De Hawk-eye van F1 Solutions

How is it?

I am Clemens Blom and co-owner of IT company F1 Solutions. Since this year we have been a sponsor of LTC Startaan. I have been married to my childhood sweetheart and other acquaintance at the club for over 26 years: Ellen Blom-Honselaar. We are proud parents of Pim (24), Freek (22) and Karel (15). I am originally from Aalsmeer and after studying in Groningen I moved to Amstelveen, where we still live.

What do you have with tennis and sports?

Sports are an important part of my life. I'm the type who watches Studio Sport on Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. with the board on my lap. Many sports can count on my interest, but the most important one is basketball. It may be a bit of swearing in the (tennis) church, but in my opinion this sport has everything. Dynamics, athleticism, tactics, teamwork, many score changes, you name it. In my younger years I was able to practice this sport at a top level (in the Netherlands). I've even been international! After my basketball career I started playing tennis. Ellen was already a member of LTC Startbaan (then Amstelland), so it made sense for me to join the same club. When we had children, it made sense to us that they would play sports. All our boys played tennis. Karel still and very ambitious. I have followed tennis intensively from a young age, since the Borg era, so to speak. The highlight was being able to attend the Roland Garros semi-finals live in the year (2009) that tennis wizard Roger Federer won. In addition to basketball and tennis, I also jog, boot camp and sometimes play golf.

How is F1 Solutions?

F1 Solutions is an IT company founded in 1997 and located in Hilversum. F1 does not stand for Formula 1, but for the (Help) key at the top left of your computer keyboard. Rationale: Press F1 for Help! We do not find the dynamic association with Formula 1 to be a problem at all and it is no coincidence that Max Verstappen was also born in 1997. F1 Solutions is the well-known story of starting in the attic and later growing into a professional company with staff. Marcel Huijbens became co-owner of F1 Solutions in 2005. Marcel and I know each other from basketball. We played together in the Dutch junior team when we were 17. In the beginning, the emphasis was on developing custom software, but later this shifted to network and system management for SME companies. We also advise and sell computer equipment and everything that goes with it. IT has now become an indispensable part of our lives. Think of Wi-Fi, internet telephony (VOIP), cameras, but now also household appliances (IoT = Internet of Things). Because we have knowledge of developing software, managing it and being able to explain it in Jip & Janneke language, we are an interesting IT partner.

Why did F1 Solutions choose LTC Startbaan?

Of course I could tell a very spectacular marketing story here, but the answer is actually simple: award. Our approach was not to increase brand awareness and welcome a lot of new customers at once. Of course, new customers are very welcome, but it was not a goal in itself. Our company is also not specifically aimed at the Amstelveen region. Our customers are located throughout the Netherlands. I think the timing was perfect. I have a company, a passion for the sport, regularly talk to Manuel (Bouwman) and Milko (Arendse) about tennis and the club and have a son who is absolutely crazy about the game. And then Hans Zunnebeld (member of the sponsorship committee) called. Fortunately, I was able to quickly convince my partner.

What could be done differently and/or better at our club?

If I had been asked this last year I probably would have had a whole story. So much has happened at the club and the necessary things are in the pipeline, that I don't want to get in anyone's way and disrupt this positive process. As stated earlier, I occasionally speak to people from the board and management and we regularly exchange ideas. It is important that everyone, young and old, recreational and ambitious, playing or not playing, together with the people at the bar, feel comfortable at the club.

What would you prefer to see your sponsorship contribution spent on?

Perhaps this is obvious for a parent with a playing youth member, but I would like to see the sponsorship money go to the education of the youth. The saying “He who has the youth, has the future” also applies to our club. In itself, the money does not necessarily have to be used to only train talented children. It can also be spent on facilities or activities to attract young people from the couch or Playstation to the tennis court. For example, promoting the (early) Friday evening to play tennis, padel, drink, chill, play games and play music. A nice start to the weekend, right?

What can F1 Solutions do for the members and/or vice versa?

We are a company that operates in a business-to-business market. I guess that limits our group within tennis members considerably. Nevertheless, anyone can contact me with questions about creating apps, purchasing computers, VOIP, cameras, internet connections, SaaS (Software as a Service), Wi-Fi, computer network problems or strategic choices to place company data in the Cloud or not. . Members can also contact me if she/he has a passion for IT. We are always looking for good employees. To get a better idea of the F1 Solutions organization, I invite you to visit our website www.f1solutions.nl.

Finally, do you have anything to add?

I would like to give the board, the foundation, park manager and sponsorship committee a big compliment for the path we have taken. Of course, not everything goes perfectly and we are still a long way from there, but you are doing well. It's better to try something that doesn't work than to do nothing. At a time when all sports clubs nationally have a problem recruiting and retaining members, all creative means must be used to (continue to) find their way to LTC Startbaan.