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.

Weather for the weekend

Spring has arrived to Finland, which is nice since we head to Espoo on the weekend for our second training camp. It may not be very warm, but at least the sun is supposed to shine. And I think we’ll run enough to keep ourselves warm…

First training camp

Our first training camp was held in Tapiola, Espoo 29.-30.3. Almost every player was there to show their skills and have their first outdoor practice of the year.

The Finnish nature decided to make it a bit more challenging for us. During the week before the camp it snowed properly for the first time this winter. Our artificial grass field was covered with snow, but luckily the sand field next to it had already melted. Which made it very wet. Luckily the sun was shining and we were all thrilled to be outdoors after the long winter.

It was a lot of fun to play, and it was a lot of fun to get to know all the people who are applying for the national team this year.