Phuket and Season Wrap-up

The tournament in Phuket, Thailand was the last competition of our 2010 season. When we arrived it was pretty rainy, but it still felt very warm. The rain held up for our first match, which was against another team from Thailand. We won the game in two sets and were ready to advance to the next round. This time we were matched up against a team from Poland and had a lot of trouble playing strong throughout the games. We'd start off playing well, but after each of the technical time outs, we just couldn't stay aggressive. We lost the match in two sets. It was really disappointing, not only to have lost in the 2nd round, but also to finish our season with a game where we just didn't play our best. Not only that, this tournament was our last chance to achieve our goal of making the main draw.

But as disappointing as the ending is, I can't overlook what I great season this has been overall. I've traveled all over the world and gained valuable experiences in playing at an international level that I know will help me in the future. I've also learned a lot about myself and really developed my understanding of other cultures I've encountered. This summer has been the beginning of a long journey and I've definitely learned so much throughout all the ups and downs. Now I'm taking a well deserved break to spend time with family and friends (and go skiing!). I'm looking forward to a little R&R, but of course I know it won't be long before I'm itching to get back out on the sand!

Who's your daddy?

I'd just like to make a big shout out to FAT DADDY'S in China. Not only does the restaurant have great food, there are some amazing people there too. They really took care of us here in Sanya- including coming to cheer for our Canadian teams during the tournament! Thanks again Sheldon and Max, we're definitely coming back next year!!

You win some, you lose some

Our first game was against a team from Thailand. We really didn't know what to expect- this was a team we'd never seen before. I think we underestimated them a little, because the match started with them getting four points right off the bat. The Thai girls were very loud, every time they scored a point they would scream. We had to calm our nerves a little and focus on taking care of the ball on our side. We lost the first set 17-21. But this gave us an opportunity to see what they were like. The next set went well for us, we beat them 21-16. Then in the third set, we were neck and neck until the very end. At one point we were down 12-14. It was our tough serving and changing up of our defensive strategy that gave us a 16-14 win! This match was so exciting to play and it felt so good to win!! But now it was time to look ahead to our next match. We had about an hour break before we had to play a Dutch team. We came back from a being down several points in the first set to bring it to 22-22. Unfortunately, because of some poor passing at the end, we lost the set 22-24. For the next set we tried to regroup. We had a lot of trouble controlling the basic skills like passing and setting that we really didn't play our game, and lost 13-21. The loss was really disappointing because we know we can play better than we did. This was the closest we'd come to making the main draw- we would have been in with this win. Now it's time to move forward and use the time we have here for some training sessions with other teams in order to prepare for the last tournament of our season. Next stop: Phuket!

Game Day

We're finally getting settled here in China. I think we've adjusted to the 12 hour time change pretty well and we're getting used to the heat. We also managed to get some local currency. We borrowed some money from another team, and as we were waiting for a taxi to take us into town, an acquaintance that we made at the airport happened to drive by. He stopped and offered to take us to the bank. Afterwards, he took us to his restaurant, "Fat Daddy's", and gave us complimentary smoothies, nachos and tank tops with his logo on them, Big score! Kacie and I were feeling pretty good after we trained with a team from Japan yesterday. We had our technical meeting last night, and our first game today is against a team from Thailand. I'm really excited to play!

Sanya, China

Sanya is on an island called Hainan, which is located off the southern coast of China. I'm pretty sure we're as far south as you can go in China. And boy is it hot here! The heat is comparable to what we experienced in Manzanillo, Mexcio.Our hotel (with air conditioning, thankfully) is very nice and it's across the street from the courts, which are on the ocean. It hardly feels like we're in China; the weather and the palm trees make it feel like a tropical destination. However, it does feel like we're in China when it comes to ordering food. There are some interesting items on the hotel menu, it doesn't help that nobody speaks English!

One problem that we've run into is having a lack of cash. We didn't anticipate that the ATMs wouldn't accept our debit cards. As a result, we've resorted to eating at the hotel and charging the meals to our rooms. We also have to ration our water supply, which is difficult to do in the heat. During our training session today with a team from Great Britain, Kacie and I were feeling kind of delirious from a lack of hydration. We made sure to cut the practice short and find some water. In an effort to get more cash from a bank, we decided to spend my last 6Yuan (equivalent to $1) to get a ride to a bank in the city centre. Armed with a piece of paper that held the name of our final destination in chinese characters, we were told to take a bus. While waiting, a motorcycle taxi stopped by, so we showed him where we wanted to go and explained that I had very limited funds. He said he would take us. So we hopped in his sidecar and were on our way! We drove for about 15 minutes, then dropped us off by a little rundown market. We walked around, looking for a bank, or even another ATM. Something didn't feel right, so we showed our piece of paper to a local and asked if this is where we were. Oh no, they said, that's very far away! We were duped! And worse, none of the vendors took credit cards, so we couldn't even buy fruit or water. And so, we began our long walk home. We walked for about an hour and a half in the heat. Now it's time for some sleep and recovery in our hotel room. Hopefully tomorrow will go more smoothly!

Family matters

Here's an article on my (not so) little brother, Lenny!

He's a member of Canada's cross country ski team.