The University Games could be described as the Olympics for students, Vogel explains on Tuesday morning over the phone while driving back to Maastricht from Italy. “Beforehand, people kept asking me what kind of event it was and what it would be like. I thought it would be fairly small-scale, but it turned out to be massive and really professional.”
Vogel was among around six hundred students from 54 countries. “The biggest delegations were from Canada, Japan, the US and China. The standard of competition was high – the competition was fierce. But we also had loads of fun together. It was a great opportunity to meet people and network.”
Proving himself
In the weeks leading up to the competition in Italy, Vogel “trained hard. And I brought a great coach with me. I really didn’t expect to win silver, but I was hoping for it. I just gave it everything I had. This medal is proof of what I’m capable of.”
In an interview with Observant towards the end of 2024, Vogel said that he got his first snowboard at the age of eight and it was love at first sight. “When I’m on my board, I forget everything else and feel free.” He had that same feeling of freedom in Turin, where he also competed in the Big Air event, where snowboarders go down a slope to perform the most impressive jump possible. Vogel narrowly missed out on a medal in Big Air, finishing in fourth place.
Study on hold
With the University Games behind him, Vogel’s snowboarding season is far from over. The second-year student has decided to spend February and March in Austria to train and compete. “That means putting my studies on hold for a bit. UM offers no exemption arrangements for student athletes, like class exemptions. It's all very complicated”, explains Vogel, who is currently ranked among the top five snowboarders in the Netherlands and is a former indoor champion of the Netherlands and Belgium. “So I’ll just put everything on the back burner for now and pick it back up after March.”
On top of catching up with his studies, Vogel expects he will also need to look into side jobs after March. “I’m paying for the trip to Austria myself – it’s not exactly cheap.”