Well it has been quite a hot and humid week so far in Singapore but we are all enjoying being here. The excitement of leaving for Beijing and heading into our first Olympic games continues to grow daily. The atmosphere on the team is amazing and we’ve walked away from our two games feeling great about ourselves in many different ways.

Last night we played Singapore and beat them 8-0. It was a beautiful game to watch and did so much for our confidence. All 22 players on the roster have gotten to play in our last two matches and I have to give a loud shout-put to Steph Labbe who got her first international cap with our full team in the game against Singapore. She played almost a full half and posted a shut-out and I have to admit that Erin and I watched the entire half as if we were proud parents as she did her thang on the field.

Britney scored two goals herself as she is now on a roll, Kiss had a million assists (she can hit anyone with her lethal service) and also scored a goal herself, Randee and Clare both scored off corners from balls hit perfectly to the heads as they soared above the defenders, (Clare also added another one early in the second half) and Jar had two very nice finishes.

Overall it was a great performance and although we did not have our loud cheering section in the swim team which came to our game the night before against New Zealand, the cheers were heard from the few fans that were there. We had our team mentor, Gold Medalist Marnie also on our side and she does make up for many as when she yells I think if you listen closely, you may hear her back home

Our game against New Zealand ended in a tie. It was not our best game but there were positives to take away from it. The Kiwi’s/White Ferns came out very inspired and played a good game against. It was important for us to get this game in to get adjusted to the weather, time and pace of a full 90 minute game. Although we were not as consistent in our play as we would like, our medical staff had expected this type of game from us as our bodies have not yet fully adjusted.

We had a team meeting when we got back at 11pm where we all had no idea what was going to be the topic, all we knew was that Even had asked us all to meet at that time. To our pleasant surprise it was a team bonding activity where we all had to do a presentation for 5 minutes about ourselves and present it in front of team and staff over the course of the next few weeks.

We’ve had four people in the group go. Rhi was so hilarious. It was as good as a comedian act as her timing in making comments were priceless and we were all in stitches. Andrew (our strength and conditioning coach) sat and told us about his journeys in traveling which was very interesting and how he grew up. Chappy our star trek lover told us about all the star trek’s shows and how she grew up loving each and every one of them. Nicole told us some interesting stories about being a message therapist and the path she took into making that decision. It is a great activity and has already proven to be great entertainment.

I am up early again. Fell asleep around 130am and up at 730 and for those who know me, they know that this is not by choice. We have a recovery session this morning and then practice this afternoon. We then have an exciting dinner planned with the swim team who are our new favorites because for the small number of them that were in the stands, it sounded like hundreds. I hope we will get to see some of their swims in Beijing.

Thanks for checking in once again,

KK