First Day of CANA Championships has arrived!!

The opening ceremony at 9.00am this morning was GREAT !!

All the teams lined up and then paraded around the courts and then positioned themselves on the outskirts of of the main courts for the official opening of the Championships - AYC lead the way !!!

The girls were given an offical Aboriginal Welcome also (photos above).

The Under 15 team played their first game at 10.30am against SAUCNA. Sara White was unstoppable in the goal circle and her shooting acuracy enabled the team to outscore SAUCNA at every change and eventually won the match by 5 goals !!

The Under 13's and Under 17's both played their first games at 12 noon. (at least the games were on adjacent courts that made it a little easier for Ian and I to watch both games).

The Under 13's were under the pump right from the first centre pass and were not prepared for the hard and fast playing style from the SAUCNA team. They rushed their shots and threw away a lot of passes throughout the game and enabled SAUCNA to be runaway winners 43-16. Best players were: Ellie Gray, Renae Brelis and Chelsea York.

The Under 17's had a very hard fought game. With the lead changing several times throughout the match, every shot at goal was to count and accurate passing was the key to the game. AYC were heading into the final quarter with a 7 goal lead, but with missed shots and failure to rebound SAUCNA closed the gap and it became a close game at the end. AYC eventually won 29-28. Best players were: Gennaveve Sullivan, Laura Reggett & Claire Minton.

The weather is HOT, HOT, HOT!!! The girls are applying sunscreen and drinking plenty of fluids. The girls play 2 games tomorrow (sunday) so the girls will be looking forward to a restful night tonight!!

If you'd like to leave a message for any of the girls here in Townsville - please do and I'll pass it on for you.

Cheers