Draft:Treinramp

Martin Rep (Koog aan de Zaan, The Netherlands, 10 april 1946) is a Dutch writer, journalist and mahjong reporter.

He worked for various newspapers such as De Zaanlander, Amersfoortse Courant, Volkskrant and De Gelderlander. As the sole reporter of his own Independent Internet Newspaper 'Mahjong News', [Mahjong News], (now off line) he was invited by Kyoichiro Noguchi of the Japan Mahjong Organizing Committee (JMOC) to participate in the First World Championship in Mahjong, Tokyo 2002. Upon returning to The Netherlands, he initiated the foundation of the Nederlandse Mahjong Bond (Dutch Mahjong Association), of which he was the first president (2004-2007), and the organization of the first Open European Mahjong Championship (OEMC) at Nijmegen, The Netherlands, June 2005. He was also involved in founding the European Mahjong Association (EMA), which was formalized during the OEMC 2005. Since then, the OEMC is held bi-annually in one of the EMA-associated countries.

Together with Sjef Strik of The Netherlands, he organized the first European Riichi Mahjong Championship, which took place at Hanover, Germany, 2008. This initiative now also is an official EMA bi-annually event, the results of which are implied in the EMA riichi mahjong ranking list.

In 2013, Mr. Rep travelled to Japan to gain support for his idea to initiate a World Riichi Championship. He met there with Mr. Shigekazu Moriyama, chairman of the Japan Professional Mahjong League (JPML), who supported and sponsored this idea. Consequently, the first World Riichi Mahjong Championship took place the next year in the Paris suburb of Puteaux and was organized by the local Tri Nitro Tiles mahjong club, in cooperation with the French Mahjong Federation (FFMJ). Subsequent world championships took place in Las Vegas (2017) and Vienna (2022); the next edition will be held in Tokyo, 2025.

Books
A book about Rep's growing up in a small town in the Post-War period. The biography about Dutch football player Piet Kruiver, who was born in the same village as Martin Rep.
 * 2020 De Meidoornstraat, opgroeien tussen kerk en communisten na de wederopbouw. Uitgeverij Oevers, Zaandam, ISBN 9789492068446
 * 2024 Piet Kruiver, Het onstuimige voetballeven van de Blonde Pijl. Uitgeverij Oevers, Zaandam, ISBN 9789493367104