Leiden has so much to offer in the areas of sport and culture. Irrespective of whether you fancy burning off some calories after a day’s studying or perhaps spending your evenings rehearsing with an amateur drama group, you’re covered.

Fancy burning off some calories after a day’s studying? Or perhaps you’d prefer to spend your evenings on the stage? Either way, the good news is that Leiden also has a lot to offer in the areas of sport and culture.

There’s more to a master’s than studying hard; sometimes you just want to relax. It’s good to know that The Hague’s offering in the area of sport and culture is second to none.

There’s more to life than studying hard; sometimes you just need to relax. It’s good to know then that The Hague’s offering in the area of sport and culture is surprisingly extensive.

Fancy burning off some calories after a day’s studying? Or perhaps you’d prefer to spend your evenings on the stage? Either way, the good news is that Leiden and The Hague also have plenty to offer in the areas of sport and culture.

The new sports center, which will also be used as an examination center, will be located at the Campus Square.

Sport Data Center

Collecting data in sports increased in importance the last few years.

As an alumnus of Leiden University, you receive a 33% discount on membership of the University Sports Centre (USC). The sports centre has facilities in both Leiden and The Hague and offers a wide range of sports including tennis, fitness, yoga and kickboxing.

, Einsteinweg 6, 2333 CC, Leiden

Leiden University is currently preparing the development of a new sports and examination center in collaboration with the construction and design firm Binx Smartility. The current sports and examination center no longer meets sustainability requirements and is also becoming too cramped.

During your stay at Leiden University it's a great idea to join a student or sports association. It's the perfect way to get to know people quickly and build a network, whilst also being a whole lot of fun.

Ramesh Ganohariti, PhD student and Ernst Dijxhoorn, Assistant Professor at Leiden University, researched the relation between international relations and sports, with sport and sports events increasingly being used for various diplomatic and political goals.

‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ said skating coach Jac Orie to Leiden data scientist Arno Knobbe. And he did. Knobbe and his colleagues now assist athletes in all kinds of ways with the help of data mining.

How do people experience ‘inclusion’ in sports? How can experiential expertise enhance policies in sport and inclusion? This research internship at The Mulier Institute enables a student to investigate these issues from a qualitative research perspective.

The making of sacrifices seems part and parcel of any elite sportsperson’s life. Remarkably, the insights that we find in the current literature in social sport studies are not able to make sense of the references to sacrifice in the data that emerged in the context of this study on the social significance…

Athletes always strive for the top. How can data scientists assist them in improving their performance? During the seminar Data Science and Sports, the possibilities and challenges of collaboration between these two worlds were discussed.

The Sport Data Center, a consortium of universities of which Leiden University is leader, is recognised as a Certified Partner of Sportinnovator. This makes the Sport Data Center an important part of the Sportinnovator ecosystem. Sportinnovator is the national programme for sports innovation, initiated…

Sport Data Center

The combination of data science and sports is a hot topic. In a talk during the opening of the Academic Year at the Faculty of Science, Professor Joost Kok explained what data analytics can teach us about sports.

Online competitions, online sports, dietary advice for staff and students and 'What do they eat for lunch?' The first 'volunteer' is Vice-Rector Hester Bijl. What does her lunch usually consist of? The University Sports Centre is celebrating its fifty-year anniversary with a whole - corona-proof - programme…

At two recent events, Ben Van Rompuy, Assistant Professor of competition law at the Europa Institute in Leiden, discussed current developments in the application of EU competition rules to regulatory aspects of sport.

A consortium of knowledge institutes, led by Leiden University launched an online platform for analysis and research of sports and movement data on 7 September: Sport Data Valley. The platform offers coaches and athletes insight into their data and makes research on sports and exercise more efficient,…

Why do top athletes sacrifice so much for their sport? And does the prevailing theoretical framework for critical sports research, which is based in part on the insights of French philosopher Michel Foucault, do justice to their experiences? Leiden PhD candidate in philosophy Nathanja van den Heuvel…

The Hague Journal of Diplomacy is delighted to announce it will be starting its own podcast series! The series will be aimed at bringing the themes of the journal’s research off the page, and onto the discussion table. Each episode will feature a guest who will share their insights and personal experience…

How can you stay fit during quarantine? The University Sports Centre may be closed, but online it's even more 'open' than usual.

A sustainable building that is both sports and examination centre. In September, a design team including architect Atelier PRO will begin to develop the plans for the new University Sports Centre (USC). Construction will begin in 2021, and the building is expected to be completed before September 2022.…

Preparations for receiving 123 refugees in the University Sport Centre have been in full swing for several days. The large sports hall will be transformed into a dormitory, and a living and dining area. There will also be two recreation areas, one for adults and one for children.

Not all gay and lesbian students feel equally safe at their sports clubs. ‘Homo’ is used almost unthinkingly as a term of abuse and players often face homophobic comments. What can sports clubs and teams do to make sure everyone feels safe when playing sports?

From Friday evening 23 October Leiden University will receive 120 refugees in our University Sport Centre (USC) on the Einsteinweg in Leiden. The refugees will stay for a week, up to and including Friday 30 October. This measure has consequences for students and staff. Sporting activities in the sport…

Several dozens of students at Leiden University are top-class athletes, in such diverse sports as skating and tennis. Four of them talk about how they combine their sporting activities with their studies. Strict discipline is the absolute key, and the University helps too. 'If you plan well you can…

The project 'EmbRace: The Embodiment of Racialization: Running Muslim Women and the Sense of Non-Belonging' investigates the embodied and sensorial dimension of the racialization of Muslims and its intersections with gender, class and religion.

The problem of unequal sports participation will only be addressed if sexism and racism in recreational sports and exercise are taken seriously. That's what cultural anthropologists Jasmijn Rana (Leiden University) and Kathrine van den Bogert (Utrecht University) write in an opinion piece in the Dutch…

The new scholarly journal ‘Voetbal- & Sportjuridische Zaken’, published by Boom Juridische Uitgevers, will focus on current legal aspects related to sport with particular attention for football.

On 19 November 2018, the American Bar Association (ABA), Section of Antitrust Law organized a teleconference “Sports and Antitrust: Breaking the Ice”.

In this article in 'The Senses and Society' Jasmijn Rana discusses how women learn to move, use their bodies, and become a different kind of being than men. She focuses on the embodiment of gender in recreational running environments.

The worldwide race to the quantum computer is in full swing. This computer can bring about a breakthrough in discovering medicines and new materials. Leiden researchers, together with the TU Delft, are taking part in the race. There is now a dossier online about their work.

Ben Van Rompuy was a guest speaker at the 138th Lunch Talk of the Global Competition Law Centre (College of Europe), which took place in Brussels on 15 January 2024.

A large new campus square on the Leiden Bio Science Park will be used for a range of activities for students, staff and Leiden residents, a knowledge festival, shows and sporting activities, for instance.

The new University Sports and Exam Centre is another step closer. Bigger sports and exam halls, plenty of room for meeting people, an open feel that integrates with the Campus Square and the sports fields, optimal acoustics and an uncompromisingly sustainable building with a green facade and solar panels.…

Various guests with a background in human rights, law, politics and international relations will be taking part in the ‘Human Rights and the World Cup Qatar’ debate on Friday 30 September. Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) Secretary-General and Leiden alumnus Gijs de Jong will be there to provide…

At the Sport Data Center, five research themes are explored.