one aged 36 and above. The board is currently committed to getting even more people to join lanenkaatsen, for example also people with disabilities.

Since a few years, an award has been added for people who, in one form or another, have made themselves useful for lanenkaatsen: the Levi Pais Plaque.

Safeguarding

  • Offer volunteering tasks tailored to the needs, for example by giving older volunteers a role they can perform into old age
  • Expand the media network for greater reach in the region, and keep contacts with the media warm
  • Put volunteer tasks in writing in detail, so that it is clear to everyone what exactly his/her role is within the whole
  • Find and strengthen cooperation with Frisian handball clubs in the region, schools and other institutions to promote Frisian handball
  • Improve promotion to the youth through the school handball project
  • Consult with social organisations working for people with a (physical) disability to see if this group can also participate in lanenkaatsen
  • In consultation with youth organisations in Harlingen, investigate whether more youth can participate in lanenkaatsen, specifically including youth with disabilities.
  • Keep up communication with the municipality about developments in laws and regulations relating to the event

Contact

Stichting Comité Lanenkaatsen
Harlingen