100 years NCS Netherlands Celebration

On 19 December 2026, long-standing CSIT member NCS Netherlands will celebrate its 100th anniversary. NCS has therefore declared the whole of 2026 to be a major anniversary year and will mark the occasion with a wide range of events and activities. The Board and the entire NCS staff will officially open the anniversary celebrations on 29 April during the 2026 CSIT Single Swimming Championships in Geleen, the Netherlands. On this special occasion, NCS, together with its guests, will look to the future of organised sport, play and physical activity for all in the Netherlands. NCS would like to discuss how the association, as the umbrella organisation for recreational sports clubs in the Netherlands, can achieve even more with its vision of “The joy of movement for all by 2035”.

About the 2026 anniversary year
The NCS will turn 100 in 2026 and will be celebrating its anniversary in style! Since its foundation in 1926, the Dutch Culture and Sports Association (formerly the Dutch Workers’ Sports Movement) has been a unique umbrella organisation for various sports, prioritising the joy of physical activity for everyone. Throughout its eventful history, the NCS has championed the interests of sport and the joy of exercise for ordinary workers, women’s rights, gay sport and a multicultural society. Equality, accessibility and a sense of community through exercise are in its very DNA. Especially in these times, the NCS’s mission is more relevant than ever!

A big party in December
The anniversary year will be officially launched during the 2026 CSIT Single Championships Swimming, which will take place in Sittard/Geleen from 27 April to 1 May. Throughout 2026, NCS clubs across the country will be organising ‘100-Year Challenges’ and inviting everyone to take part and get to know the country’s most welcoming clubs! On 19 December 2026, the official anniversary, the NCS will conclude the anniversary year with a special historical retrospective and a celebration for all clubs, volunteers and partners. The NCS will also look ahead to the next 100 years, during which it intends to work with renewed energy to make exercise, sport and play accessible to everyone.

“Free Play” Seminar
Over the past year, the NCS board, staff and volunteers have worked with the strategy consultancy Fresh Forward to develop plans for the future of NCS and its mission: to make recreational activities, sport and play accessible to all. During the seminar on 29 April, NCS will present eight initiatives that are already being implemented to restore NCS and its associations’ visibility and relevance in the field of accessible recreational sport, particularly for those for whom this may not be readily accessible. NCS hopes to share its inspiration with everyone and to find allies who will help achieve its ambitious goals.

Programme
12:00hr - Reception during CSIT Championships including Lunch
14:00hr - Official opening Anniversary year NCS
              Clinics and demonstrations Pickleball, Martial Arts and Catch 'n Serveball
15:30hr - Seminar 'Free Play' on the future of Sports 4 All
17:00hr - End