Pee Quiz Sickens Children at Belgian Camp, Mayor Apologizes

Several children aged 8 to 11 fell ill on Tuesday after participating in a controversial drinking game known as a “pisquiz” (pee quiz) during a summer holiday camp in Kalmthout, a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The acting mayor has issued a formal apology to parents and confirmed the game has been banned from all municipal playgrounds, according to VRT NWS.

What Is a “Pisquiz”?

The “pisquiz” is a game played at youth camps and movements across Belgium where participants must drink a cup or bottle of water before being allowed to answer a question. While intended to encourage hydration — particularly during hot weather — the competitive format leads children to consume dangerously large volumes of water in short periods, risking water intoxication, or hyponatremia.

Water intoxication occurs when excessive water intake dilutes sodium levels in the blood. Plain tap water contains no salt, and drinking too much too quickly causes fluids to shift into organs, particularly the brain, causing swelling. Symptoms include nausea, headache, confusion, and in severe cases, coma, brain damage, or death.

The Incident and Immediate Response

Acting Mayor Jef Van den Bergh (CD&V), standing in for Mayor Lukas Jacobs during the vacation period, confirmed that three specific cases were identified: two children suffered from stomach problems and headaches, while a third child vomited. The exact number of affected children remains unclear.

The municipality acted swiftly, sending an email to all parents informing them of the incident. The email listed symptoms of possible water intoxication — including nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, confusion, drowsiness, muscle cramps, and swollen hands or feet — and advised contacting a doctor if symptoms appeared.

“We regret that some children felt unwell and have offered our apologies to the parents,” Van den Bergh stated, as reported by VRT NWS.

The youth service held a meeting with the approximately 70 volunteer animators (camp counselors) on Wednesday morning to emphasize that “too much is never good.” The mayor stressed that the animators were well-intentioned, noting they had noticed children were lethargic due to the heat and introduced the game to encourage water intake. “A mistake was made and this should not have happened, but that does not take away from the fact that they do very good work,” Van den Bergh said.

A Recurring Pattern Across Belgium

This is not an isolated incident. In November 2025, a 10-year-old boy named Seb was admitted to intensive care at the Antwerp University Hospital (UZA) after drinking five liters of water in two hours during a scouts pisquiz. Prof. Philippe Jorens, head of intensive care at UZA, warned at the time that a similar incident 15 years prior had put a child in a coma, as VRT NWS reported. Scouts en Gidsen Vlaanderen subsequently advised all chapters to stop the activity.

Just two years earlier, in July 2023, six children aged 10 to 17 were taken to hospital after drinking too much water during a quiz at a summer camp in Overmere, East Flanders, according to VRT NWS. Medical experts report they have been warning youth organizations about this phenomenon for years.

Analysis: An Awareness Gap That Persists

The Kalmthout incident highlights a critical gap in safety awareness at youth camps. Despite high-profile media coverage of Seb’s hospitalization just eight months earlier and explicit warnings from medical professionals and the largest Flemish scouting organization, the pisquiz continues to be played.

Van den Bergh acknowledged that the animators “did not realize that too much water could also be harmful.” This suggests that awareness campaigns have not yet reached all levels of volunteer-led youth work. The incident raises broader questions about what training and safety protocols are in place for volunteer animators at municipal summer camps, and why the November 2025 case did not lead to nationwide safety guidelines or an explicit ban.

What’s Next?

The municipality of Kalmthout has responded transparently: emailing parents, banning the game from all municipal playgrounds, meeting with animators to reinforce safety awareness, and issuing a public apology. However, with three known incidents in three years — and medical experts warning for over a decade — the question remains whether youth organizations and the Flemish government will take more decisive action to prevent the next case of water intoxication at a children’s camp.