Resi and Ineke: Familiar Faces

15 June 2025

“It’s really fun, that’s what makes the work so enjoyable“

They once started at the bowling alley, a long time ago. Resi Wildenborg and Ineke van Halm, two veterans in the catering team. Familiar faces. Nowadays, they mostly work behind the scenes. The younger girls get to work more upfront.
“Those younger girls, of course, get more attention from all those boys,” laughs Ineke van Halm. “If I had been younger, I wouldn’t have known either. Sometimes there are leaders among them where I think, ‘well…’”

Even though the ladies work more in the background, they know very well what’s going on in the hall. And how to judge the leaders:
“There are a few really nice ones,” Resi Wildenborg chuckles, “I’d like to share a biscuit with them.” They both laugh.

Their task, laying out the toppings, is something they’ve taken very seriously for years. And they keep up with the times—nowadays they wear plastic gloves properly.
“Soon we won’t be able to see cheese and sausage anymore,” they joke. Their day at the Marvel Tournament starts at quarter past seven. These days, the two ladies go home late afternoon but come back in the evening to have a beer.
“It’s really fun, that’s what makes the work so enjoyable,” says Ineke. “And you experience all kinds of things.”

Sometimes people can be quite cheeky. Once Resi had a small disagreement with a well-known Dutch coach who thought he was entitled to two pieces of chicken breast. Of course, he eventually got just one like everyone else.

“But you can also have a good laugh. Like just now. We’re not so good at English, so you try to manage with hands and feet.”
“Yeah, just tell ‘em!” Resi encourages Ineke. “A boy asked me something and I wanted to answer in my best English. But… I was busy and then I said: ‘Ein bisschen.’ Everyone laughed of course. And I thought: Why are they laughing? ‘A little bit,’ that’s what I meant.”

The two ladies, who still have a bit of mischief about them, have quite a track record but want to keep going. They laugh:
“Soon she’ll take us away from the toppings,” jokes Resi.

Ineke and Resi are now 71 and 72 years old respectively and want to continue until they reach 75. The story goes that Frank Walterbos is going to draw up a contract for both of them—an extension, basically. They’re still enjoying it, so maybe they’ll keep laying out the cheese and sausage boards even after their 75th birthday. But compared to the old days, things have changed:
“They have pure luxury now!”