Volleyball Inter Insular 2015 - Game Footage

Volleyball Inter-Insulars 2015

After months of hard work and training the Volleyball Inter-Insulars were finally upon us. Last Saturday (18th April 2015) the Guernsey island volleyball teams travelled to Jersey to compete.

The Ladies B team played first, unfortunately losing 3 sets to 0 against the strong Jersey side. The Ladies A team arrived after the first set was played (after having to travel over on a later flight) so unfortunately we missed some of the match but what I did see the Guernsey ladies were fighting hard and making their island proud. There was great team work and excellent back court hitting from Carly Tucknott and Laura Eggo (even if she managed to jump above the height of the net!). Once the match finished, Laura was approached by the umpire to congratulate her on her efforts and how well she played.

Ladies B Match ended 3-0 to Jersey

1st set - 25-18 to Jersey

2nd set - 25-10 to Jersey

3rd set - 26-24 to Jersey

Laura Eggo (11) goes in for an outside hit

Our youngest female island player Becky Gauvain (5) showed her excellent setting skills throughout the match

The unstoppable block - Sophie Alder (8) goes up to block a Jersey outside hit

Next to play were the Mens B team and they too lost 3-0 to Jersey. The final result does not represent how close the match was, with the final set ending 24-26 to Jersey. I definitely feel the younger players in the team deserve some recognition. Sam Eggo, Luke Archard and Tom Guille played really well despite the opposing team having much more experience. (Also a quick shout out to Andrew Maiden who played for the Volleyball Mens B team, then flew back to Guernsey to compete in the first ever mens netball inter-insular match and WON!)

Mens B Match ended 3-0 to Jersey

1st set - 25-15 to Jersey

2nd set - 25-13 to Jersey

3rd set - 26-24 to Jersey

Great defence by Andrew Maiden (4) and Luke Archard (3)

Tom Guille beating the Jersey blockers with his outside hit

The Mens A team played after the Ladies A (I will get to our match a little later) and they fought until the end. Unfortunately Jersey won again but this time the final score was 3-1. The match was everything you would expect from top island players - it was fast paced with big blocks and even bigger hits! Nick Gaudion's setting was brilliant and both Ross Martel-Welsh and Dan Skipper dominated at the net. The Guernsey guys really gelled well as a team, despite only finding out the final squads 4 days earlier.

Men A Match ended 3-1 to Jersey

1st set - 25-27 to Guernsey
2nd set - 25-22 to Jersey
3rd set - 25-15 to Jersey
4th set - 25-29 to Jersey

Callum Hockey (5) somehow making jumping THAT HIGH look easy

Dan Skipper (8) going up for an outside spike. The main question though, what is Nick (2) doing?

Big block from our Guernsey guys Ryan Martel (6) and Callum Hockey (5) against the "fit meerkat" (Helen's words, not mine).

I think it's fair to say the Ladies A match was the most nail-biting of the day. Our match was the only one to go to the 5th and final set and Jersey just won by 2 clear points. During the course of the match we saw some great three touch volleyball - accurate digs coming in to the setter (particularly by our libero Hannah Riley). Our setters, Karen Jehan, Gemma Nicolle and Helen Crawley were then able to set the ideal ball to us hitters to spike. Jennifer Lindfield, in particular had some stellar spikes that, I'm sure, impressed even the Jersey team. I was fortunate enough to be awarded the player of the Ladies A match title for which I am extremely grateful and flattered. I would like to thank all my team mates for such an amazing game and season so far.

Ladies A Match ended 3-2 to Jersey

1st set - 25-16 to Jersey

2nd set - 24-26 to Guernsey

3rd set - 25-23 to Jersey

4th set - 17-25 to Guernsey

5th set - 15-13 to Jersey

The Guernsey Ladies A Volleyball Team
Karen Jehan (7),  Jennifer Lindfield (5), Carla Marly (4), Emily Gaudion (12)
Sarah Biggins (8), Tyler Thorne (9), Hannah Riley (11), Gemma Nicolle (10), Helen Crawley (2)

Jennifer Lindfield (5) doing what she does best!

Ladies A - Me (9) to serve

The medal I received for being awarded player of the match

It was a long day but well worth it. I feel so proud to represent Guernsey and play with such lovely people. Of course we made some mistakes and simple errors but we now know what we need to work on and practice in order to improve further.

It was a long day... zzz
Head cheerleader, Karen, having a well deserved nap on the ferry back home (Sorry Bucky! It had to be done!!)

