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Published: March 15th 2007
Routine Blah blah Monday classes, skating. Tuesday class...went to a fitness class for the first time for my skating team and it KILLED me!! My legs hurt for DAYS!! I have gotten out of shape...Wednesday I was in pain as I went to class...
But I had some excitement Wednesday - a lab! I haven't had a lab since high school! It was a water auditing lab, and I was with a group of hilarious guys. But I won in the end when I was the only one who knew the acceleration due to gravity (9.81!! one guy was like 'it's 10'. I told him my old Physics teacher would kill him.) But ya, someone should call ol' V-Bomb and let him know I REMEMBER SOMETHING FROM GRADE 11 PHYSICS!! That no one else, despite the fact that most of them are SCIENCE students, could remember! GO ME!!
Ultimate!! Wednesday night I headed out into the SWELTERING (and I mean SWELTERING - we're talking 42 degrees celcius) heat and relived another high school memory - Ultimate Frisbee! I haven't played a REAL game since back at Garneau, when I was Captain of Disc-o Inferno.
I met up with
The Murdoch Lawn Bowling Team
L to R: Sam, Nat, Trista, and Dafnesome members of the Ultimate Frisbee team (I'd join but I have skating the same night as practice) and headed to a HUGE field out near UWA (University of Western Australia, another Uni in town) to play against people from all across Perth. I was in the social league, where the put randoms together on teams and you just go play! It was awesome! But further proof that I'm out of shape (course the heat doesn't help your endurance...)
Then at the end of the game I was asked what I was doing Friday at noon. I said nothing. So I was invited to join the (get this) Murdoch University Varsity LAWN BOWLING Team as they took on every other school in Perth (and possibly Western Australia). I said I'd never played before, they didn't care - so I said 'SURE!!'
Thursday was same old, skating at 6AM then napping then doing whatever. Avoiding the heat mostly.
LAWN BOWLING!! So I headed down to Murdoch on Friday in the late morning and met up with my 'team' - Trista was there (they suckered her in), as were 2 guys, 1 of whom had played before. Sooo...3/4 members
Andrew bowls
The Murdoch crew - Andrew, the head of Sports, takes the bowl. In the back L to R: Nat, Sam, Trista, Dafne of the team were beginners. GREAT!! We had our 'coaches' - Andrew, who's in charge of all sports at Murdoch (he's just a student - that's how serious sports are here) and Michelle, a fellow Canadian (there are lots of them in sports, especially Ultimate!!) We headed out in the 'Escort mobile' (see picture) and headed to near where we'd been Wednesday for some LAWN BOWLING!!
There are 5 schools in Perth - Murdoch, UWA, Curtin, Edith Cowen (ECU), and Notre Dame. We were all there, competing for the right to go to the Australian University Games on the Gold Coast in September. Of course, anyone can go if they get the support of their school. But winning the finals helps get that support.
Since there's an uneven number of schools, there was also a 'staff' team, which Andrew played for. You played against them on your 'by' during the round robin. Thankfully, we faced them first, so we got to learn the basics before going head to head in a real game. And wouldn't you know it, we beat the staff team! Course they weren't very good. But for most of the game they had no points!
Dafne Bowls
While L to R: staff from Notre Dame, Nat, Sam, and Andrew watch in the back Which scared them, because 'bar rules' lawn bowling clearly states that if you don't get any points, you have to take off your pants and do a lap around the green.
Game 2 was against ECU. We played a very tight game, and in the end we almost won! I'd be able to explain how if I knew my audience understood lawn bowling, but I sincerely doubt that most of you do. Just know that we almost won!
Game 3 was against Notre Dame. We were feeling good. They'd lost their first 2 games. However, that good feeling didn't last. We were slaughtered 14-0. Trista ran and changed our score to '2' before anyone could make us do the pantsless lap.
So then it was on to Curtin. By this point in the day, quite frankly, we were all getting a little bored with lawn bowling. There's only so long before the novelty wears off! We went off to a bad start, quickly putting ourselves in a deep hole, but we pulled through and got some points off the last end, leaving with a final score of 14-3. We were on the comeback!
The final team
The Murdoch Team, hot off a win
We beat the staff team!! Bring on ECU!! to face was UWA. Who were thus far undefeated, and quite a bit cocky about that fact. But somehow our team had come together. I think it was because of Andrew. He told us all the inspirational story of our school's mascot - the mighty Quenda, a rat-type animal seen running around campus. No wait, not running, SCURRYING. Andrew started cracking jokes about how our throws "scurried like the Quenda!" and how we should attack the other team the only way the Quenda can: "bite them and give them rabies!!"
Our spirits were high, and somehow that translated into some amazing playing! We were kneck to kneck with UWA and going into the last end the game was tied 3-3!! Next point wins!! Thanks mostly to UWA's skipper messing up, we got the next point and BEAT UWA 4-3!! It was a HUGE victory!! And I've decided that since they beat everyone else and we beat them, that WE BEAT EVERYONE and are in fact the winners!! WOOOO!!!
Gold Coast, here we come? Anyone? Anyone??
Course the line of the day was I believe from a guy on the Notre Dame team: "The really winner today is
So close!!
When you don't know whose ball is closest, out comes the measuring tape! Just make sure you do it correctly, or the old man will yell at you (true story) Lawn Bowling." Well said, well said.
Saturday Saturday I went on a mission to K-Mart to buy a fan. It had been SCORCHING hot at the beginning of the week and now that it had somewhat cooled down, I thought I'd buy one. But it turns out they don't sell fans at the end of summer. So I've got my fingers crossed that the heat stays to a minimum.
Team Bonding at the Beach! Sunday was a day of Team Bonding at Cottlesloe Beach, a city beach on the ocean, for Infusion, my synchro team. It only really lasted the morning, and it wasn't that exciting. We played some crappy volleyball; I pitched in cricket until the ball went in the water; and we did the hokey pokey. But it was a lovely day, and there's no better place to be than Cottlesloe!!
My ride home for the day was Danae, and we both had to do fitness tests in the afternoon (or avo, as they say here). So we headed into Perth to pick up some food for a little picnic on the beach. We got lost a couple of times, but we returned with some
delicious fruit. And we went for a swim. There was some sort of modern art exhibit going on, so we swam to the giant floating magic 8 ball. It was harder than you think!
Then we both had our fitness tests, which weren't quite as bad as I was afraid (considering how out of shape I felt all week). We also brough Lara on the way home, and Danae, clearly going insane from the sun, decided to start honking at everyone that went by and throwing grapes at passing cars. I don't know if I want to be in her carpool anymore...
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chacha prof
non-member comment
Great game!
Congratulations on a great game! Great photos, too!