Nykerk

Name: Nykerk
Start: 2025-10-18T19:00:00-04:00
Location: Hope College DeVos Fieldhouse

Schedule

Sat, 18 Oct, 2025 at 07:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Hope College DeVos Fieldhouse | Holland, MI

Alumni and families are welcome to attend the Nykerk Cup Competition!
This event is part of One Big Weekend (Homecoming + Family Weekend). For the complete schedule, visit hope.edu/onebigweekend.
Nykerk is a competition between freshmen and sophomore women in three different arenas: song, play and oration. Junior and senior coaches arrange the music, write the plays and guide the orators as they craft seven-minute monologues.
The Nykerk Cup Competition originated in 1936. Dr. John Nykerk, Hope professor and founder of the college’s music department, believed that women should have their own, distinct competition. Dr. Nykerk had three founding principles in mind:
Involvement for new students
Leadership for upper-class students
A showcase of talent within an even-odd year tradition
In it's first iteration, the freshmen women challenged the sophomore women to a "match of muscles" across a creek, much like the Pull. The concept was changed when Dr. Nykerk offered to present a silver cup to the victor, if the contest would contain one oratorical number, one musical selection and the enactment of a one-act play. The freshman class of 1936 won the contest and had their class name engraved on the cup.
The Nykerk Cup Competition was held in February–March for the first four years, after which it was scheduled to be held in November to coincide with Hope’s Family Weekend activities. The Nykerk tradition continues to flourish to this day, with the victors' class year added annually to the silver cup.