Nyerp, what's up Doc?

Report by Peter, with photos by Martin. Find it online at www.reedconsulting.com/ctdc/200005or.

Beyond John 'O Groats : The Orkneys Octopush Tournament

Approximately six hundred miles, travelled by train, car, sea and air by the various members of the team. Five of us travelled together by train to Inverness, followed by car via ferry to the Orkneys. A session of kite flying, the type that lifts you off the ground, if the wind is strong enough, and then we met the locals for a warm-up in the evening.

A bit of experimenting with playing five in the water, as demanded by this tournament, instead of the usual six, led to a very shaky start, leading to a "friendly defeat", by the under-sixteen team. A bit of reorganisation and we were presenting a reasonably undentable side. However, this was before the rest of the teams arrived.

A cartoon theme was demanded for the naming convention of the team, which because of our association with Buckinghamshire, led to the name "The Bucks Bunnies".

We then played Captain Puckwash (Edinburgh), the winners of the other division. It was an extremely tough game, with both teams being evenly matched, with an appropriate end score of 2-2. The only problem with this situation was that a winner was required, and this was decided with a flip of a coin . We lost the toss, putting them straight through to the final, and ourselves into a game that either put us into third position or through to the final.

Things were not looking good as we went 2-0 down in the first half, but the opposition, the Fantastic Fins (aka Aberdeen) had obviously knackered themselves on the overdrive and by the end of half time we had pulled it back to 2-2. This recovery continued in the second half with us stretching our wings further to a 4-2 win by the final gong. We now had to face Captain Puckwash again, a rested team having played one less match than us. I can only say that our team played their hearts out, was constantly threatening our opponents' goal, and while being an even game, they got it, winning 2-1, placing us overall second. I would like to thank Alastair Skene who organised the tournament and made the team welcome, as did everyone associated with the tournament. I would also like to thank the team, made up of Chris Davey, Ed Eilerts de Haan, Ruth Thompson, Georgina Ashley, Liz Newton and Martin Fisher for their efforts and time.

Peter receives our second-place trophy

Liz and Martin: "Giz a carrot!"

Peter demonstrates his dancing skills at the post-tournament ceilidh

Report by Peter, photos by Martin

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