In addition to working as a firefighter for 40 years Roger Maes played volleyball at a domestic and international level in Belgium. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s Maes played for Standard Ghent, KVBC Kortrijk, Rembert Torhout, Ibis Kortrijk, and Wervicq. For the Belgian national team he played in more than 200 matches including four editions of the Volleyball World Cup (1962, 1966, 1970, 1974). Maes was part of the Belgian squad that competed at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, with the team finishing in eighth place. In 1971 he was the first recipient of the Belgian Volleyball Player of the Year award and he won it on three more occasions (1972, 1974, 1979).
Belgium