COLD, WET & WINDY NORWAY
It is one of the prettiest locations to play in; Harbourside with the big cruise ships pulling in daily to park alongside centre court to form part of the grandstands. Even the QEII made an appearance this year.

But when the weather turns it is not very pleasant.

Pool play again this week. We were seeded 7th, our highest this season and we were rewarded with a good pool. Norway’s second team, Japan and France. If you win your pool your lowest result is a 9th place and this is the first goal for the week. Win the pool!

First days play we had to suit up in our Spiderman suits, long black tights and t-shirts under our playing tops because it was so cold. We played France first and won in 2 sets, although in the second set we were behind 18-10 and won 26-24, that is quite a comeback. Next match Japan, we had played this team 2 times before and won convincingly, but this time they had a new strategy… and it was a close match that we came home strong in the 3rd set to win and hit the HOT showers with 2 wins.

So ALL we had to do was win our last pool game against Norway (on centre court) to top the pool, and have a bye in the next round. Hmmmm, didn’t quite go to plan, the home crowd team came out with all guns blazing and knocked us over in 2 sets. It felt like I dropped the ball at the try line! So close, yet so far! This was the only game of the day, so had a long time to think about it. Which isn’t that fun. Would have preferred to get back out there and play again!

Anyway, all was not lost, we were relegated to 3rd in our pool in a points count back and then drew Renata/Talita - Brasil 2 (who had an upset loss also in their pool). Not a nice game to play where the loser is 17th. We dropped the 1st set, but rebounded to play a great 2nd and 3rd sets to win and advance to the next round. We meet CUBA, who have to date, had an up and down season. You don’t want to play them when they are on, and they tend to not like the cold and wet. However this week they won there pool and seemed interested in playing. They started strong in the first set jumping out to a 4 point lead, but we rallied well to get back to 19-19. They closed it 21-19 and then we bounced back strong winning the 2nd and 3rd set convincingly.

3rd game for the day scheduled at 7pm (the rain pouring at this stage, and 10 degrees) versus China 1. By this stage, we felt like wet soggy fish. So exhausted too. We played a great first set, but got pipped at the post and then they we too strong in the 2nd, knocking us out at 5th again. Three 5th places in a row….building the consistency road! Ready to pounce again soon!
We celebrated our good finish at Dolly Dimple’s pizza restaurant. $50 for pizza and a coke! It is lovely country, but make sure you save all your pennies before going there.Off to Montreal, Canada next week. A few days for the bodies to rest and recover before getting stuck into it again.

Yours on the sand,

PS - With only 4 hours of darkness each night, and no backing on the curtains (who knows why?), it is hard to get any sleep. Think in the reverse in winter, only 4 hours of sunlight a day, I don’t how they do it. Then again I am a North Queenslander.