Closing Ceremonies
The 2011 Gymnaestrada is over. We have had an amazing time here. I am so proud of everybody! Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork!
This morning, everyone finally had time to go souvenir shopping & sightseeing. Most of you can expect Swiss chocolate as a gift! We met for lunch & trading at the venue. We have some great bargain hunters. I think they all got exactly what they wanted!
We have been undecided about performing in Closing Ceremonies. One rehearsal was late & far away, so we didn't go. One was on the rainy day, so we didn't go. One was at 10 this morning, so we didn't go. But, Steve, our head of delegation, still wanted us to perform, so we said "YES!" There were only a few minor problems. The Opening formation was circles - easy because we have enough people to form our own circle. But, we had to find our place on the huge football field with about 1000 other people. There were round white markers spaced all over the field. The center of our circle was supposed to be K8. More about that later. We found a place to practice in one of the halls, because we didn't know the section of tthe routine with lifts, the part with waves, or the ending. I watched the video this AM & counted out all the sections. We were going to practice with the music on Mary's phone & Rachel's IPOD speaker. Well, Mary & Kelli came to the field a direct route & they weren't there for practice, so we just counted. I made up our own version of the wave because we weren't making all the formation changes & had no clue about the music at the end, so I told everybody just to watch Ali, Jessie, & Charlotte & make the final pose when they did. I trust them alot! We went up to the stadium early & they weren't letting people in. I'm not sure what I said - didn't matter because the guard only spoke French & I was speaking English - but we just went in, found seats, & had our own rehearsal on the field. We found K8! Then, we blocked out all the formations, and hoped nobody else planned to use the white markers we were standing on. Mary F., Kelli, Kara, Ariel, & Debi missed the walk through so I found them a spot in the corner to do their own thing. I have to say - we did great!!! Our whole group even faked the ending & finished just like everybody else! Good thing Chile was a little in front of us. There was just one slight problem. Right before we ran onto the field, somebody told us there were TWO dances. OOPS! We can fake an ending, but not a whole dance, so we just ran off the field after the first one.
This Closing was the best I remember from any of the Gymnaestradas I've been to. Each continent did a section. In every routine, there must have been 1000 people on the field. It was amazing! It's hard to believe the Gymnaestrada is over. Charlotte B. came up to me as we were leaving & said "I wish we could stay in Switzerland a little longer." We are all anxious to get home to see family, friends, & pets, but at the same time, we are sad to leave the Gymnaestrada behind. Despite all the trouble in the world today, for these 10 days, people from all over the world have been united through gymnastics. What a wonderful feeling!
I had to stop writing for a few minutes to watch the grand finale out my window - fireworks over the lake!
Now - time to pack. We are being picked up at 3:30 in the morning to go to the airport in Zurich. When we get home, we'll let you know the plans for the 2013 Gym for Life in South Africa & the 2015 Gymnaestrada in Finland!
This morning, everyone finally had time to go souvenir shopping & sightseeing. Most of you can expect Swiss chocolate as a gift! We met for lunch & trading at the venue. We have some great bargain hunters. I think they all got exactly what they wanted!
We have been undecided about performing in Closing Ceremonies. One rehearsal was late & far away, so we didn't go. One was on the rainy day, so we didn't go. One was at 10 this morning, so we didn't go. But, Steve, our head of delegation, still wanted us to perform, so we said "YES!" There were only a few minor problems. The Opening formation was circles - easy because we have enough people to form our own circle. But, we had to find our place on the huge football field with about 1000 other people. There were round white markers spaced all over the field. The center of our circle was supposed to be K8. More about that later. We found a place to practice in one of the halls, because we didn't know the section of tthe routine with lifts, the part with waves, or the ending. I watched the video this AM & counted out all the sections. We were going to practice with the music on Mary's phone & Rachel's IPOD speaker. Well, Mary & Kelli came to the field a direct route & they weren't there for practice, so we just counted. I made up our own version of the wave because we weren't making all the formation changes & had no clue about the music at the end, so I told everybody just to watch Ali, Jessie, & Charlotte & make the final pose when they did. I trust them alot! We went up to the stadium early & they weren't letting people in. I'm not sure what I said - didn't matter because the guard only spoke French & I was speaking English - but we just went in, found seats, & had our own rehearsal on the field. We found K8! Then, we blocked out all the formations, and hoped nobody else planned to use the white markers we were standing on. Mary F., Kelli, Kara, Ariel, & Debi missed the walk through so I found them a spot in the corner to do their own thing. I have to say - we did great!!! Our whole group even faked the ending & finished just like everybody else! Good thing Chile was a little in front of us. There was just one slight problem. Right before we ran onto the field, somebody told us there were TWO dances. OOPS! We can fake an ending, but not a whole dance, so we just ran off the field after the first one.
This Closing was the best I remember from any of the Gymnaestradas I've been to. Each continent did a section. In every routine, there must have been 1000 people on the field. It was amazing! It's hard to believe the Gymnaestrada is over. Charlotte B. came up to me as we were leaving & said "I wish we could stay in Switzerland a little longer." We are all anxious to get home to see family, friends, & pets, but at the same time, we are sad to leave the Gymnaestrada behind. Despite all the trouble in the world today, for these 10 days, people from all over the world have been united through gymnastics. What a wonderful feeling!
I had to stop writing for a few minutes to watch the grand finale out my window - fireworks over the lake!
Now - time to pack. We are being picked up at 3:30 in the morning to go to the airport in Zurich. When we get home, we'll let you know the plans for the 2013 Gym for Life in South Africa & the 2015 Gymnaestrada in Finland!
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