Busy Lizzy

9 June 2024

She has been refereeing at the Marveld Tournament for several years, but she has more skills than just officiating games. Lizzy van der Helm; FIFA referee for the women’s Champions League qualifiers for the European Championship/World Cup, nationally up to the 1st Class for men. She is also active in the Women’s Eredivisie, where she regularly takes players Maxime Bennink (Feyenoord) and Sophie te Braake (FC Twente), who once started and trained at Grol, “under her wing”.

Everyone has their hidden talents or late callings. So does “Busy Lizzy”. At the Marveld Tournament, she is not only active on the field but also likes to lend a hand in the serving department. “It is a tradition that the referees take over our tasks on Saturday evening after they have eaten, serving us food so we can eat in peace. She felt like doing that, she told me on Friday evening,” her colleague in the serving team, Lorin Walterbos, recounts. “So I said, ‘You can also come and help tomorrow morning.’ And yes, she was there at half past eight. Very nice. She says every year that she looks forward to the tournament. Isn’t that nice? And on Saturday afternoon, she even came spontaneously to vacuum.” If she ever wants to hang up the referee whistle, the red carpet is laid out at the MSCS, the Marveld Tournament Serving and Cleaning Service.