Journals are a little hard to write here, as the internet isn't all that great. We will persevere.

We trained in the morning again today, and I think that we had a good session  as we adapt to playing at altitude. We trained at, what looked like a private elementary and high school. And, the staff and students made us feel very welcome. The younger children each escorted us to the field from the bus.

Then, what felt and looked like the entire school, turned out to cheer us on throughout practice: Really nice of them. On the way back to the bus after we had finished the practice, the kindergarteners had lined the walk way and cheered, while sporting their home-made gold medals round their necks - one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

By the time we had taken cooled down on the exercise bikes and taken our ice baths, the time showed it was 2:30 pm and we were all REALLY hungry. The lines in the mess hall were ridiculous, lasting 30 minutes or more. We had to rush through eating, as time was tight with an orientation meeting to attend, and this was immediately followed by preparations for the opening ceremonies.

The Canadian team convened just outside our accommodation building and then we headed off to the Guadalajara main stadium. It isn’t very far, and all the athletes walked over. The procession took about 20 minutes, and we were cheered along the route by Pan Am volunteers and people not fortunate enough to have received tickets. I could get used to being cheered everywhere I go.

The opening ceremonies were amazing. Guadalajara did a great job and the people in the crowd cheered themselves hoarse for every single nation represented here. When we walked out of the tunnel and into the stadium the roar hit us right in the face. Every Canadian had a huge grin on their faces. There is so much to be proud about, especially getting to follow Sinclair carrying the Canadian flag out there. As a team, we didn’t stay for the whole ceremony as we had been on the end of an exhausting day. But, we did manage to see the whole of the fireworks show out of our bedroom window: Just fantastic.

Mike RidewoodCP

15th October 2011

Another day dawns and last night's ceremony celebrations already seem rather surrealistic. It was another early morning today, so we are looking forward to tomorrow morning’s sleep in.

Training again went well, but we are definitely feeling a little tired at this altitude. It was another long morning, and we have had to learn how to adapt to other people's schedules and a "manana" philosophy: All quite normal when you’re at a multiple sports event. There was a bit of sitting around waiting, but on the whole, everything went smoothly.

For the rest of the day, we had a few meetings. But, most of the time was spent in rest, recovery, and any physio and medical treatments that we needed. Tonight will be plenty of board games, laughter, and a good night's sleep. None of us will need an alarm tomorrow.