Bijlard International supports Paralympian Jeroen Kampschreur
His has been addicted to sit skiing for 10 years. His first real competition was 6 years ago. For past two years, the now 18-year-old Jeroen Kampschreur has been making serious progress at World Cup-level and winning one prize after the other. With the absolute highlight being his qualification for the twelfth Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang in South Korea. A talented athlete with the determination to make the most of his opportunities.Even more reason for Bijlard International to support Jeroen financially. Of course, Jeroen receives contributions from NOC-NSF, but he also has a number of personal sponsors that help him to compete in his sport. For Bijlard International, this fits in with their goal of Corporate Social Responsibility.
Its Director, Peter Bijlard, has known Jeroen from an early age and was even then impressed by the perseverance of the young athlete. Different sports are discussed during the interview: wheelchair basketball, wheelchair hockey and sailing. Until he eventually found his great passion in skiing. It is not entirely the safest of sports, as Jeroen shows some shocking videos of crashes, but he is not daunted by it. No fear is the motto of the Kampschreur family. If you are born with such a handicap, there is nothing else for it. That is how he was raised: self-reliance was paramount, and the will to squeeze everything out of life, even as a physically handicapped child.
Peter Bijlard and Jeroen Kampschreur seal the
deal with a firm handshake.
On questioning Jeroen about which disciplines he excels in, he mentions almost everything: slalom, giant slalom, super g, downhill and the super combined. He has won a medal in 4 of the 5 disciplines, only the downhill is still missing. "But I'm training hard for that," Jeroen assures us.
He remembers the first medals that he won last year: November in the Europa Cup and in December his most memorable, 1st place in the World Cup in St. Moritz.
Jeroen's development is being closely watched by the Dutch Ski Association, led by a head coach and under the watchful eye of technical director Wopke de Vegt.
He now combines his intensive sports career with his Havo-education at the Beekdal Lyceum in Arnhem, near the National Sports Centre Papendal where he trains and lives most of the time. The Beekdal Lyceum is a top-class sport talent school. Fully equipped for sports students with a customised school timetable for optimal training opportunities.Sports are great of course but at the end of the day, Jeroen will also have to think about a professional career. For now, however, he is not yet satisfied; winning prizes is addictive so he wants to continue for as long as he possibly can. According to Jeroen, he still has a lot more to learn and there are plenty of challenges left to conquer.
Besides school and training, Jeroen is also an ambassador for the Cruyff Foundation. For him, this means that he occasionally gives talks, to inspire people to always push their limits, disabled or not, and to always search for new challenges.
He does not always have enough time for these talks due to his many training camps abroad, but he makes time for them whenever possible.
When asked why he sponsors Jeroen, Peter Bijlard's answer is very simple: "Helping people who inspire others is not actually sponsoring, but a privilege. We are happy to help Jeroen realise his dream. The sponsorship is, for the time being, until the Olympic Games of 2018. After that, we will see."The Paralympic Games in Peyongchang take place from 9 to 18 March 2018. You can follow Jeroen on www.jeroenunlimited.com
Date: 23-02-'18
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