It's A Christmas Knockout 1970

Festive Jeux Sans Frontières Special

Entrants 1970: Great Britain (GB) • Netherlands (NL) 

Presenters:
David Vine and Eddie Waring (BBC - GB)
Barend Barendse and Dick Passchier (NCRV - NL)

Referees:
Arthur Ellis
Ben Bril

Production Credits:

Games Designer: Dick Van Bommel; National Producers: Barney Colehan (GB), Piet Hooy (NL); Director: Dick van 't Sant

An NCRV production in association with BBC Manchester

Key: International Christmas Special ● = Winner of Christmas Special   ▲ = Promoted to Position / ▼ = Demoted to Position

NL

It's A Christmas Knockout 1970

Christmas Special

Event Staged: Monday 7th December 1970
Venue: Groenoordhal (Groenoord Hall), Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
Nederland 1 (NL): Saturday 26th December 1970, 2.02-3.00pm (Tweede Kerstdag)
BBC1 (GB): Saturday 26th December 1970, 2.25-3.15pm (Boxing Day)

Weather Conditions: Not applicable as event was staged indoors

Theme: Festive Fun

Teams: Great Yarmouth (GB) v. Alphen aan den Rijn (NL)

Team Members included:
Great Yarmouth (GB) - Arthur Bowles (Team Coach), Andy Aliffe, Lesley Bircham, Terry Bryan, David Bullant, Martin Hardy, Sandra King, Herbert Mather, Lyn Maynard, Don McCondach, John Norfolk, Paul Panther, Sarah Pitts, Mike Rogers, Stephanie White, Terry Wing; Special Guest Competitors: Peter Bonetti (Chelsea F.C.), John Hollins (Chelsea F.C.);

Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) - C. Boer (Co-Team Coach), W. N. Verkerk (Co-Team Coach), S. van 't Wout (Team Physio), Ad van Ommen (Team Captain), Peter Britting, Jos Goedhart, Riet Heemskerk, Dini de Heij, Piet de Jong, Pinie de Jong, Juanita Kiliaan, Jim Koster, Margriet Peters-Bongers, Ria van Rietschoten, Ria Rietveld, Jan Rijvers, Marlène Spek, Kees Veenswijk, Cock Verkade, Dick Verkade; Special Guest Competitors: Johan Cruyff (AFC Ajax), Jan Van Beveren (PSV Eindhoven), Willy van der Kuijlen (PSV Eindhoven) - Reserve.

Games: Duel of the Snowmen, Santa's Sleigh, The Christmas Candles, Skiing for Christmas, Santa's Boxes of Surprise, Swinging the Snowballs, Fathers Christmas and the Postmen.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd

 NL • Alphen aan den Rijn ●
 GB • Great Yarmouth

12
8

The Host Town

Leiden, Netherlands

Leiden is a city with a population of around 120,000 inhabitants in the province of Zuid-Holland and lies on the Oude Rijn (Old Rhine) river, a 51km (32 miles) long branch of the Rhine. It is located at sea level elevation, 35km (22 miles) south-west of Amsterdam, 75km (47 miles) north of Bergen-op-Zoom, 90km (56 miles) south of Den Helder and 164km (102 miles) west of Enschede.

The city lies at what has traditionally been an important junction where waterways and roads cross and will enchant all who visit. It is famous for its almshouses, university, museums and glorious history. The spirit of the Golden Age lives on here, a place where artist Rembrandt (1606-1669) was born and inspired so many other influential painters. But even after this era, Leiden continued to attract scientists, artists and industry. The canals, the historical buildings, the alleyways, the treasuries of knowledge, culture and science in Leiden are definitely worth a visit.

By the end of the 15th century, Leiden was the largest city in the province of Holland. This was largely due to the international cloth-making industry. However, the economic tide began to turn with the advent of the 16th century. The reformation led to mass prosecution of Protestants and in 1572, Leiden joined the Dutch resistance against Spain's oppression. The people of Leiden succumbed to disease and starvation and the Spanish nearly conquered the city. However, they successfully drove the troops out on 3rd October 1574. The great liberation, known as Leidens Ontzet (Relief of Leiden), is still lavishly celebrated today (and was also the theme for Jeux Sans Frontières when the programme staged the International Final in the city in 1974). This huge party is not the only result of the Spanish occupation but also that the city was allegedly given the university as a reward for its heroic resistance.

