I had to play all kinds of sports at secondary school. But I never did very well, as I have coordination issues. The only things that went slightly better were sports involving a ball, mainly with a racket.

After I married Robert, I started playing squash. It did not take much time and gave excellent exercise. We played once or twice a week. Like with some other sports, I never passed the mediocre stage, but that was plenty for me. My main goal was to have fun and get some exercise.

One day I spotted an ad for a Doctor's squash tournament and registered. We drove to Rotterdam. When I entered, several people congratulated me. We both did not understand this. Soon we saw, even though it was a mixed contest, I was the only female player. That made me a winner no matter how badly I would play.

The first man I played was quite a lot older than I, but very experienced. He disguised all his shots, which left me glued to the floor. Robert was shouting encouragement from behind the wall, but my feet stayed frozen.

I played two other males, not equally good, but I still lost.

In the afternoon the tournament was finished. The presentation of the prizes started. I got my biggest trophy ever, and it has a proud place in our house.