Between Friday 4 April and Tuesday 8 April, 63 children and 18 adults from Radcliffe Olympic FC visited VV Wiron in Den Oever, Holland as part of the clubs’ yearly exchange trip.
Players are hosted in pairs or three’s by local families, experiencing some unforgettable moments and seeing how Dutch families live.
Starting over 30 years ago, the clubs visit each other, taking it in turns to travel over 16 hours and 502 miles by bus for a few days including a football tournament with other local clubs.
The exchange was stopped due to food-and-mouth disease but was re-introduced in 2013 by Frank Seyfert (ROFC), Erwin Engelhart (VV Wiron) and a team of parent volunteers.
A number of players and families have taken part over the years, with lifelong friendships made and visits also taking place for weddings and other parties outside of the yearly trip.
Having set off from Radcliffe-on-Trent in the early hours of Friday (4th) morning, five teams and various coaches and volunteers finally arrived at Den Oever late on Friday evening to a warm welcome from host families and friends.
During the weekend, teams visited an adventure area with canoeing and high-ropes before an evening disco with some Dutch music and a real party atmosphere.
The five Radcliffe Olympic sides then participated in a football tournament on Sunday with other local sides, where two sides topped their groups, winning their respective competitions.
Monday brought a morning at a theme park and an afternoon splashing around in a water park, which cannot be rivalled by any water park I’ve ever seen or heard of!
The trip came to an end on the Tuesday with another early wake-up call, being waved off by new and old friends and the talk of welcoming our Dutch counterparts to England in 12 month’s time.
I personally travelled on the trip in the late nineties, when I was only 13 years old and it was amazing to see Den Oever again. A couple of memories which came flooding back were the chocolate sprinkles on bread for breakfast and the Dutch having loads of mayonnaise!
A huge thanks must go to the organising committee from Radcliffe Olympic and VV Wiron for the hard work and effort which goes into the trip. It gives a fantastic opportunity for children (and adults!) and amazing memories which last a lifetime.
Written by Mark Taylor
Images by Robin Trow Photography