HHR + Statuten

You can find the Huishoudelijk Reglement and Statuten of T.S.V.V Gepidae here.

Clubsong

Gepidae has its own club song, simply calles the Gepidae Song. The song originated in 1977, thanks to a group of female Gepidae members during a tournament in Paris. Shortly after, it was included in the cabaret of the second lustrum, and every so often a new verse is addes. The most recent addiction was on Gepi-Day on May 3, 2003, held as part of the 7th lustrum. The song can (must) be sung to the melody of 'Ooh, Champs-Elysee.'

You can find the lyrics to our club song here.

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History

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Long before the Middle Ages, in the era of the nomads, Europe was inhabited by many tribes, all at war with each other. One of these tribes was the Gepids or Gepidae, a Germanic tribe originally from southern Sweden. The Gepidae were a relatively small tribe and  thus overshadowed by larger Germanic tribbes. Therefore, we can only provide a sketch of the history of the Gepidae. They did nog succeed in establishing permanent land borders or a lasting settlement. 

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The Gepidae first appear in the year 260 when they, along with the Goths, invaded the region of Dacia. However, they were unable to retain a portion of the region when the Romans left the area a decade later. The area where they did manage to settle was on the northwestern border or Dacia, east of the Tisza River. They remained there until early in the fifth century when they were subdued by the Ostrogoths.

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In the following years, the warriors of Gepidae frequently went to battle with the Huns. Gepidae King Arderic enjoyed the full confidence of the Huns' King Attila. But after Attila's death, Arderic, along with the Samaritans, Suebi, and Rugii tribes, led a revolution against Attila;s sons. This led to the HUns being defeated at the river Nedao in the year 454. This succes led to a home base in the eastern Carpathians, an alliance with Rome, and a substantial reward in gold. 

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The old enemy, the Ostrogoths, were still at war with the Gepidae. The strength and size of the Ostrogothic armies under King Theodoric were too much for teh Gepidae armies. In 504, King Theodoric drove the Gepidae armies out of the Danube area. It took until year 537 for the Gepidae to be allowed to settle near Sirmium shen the war between the Goths and the Byzantine Empire broke out. But this settlement in the Danube valley was of strategic importance. The Byzantines wanted to secure this area. For this, they approached the Lombards and not the Gepidae. In 546, King Audion of the Lombards was tasked with occupying the old provinces of Pannonia and  placind them at the service of the Byzantines. In the next five years, this led to the expulsion of the Gepidae. In the battle of Asfeld in 552, the Gepidae army was shattered, and they never played an influential role in world history again. In the year 567, the nomadic tribe of the Avars encountered the settlements of the Gepidae. The Avars destroyed what was left of the once-glarious armies of Gepidae. Simultaneously, the Avars threatened te Lombards to such an extent that they were forced to retreat towards Italy. A small part of the Gepidae managed to escape. In 600, a Byzantine general still mentioned some small settlements inhabited by Gepidae, an din 626, the Gepidae participated in the Avar attack on Constantinople. Howeever, the Gepidae armies were so small that their strength was negligible. Atfter 567, nothing more was heard of the Gepidae.

This changed in the year 1968 when some students at Tilburg University founded the Tilburg Student Volleybal Association Gepidae. Gepidae reappeared in the annals of history, albeit in a modest way. In the early years the Gepidae did not play a significant role in the volleybal world in the Netherlands. However, in recent years, the Gepidae have made themselves heard again. We are now the largest indoor sport association affiliated with the Sports Council FOSST of the Sports Center of Tilburg University. Gepidae members can be found in many committees.

Currently, Gepidae is a fiancially healthy association that continues to grow. This is in contrast to other volleybal associations in the Tilburg region. Currently, Gepidae has over 200 members. Other associations in the region also benefit from Gepidae's qualities. Many players now play for other associations because they can no longer be active members after completing their studies. However, this does not prevent them from remaining members of Gepidae. Many former members remain part of the associations and register as Arderik members. Not only are the number or Arderik members increasing, but the number of current playing members is also growing. Gepidae participates in the competition with both womes's and men's teams. Additionally, Gepidae has many members who do not participate in the competition but only use the training facilities.

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The name Gepidae is once again making history. This time nog by waging wars but by competing on the volleybal courts on Dutch soil.

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Gepidae has finally found its home; among the students of Tilburg.

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