Yvette Venema
Judge / Volunteer

Although I never competed in the Flower Cup, I hold many fond memories as a volunteer and judge. My most vivid memory, however, is a stressful one. In 2011, the Flower Cup marked the introduction of Time of Flight (ToF) scoring —a new and unreliable system at the time.

The FIG sent a representative to observe, and the device malfunctioned repeatedly. Michel de Ruiter and I were constantly troubleshooting, resorting to stopwatches and manual deductions to keep things moving. The day was chaotic, and I barely noticed who won the competition.

Ever since, my relationship with ToF has been complicated. To avoid similar stress, I introduced ToF chiefs in the Netherlands — volunteers who manage the technical aspects of the system. Thankfully, modern devices now handle ToF and Horizontal Displacement much better, ensuring smoother operations. If there's trouble today, call a ToF chie — not me!