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Leigh’s blog from the Commonwealth Games Educational Camp in Delhi on 5-12 October 2010.
Day 1 Tuesday
Travel day has begun, arrived at the airport at 7:30am, checked in my bags finally after a change of baggage was being done between the girls to make sure they could fit everything in. No breakfast so Starbucks it was. We boarded the plane and within 10 minutes I fell asleep, I then woke up to the smell of food, a curry for lunch. Soon after watched a few films and finally we touched down in Delhi. We were greeted by a man welcoming us to India with a flower necklace as we got on the coach to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel just after 2am, checking and waiting to collect our room keys. Once we got those we were all off to bed, very tired, ready for the next day.
Day 2 Wednesday
Early wake up for our morning run in a very humid atmosphere. It was the most eventful run I have ever done in my life, along the streets of Delhi where we had to dodge cars, people and various animals. Later we went to the England Team Athlete Lodge which is where the parents, friends and volunteers meet team members to relax before and after they have competed. Was a very relaxing room where you could get food, drinks and just relax and have a chat which I thought was really good. We all went in there for a few hours to meet Kelly and find out what we are going to be doing for the rest of the camp. Before we left we all wrote little messages on cards wishing some of the athletes from OCWK who are competing in the Commonwealth Games the best of luck.
Day 3 Thursday
Today has been very eventful, another very humid day once again. We were up early to catch the bus to netball, watching England v New Zealand was a really good match to watch, a close one at that. Later on we went to the athletics stadium to see Hannah England and others compete in the women’s 1500m heats. Really good heats were run by all of the girls who all made it through to the final which is a great achievement. A trip to an Indian market was a nice experience, quite a run down area but inside the shops were lovely and modern, then lunch at the Athletes Lodge then off for some training.
In the evening we went off to watch the badminton which was fantastic. The matches we watched were all England v India and they were very good matches to watch and very close some of them. Overall today has been great looking forward to tomorrow visiting the Athletes Village, watching cycling and some more athletics.
Day 4 Friday
It was another long day but it was a fantastic day. Woke up for training and met a few Indian athletes where they all joined in with everyone’s sessions. Emma Pallant had a few boys running with her in her session and she worked them really hard, maybe harder than they ever had as their coach said ‘she is going to kill them’ but she wasn’t backing down. We then got back to the hotel and had 15 minutes to get ready before we rushed off to watch the cycling. I think that was the quickest we all have ever been ready!! The cycling was amazing, I have never been into a velodrome before and that was the first experience I have had and I loved it. Watched all the England girls qualify into the individual pursuit finals.
Next was the Athlete’s Village and WOW was that amazing too. First thing we did was get food in the athletes’ dining hall where there were all different types of food so that everyone could have a wide range of variety and not always have the same thing every day. In the dining hall Rowena and I went off to find some fruit (which was fine to eat) and we saw Christian Malcolm and Marlon Devonish. They started speaking to us and we had a really good conversation, they are really nice guys and were asking us about ‘On Camp with Kelly’.
We had a tour around where the England team were based and where they had their massages and physiotherapy treatments. It was nicer than I was expecting, everything you needed was there which was fantastic. As we were walking to the training area we saw Tom Daley and all got a photo with him and Kelly. At the athletes’ training track we saw a few athletes and I got a photo with the Australian pole vaulter Steve Hooker.
The Athletes Village in Delhi is the first village that has ever had training facilities in the village so none of the athletes have to travel which is a really good idea and a great thing for all of the athletes. There is a 50m practice pool, weights area, wrestling area, 400m training track and weight lifting area which is great for every athlete in each event that is happening at the Games. Later we did a bit of shopping in the International Zone and had to rush back to the bus to make sure we got to the track in time to watch the 1500m final.
At the track finally we all rushed off the bus and ran to the entrances to get into the stadium to see the race. We sat round near the 1500m start waiting for the girls to come out onto the track. All excited to watch the race, Louise ready with her banner. The race was off, Charlotte was looking very nervous as if she was praying for the girls to run very very well and in this case they ran fantastically well. Coach Mick Woods was the highlight of the night with his athlete Steph Twell coming home in third place, bringing home a bronze medal. He came running down to Louise, giving her the biggest hug and was very emotional which got us all teary. It’s fantastic seeing a coach’s reaction at a major senior championship when their athlete brings home a medal. All the girls ran great, Hannah England coming home in fourth place. Now she has the 800m to contend which will be a great race for her to be in and I’m looking forward to that.
Overall today has really opened my eyes to what I want to achieve and where I want to be in the next few years becoming a senior. It has put some fire into my belly to make me want to be the best I can be and where these girls are now that’s where I want to be. It has been a great day and I am really looking forward to the next few days ahead.
Day 5 Saturday
HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICKY!!!
Vicky Griffiths’ birthday is today and boy did she get spoilt, three cakes and a bunch of roses in the space of a few hours, lucky girl hey!! It began with our morning training where again we were joined by a few of the Indian athletes, they took us to a forest which was full of horse poo and very uneven ground to run on. Was a very adventurous session but believe me we won’t be going back there anytime soon. After breakfast we had some free time to do our blogs and our diaries.