The Relief marked the beginning of a new Golden Age. In 1577, tens of thousands of Dutch people from the south flocked to Leiden on account of their Calvinist faith. These were experienced textile workers and business people who helped revive the failing wool industry in Leiden with new products, techniques, capital and labour and Leiden became the second largest city after Amsterdam. Despite major plague epidemics, the population quadrupled resulting in the city being expanded in 1611, 1644 and again in 1659, when the network of canals was laid out in its current incarnation. At the height of the boom around 1670, the city was densely populated by some 60,000 people. After Amsterdam, Leiden is the city with the most canals, with the city’s historic centre boasting more than 29km (18 miles) of canals and waterways. To cross all these waterways, you obviously need bridges, and Leiden has no less than 88!

The city’s wool industry was steadily declining in the 18th century, with work drying up and people moving elsewhere. This downturn, caused by the failing wool industry, led to unrest and the ongoing war waged by Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821) only aggravated the situation. The final straw came when Leiden was struck by catastrophic disaster. On 12th January 1807, a ship loaded with 17,400kg (38,360lb) of gunpowder exploded in the middle of Leiden, killing 151 people. Over 2,000 others were injured and some 220 homes were destroyed. King Louis Bonaparte (1778-1846) personally visited the city to provide assistance to the victims. Although located in the centre of the city, the area destroyed remained empty for many years, with the space eventually turned into a public park in 1886.

After 1815, the city began to show signs of recovery once more when Leiden's industry began to diversify during the second half of the century with emerging new sectors such as metal, printing and canning. Leiden underwent a dramatic transformation during the last 30 years of the 20th century. In the 1960s, it was a rundown industrial city with the university as its main claim to fame. By the early 1980s, the industries had disappeared, and unemployment was rampant. However, the city managed to again bounce back by tapping into new sectors.

The Visiting Towns

Great Yarmouth is a town with a population of around 100,000 inhabitants in the English county of Norfolk and is located 195km (121 miles) west of Leiden.

Alphen aan den Rijn is a town with a population of around 150,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Zuid-Holland and is located 11km (7 miles) east of Leiden.

The Venue

Groenoordhal

The games were played in the Groenoordhal, the largest of a complex of halls called the Groenoordhallen, which played host to a large regional cattle market for several decades. It was built in 1969 on land that had originally been part of the Groenoord Estate.

In 1355, Leiden was given an urban extension, which led to the Haarlemmerstraat being located within the city walls. The swampy area outside of the walls was reclaimed and on the polder, garden nurseries, fruit farms and the Groenoord were created.

In 1572, the city council decided that all wooden buildings on the nurseries had to be demolished to protect the city from being set alight during the current siege by the invading Spaniards. As the cloth industry expanded, a window field was set up in the western part of the Groenoord. On wooden windows, the painted wet sheets were stretched to dry.

In 1756, Johan Aegidius van der Marck (1707-1770), chief officer of the city of Leiden, requested that he be allowed to build a playhouse on the grounds of his country estate. This consisted of a house with a beautiful dome, a carpenter's house, a fishing pond, a park, a peach greenhouse, three pieces of warmus land and 50 rods of pasture (0.3125 acres or 1,264.64m²). The total area was about six hectares (60,000m² or 645,835ft²) and covered the area which today is surrounded by the main railway line to the west, Willem de Zwijgerlaan to the south, Gooimeerlaan to the east and the Stinksloot dyke to the north. After Van der Marck's death, the land was passed down to his brother. When he, too, died in 1788, the land and all its property were sold by his heirs and then, in the early part of the 19th century, it was resold to Abraham Harteveld, Jr. (1793-1866). He constructed a large house on the land in 1830 or thereabouts, which was given the name Groenoord. His mother died in 1837 at the Groenoord house.

