Tuesday 12 April 2011

FirstBall Tournament April 2011

On Sunday 10th April, the Bobcats arrived in Nottingham to attend the first tournament of the season, aptly named FirstBall.  Spirits were high and the weather was glorious!  For the first time at a tournament we had enough bobkitties that we didn’t have to borrow any players from a different team. 


Nerves began to set in once we had seen the other teams in our group, both of which have recently been national champions, were playing on home soil and train throughout the winter.  Since October the Bobcats have had only 3 hours of training and needless to say we were a bit rusty. 

Our first game was against the Nottingham Pyros and although it was a close game we lost 11-10.  Spirits fell and for once the Bobcats were silent.  However, there was no time to lick our wounds as we immediately proceeded on to our next game against the University of Nottingham Swingwers.  It was not good. 

Lunchtime soon came around and the pressure was off – we were no longer in the running to win the tournament.  However, there was still the wooden spoon to play for so the Bobcats used the time to train, sunbathe and BBQ – good thinking Chris!

The BBQ was a big hit with the Bobcats but not the burger van next door!


However, some bobbicats thought it might be time to switch to a new sport!















At 1pm it was time for the relay races and quite reluctantly the Bobkitties stepped up to the plate.  After a few practice goes they were ready.  They faced eight other teams and were victorious in the first heat.  They won the semi finals was ease, but it was the final which the Bobcats craved – especially as a case of beer was at stake!  It began and with steady precision the ball was passed from Charlie to Meg, Maizey, Kate and then Jane, before going back down the line.  Without a single drop the ball reached Charlie and to our complete and utter surprise we had beaten the other team by a long shot! 


Next were the boys and the practice heat was superb.  However, it all fell apart in the semi-final – perhaps the girls should lead the next training session!


Our spirits were once again raised thanks to the felines and the bobcats were back to their usual loud, bubbly selves – however, that could be because Ilana had returned! 
We approached the next game against the Beeston Beavers with renewed confidence, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough as we lost 11-8.  Our last game was the Battle of the Cats and finally the Bobcats showed off their skills and played amazingly well, beating the Alea Alleycats 11-7.   

At the end of the day the Bobcats were jubilant and eager to play the Leamington Hawks on the following Sunday.  The girls were officially presented with their case of beer and bag of chocolates to an almighty cheer.  The winners of the tournament were the Swingwers – but that’s not important. 

Here are some of the pictorial highlights of the day:

Charlie and Steve at their first tournament - they came well prepared!
Committee Felines Kate and Debbie
Trent relaxing with the gear.
Bill's attempt to keep everyone cool was not accepted as well as he would have liked.
Justin appears to be teaching Reinout a thing or two! While Jeff, Trent and Tad have a lunchtime muse.
Meanwhile, Alex senaks over to discuss tactics with the Pyros Coach

Typically Kate and Tad are up too mischief
Softball Ceilidh?!
Tad's new sunglasses

Justin and Alex watch while the Bobcats warm up for their third game

Reinout congratulates Chad after his Home Run!

Better late than never - Alex welcomes Ilana back.

Tad, Ilana and Alex eagerly watching a Bobcat triumph!

Meg, Jane and Ilana catch up after the winter season.

Saps, Chad and Chris relaxing in the glorious sunshine!

It's a family game - Trent and Jeff

Tad receives his Offensive Player of the match award in true Bobcat fashion!
It's so shiny!

The best Offensive Player Tad and best Defensive Player Chad holding the good luck Robin Hood feather - or are they holding hands ?! 
Clearly it was a tiring day.

The Winning Bobkitties - Kate, Charlie, Meg, Jane and Debbie minus Maizey.
The Bobkitties (Kate, Jane, Ilana, Debbie, Charlie, and Meg) re-enacting the relay race - well sort of. 
Tad didn't stay the  the best offensive player for long! 
At the end of the day Chad, Kate, Jane, Tad, Meg, Debbie and Sap were awarded with Beer and Chocolates.  What an excellent way to end a perfect day.

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