So apart from visiting Rotorua/Taupo, what else have I been doing? Well, I hooked up with a volleyball team fairly soon after arriving, but it's been pretty tough-going. Court volleyball is completely different to rebound beach volleyball, and I've been playing A-grade as if I needed things to get any harder!!! The team I've been playing with are excellent, and I'm surprised they've kept me on to be honest, as they'd do just as well without me. Now you're probably thinking I'm just being overly modest, but I hardly get to touch the ball except to serve, and tend to get more in the way than anything else. They play with A-grade Men's nets which are really HIGH so you really do have to jump to spike. And there aren't that many other females, which makes me wonder if I've stumbled in on a men's comp who have a few crazy girls playing to make up the numbers? The opposition have no qualms about spiking it straight into your face, and I think I'm lucky not to have had my nose broken or a blackeye yet. Certainly improves your reaction time! Also the court is great for your knees - have the lovely bruises to show for it - so I'll have to get knee pads or something. So why have I kept playing? well, I'm hoping I'll meet some more people and find a lower grade team to take me on. I still like volleyball, but I need to find a more social team to play in.
I also had my first game of indoor netball on Thursday night. I had never set foot on a court before so it was a steep learning curve for me!! Got a team together from work, most others had played before, so at least they knew the rules!! anyway, we lost of course but it was good fun and a good laugh so I'm looking forward to it being a regular thing. If I really get into it I'll probably drop volleyball altogether, save me driving across town as well, as the indoor sports centre is literally just down the road.
OK I'm procastinating from going through the reviewers' comments on my paper so I better go!
:-)