The estate and house then remained in private hands for almost a century. The last owner of the estate was artist Floris Henrik Verster van Wulverhorst (1861-1927) who lived there with his wife Jenny Kamerlingh Onnes. In 1926, following her death a few years earlier, he sold the country estate to the municipality of Leiden for the princely sum of 27,000 guilders (roughly £2,500 at the time), equivalent to approximately £110,000 in 2020, under the proviso he could remain in residence until his demise. He was a one-eyed man and within a year of the sale, he was found drowned in the carp pond in the garden.

The house was then rented out to the art critic and expert Willem Cornelis Feltkamp and his cousin Willem Hendrik Mühlstaff (1894-1982), painter and director of the Rotterdam Academy of Art, who during the war offered shelter to amongst others, painter and graphic artist Dirk Hidde Nijland (1881-1955).

The forest of more than 400 trees remained standing for a long time, much to the delight of hikers and children at play. However, during World War II (1939-1945), it was cut down by mainly black-market traders for their own gain, barring one large chestnut tree.

In 1960, the lease on the property was cancelled by the municipality and the country estate was demolished in 1961 to make way for a new residential area and a complex of halls that would host the regional cattle market and other large events.

Comprising several small halls and one large hall (the Groenoordhal), the Groenoordhallen (Groenoord Halls) building was quickly put to effective use. In addition to its main purpose, it was also regularly used for sports meetings, television broadcasts and music concerts by bands such as Genesis, U2, The Police, Dire Straits, Iron Maiden, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Metallica, Santana, Kiss, The Osmonds and Backstreet Boys, among other events.

However, following the FMD (Foot and Mouth Disease) crisis of 2001, the cattle market was no longer viable and finally closed its doors in 2005. Following some renovation work, the hall was reopened and hosted many national and international trade fairs, exams, product presentations, conferences, parties, concerts and other events including Disney on Ice and paranormal shows.

In 2006, the Groenoordhal played host to tennis. A Davis Cup promotion / relegation match between the Netherlands and the Czech Republic was held there, with the Netherlands losing 1-4 and being relegated. However, despite all its uses, it was decided that the hall had run its course by the middle of 2009, and in order to make way for homes and business premises, the Groenoordhallen building was to be demolished.

The demolition was postponed until mid-2010 and then the work finally started, after which only the tower and part of Escher Groenoord Plaza remained.

Team Selection and Training

The Alphen aan den Rijn team trained hard for this event. Their preparations included an evening training session on Friday 4th December 1970 at the Princess Irenelaan 'De Dillen' indoor swimming baths in the city's Dillenburg area. As part of this session, team members Jim Koster, Kees Veenswijk, Pinie de Jong, Margriet Peters, Ria Rietveld and Marlène Spek ran through the water-based games that would be played at the Groenoordhal on the following Monday, including 'The Christmas Candles' game.

The team attended a different venue to rehearse the land-based games. This was  the former factory hall of the Oosthoek company in Alphen aan den Rijn. Among those tried out was the 'Skiing for Christmas' game, the fourth in the running order.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Duel of the Snowmen

The first game - ‘Duel of the Snowmen’ - was played in unison and featured two female competitors on roller-skates from each team armed with a giant snowman on castors. On the whistle, the competitors had to push their snowman up a straight course and then return to the start. The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

It has been confirmed from information gleaned from Dutch newspapers that Netherlands were victorious on this game and were awarded the 2pts with Great Britain receiving 1pt.

Game 2 - Santa's Sleigh

The game - ‘Santa’s Sleigh’ - was played in unison and featured six male competitors from each team armed with a litter, atop of which were a reindeer and a Santa-driven sleigh. On the whistle, the team had to lift the heavily-laden litter above the heads of four of the competitors whilst the other two competitors had to get down on all fours and start to crawl through the legs of their team-mates. When the first ‘crawler’ had achieved this, he then had to stand up in front of the leading competitor and the litter had to be moved forward for him to hold. The original fourth competitor (at the end of the line holding the litter) had to release his hold of the litter and then get down on all fours and follow the original sixth competitor through the legs of his four standing team-mates. The second ‘crawler’ then had to repeat the process of the first and the original third standing competitor had to repeat that of the fourth. The team then had to continue with this process and carry the litter along a straight course whilst negotiating a number of hillocks. The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

It has been confirmed from photographic evidence obtained that Netherlands were victorious on this game and were awarded the 2pts whilst Great Britain received 1pt.

