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Published: October 1st 2010
Opening Function
The Kiwi contingent with our "Ol' Blacks" shirts. Cologne
Eliza headed to Cologne to compete in the World Master's Squash tournament. This is her story:
I was met at the airport by one of the volunteers and taken to the ACR sports centre for registration, then to my hotel. My very good Dutch friends, Ingrid and Jan, drove over from Amsterdam and were waiting at the hotel. We joined the strong kiwi contingent at the opening ceremony. A fun night, but trying to serve a buffet meal from a tent, to about 1000 people ??? - good food... if you could wait long enough!
My first match was at 9.30 the following morning, first games of the event. I was lucky to win that one in 5, won the next 2 in 3, then lost in 4. I finished 2nd in my pool and went through to the medal playoffs. So... I did much better than I expected but it is disappointing to be that close without bringing home a medal, after finally losing in 5 for the bronze, to the top seed from South Africa. The organisation was not the best so all the players were all given a bottle of local Rhine Riesling
Jan & Ingrid
Outside Cathedral in compensation. I also scored a bottle of their "best red" in return for doing a short interview for German television. (I was almost evicted from Leeds library when I eventually got to watch the video link of this on the internet. An irate librarian dashed over with the headphones as the sound of this loud German commentary blasted throughout the library. Other customers looked for ear plugs while David tried to become invisible!)
I fitted in some city sightseeing with Ingrid and Jan before they went home on the Tuesday. The cathedral dominates the city and the history of Cologne dates back to pre-Roman times.
The official mid-week function was an evening cruise on the Rhine. It didn't leave till after dark so we didn't see much, dinner was not included (had to buy that) and our 2 free drinks were cheap bubbles - otherwise it was a lot of fun 😊.
David arrived on the Friday evening and was there to see me lose my final match on Saturday. We spent the rest of the day wandering round the city in the rain, so he could see what had changed since his last visit (age 17),
before going to the Closing Function at the Sartory venue. Lovely meal there, but expensive, and our welcome drink was a choice of juice or water! That didn't go down well with the kiwis! Wot - no beer... but this is Germany!
Despite the administration problems, the atmosphere was really fantastic, as always with Masters Squash players. It was great to catch up with those I met at Christchurch. Roll on Birmingham 2012 😊
On Sunday morning we were taken by shuttle to the Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) for the Thalys train to Paris.
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