2009 Woz World Cup Champions!

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Wow!! What an exciting day of Segway Polo! Yes this is Christie writing this and yes I mean it, no joke!

We got another wet start for the final day of the cup. But the guys did not let it get them down. Steve from the Black Rose and Daniel from the Flyin’ Fish decided that they’d give it a go anyway. Take a look at the video; it’s worth the time!

Sherry gave us all Liberty Segway shirts, which we wore for the final day of the cup (thanks Sherry!) I have discovered that the weather can change at a moment’s notice here in Cologne. Once the clouds lifted, the Funky Move Turtles & Segway Polo Austria took the field to break the tie. They played two more chuckers for a total of 9 chukkers, a normal game is only four! Still without a score they finally declared a “shoot out” both setting Woz Cup history! Each team got five shots to the goal with the best of 5 winning the match. The Turtles were victorious with 3 goals. The end of this match determined who was to play who in the semi-finals for the rest of the day.

First up was the undefeated Barbado’s Flyin’ Fish vs. Segway Polo Austria. The Fish won the match handily with score of 3 to 0 placing the Fish as the number 1 team in the Woz Cup Finals. The second match between the Silicon Valley Aftershocks vs. Funky Move Turtles. The Aftershocks won the match 1 to 0. Placing the Aftershocks in the 2nd team for the final Woz Cup match later that afternoon. The Funky Move Turtles and Segway Polo Austria faced off again to determine third and fourth places. The Funky Move Turtles scored just one point making them victorious and in third place, Segway Polo Austria close behind in 4th.

Rob made his refereeing debut as a referee in three games. He had a great time & learned a lot. I could tell that he was having a lot of fun!

The final match of the day between the Barbados Flyin’ Fish and the Silicon Valley Aftershocks got underway but the break in the weather did not hold, and they played through a couple of showers. I figure coming from a tropical island a little shower was nothing for the fish. The Fish scored two points in the third chucker, final score of the game was 2 to 0 in favor of the Fish and making them the new Segway Polo World champions.

So out of nowhere comes this team from Barbados and takes home the Woz World Cup! What a great story these guys started with homemade mallets on a real horse polo field (Very Bumpy), having never played in any tournaments, hell they have not even played against another team! And they leave Cologne with an undefeated 6-0 record! Next year I doubt the Gold Rush will not underestimate an unknown team again!

The looks on each of their faces coming off the field was worth the trip for me. These guys truly love this sport and were genuinely moved by this win. As far as I’m concerned it’s a win-win for me ‘cause Christie’s going to Barbados! I’m a little hooked on the game, not hooked enough to actually pick up a mallet, but enough to book airline tickets to Barbados regardless if Rob is going to play or not!

Olaf (Team Captain of the Funky Move Turtles and the Organizer of the event) did such an amazing job with the winner’s circle, presenting the Woz cup to the Fish and recognizing each team. I was not there last year but I heard that Woz proposed to his now wife Janet in Indianapolis at the last Woz cup. Olaf announced that he had proposed to Sonja the night before and she said yes. What a fantastic couple and me the hopeless romantic got a little “verklempt”.

After the festivities at the field, we had the opportunity to share a few rum drinks to celebrate with Uncle Peter & the rest of the Flyin’ Fish before we had to head back to California. I did ask for pictures on occasion of the team enjoying rum punch in the cup! We headed across the street to a German restaurant and lived it up with folks from other teams including the Fish, Black Rose, & the Turtles. The players relived missed shots and close calls, then we all talked about our families and stories from home (Daniel needs to learn how to park his car!) Peter (the team captain of the Fish) will always be Uncle Pete to us! On our way back to the room after dinner, we did catch whiff of a rumor that there was plan to kidnap the cup that the Fish so kindly displayed in their window for all to see was in the works by some other teams (All in the spirit of friendly rivalry). Not sure if it ever materialized as we had to head to the airport by 7am. Fortunately I happened to look at our tickets before bed and realized that our flight did not leave at 8:30am like I thought but 9:45am. (Sorry Oz for waking you up at midnight to let you know we'd grab a cab)

We had a great time, met some great people that we will keep in touch with long after we get home. It is amazing how close you can get to people that you have never met before when you try to beat each other with a mallet! And as a fairly newer player, I think Rob got a chance to see the bigger picture of Segway Polo and how its community is more like a family. Sometimes a great big dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless that sincerly cares about each other. I saw it over and over again these last three days from Steve from the Black Rose running in with a crow bar to help any team that needed a tire straightened, to getting a player back on the field after not one but two popped tires (which was another first), to Woz’s emotional reaction after Olaf announced his engagement to Sonja, and even Paul tossing $20 to Rob for covering the cost of a WiFi connection for anyone to use. There will always be a level of friendly competitiveness with the cup as there should be. I just hope that this group of people holds onto the feeling of community and fun that I experienced at this year’s Woz Cup 2009. And hopefully if it all goes well Pam, Elisa, Sonja & I will get to drink foofy drinks on the beach in between matches!

We are actually on a flight right now enroute to Philidelphia then onto California. We should be home about 9pm California time. I’m looking forward to loving on my kid. As well as some simple things like a BIG bottle of water without ANY gas in it, my own bed, sushi and a cold glass of California white wine! I think I seriously have met my beer quota for the entire year. But hey when in Germany do as the Germans do!

Cheers to all our friends & family!

Christie & Rob

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Comments

[Julie]

Fun!
Can I come with you next year? :-)