Competition is over

4 very long days of competition...Saturday was over 12 hours at the venue.

The team went into the final round 2nd behind a group from the USA ("Legends"). They do the final round in reverse order, so our group went 2nd to last. They absolutely nailed their routine with only one small bobble and surely put the pressure on the US team who were watching from the sidelines (maybe not the best decision in hindsight). The pressure must have got to those USA girls as they had a bit of a tough time and Canada ended up taking home the GOLD MEDAL!!!!!

In her individual events, Taelyr did quite well, although she did not garner any medals. This year she was in the top division in most things so it was pretty tough. The Japanese twirlers are in another universe compared to most of the rest of the world. From what I can remember Taelyr ended up with a 4th place finish in 3 baton, 8th place in 2 baton, 11th place in Freestyle...for some reason I can't remember the Solo score...

Overall our Canadian girls did quite well, especially compared to last year. They earned several medals overall, probably close to a dozen or so.

We are taking a bit of a slow day today and then we are going to do some serious sight seeing Tues, Wed, Thurs....Tomorrow we are going to the Blue Mountains. They are called that because the Eucalyptus trees give off an oily mist that makes the air appear blueish in the valleys...should be cool to see. That's an all day tour that includes many stops and even a chance to pet a Koala apparently. Kendall is looking forward to that.

EDIT: Taelyr had a baton clinic this morning, as if they haven't had enough of it. She was instructed by a couple of Japanese men twirlers that we had seen at the Championships. They are both incredible twirlers so I'm sure that was a good experience for her. She now gets a whopping 3 weeks off before "next season" starts.... :)

Got a head start on some sightseeing today. We did the Opera House Tour. That's a pretty incredible building. Interesting story too. Construction started in 1957, with a budget estimate of $7M. Finished in 1973 at a total cost of $102M....I would fully expect that building to cost near $1B today if it could even be built.

Then we went on to the Sydney Tower. 268 M above the ground. Taelyr and I paid extra to do the 'Skywalk', where you get all suited up and walk around the top of the tower outside...cool. You are harnessed in and hooked to a track all the way so it's very safe.

Tomorrow we are going to the blue mountains so I'm sure I'll have some good pics from there.

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Part of trip: Australia 2009

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