Hockey vs Three Rock Rovers & the "invasion of Normandy" by the Marist Vikings
An early start to the day in preparation of a full day of activities. The saying "The early bird catches the worm" was slightly questionable today in the midst of arctic (for the Durbanites) weather conditions. All worms were declared frozen...
Our first activity early this morning was a Viking splash tour. We were split into two groups and each group had their own tour guide on board a WWII amphibious vehicle. These vehicles that was used in the landing at Normandy has been modified to act as a tour busses. This tour started at the St Patricks Cathedral, the largest and oldest Cathedral in Ireland dating back to 1220. The tour was incredible, passing many sites that can only be seen from a tour bus of this nature. Each passenger was given a viking helmet and every time we passed a group of pedestrians we had to do a famous Viking 'roar' much to the amusement of many!
After some sightseeing around Dublin we got taken to the Dublin Dockyards and wait for it... we made our way into the basin with lifejackets and all. Here we got to see many old and trendy new buildings that has been established on the waters edge. This is also where companies such as Facebook and Google have their headquarters.
From the Viking tour we made our way to AVIVA Stadium for a guided tour of the stadium. This was another fantastic experience for everyone. The tour started in the media room where some of our boys and girls had an opportunity to sit in the hotseats...
From there we had the privilege to experience the 'Home' dressing room and facilities.
Eventually we got to spend time outside in the stadium and look at the amazing work the ground staff does with the artificial growing of the turf (artificial sun light). One of the most beautiful stadiums in the world!
We even got to see a piece of turf that is being preserved from Old Landsdown Road...
The girls then made their way to Three Rock Rovers Hockey Club for their second fixture of the tour. The game was played in slightly colder conditions and the girls battled initially to adapt to the change in temperature. Another solid game in defence from our girls manage to keep them scoring more than one goal. We managed to score 4 goals but had missed some of our opportunities. Their team looked dangerous on the attack on more than one occasion but we manage to break down play. Their team was short two players and Emma Askew and Rebecca Simpson kind offered to help them out. Thank you to those two girls who showed everyone what it means to be a true Marist, sometimes putting yourself second to help someone else out. Unathi Sibeko in goals had some great saves! We are looking forward to our third match which will be played in Athlone.
Tomorrow the boys will be playing their second fixture for the tour. They have all gone to bed early in anticipation for a good game.
Our first activity early this morning was a Viking splash tour. We were split into two groups and each group had their own tour guide on board a WWII amphibious vehicle. These vehicles that was used in the landing at Normandy has been modified to act as a tour busses. This tour started at the St Patricks Cathedral, the largest and oldest Cathedral in Ireland dating back to 1220. The tour was incredible, passing many sites that can only be seen from a tour bus of this nature. Each passenger was given a viking helmet and every time we passed a group of pedestrians we had to do a famous Viking 'roar' much to the amusement of many!
After some sightseeing around Dublin we got taken to the Dublin Dockyards and wait for it... we made our way into the basin with lifejackets and all. Here we got to see many old and trendy new buildings that has been established on the waters edge. This is also where companies such as Facebook and Google have their headquarters.
From the Viking tour we made our way to AVIVA Stadium for a guided tour of the stadium. This was another fantastic experience for everyone. The tour started in the media room where some of our boys and girls had an opportunity to sit in the hotseats...
From there we had the privilege to experience the 'Home' dressing room and facilities.
Eventually we got to spend time outside in the stadium and look at the amazing work the ground staff does with the artificial growing of the turf (artificial sun light). One of the most beautiful stadiums in the world!
We even got to see a piece of turf that is being preserved from Old Landsdown Road...
The girls then made their way to Three Rock Rovers Hockey Club for their second fixture of the tour. The game was played in slightly colder conditions and the girls battled initially to adapt to the change in temperature. Another solid game in defence from our girls manage to keep them scoring more than one goal. We managed to score 4 goals but had missed some of our opportunities. Their team looked dangerous on the attack on more than one occasion but we manage to break down play. Their team was short two players and Emma Askew and Rebecca Simpson kind offered to help them out. Thank you to those two girls who showed everyone what it means to be a true Marist, sometimes putting yourself second to help someone else out. Unathi Sibeko in goals had some great saves! We are looking forward to our third match which will be played in Athlone.
Tomorrow the boys will be playing their second fixture for the tour. They have all gone to bed early in anticipation for a good game.
Amazing blog Chene. Lots of interesting info and detail. Super pics!
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