And Soon It’ll Be Over

FIN - ITA at Jericho Beach

The games didn’t go quite as planned. Today we played Italy on Pool C, which means positions below 9. We won the game 17-6 on the beautiful Jericho Beach field. The scenery was amazing, and although we had heard the fields can be quite windy there was practically no wind today. We wallowed in the disappointment of losing to Colombia for a little while and then decided to play tough until every game of the tournament was played. This time we began strong and we stayed strong throughout the game. The goal is now to take the same attitude to the game against Switzerland tomorrow morning and finish in the ninth position. And then off to the beer garden…

Afternoon and Evening Activities

First we decorated our players tent.

Finland tent

Then after dinner it was time to do some laundry and go to the Ship Wreck beach for some stretching. The beach was unbelievably beautiful, but the stairs leading to and from the beach were a bit heavy on our tired legs. Ship Wreck beach is also known for being a naturist beach, so we saw some Canadian ass as well. There was a good party going on on the beach so we left pretty soon. Otherwise we would have felt too sorry for ourselves not being able to participate (with clothes on), our morning game tomorrow is at 8:30 already…

The beach

Stretching

Cold treatment in the ocean

Let the Games Begin!

The Finns waiting for the ceremonies to begin

Every one has landed safely to Vancouver and found the accommodation, cafeteria and the fields. Today we held the final practice before the first game against Switzerland on Sunday morning. Jet lag is getting better all the time and finally today the weather changed for the better. The forecasts say it’ll be sunny for the whole week! After four days of more or less solid rain a bit of sun is much appreciated.

The opening ceremony was truly a display of different cultures… Indonesian and Indian folk dance, capoeira and speech by an indian warrior. Team Finland also got a lesson on how to make noise in the crowd, as we sat in between the teams from Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela and Dominican Republic. Latino, latino, si senor…

So this is it. One more night and then it’s on! Let the games begin!

At Last it’s Warm in Finland

Team pow wow

Today we had our last training session in Finland. Next, and last one before Worlds will be in Vancouver. At last we got some sunshine and heat to Helsinki, and boy did we enjoy it. The practice went well and we all confessed that we have learned something during the spring and summer. We’re traveling to Vancouver with great confidence and really looking forward to some tough games.

Third Place in Stuttgart

The European mini-tournament for the top national women’s teams was held in Stuttgart last weekend. We beat the Swiss and the Italian national teams, but lost for GB and Germany. It was really educational to play against the different teams with such different tactics. Our defense got little bit better game after game, but our offense was a bit moody. It rained pretty hard on Sunday but it really didn’t affect our game, or our spirit. Even though we lost a couple of games the tournament was a really positive experience, even the players sleeping in the tents were happy. This was a perfect way to begin the last three weeks of preparation for the main event. Thanks for the German team for the arrangements!

The pools for the WUCG2008 were released last weekend as well. We have USA, Australia, Switzerland, Italy, Ireland, New Zealand and Mexico in pool B. Should be intresting, it’s nice to have so many non-European teams in our pool!

Our saviour during the rainy Sunday, a three bedroom tent we called “Barbapapa”. The lounge provided a nice shelter to keep our gear relatively dry.