Game 3 - The Christmas Candles

The third game - ‘The Christmas Candles’ - was played individually and featured up to six competitors (four males and two females) from each team armed with two rubber dinghies and a candelabra with two candles aflame. On the whistle, the males had to place the two dinghies into a large pool and then one sat in one of the dinghies whilst the other sat in the second. The female, holding the candelabra, then had to stand in both dinghies behind her team-mates with her legs astride. The males then had to paddle across to the other side of the pool above which was hanging a large rope. The female then had to grab the rope and step fully into one of the dinghies whilst the males kept them steady. The three of them then had to make their way back to the original side of the pool. Once achieved, the second three competitors had to repeat the game. If the team toppled into the water, dropped the candelabra, permitted either of the flames to extinguish or the female placed her hands on either the males to steady herself, they had to return to the start and repeat their run. The team completing both return journeys in the faster time would be declared the winners.

It has been confirmed from photographic evidence obtained (along with knowledge of the outcomes of prior and subsequent games and the final result) that this game ended in a draw with both teams receiving 1pt each.

Game 4 - Skiing for Christmas

The fourth game - ‘Skiing for Christmas’ - was played in unison and featured eight competitors (six males and two females) from each team attired in ski wear and standing on a set of long skis. On the whistle, the first four competitors (three males and one female) had to work together in order to move along a straight course negotiating a series of small ramps. At the far end of the course, the team had to circumnavigate a line of Christmas trees and then return to the start. The second four competitors then had to take over and repeat the game. Each of the ramps had to be negotiated at a 90° angle to the movement of play. Any obstacles that were not negotiated correctly would have be repeated. The team negotiating both return journeys of the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

It has been confirmed from photographic evidence obtained that Netherlands were victorious on this game and were awarded the 2pts whilst Great Britain received 1pt.

Game 5 - Santa's Boxes of Surprise

The fifth game - ‘Santa’s Boxes of Surprise’ - was played in unison and featured four competitors (two males and two females) from each team armed with a litter atop of which were twelve large boxes wrapped in Christmas paper. On the whistle, the team had to work together to lift the litter above their heads and then negotiate a series of obstacles comprised of a long ramp, a set of steps and five high hurdles sited equidistantly along the course. Any boxes that tumbled to the ground had to be replaced before the team could continue further. The team negotiating the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

It has been confirmed from photographic evidence obtained that Great Britain were victorious on this game and were awarded the 2pts whilst Netherlands received 1pt.

Game 6 - The Swinging Snowballs

The sixth and penultimate game - ‘The Swinging Snowballs’ - was played individually and featured an opposition team of five male competitors armed with giant snowballs hanging from the arena’s ceiling and four professional footballers from the two competing countries. Participating for Great Britain (Great Yarmouth) was 29-year old Peter Bonetti (1941-2020) and 24-year old John Hollins (1946-2023), both from Chelsea Football Club. Competing against them for Netherlands (Alphen aan den Rijn) was 23-year old Johann Cruyff (1947-2016) from AFC Ajax and 22-year old Jan Van Beveren (1948-2011) from PSV Eindhoven.

On the whistle, the ‘professionals’ had to dribble a football along a wooden-boarded podium to a given point and then shoot the football at a goal. The goal was being protected by a giant caricatured goalkeeper being operated by two opposition males who had to move it from left to right in front of the goal. Contemporaneously, the opposition would hurl the snowballs at the competitors to impede their travel or knock them from the podium. Only balls dribbled cleanly to the end of the podium and deposited in the goal would be deemed as valid. The team scoring the greater number of goals would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Netherlands and they were able to score a total of 11 goals.

The second heat featured Great Britain but whilst the total number of goals scored is unknown, information gleaned from Dutch newspapers show that they had a lower goal tally to that of their rivals.

