Today at netball we played the Blazers netball club. It was a very close match but unfortunately we ended up losing; however we all enjoyed it and played a lot better than last time. The weirdest thing was when it rained the opposing team played in plastic shower caps.

Today we played Hockey against the Avengers (a Bajan side). The weather didn’t seem as hot as the previous day so we were very optimistic on victory. As the game unfolded we realised what tough competition we were up against, which was fair as they had 2 international players on board. By half time it was 0-0 despite scoring 2 beautiful goals; however they were disallowed. Having put some water on board and after an encouraging talk by both Miss Davis and Mrs Wainman, we put our chins up, went back on the pitch and won 3-0, Charlie Dodds scoring 1 and Jess Chapman scoring 2, although Beth missed a perfect opportunity set up by Olivia Marshall. The victorious day ended with a water fight and a sing along on the bus!

Today all the boys got up at ten and went to the Boatyard in Bridgetown. At the Boatyard was a swing that dangled from the pier, an iceberg floatable and a trampoline on the water. I enjoyed it the most when we were on the iceberg floatable and fighting the teachers off.

The evening comprised of” small groups of us making up our own song and performing it as Hull Collegiate's got Barbados Talent“. The winning group was the Year 11s with their rendition of “Six days of Barbados“. Watch this space for tomorrow's football report.

Week Two

The girls played a two-day hockey tournament during Saturday and Sunday:

On Saturday the boys had a shopping day and travelled to Bridgetown on a yellow reggae bus. The bus was packed full of passengers and playing really loud music – we loved it! In Bridgetown we bought lots of designer duty free goods.  On Saturday night we went to a restaurant called Just Grillin’ – you can probably tell from the name that we enjoyed barbequed food here. It was delicious and we all agreed that it was a great evening.

Boys - Sunday 12 July 2009

On Sunday we went on an exploration, led by Mr Wainman, to a new beach. We all thought it would be a lot closer than it turned out to be. After a tiring and long hike, we were rewarded by a very beautiful beach with some fantastic waves. A number of the boys suddenly felt hungry and decided to venture to look for somewhere to get some food. We discovered a nice beach bar called Ju Ju’s.  The day was topped off by a Caribbean Street party and a number of the tour party displayed their karaoke skills.

Monday 13 July 2009

On Monday the whole group were up bright and early for the catamaran trip. We arrived at the port at 9:30 and set sail by 10:00.  We had the catamaran all to ourselves. The first stop was to go snorkelling and swim with turtles. Altogether we saw five turtles, big and small, and were able to feed them and gently touch them. We then got back on the boat and sailed to a shipwreck. This was our second snorkelling experience and we saw coral and lots of exotic fish, which we were able to feed and swim with. After this we had lunch on the catamaran, prepared by the crew, which was delicious. We then stopped off further down the coast where we could jump into the sea off the side of the catamaran and swim ashore to the beach. On our way back to the mainland the captain allowed us to play our own music and dance at the front of the boat – fantastic! The trip was a fabulous experience and will never be forgotten.

Harbour Lights

We spent the same evening at Harbour Lights. We watched some great entertainment, including stilt men, dancers, fire eaters and singers. There was also live music to dance to and a lovely BBQ. The evening was packed full with fun and laughter, the teachers and children all had a great night

Tuesday 14 July 2009

Today the girls played netball against St Barnabas. The first team won 18-15. It was an aggressive, tough match against an athletic team, but a great effort from the whole of the squad secured the win. The Under 13 team competed very well against a much older side, but, despite their best efforts, they were defeated 26 goals to 8.

Wednesday 15 July 2009 

Today the boys had their second football match against Cosmos Football Club. The match was an evening kick-off so we spent the morning on the beach. Mr Henderson, Mr Windeatt and Mr Wainman cooked us some pasta for lunch to provide us with plenty of energy for the game. The evening football match was a close encounter, with Cosmos taking a two goal lead before Alex Staton pulled one back. In the second half, under floodlights, Cosmos pulled further in front before Jonty Billan scored to put us in touching distance before Cosmos scored two late goals in the 7^th and 9^th minutes of injury time.