I would like to take this opportunity to thank a few people who have helped me and the rest of the ladies along the way. First and foremost our coach, Rodney Elmy, for all the hard work and effort he has put in to training us and improving our skills. Also to Neil Elmy who has helped out a many of our training sessions. Lisa Dowinton helped organise the whole Jersey trip as well as play some great volleyball, so thank you Lisa for all your had work.

Finally I just want to congratulate all of the men and women who played in the inters this year and say well done to them all. I am so proud of all the women I play with and I absolutely love my volleyball family! We have trained so hard this season and it showed in our performance! We have improved so much since last year and that shows in our final result. We should all be so proud of ourselves! Now to concentrate on the Natwest Island Games that are being held in Jersey in the summer time.

GREEN ARRRRMY!

PS: Thank you to Karen Jehan for letting me use the images she captured (along with Karen Buck-Archenoul & Ross Martel-Welsh) - they are great.

Below is some footage I managed to capture of the matches with the help of some other players. Enjoy

Bye for now x

Happy Easter

For me, Easter is a time to spend with family & friends, to enjoy the sunshine and indulge in WAY too much chocolate (then feel really guilty about it later). We were lucky enough to have absolutely beautiful weather in Guernsey this Easter weekend.

I just wanted to write a quick blog post to say I hope you all had a lovely Easter time and enjoyed the long weekend!

Below are a few images I took this weekend - A time line of my Easter weekend 2015.

Bye for now x

Mini Egg goodness

Easter treats - Courtesy of Gran

Easter Egg hunt for the young ones in the family - Erin searching - Easter Sunday

Beautiful weather with an even better view - Bank Holiday Monday

Ladies that lunch

Post-lunch ice cream with the BEAUTFUL Isla

Chocolate goodness

Island tour in Isla's new wagon

20 things to do before I'm 20

Last week boyfriend turned 20 years old (happy birthday H!). I will be turning 20 on the 5^th of December this year and I decided I would like to set some goals to achieve in the last year of my teens – just an excuse for late new years resolutions! The goals are not all life-changing things, this isn’t a bucket list – some are just small things I would like to during the course of the year.

Without further ado, here are 20 things I would like to do before I’m 20:

1. Visit the dentist – I know, I know, I should be visiting the dentist ever 6 months or so but, shamefully, I haven’t been to the dentist in years. I don’t enjoy the whole experience and my teeth look and feel in pretty good condition. Having said that I want to make it more of a habit to go for regular check ups to ensure everything is A-OK

2. Cook my grandparents a meal – This is just a small gesture that I would like to do, maybe more than once during the year. My Nan (mums mum) comes around to our house every Sunday for a roast but I think it would be nice to cook a different meal myself. My Dad’s parents, my Gran and Grandad, don’t often come around for dinner so I thought it would be nice to cook a meal for them – they even bought me some Jamie Oliver cook books for Christmas last year so it’s only fair.

3. Learn more BSL (British sign language) – towards the end of last year I started to learn some sign language with the aid of a DVD and a ‘teach yourself’ styled book. Just a few basic words, phrases and the alphabet. During the Christmas period I stopped for a while and haven’t really picked it back up again so hopefully by the time I’m twenty I will be able to have a basic conversation with a Deaf person.

4. Get my eyes tested – in my 19 years I have never had an eye-test. Although I am pretty positive my eyesight is absolutely fine I think it would be wise to get an eye-test just to be sure. I’m trying to set a good example for my parents who both refuse to get their eyes tested despite the fact they desperately need glasses! (Don’t kid yourselves).

5. Save money – one of my main goals in life is to travel the world and this year I want to save money on a monthly basis. Since working full time for 6 months now I feel I have had my fun with the money I’ve earned and now I am ready to really start putting the pennies away for the future.

6. Lose some weight – In the last 6 months I’ve put on roughly a stone (which is NOT okay with me), which I blame partly on the medication I’ve had and missing out on volleyball because of work. Before I’m 20, preferably in the next 6 months, I fully intend on losing this weight again!

7. Read more books – I love reading but last year I rarely took the time to sit down and enjoy a good book (except for when I was in Cyprus with my girl friends – we read A LOT of James Patterson that holiday). I am currently already on my 3^rd book since being 19 and I have so many more I want to read including Gone Girl, The Thorn Birds and the Girl on the Train.

8. Grow my blog & enjoy doing it – This is a new thing I’ve been doing this year and I fully intend on continuing. I feel blogging is a very ‘teenage’ thing to do but if I enjoy writing blog posts and sharing with whoever wants to read I don’t see why I should stop!