Chelsea footballers Peter Bonetti and John Hollins posing with the Great Yarmouth team   Comments: English professional footballer Peter Bonetti (1941–2020) was perhaps an unusual choice for this game, since he was a goalkeeper rather than an outfield player, and was more renowned for saving goals than scoring them! At the time played as a goalkeeper for Chelsea F.C. and turned out for his national side England on seven occasions, deputising for number one keeper, Gordon Banks. Bonetti was known for his safe handling, lightning reflexes and his graceful style, for which he was given the nickname 'The Cat'. He was one of a small number of goalkeepers in his era who specialised in a one-armed throw which could achieve a similar distance to a drop kick. Bonetti was part of the winning England squad for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, but did not play. He belatedly received a winners' medal in 2009, after the Football Association led a successful campaign for non-playing members of the squad to be recognised.

Game 7 - Fathers Christmas and the Postmen

The seventh and final game - ‘Fathers Christmas and the Postmen’ - was played in unison and featured four male competitors (two dressed as Father Christmas and the other two attired as postmen) from each team standing at the base of a long greased ramp. Each team was armed with a large rectangular polystyrene slab representing an ice floe, a rubber dinghy and a large wrapped Christmas gift. On the whistle, one of the competitors dressed as Father Christmas had to run up the ramp in order to grab a small length of rope hanging down and utilise it to assist him to climb to the top. Once at the top of the ramp, the first of the postmen had to repeat the process, but he could be assisted by the Father Christmas to achieve his goal. The remaining two competitors at the base then had to slide the polystyrene slab up the ramp where it had to be kept safe. They then had to slide the dinghy up the ramp to be caught by either of the two competitors at the top. The second postman then had to ascend the ramp in the same manner as the first and once he was at the top, the first postman had to descend the other side of the ramp in the dinghy into a large pool and then paddle across to a podium on which a large sleigh was located. The dinghy then had to be pulled back to the top by an attached rope by the second postman. Contemporaneously, the second Father Christmas then had to slide or hurl the wrapped gift up the ramp to be caught by either of the team-mates at the top. Once achieved, and whilst the second postman descended the ramp in the dinghy to join his team-mate on the podium, the second Father Christmas had to climb the ramp and join the other one at the top. The dinghy then had to be pulled back up to the top of the ramp and whilst one of the competitors descended into the pool in the dinghy armed with the gift, the other had to utilise the polystyrene slab to do likewise. The two of them then had to climb on the podium to join their team-mates and place the gift in the seat of the sleigh to set off a firecracker to finish the game. The team completing all aspects of the course correctly in the faster time would be declared the winners.

It has been confirmed from photographic evidence obtained that Netherlands were victorious and were awarded the 2pts with Great Britain receiving 1pt.

Additional Information

This festive edition was the first of fifteen Christmas editions which ran annually, concurrent with the main Jeux Sans Frontières series. It ended up surviving for two additional years after its parent series first closed for business in 1982.

On the morning of Wednesday 9th December 1970 - two days after the recording in Leiden - Mayor Hamilton and two aldermen of Great Yarmouth visited the Stadhuis (town hall) of Alphen aan den Rijn. They were met with a warm welcome from the Robbert Marie Gallas (1923-2005), burgemeester of Alphen aan den Rijn. Mr. Gallas and his guests talked over coffee in the committee room, with topics of discussion including the history of Alphen aan den Rijn and how it had expanded since 1945 to a population of 34,000 by December 1970. There was an exchange of gifts, with Gallas offering his guests a home-grown product, a packaged cheese, and receiving a pennant on behalf of the Council of Great Yarmouth in return. Mayor Hamilton spoke of his admiration of the future plans for Alphen aan den Rijn and also praised the sporting atmosphere in which the Christmas games had been played out. Subsequently, the British dignitaries were taken on a tour of the municipality, during which visits were made to the Molenviergang Aarlanderveen (the only four-windmill cascade in the world that still operates), to Riddeveld and 'De Dillen', the newly-built sports hall and indoor swimming facility. The British guests reportedly showed great interest in their tour and ended their visit with lunch at the park restaurant in the Vogelpark Avifauna (Avifauna Bird Park) in Alphen aan den Rijn.

Made in Colour • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives

JSFnetGB Series Guide pages researched by
Neil Storer and Alan Hayes
with Ischa Bijl, Julien Dessy, Sébastien Dias, David Hamilton, Denis Kirsanov, Paul Leaver, Philippe Minet,
Christos Moustakas, David Laich Ruiz, Marko Voštan and JSFnet Websites