The girls’ hockey match was re-arranged so they took the bus to Bridgetown to do some shopping. Although the allocated shopping time was 3 hours, this clearly was not enough time for some of the girls! We returned from Bridgetown on one of the yellow “party” buses which really was an experience, with Mrs Logan and Mrs Feszczak dancing along to the Reggae Music!The evening was spent playing eating games, such eating as many Pringles as possible. Another great day was had by all.

Thursday 16 July 2009 

The boys played their final cricket game against Princess Margaret’s School. This school was by far one of the nicest we had visited, with a massive Pavillion built to remember the past players who had represented the West Indies. We batted first and scored an extremely respectable 139 for 6 off 20 overs with Liam James scoring 39. Full of confidence, we went out in the field but it was another National Under 16 batsman who won the game for them by scoring 92 not out.

The girls played Combined Schools in the morning, winning 2-0. The goals were scored by Emilie Heald and Jessica Chapman. Everyone played exceptionally well. The girls were in great voice as we travelled to the harbor for our evening Catamaran Cruse.

The cruise started pretty quietly with everyone relaxing and taking in the various views as we travelled down the West Coast. The highlight was being able to go snorkeling with some massive turtles. Mr Henderson took some fantastic underwater photographs and it was a real experience being so close to the amazing sea creature. As we headed back to harbor, we had a dancing competition.

Friday 17 July 2009

We played a slightly older Combined Schools in our final hockey game of the tour. Another convincing 2-0 win with goals from Katharine Haworth and Alice Williams saw us round off the girls’ matches in style.

All the tourists went to watch the boys at the National Stadium play against the Barbados National Under 16s and we were all very nervous. After a thorough warm-up we came down the tunnel to the screams from 45 visiting fans. We go off to a fantastic start with Alex Staton scoring on the break. Unfortunately this was the only time we found the back of the net and the older, more physical Bajans ran out as 4-1 winners. Special mention must go to Jordan Wilks who consistently fought above his weight, putting in tackle after tackle in the centre of the park. The boys really did appreciate the electrifying atmosphere created by the spectators.

The evening was spent at leisure and packing.

Saturday 18 July 2009 

This was our last full day in Barbados and what a day it was, with an Island Safari in an open top jeep. The drivers were intent on throwing us around as we sped over bumps, through thick forest On one of the stops there was a pet monkey and many of us had our photos taken with it.

The final evening was spent together as a whole party with a buffet meal and presentation at the Fisherman’s Pub. It was an emotional, yet thrilling evening with presentations to each of the staff.

The following awards were presented:

• Best Cricket Performance: John Morton
• Best Hockey Performance: Helen Davies
• Best Football Performance: Jordan Wilks
• Best Netball Performance: Katharine Haworth
• Most  Helpful Male: Nick Grimwood
• Most Helpful Female: Abigail Barton
• Best Male Dancer: Jacob Garnett
• Best Female Dancer: Olivia Marshall
• Barbados Tourist Mail: Declan Whitfield
• Barbados Tourist Female: Holly Riby

Mr Windeatt the Tour Organiser, was presented with a few gifts and finished the evening with this touching speech:

“As Hull Collegiate School’s first long haul Sports Tour comes to an end, I would just like to say what a privilege it has been to have spent the last two weeks in your company on the Island of Dreams.

I, along with all the staff, would like to congratulate you on the way you have conducted yourselves and behaved. You have been an absolute pleasure to have on tour and have represented the school exceptionally. On the sports front, we have had some mixed results, but regardless of win, loss or draw, you have all performed with true Collegiate spirit.

The tour has run smoothly and we must thank all the staff who have assisted in making this happen and I would like to ask you to help me thank them for all their hard work, not only in these past two weeks, but also in the fundraising activities throughout the past year. Many thanks for your impeccable behavior and I will remember this trip and you all for an awfully long time.”