In 1934, NV Nederlandse Lloyd (Nedlloyd) founded a table tennis club for its staff. Nedlloyd was an insurance company for shipping and was renamed Delta Lloyd in the early seventies. The playing hall was located in the then Delta Lloyd building on Nachtwachtlaan.
In 1978 the table tennis club continued as an independent club under the name Amsterdam ’78. After a stopover of a few years in a gym in Osdorp the club rented the building of a former printing house on the Schoolstraat (side street Overtoom). After a few years the building was bought and came under its own management.
In 2019, a new home was found in the building of a former office building on Baarsjesweg 265H (Oud West). After a renovation, the club moved in January 2020.
Our top players
In the Delta Lloyd period, top players such as brothers Frans and Bert Schoofs played for our club. Also Carel Deken, Sonja Heltzel and Judy Williams are well-known names of players who made a splash both nationally and internationally during that period.
After the club continued as an amateur club in 1978, Amsterdam ’78 had an Eredivisie team for women for many years. However, reaching the absolute top is not a goal in itself for our club. Attention is just as much for recreational or competition players from the lower classes. Currently, our first men’s team plays in the Second Division.
Judy Williams
Our late former top player Judy Williams deserves a special mention. In 1975, the English-born woman came from London to Amsterdam for her work. At that time, she already had the English national table tennis title in her pocket. In the years that followed, she belonged to the top of Dutch table tennis. She always remained loyal to our club until the end, although unfortunately table tennis was no longer possible in recent years.
NB: photos on this page come from the archive of the Friends of Table Tennis Foundation