The Hague swim club Plons is an open master (20+) swim club for LGBTI+ people and their friends. Plons offers training sessions at various levels under guidance of professional trainers and coaches. Plons offers a variety of aquatic disciplines at a professional level ranging from the improvement of swimming technic to competitive swimming. At a social level, there is a range of activities members can engage in.
Usually a group of Plonsers go out for a meal every after the Friday training sessions and on every first Friday of the month all members are invited for a drink at a local bar. So besides being a very professional swim club, it is also unique in organizing a range of social activities; many club members have found new friends through Plons. Apart from training sessions, Plons also prepares its members for national and international (gay) swimming tournaments. Plons sets a perfect example of integrating straight people into gay sports events.
Professional club
The club was founded in 1992, and is the first gay swimming club in the country. With its 175 members, it is also the biggest club of it sort. Although in the strict sense of the word Plons is a club for LGBTI people, straight men and women are welcome too provided they support LGBTI rights. That makes Plons unique. That Plons is a professional master swimming club is proven by the many successes achieved by individual club members at both national as international tournaments. Plons is a regular participant both at gay tournaments, such as the Eurogames and the Gay Games, and regular master games.
Plons is affiliated with the Royal Dutch Swimming Association (KNZB) and thus all members are automatically members of the KNZB. In addition, Plons is also a member of the European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF).
Swimming is for everyone
The club provides four training sessions a week and is supervised by experienced and qualified coaches. Plons caters for a range of abilities from pure technique to endurance. Each swimmer is assigned to a lane that matches his or her level. Levels range from competitive swimming down to the most basic swimming disciplines such as freestyle and breaststroke. Not only will starters find that swimming benefits their fitness, they discover that by learning the right technique they increase their swimming speed.
So whether you are a competitive swimmer who takes part in master competitions or someone who is hardly able to swim half a lane of breaststroke, Plons will be happy to accommodate both. Although most Plons members live in The Hague region, a substantial number reside in nearby regions such as Delft, Leiden and other nearby towns. And there are a number of swimmers of foreign nationality, which gives the club an international character. Plons is an ideal club for ambitious swimmers who break record after record and for swimmers who…well.. just enjoy swimming.
Social activities
Newcomers will discover that swimming with Plons not only benefits their fitness; it expands their social circles as well. It starts in the entrance hall of the swimming pool prior to the training and continues afterwards. Following each Friday session a number of Plons members have a meal together at a local pizza restaurant or a drink at a popular bar called De Landman. In addition Plons’ own recreation committee organizes a range of social activities, such as beach picnic’s, eating events, outings and theme parties.
Where and when
The swimming trainings take place in three different pools: De Blinkerd (Scheveningen), Overbosch (Mariahoeve) and the Hofbad (Ypenburg). For more information about the location and time schedules please consult the agenda on this website or click on get acquainted. For questions about privacy regulations, please have a look at our privacy policy. For further information, please contact the secretary.