ABSTRACT
In the period around 1900, the Netherlands underwent a cultural revolution and a ‘new culture’ emerged that privileged the body. Intimately tied to changes in medicine and the natural sciences, sport training was part of this revolution and was closely connected to the production of efficient, disciplined bodies. Beyond sporting success, sport training was, therefore, firmly interwoven with debates about the future of the Dutch nation and concerns about social and cultural stagnation. These concerns were not limited to the Netherlands and Dutch sport training around 1900 was part of a transnational sporting network. This network saw ideas, products, and people cross boundaries and transnational contests often fuelled the transfer of training knowledge. While sport training in the Netherlands developed in different ways depending on sport, location, period, and gender, by 1914, sport training was closely associated with forming new bodies and building a new Dutch man.