We left at 5pm to get to the track, just in time for the men’s 400m, the men’s long jump and the men’s 200m quarter finals. In the long jump England’s Chris Tomlinson and Greg Rutherford were competing. Unfortunately Chris did not clear any of his jumps but Greg brought home the silver. Next on track was the women’s 3000m steeplechase with Helen Clitheroe and Tina Brown both contending in that. Being in the stadium is such a buzz, I think it’s fantastic. Later I saw Montell Douglas who I had a chat with and is looking forward to competing in the 4x100m relay with the girls in the England team.
We left the track to get to the celebration of the Commonwealth Games England team. We were all dressed in our best for the evening, making a good impression and representing ‘On Camp with Kelly as a group. It was a really good night and to top that off it’s Vickys birthday so we had to make it a good one for her. Emma Pallant got the party started by playing the drums on the stage with a few people joining in with her, then they all started teaching her Indian style dancing and that’s when all the girls joined in. We met some great and very interesting people such as England’s rugby player (retired) Lawrence Dallaglio. It was a really great evening and I think everyone enjoyed themselves and Vicky had a fab birthday.
Day 6 Sunday
Sunday was a lovely day, relaxing and we were even able to get a spot of sightseeing and shopping in. We visited a few old Indian buildings which were quite extraordinary and interesting to see and we later went on to a traditional Indian market which was really nice and I got quite a lot of souvenirs and presents for the family.
Off to watch the athletics again which was once again amazing, the atmosphere is such a buzz, it’s great. The women’s 800m heats were on with fellow OCWK athletes Hannah England and Emma Jackson who both ran really good strong races to qualify into the final. The men’s 800m final had one English participant which was Darren St Clair who missed out on a medal.
We all got invited to a dinner in the evening where we met William Sharman, the 110m hurdles silver medallist. It was a really nice evening but very spicy food that I could not handle. Overall it has been quite a lovely day.
Day 7 Monday
Today was amazing. We had the chance to lead a training a session for about 130 Indian athletes and children who were all so so enthusiastic and eager to get on with things. We split them all into groups according to their different ages and abilities so that we could meet their needs. Each session was different and challenging as some of the athletes had never done things like this before. They were very keen and really appreciated the knowledge and advice we were passing on to them and really wanted to take it on board so that they could put theses things into practice in the future. We did a few circuits with them, showed them stretches and did a training (running) session with them which they all loved. Some of the Indian athletes got the chance to have interviews on television with either BBC, ITV or Sky which was most probably a great and new experience for them. I think they all went home with smiles on their faces today which is fantastic.
Did another spot of shopping when we got back to the hotel to finish off the last bits of present shopping and then set off to the track to watch the women’s 800m final where both Emma Jackson and Hannah England were competing. It was the most exciting race to see especially when there are two people in the race that you know and are part of ‘On Camp with Kelly’. Rowena Cole and I were both shouting so loud for them both it was unreal, I got goose bumps watching them both run because I felt so close to the race and to the girls in it. Emma Jackson came fourth with a new PB and Hannah England fifth. They both ran great races and I am proud to say I know them and watched that race they were in for real. In the men’s steeplechase was England’s Stuart Stokes who I know quite well and was quite nervous for as soon as I saw him get onto the track. I was cheering him on all the way, he came home in fifth place which is great and he seemed really happy when I saw him on the big screen. Its just absolutely overwhelming being in Delhi to actually watch the games and seeing people you know compete is amazing.
Day 8 Tuesday
Today is our final day, to get the last bit of shopping in and finish off our diaries and blogs. It has been a very relaxed day mainly blogging away and doing our newspaper articles, busy busy actually. All packed and ready to get sorted for the flight home.
After arriving at the track in the evening to kick start it all was the women’s 4x100m relay final where England were contending. Congratulations to the girls for coming first and bringing home a GOLD medal. When I saw them on the podium I cried because I was so happy for them and so happy to see them with a medal around their necks, it was so amazing. Soon after the boys followed suit, winning the gold medal, absolutely fantastic end to the track day for England I must say. In the 4x400m relays both the boys and girls finished with a bronze medal which is fantastic for all the relay teams!! I am proud to be English and one day hope I can follow suit. Fellow ‘On camp with Kelly’ girl Charlotte Purdue was in the 5000m where she again ran a fantastic race to finish sixth, her training partner Steph Twell finishing fourth in the same race!
Off to the airport, checked in and all very tired. Rowena Cole, Charlotte Best, Louise Small and I all decided that we wanted some ice cream and went to Haagen Dazs and the prices were crazy but we were allowed to taste the ice creams so we all decided to taste them all, yum yum. We also tried to haggle the prices but we got nowhere.
On the plane we all fell asleep and I’m sure we all woke up to the smell of food , greedy guts us hey! Overall it has been the most amazing camp I have been apart of and the Games were a great success!!!
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