What is “kaatsen”, the Frisian traditional sport?
Kinderen leren de koning kaatsen in Friesland
A2 Dutch listening practice · Dutch · Picked for people who know a little
Kaatsen (in Frisian: keatsen) is a traditional ball sport native to Friesland and likely one of the oldest team sports still played in Europe. The Frisian Federation (Keatsbûn) and Dutch KNKB govern competitions across the province, with the PC tournament in Franeker since 1854 considered the world’s longest-running team-sport competition. Two three-player teams take turns hitting a small leather ball back and forth across a grass field; points are scored by where the ball lands. Kaatsen is taught in many Frisian primary schools and is a marker of Friese cultural identity.
In this clip, NOS Jeugdjournaal visits Dokkum: “Dit is kaatsen, of zoals ze hier in Friesland zeggen, keatsen.”
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-NL 2014 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸In Frisian sports coverage (Omrop Fryslân, KNKB, Leeuwarder Courant)
- ▸In Dutch coverage of regional traditional sports (NOS Sport, Trouw, De Volkskrant)
- ▸In Frisian-language and culture writing (Friesch Dagblad, Tresoar, Onze Taal)
- ▸In Dutch primary-school cultural-heritage content (Het Klokhuis, Schooltv, Meertens Instituut)