Hello and welcome to my blog!
I'm just learning how to use this site, but I thought I would get things started with a little update on our beach season and travels so far.
My partner is Asya Danilova, a former Varsity Blues indoor volleyball teammate of mine. Together we're an awesome team, both of us being over 6 feet tall! We've decided that I will be the designated blocker, and Asya will defend.
In April we traveled to Brasilia, Brazil to compete in our first FIVB tournament together. We were one of three women's teams there representing Canada. This was an awesome experience for us in terms of experiencing our sport at an international level and getting used to spending a lot of time together. The city itself was rather boring, so we had to find our own ways of keeping ourselves entertained. (Un)luckily I still had one more exam to write for school, so I studied the whole time I was there. Asya was dependent on the Internet, and one day when it broke down, I saw how truly determined my beach partner can be. I'm pretty sure she single-handedly forced the hotel to fix it immediately, and wouldn't stop bothering them until they did. It was pretty impressive.
We trained most of the days we were in Brazil, with many teams from all over the world. In the tournament we lost to a team from Germany. We had a really tight first set, but our lack of experience playing together at this level came through in the end and we couldn't pull out a win. Regardless, the experience is one we have definitely learned from.
When we got back to Toronto, I wrote my last undergrad exam ever! It feels indescribably good to be done. Now I can put all my energy into what I love: playing beach volleyball!
In early May, we left for the next FIVB tournament in Shanghai, China. The flight was really long, and the time difference there is 12hours, so I didn't even have to set my watch!
Our tournament was actually just outside of Shanghai, in a place called Jinshan. The tournament site was a cheap cab ride from our hotel and right on the beach. Again we trained with many other teams, most of which are becoming our friends now!
When the tournament started, we played a pair of twin sisters from Finland. This game didn't go very well for us, but we got to get a taste of what it's like to play a high ranked team in this sport.
We traveled back home and trained for the short time we were there. We're currently in Seoul, Korea, living with Brianna- my amazingly awesome friend from high school
♥. So far we are having a great time experiencing some of the fantastic food this city has to offer. Unfortunately it's currently raining, and it's supposed to stay this way for the next few days! I hope the weather man is wrong on this one.
More updates to come! Thanks for reading!
The next day we decided to get our practice session in just before the technical meeting. We started warming up on one of the empty courts as Larissa and Juliana (currently the top team in the world) came over and asked if they could share our court for their warm up. OBVIOUSLY we didn't mind. Asya was just serving some balls at me so I could practice my passing and Larissa and Juliana would spontaneously jump in and set the pass for me to hit. It was a really cool experience. I'm pretty sure I hit the ball harder than I ever have in my life!
When they left our court, we trained with a team from Latvia.
The weather finally cleared up for qualification day! The sun was shining, but the wind was pretty gusty. We were set to play a Japanese team for our first match. We know this team fairly well because we trained with them a couple of times in Brazil and China. Our first set started off well, but they pulled ahead with some tough serves for a final score of 15-21. The next set was tight! They were one point ahead at the technical time out, then we were ahead for most of the second half of the set. They ended up winning 21-19, taking the match. This was a disappointing result for us, but Asya and I are pleased with the way we played for the most part. We are definitely improving as the season progresses. There is still a long way to go and although the loss is frustrating, it's a good learning experience for us.
After our game, as I was watching another match, a woman came up to me and asked if I could do an interview on the radio. I was a little reluctant... still being depressed after the loss and all... but I grabbed Asya and it turned out to be a lot of fun!
Now we are going to do some sightseeing in this awesome city. Check out my facebook page for more pictures!
Hello and welcome to my blog!
I'm just learning how to use this site, but I thought I would get things started with a little update on our beach season and travels so far.
My partner is Asya Danilova, a former Varsity Blues indoor volleyball teammate of mine. Together we're an awesome team, both of us being over 6 feet tall! We've decided that I will be the designated blocker, and Asya will defend.
In April we traveled to Brasilia, Brazil to compete in our first FIVB tournament together. We were one of three women's teams there representing Canada. This was an awesome experience for us in terms of experiencing our sport at an international level and getting used to spending a lot of time together. The city itself was rather boring, so we had to find our own ways of keeping ourselves entertained. (Un)luckily I still had one more exam to write for school, so I studied the whole time I was there. Asya was dependent on the Internet, and one day when it broke down, I saw how truly determined my beach partner can be. I'm pretty sure she single-handedly forced the hotel to fix it immediately, and wouldn't stop bothering them until they did. It was pretty impressive.
We trained most of the days we were in Brazil, with many teams from all over the world. In the tournament we lost to a team from Germany. We had a really tight first set, but our lack of experience playing together at this level came through in the end and we couldn't pull out a win. Regardless, the experience is one we have definitely learned from.
When we got back to Toronto, I wrote my last undergrad exam ever! It feels indescribably good to be done. Now I can put all my energy into what I love: playing beach volleyball!
In early May, we left for the next FIVB tournament in Shanghai, China. The flight was really long, and the time difference there is 12hours, so I didn't even have to set my watch!
Our tournament was actually just outside of Shanghai, in a place called Jinshan. The tournament site was a cheap cab ride from our hotel and right on the beach. Again we trained with many other teams, most of which are becoming our friends now!
When the tournament started, we played a pair of twin sisters from Finland. This game didn't go very well for us, but we got to get a taste of what it's like to play a high ranked team in this sport.
We traveled back home and trained for the short time we were there. We're currently in Seoul, Korea, living with Brianna- my amazingly awesome friend from high school♥. So far we are having a great time experiencing some of the fantastic food this city has to offer. Unfortunately it's currently raining, and it's supposed to stay this way for the next few days! I hope the weather man is wrong on this one.
More updates to come! Thanks for reading!
