The Netball Tournament

On a wonderful and beautiful sunny Tuesday morning, Pt England netball girls went downto the courts. We were going to compete against different schools. Some of our girls had to play and fill in for other schools. Yr8 Team1 and Yr7 Team1 were the only teams that competed because they were in higher groups than others.

For netball we had to be commited and win all our games. I filled in for the Yr7 Team1. They expected me to play well like how I played during the trainings. For the first game we played against Bailey Road Intermeidiate. Mary L was my position first. On the second half I was WD (Wing Defence). We beat them by 10 points. We won most of our games.

When it came to the finals our team were one of the teams that were first annouced. As we were walking to our court we were feeling the confidence and the huge presure we were going to put on this team that we were going to play against. The team that we were going to challenge for this last and I think final was Baradene. they were very easy at first, but when it came to the last half every one started to lose their pace.

When I got on I was shivering with fear and I felt very scared because I thought that we were going to lose this tournament. I tried my best to defend my partner but she kept on running away and catching the ball. She started to lose her pace so then when ever she got the ball I would always, well not ALWAYS defend her but just sometimes she got the chance to hold the ball.

After all that running and passing and catching balls, this tournament was over. We lost by one point. We came runners up and our coaches were not impressed. They thought that we were going to take this team out.

I've learnt many things in this netball tournament. I've learnt to always stick with my partner and don't be too rough on them. I've also learnt to pay attention to my team and coaches and most importantly my team captains.

SMOKING!

Smoking is bad. The only safe way of smoking is not to start in the first place. If you do start, here are some of the effects it causes. Your health is at risk, it is not good for your appearance and many more. If you don’t believe me, well... Just hear me out.

One reason why I think smoking is bad, is because of the effects that it causes for your health. This happens because cigarettes contain 4000 chemicals. Today, I am only going to name 3 of them. Nicotine, Tar and Carbon Monoxide. You may of heard of them and if you haven’t then the easiest way to describe them is dangerous. Not only do you have a higher chance of dying but your limbs start to fall off. Yeap! You heard me. Your body parts can fall off.

Second reason is your appearance. When you smoke your teeth and nails become yellow and you start to get wrinkles. Another thing you get from smoking is a TERRIBLE breath.

Lots of people start smoking when they are teenagers. Why start so young? Well I think they start because they think it is cool and because their friends are doing. Another reason why they start is probably because they are influenced by their family and friends. This is why you have to be determined and stand up for yourself.

What I told you is just the start about smoking. There are a lot more reasons on why you shouldn’t smoke. Just think about it, do you want your health to be fine when you are an old age, or have a good appearance? I would. That’s why smoking is not my future. It’s your choice, your future!
Thank you to Vivienne for finishing this post!

Mahe Drysdale

 Many New Zealand supporters waited for this much. To anticipate and watch this stunning race. Hoping to witness Mahe Drysdale to become successful in the men’s single scull. A single skull is a rower who rows by them self.
 During the previous Olympics, Mahe Drysdale was denied a gold medal through illness. So for the last four years he has been training to become even better. His goal was to make sure he won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.
 It was the last 100 meter during the final of the men’s single scull, when it became a nail biting race. As Mahe Drysdale gave it his  all to hold off his challengers, Ondrej Synek of Czech and Alan Campbell from Great Britain.
 After Drysdale's awesome competition he crawled out of his canoe and just collapsed onto the pontoon completely shattered. Mahe was feeling really elated at the same time because he had just won himself an Olympic gold medal.
 It was a huge relief when 5 time world champion Mahe Drysdale crossed the line and made New Zealand history.
 I have just been lucky enough to witness a great NZ history when Mahe Drysdale completed his race with a gold medal,  it will be a moment that will never be forgotten.

Valerie Adams

Not being able to defend her gold medal, Valerie Adams came 2nd and won the Silver. Unfortunately Nadzeya Ostapchuk, from Belarus, defeated Valerie’s personal best (21.24.) Her smile was faced up-side down as she was so disappointed in herself. She beat her best score since the Beijing Olympics.
You can find more info and pictures on this site.

The Opening Ceremony

Did you watch the "Olympic Opening Ceremony?" Well I did and it was very very fun to look at, at the same time it was very very hilarious. It was very funny because The Queen (Elizabeth the 2nd) jumped down from the helicopter. My brother, Joe, and I thought that it was really The Queen that jumped but it was a stump dummy that jumped from the helicopter and parachuted down to the stadium. The other thing was Mr.Bean. Funny Mr.Bean. He was playing the electric piano for the Orchestras Band. When he was playing the piano he was dreaming. Dreaming of racing in the triathlon and also of becoming an Olympic Star. Mr.Bean was coming first but then he got tired and started to come last. As you know sometimes Mr.Bean likes to cheat. So he saw a  car and the car started to drive faster than the triathlon athletes. For a while the driver kicked Mr.Bean out and still he came first. He woke up from his dream and the  Orchestra Band was finished.  He was still playing and then the Orchestra leader told him to stop. For a while he stopped and the crowd went wild and started laughing.

The Olympic Rings

Pierre De Coubertin was the founder of the modern Olympic games also the founder of the Olympic flag.  On the Olympic flag there were five rings but six colours. They represent the five continents.

-The Blue Represents Europe
-The Green Represents Australia (Oceania)
-The Yellow Represents Asia
-The Red Represents America
-The Black Represents Africa

The Olympic Flag mean different ways of goodwill, peace and truth. At the opening ceremony the torch lit from Olympia, Greece and transported to the hosting country ready for the ceremony to start. The hosting country rose the Olympic flag as the torch was transported.

The flag was great to see!

Thanks to my brother, Joe, for helping me finish this post.