Boston College Athletics
Journal 5 - Glenelg Beach - The Aussie Iron-Man
January 11, 2005 | Lacrosse
It is day number seven of our Australian adventure and we are starting our first full day in Adelaide under a cloudy sky. We had a "no worries" kind of morning in which the team was free to explore the famous Central Market. Located in the center of the city, the market boasts the largest range of fresh food and produce in the southern hemisphere; it was colorful, busy and enticing.
After thoroughly enjoying the cultural atmosphere we packed up our bathers and headed to the Glenelg Beach, which was just a short trolley ride away. Glenelg is Adelaide's most popular suburban beach. Although the weather wasn't conducive to achieving a tan to bring back to Boston, we still managed to frolic on the beach. Before kicking off the Ironman Challenge organized by Big Mike and Chris, we had the opportunity to explore the hundreds of shops and sidewalk cafés.
After a couple of hours for lunch and shopping, the Ironman Challenge began; with four events to complete our team was divided into four squads: The Roos, Koalas, Emus, and Tasie Devils. The first event was the Flag Grab, where all the competitors lie on their stomachs in the sand, and the pop up to race down the beach to grab little flags stuck in the sand. Chris captured the title in this traditional Aussie lifesavers competition.
The second event was the Flip Flop Throw, in which Coach was devastatingly defeated in the last round by the one and only Elizabeth Kadison! As the sun came out and the winds picked up, the Ironman Challenge proved to us that lacrosse was not going to be our most difficult competition on this trip.
The third event entailed a modified version of the infamous Australian football game. With the ball resembling that of a rugby ball, the BC lacrosse team was put to a test once again, trying to "handball" the ball into a small plastic crate on the sand. Teamwork and shot precision were imperative to capture the win. It was a close match but the Emus' finally prevailed and a shocking celebration dance by Coach ensued.
After catching our breath from our laughter by this sight, we began our final event. Little did we know how difficult this last event would be. The surf was as rough as we had seen, and the cool wind blew sand violently around the beach; however the BC laxers would not be phased! The lifeguards were in place and the teams were ready...the relay race began. We had to run 100 meters into the water, swim around Chris who was planted far into the ocean. From there we had to beat the current and rough surf and round Big Mike, 25 meters away. Finally we had to run out of the water, while keeping our footing, up the beach and around the flag to tag our teammate to send them on their merry way. With a few bumps and shocking sights we had a winner! With a notably valiant effort from Catharine Saylor, (who sliced her toe open on a shell while running out of the water) the Legally Blonde Koalas stole the title.
Our Ironman Challenge had been completed, with minimal casualties. Exhausted, we all trolleyed home, showered, ate and went to bed. Another great day had passed. Cheers Mate!
- Libby Schuville (`07) & Elizabeth Kadison (`06)
