In addition to my work, I have always had a passion for sports. I have been an active athlete, including a brief period of international competition. I have served as president of both a hockey club and a tennis club. I organised the National Sports Forum twice and was a co-initiator of the Training in Association Management and of the International Sports Management Academy. Through this organisation I was able to give lectures in Morocco, Egypt (online) and India on how grassroots sports are organised in the Netherlands. Additionally, I co-founded One Million Hockey Legs, now known as the Bovelander Foundation. This foundation aims to empower underprivileged children in rural India through sports development.