(Currently writing this mostly in a blackout)
After the long training week, the tournament had arrived, and obviously the team that was coached by James, Jasmine and myself won! Even though I think us coaches were more savage than our teams!
It kicked off to a bit of a late start as even the home school (and our winners in the end) hadn't arrived by half 9! Jasmine and me had to wait (impatiently) for the whole school to get out of church before robbing our ten players for the match to get them all kitted up, Tag Rugby Trust style. All eighty of our picked teams looked amazing in their kits and were ready to tear the pitch up! After getting them warmed up and excited by making them dance and cheer, it kicked off and the atmosphere was continuous until the end!
It all went smoothly and saying goodbye did break my heart a bit and seeing the children in a state about us leaving was beautiful, however, I think we all refrained from being crying (except Christian). If I'm honest, the love spread from the children made me feel at home and the one girl that really touched me was Usela, my little friend from Jinja SDA, she broke down in tears as I said goodbye and to not cry watching and hugging her was a challenge. Also, I was astonished by the strength in a girl from Methodist, who could pick me up, spin me around and then pick Sam up, and for anyone who's seen Sam, that's impressive!
When all of the tournament was wrapped up and we presented St. Gonzage their well-deserved trophy. We celebrated with a nice hour of quad biking through some traditional Ugandan villages on the bank of the Nile, and although some of the sights were heart-breaking, everyone was covered in mud (and possibly crops, for some). It was an amazing experience and our stop off for water and a quick look at some drowning boats and the Nile was breathtaking, and the guide even made us jump for a little cute picture. The riding, except for the loss of control, was exhilarating and something I'd love to do (and probably everyone else) through all different places.
The day did not end there... We invited our young leaders to a spit roast dinner back at our accommodation where we played darts, chatted and learnt about the Ugandan culture a bit more. After another blackout and a 40 minute torrential downpour we returned to normal. As expected we were all shattered after an amazing day where both the kids and students of Welling school shone, once again above and beyond our expectations.
Kay
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