9. Progress in my job – I have now been flying for 6 months (it’s flown by – pardon the pun) and in that time I have learnt so much. Before I am 20 I would like to progress further in my job, not necessarily working my way up the ladder (becoming a senior cabin crew member) but just continue to learn more and enjoy it just as much.

10. Volunteer – I would like to make it my goal to volunteer somewhere this year to give back to the community. I love animals so perhaps the GSPCA would be a good idea.

11. Make ‘healthy’ a habit – It would be awesome to enter my twenties living a healthier lifestyle. Having a habit of eating clean, nutritious meals, cutting out the crap and drinking plenty of water.

12. Wake up earlier on days off – I LOVE having a lie in but sometimes I feel like I’m just wasting the day if I get up anytime after 10am. So I’m going to try to wake up earlier on my days off, save the lie-ins for days that I’m working late shifts. This way I can really take advantage of this time, get to the gym, do what needs to be done and just enjoy my days off.

13. Go out more – sometimes I feel 90 rather than 19. I think this year I need to let my hair down! I’m still a teenager so I should go out and enjoy myself while I can. I’m old enough to know better but still young enough to do it anyway!

14. See my girl friends on a regular basis – Since leaving school all of my friends have got full time jobs and we don’t see each other near as much as we used to. Obviously at school we saw each other every weekday then also some weekends but now it’s not very often we get to be together. I really want to make that extra effort to see my girl friends more regularly because I MISS THEM!

15. Improve my volleyball skills – I’m always looking to improve my volleyball skills but the Island Games are in June so I’m trying extra hard to develop. Hopefully, if I get selected to play in the Natwest Island Games this year I will have competed in an international competition before I’m 20 too!

16. Try new foods – It’s no secret that I love food. I’m not a particularly fussy eater but when I find something I like, I tend to stick to it. In my last year of my teens I want to extend my palate and try new foods I wouldn’t normally.

17. Go to a concert – Going to a concert is such a cliché teenage thing to do. I was fortunate enough to receive tickets to go watch U2 at the O2 for Christmas from my parents so I cannot wait to do that!

                               

18. Go on a shopping spree – I’m a sucker for a good shopping spree and living in Guernsey doesn’t allow me to reach my full shopaholic potential so I think a huge shopping trip is in order, why not?

19. Enjoy a weekend away with friends – I already have a trip planned to go to Jersey with my boyfriend Harry, my friend Hannah and her boyfriend Sam. Although it’s only across to the other island I think it will be fun. It would also be great to go away with my girl friends too so we’ll have to keep an eye out for an opportunity to do so.

20. Spend more time with my family – I am very family-oriented but I don’t often see my grandparents, cousins or aunties as much as I would like. When I do see them I have the best time but those days a few and far between. I hope to see my little cousins more, especially in the school holidays when I can spend days with them on my days off or after an early shift.

So it turns out actually thinking of 20 things to do before I’m 20 was harder than I thought but I am happy with my goals! I hope you enjoyed reading todays blog post and maybe you will set some achievable goals for yourself to achieve within the next year.

Thank you for reading.

Bye for now x

Alpe d'Huez Ski and Snow Trip 2015 - Day 8

14/02/15

Happy Valentine’s Day!

We woke up this morning to a much whiter Alpe d’Huez. After 7 days of brilliant sunshine the snow mounds were beginning to look a little brown and the snow on the trees on the mountains was beginning to melt. The weather forecast shows it is meant to snow for the next 3 days, so the skiers and snowboarders will have some fresh powder to play on soon.

Today we just travelled back home. We waited outside in the heavy snow for BensBus to pick us back up again. The coach was so late we ended up waiting over an hour - the novelty of the snow wore thin after half-an-hour and we were all freezing. Finally the coach arrived and we made our way to Grenoble Airport. The drive there was excruciatingly long.

When we arrived at the airport we had to check-in and rush through security because the bus was so late. Security at Grenoble Airport was painfully slow but we got through and ready to board the flight. After all that, the flight was delayed for half-an-hour so we were able to grab a quick bite to eat. I slept the majority of the flight home.

I have enjoyed our holiday so much and I cannot wait to come snowboarding again soon. I would highly recommend visiting Alpe d’Huez, particularly if you are a learner as the green and blue runs are fabulous. There is plenty to do there – which I fully intend on doing next time I am there – including Husky sled rides, paragliding, driving snowmobiles and even a zip line. I am leaving with amazing memories with great company, a lot of bruises and even a horrendous goggle tan line (despite wearing sun-cream) but I wouldn’t change any of it.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the daily blogs of our Alpe d’Huez ski and snow trip as much as I have enjoyed writing them!

