An invitation to send a team to Luxembourg to compete in a European and Eurasian event under the Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia (SOEE) programme proved to be too tempting! The event was hosted by Special Olympics Luxembourg, who organised a fantastic event, under the guidance of the region’s Technical Delegate, Marie Carroll.
Thursday 20 May
By the time the little plane (it was almost like our own private jet!) took off from Dublin on 20 May, we were a body short from our originally expected travelling party, with China unfortunately having to cry off due to illness. But Aoife O managed, after some last minute decision-making following a bout of illness also, to join us at the airport and be part of the fun! We were on our way to Luxembourg, 9 gymnasts and its team of minders – Head Coach Trish, coaches Tom and Julie and Brian, joined by Marie, Sarah and K2.
Seventeen countries were represented at the event.
We arrived on the afternoon to be greeted by Marc, our helpful event organiser who arranged our safe passage to our hotel, just a few minutes away. Thankfully, the weather that greeted us was to stay for the duration of the trip, so we had warm sun to enjoy when we could. We have to thank hugely some friends among the Irish community in Luxembourg, who ensured that our 1st day’s stay was at no expense to parents or BGC.
We stayed at the Hotel Ibis near the airport, the rooms were lovely, and the food pretty good!
After chilling for a bit after dinner, bedtime beckoned before the next part of our adventure – a visit to the residence of the Irish Ambassador the following day!
Friday 21 May
On arrival, we were greeted by Mary, the Ambassador’s wife (sadly the Ambassador himself could not attend due to a family illness), and some of the Embassy team (special thanks to Claire) – some of our generous sponsors were also able to come and say hello, which was great that we could thanks them in person. The whole team was welcomed and pampered in the fantastic residence, where we took lots of pictures, and enjoyed some delicious hospitality and fun – we were very sad when it was time to leave!
There was more chill time in the afternoon sunshine, and a trip to the city on the bus, where after a bite to eat, a walk around and a little bit of gift buying was done before having to return to the hotel. Among the highlights was Sinead mimicking the guard on duty outside the palace of the Duke and Duchess as he paraded up and down!
Some of the coaching team had to attend a registration/information meeting in the evening, and to collect the bags of goodies for each athlete! They returned tired and weighed down to the hotel, hoping the gymnasts were in bed, but hoping the bar was still open!!
Saturday 22 May
First day of competition (divisioning) had arrived! It was an early start for all, having to be at the competition venue at 8.00am! You can imagine the pandemonium once the alarms went off!
Breakfast was a bit of a food fair! There was some of everything, and some of the gymnasts made sure to try a bit of everything too, before more sensible eating practices were introduced!!
The competition venue – La Coque – was a sight to behold! The gymnasts could not help but feel how important they were competing in a venue like this!! The nerves were well and truly jangling once competition got underway, but once the gymnasts got going, they were dying to get out there and show what they could do!! And show they did – troupers all, even Katie B who got up from her temporary sick bed in the venue to do her routines!!
The competition ran smoothly and within time, and as the gymnasts and coaches were clapped off the floor by the volunteers and the supporters in the stands, everyone felt they wanted to come back for more! All that was left to finish the day on a high was the opening ceremony, with acrobatic displays, dancing and music, and our very own Katie B being one of the gymnasts to read the Special Olympic oath – what a moment for her!!
Sunday 23 May
After the divisioning on Day 1, the really serious stuff was going to happen today! In their competition leotards, the ladies looked a million dollars! Focus was the order of the day, with coaches doing fantastic work in keeping them motivated – the stops were being pulled out all over the place!! The usual suspects were going through the box of tissues watching them perform – by the time we all joined in, there weren’t enough tissues left!! We were so proud!
After some of the finalists had finished from the morning session, medal ceremonies took centre stage for some of our athletes, with great anticipation and excitement as to how many they would get!! With the team producing some great performances, they weren’t to be disappointed.
The day’s exertions meant that a quiet evening in the hotel followed by a good night’s sleep was in order, with another early start planned for Monday morning.
Monday 24 May
Back for more finals! Yet again, our girls did themselves and the Club proud. In between competition and medal ceremonies, our athletes availed of the educational aspect to the Games, visiting the Healthy Athletes program at the venue, and having their eyes tested - some very fancy new glasses were acquired for a few of them as a result!
After 3 days of competition, there was only 2 thing left to do – the first was to watch the whole panel of judges performing their specially trained (by Marie!) dance routine to the tune of “Simply the Best”; the second was to let the hair down (except K2 that is!) at the closing party! With lots of food, even more dancing and some new acquaintances made, it provided a fantastic end to a fantastic event!!
Tuesday 25 May
Bags packed, medals compared, excitement up in anticipation of being reunited with families so they could tell them all about the trip! The cabin in the plane never heard such an excited din!! But they did keep quiet long enough to hear the pilot announce that a fantastic team of gymnasts from Bayside were aboard and had won lots of medals while representing their country!!
Coaching Team
The coaches and chaperones were, as usual, at their brilliant best, doing whatever had to be done to ensure that every gymnast was focussed, gave of their best, and had lots of fun along the way.
For gymnasts and coaches alike, a magnificent achievement for each and every one of them.
In addition to fabulous memories, the team took home a medal collection of 3 Gold, 10 Silver and 10 Bronze and numerous place ribbons.
Supporters
Our Irish compatriots in Luxembourg managed to pull together a great group of supporters to show up at the games – being so far from home, what a sight it was to see the Irish flag flying and the team being cheered to the rafters from opening ceremony right through to the end!! We felt so important, and had such fun waving up at our club fans. Thanks to all our supporters for making the trip. We really appreciated the flags and camera calls.
Thank You
As always, a huge thank you to our parents and supporters at home for everything you did.
Happy Memories
The event organisers had the great idea of publishing a newsletter of each day of the event, and as we were the first team to arrive, our visit to the Embassy made the headlines for the first edition!! We also featured in some of the others over the 4 days.