In spring 1971 I became number five in the Dutch Mathematics Olympiad, a mathematical match for highschool students. That’s why I became a member of the Dutch team that participate in the International Matnematical Olympiad in Czechoslovakia that summer. It would be my first flight trip. Most of the participants came from Eastern Europe. There were also participants from Great Brittain, France, Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands. And Cuba and Mongolia were present. In those days I had very long hair and that was in Eastern Europe very rare. I was a landmark in the group. I didn’t understand anything of the assignments in the two match days, I made one correct drawing and so I ended with 1 point on rank 106 of 115.

In 2016 Bert de Brock discovered on the website of the International Mathematical Olympiad the names of the 48 winners of a medal. He googled on their names and he found about 25 relations between the names and mathematics. He send them an email and he get about 15 reactions. Among them was a reaction of a Swedish participant. He answered the Swedish team organizes every five year a reunion and in 2016 they planned it in Austria. That reunion continued, not only with the Swedish, but also with other participants from 1971. Bert and I from the Netherlands but also people from Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Russia and Great Brittain.

Since that year we meet each year in another city. Dresden (2017), Groningen (2018), Stockholm (2019), Brno (2023), Cambridge (2024) and Amsterdam-Diemen (2025). In 2026 we will meet in Gottingen in Germany. We start on Thursday with a drink and a dinner, on Friday we do sightseeing and something mathematical. This year the normal distribution will be discussed. Saturday is a day for a trip in the environment. On Sunday we say goodbye and see you next year.