Thank you all, until my next blog post…

We woke to a much whiter Alpe d'Huez

We finally got to see some snow fall!

Bye for now x

Alpe d'Huez Ski and Snow Trip 2015 - Day 7

13/02/14

Friday the 13^th… No bones were broken, we all made it through the holiday in one piece!

Today was our last day snowboarding and skiing; it was a sad, sad day for all (although our bodies are in need of a well deserved rest). It was rather overcast which was a change after being beautiful sunshine all week but it was nice to have a day where we weren’t swamping after putting our boots on. The cloud did make it a bit harder to see the grooves and turns on the slopes though – we do have some goggles designed for the overcast weather but getting those would require too much effort so we just made do.

After brekkie we went straight to the slopes and got going. We ventured over to the other side of the mountain for a few runs before stopping off for lunch at Marc and Marie’s local (they stopped there at least 6 times for a drink and/or something to eat during the holiday – the waiter even knew their drink order off by heart). Aimee, Richie, Mum, Dad and I then continued boarding for a couple of hours, even heading to the practice stunt park. Come 2 o’clock we decided to call it a day, after a great final run. We didn’t want to push ourselves to do too much more because it would be Sod’s Law that we would seriously injure ourselves on that ‘one last run’.

Instead Marc, Zak, Aimee, Richie and I all bought some ‘bum-boards’ and had a play around sliding down a man-made hollow in the snow – we must have been the oldest ones playing on the slope but it was such a laugh and worth the €2.50 for the bum-boards.

This evening we browsed around some shops, popped into O’Sharkey’s for a drink and made our way to Smithy’s for our dinner reservation. Again the food was absolutely phenomenal – if anyone reading this is going to Alpe d’Huez you NEED to eat at Smithy’s Tavern, there is no faulting it. While we were in Smithy’s it started to snow for the first time since we’ve been here. This was the first time Richie has seen snowfall and it was rather exciting.

One of the nicest runs, mum stalking

Zak falling off the bum-board

Richie also had a go

Nope, I didn't know I was that flexible either...

Marc was the biggest kid having the most fun!

Bye for now x

Alpe d'Huez Ski and Snow Trip 2015 - Day 6

12/02/15

First of all I would like to apologise if these holiday blog posts are becoming repetitive in any way - what can I say, it is a snowboarding/skiing holiday, it is pretty repetitive but tonnes of fun - so I hope you are enjoying reading what we are getting up to as much as we are doing it!

We had a relaxing morning today. We had an extra hour in bed, which was much needed. Mum, Dad and I then browsed in the shops opposite the hotel and Dad needed to go to the chemist to get another support, this time for his ankle. He already has wrist guards, an elbow strap and a bad back – he’s getting old! 

It's nice travelling in a group that can go off an do their own thing. Aimee and Richie spent most of the day together and Marc and Marie had a chilled day to themselves. At around 11 o’clock Mum, Dad, Zak and I finally got going -  Firstly, we headed to the snow-park and boarded down there (avoiding all the jumps – we aren’t that advanced… yet). Half way down, there is a jump you can go down and land on a huge air bag. You can use your own snowboard or skis to practice jumps or you can use the easier option, a blow up rubber ring. Zak and I both used the rubber rings and had five goes each – it was a lot of fun and well worth the €9.

After a couple of runs we had a spot of lunch up the mountain then worked our way back down toward the bottom. We tried to play around a bit with the GoPro, trying to get some family action shots. Zak went back to the hotel when we reached the bottom as he landed on his shoulder a couple of times during the day and needed to rest it. Me and mum did a few more runs heading to the beginners stunt park – I tried to make it over a couple of the beginner ramps and jumps, stacking it a few times but sticking the landing on the majority. I will definitely be back on the ramps again tomorrow!

Mum then went back to the hotel to meet Zak and go for a swim in the hotel pool while Dad and I went back up to La Folie Douce looking for the others. Once we made it up there we realised no one we knew was there so we enjoyed a few drinks in the sun and admired the view by ourselves.

Later on in the evening we all went for a walk through the town (standard routine now) and had a meal at a restaurant called La Sporting. The food was lovely – we haven’t had a bad meal since we’ve been here – consequently that is burning a hole in my pocket and not helping my waistline! The healthy eating and normal exercise routine will commence when we are back home.

Tomorrow is our last day skiing and we fully intend on making the most of it.

Jump with the rubber ring

Zak flying about - probably how he first hurt his shoulder!

Trying to get a family action shot proved more difficult then we first thought

Dad and I enjoying the sunshine and the view from La Folie Douce... alone

Bye for now x