Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Neil “Oola La” Wilson !!!
Dad is now called Neil “Oola La” Wilson amongst the Irish !!! Here is why ….
Yesterday, Dad and I were sitting by the pool, but nobody was swimming!
I was saying how I’d love to get into the pool , if it wasn’t so empty!
So typical Dad, took it upon himself to dive in!
Little did he know, he had a small audience of the French Ladies team looking on!
Speaking en francais, they were saying:
‘Oola La! Look at this beautiful man!’…
‘Will he get into the pool?’ … ‘Ooola La!’ …
‘Oola La! What perfect dive!’ … and so on hahaaa!
Little did they know, that I could understand every word, and I really wanted to say to them
”Eww Noooo! C’est mon papa!!!”
Then, as Dad got out of the pool, the French gals all clapped!! Hahaa
AWKWARD !!!!
The lads on the team are getting great mileage out of this story after I told them!
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Monday, 18 March 2013
Day 3: Let the Games Begin!
The Senior World Championships 2013 matches all kicked off today!
The Irish Mens 45s were up against Latvia.
Dad narrowly lost the singles in 3 tight sets, against their number one player (who is ranked no.14 in the world !!)
(– photos –)
Not being biased but Dad played one hell of a match … plenty of diving of course =P !!
At one set all, Latvia requested a 10 minute break! …he needed it!!
Latvia won over all today 🙁
The Mens 40s had a great game with USA, on Centre Court!
After lunch and a beer, I got a good
hit on the clay for an hour with Dad! I got a few dives in there too! (my 2nd hit on the dirt!)
This evening the braver bunch of the Irish, jumped into the sea! Not as warm as you might think! ‘Refreshing’ though!
Tonight we’re all having dinner in the Beach restaurant! xo
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Sunday, 17 March 2013
Day 2: Captains Meetings & Opening Ceremony!
Last day of practice for the teams, before the tournament kicks off tomorrow.
Captains meetings going on today – here each team finds out who they’l be up against!
Dad is the Irish Mens over 45s captain, and got the draw for the first round, group stages – up against Latvia and USA!
The Opening Ceremony was held on centre court. This year, 31 countries are competing in the ITF Senior World Championships , with 190 teams in total participating!
Here is a pic of the full Irish Team:
(–photos–)
Now off to a dinner feast …again! xo
Oh and Happy St Patrick’s Day !!!
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Saturday, 16 March 2013
Turkey – Day One
This morning, I was excited to see the resort properly in daylight … but more importantly, I was so excited for Breakfast – OPEN BUFFET =D !!!
It is an open buffet for all three meals of the day! I’m absolutely loving the idea of it, and so does my tummy … but I am definitely not going to be able to fit on the plane on the way home! Haha.
Oh my god the resort complex is amazing and HUGE; the beach is right at our doorstep, loads of restaurants to choose from (including a ‘panorama’ restaurant, over-looking the sea! … definitely have to eat there before we go!), 62 clay Tennis Courts (it is the world’s Largest tennis centre!), 4 main pools, an AquaPark, water sports … ohh the list goes on!
After breakfast, Dad & Team Ireland headed over to the clay courts for a practice hit & a bit of acclimatising! Pretty overcast today, with a breeze, so not drastically different to Irish weather – just a tad bit warmer!!
(– photos –)
When they finished their practice, I got to have a good hit with Dad – my first time ever to play on a Clay court =D ! (..photos to follow from that soon!)
Later on this afternoon, there was a huge hailstorm?! It just came out of nowhere! Luckily I saw the dodgy clouds & got inside just in time!
The Buffet Dinner was impressive! Self Control is key haha!! …and I actually did well – surprisingly!
Here is a pic of just one section from the range of desserts alone!!
Now that I know there is free wifi at the resort, Im hoping to post something each day, even if its small!
Its now 11.30pm and Dad is snoring his head off beside me hahaa!!!
xo
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Team Ireland’s Tennis Trip – Turkey Bound!
Yesterday, 15th of March, Team Ireland set off to Turkey for the ITF Senior World Championships 2013! My dad is on the team, so I am super lucky to be able to come along to see him play!!
At 11.30am, we had a 4 hour flight from Dublin Airport to Istanbul. There we got our visas and passports stamped (and a Starbucks coffee fix!), then a one hour connecting flight to Antalya. On this flight, we were joined by teams from other countries! A coach collected us all from Antalya airport and brought us straight to the resort, Ali Bey – hosting the Championships!
After one hour on the road, we arrived at the resort at 1am local time. (Turkey is 2 hours ahead of Irish time). Everyone raced off the coach into the reception to sort out bedrooms!! Dad of course was first in the que haha!
It was a long day of travelling! Dad & I left the house at 7.30am (Irish time) … 17 hours later we arrive in Turkey, wrecked and ready for bed! Since it was night when we arrived, I couldn’t see much of the resort. So I was excited to see it all in the morning!!
xo
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