Swimming for ALS at the Amsterdam City Swim
Rugby Nederland has chosen ALS as its charity and received 150 free entries for the Amsterdam City Swim on 6 September. AAC members are invited to take one.
Rugby Nederland has chosen ALS as its charity, and 150 rugby players from across the Netherlands are invited to swim the Amsterdam City Swim on Sunday 6 September. AAC’s chairman is taking part, and invites members to join him.
Why ALS, and why now
There is a less cheerful story behind the choice. The chairman of Rugbyclub Haarlem, Pieter Zandhuis, spent 20 years volunteering for ALS and has now been diagnosed with it himself.
To give him a boost, Rugby Nederland received 150 free entries for the Amsterdam City Swim. Normally, when you sign up you are also expected to raise sponsorship money to support the fight against ALS. That is not the case this time. The idea is to have 150 rugby players from all over the Netherlands swim together, as a show of support for Pieter.
At the same time, it has been agreed that Haarlem will pass around an ALS collection tin at every away match next season — so that will happen at our club too.
The swim
- Date: Sunday 6 September 2026
- Distance: 2 km through the Amsterdam canals
- Format: not a race — you can take as long as you like
- Water quality: guaranteed clean by the water authority
In the chairman’s own words:
Although I absolutely hate swimming, and barely make any headway, I’m taking part too. For Pieter, and for Rugby Nederland. I hereby invite everyone to join in. And if you really can’t or don’t want to, you can always cheer on the swimmers from the side.
First published in the July 2026 edition of the Try, AAC’s club newsletter.