Aloysiad 15-12 2006.indd - St Aloysius

senior school sport
included Pier 39, as well as the intriguing festivals along
the way. The twin peaks along the back of the city provided
one of the best views of the entire harbour affording many
of us good snapshots.
After acting like tourists for much of the first day, we
were more than happy to meet our very hospitable billets
from St Ignatius Prepatory. The next day was the cultural
and insightful part of our trip. The first few days with this
school and our second billeting school Marin Catholic
proved to be one of the best times on the tour itinerary,
a view shared by most of the boys. The two Water Polo
meets with these schools proved to be difficult with out
Senior Team going down to both teams. Our Junior Team,
however, proved to be a different story. Even though
many boys had never played the game before, they won
both games convincingly and continued this success right
throughout the tour.
After sightseeing, particularly at the famous Golden
Gate Bridge, we continued our journey to a small city town
in Santa Barbara County, known to the locals as Santa
Maria. Staying at nice accommodation at the Travelodge,
we embarked upon a swimming meet over that weekend,
in which we swam against teams such as Santa Maria
Swim Club and Puma – to name a few. Many of the boys
achieved great times, some pulling away PB’s. But it was
the friendly nature of the Santa Maria Swim Club (especially
the Santa Maria girls!) that saw many boys make friends.
By the end of the meet, we were invited to a party at which
a great time was had and we all made good contacts with
these hospitable people.
Continuing on with our journey, we eventually made
our way down the scenic coastal roads to Los Angeles.
The tourist destinations here were plentiful, and a lot of the
boys’ time and money was spent on them. These highlights
included the Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, The
Hollywood Walk of Fame, and yes, even Universal Studios
and Disneyland!
However the ease of this place was starkly contrasted
to the fierce Water Polo demands when we competed
against schools such as St John Bosco High, Inter City High
St Aloysius’ College
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879
and La Jolla High. I believe we rose to the occasion with
our Senior Team winning two of these three games, one of
which lasted a gruelling nine quarters! The one and only
Junior Varsity game played in LA saw us win by an immense
eleven goal margin.
This concluded the Water Polo meets of the tour. Our
Junior team was proudly undefeated on tour. The Varsity
level is very strong as they trained generally twice a day
(cleverly called ‘two-a-days’ by the Americans) and had
extremely high swim standards.
By giving equal time to both sports, we had many
swimming training sessions throughout the tour, and when
we weren’t training, we were competing. The two major
swim meets held, spanned over the two weekends that
we spent there. So for those tough boys who managed
the overlap of both Swimming and Water Polo, there was
very little time to rest their weary legs. When we weren’t
Swimming or playing Water Polo, we were sight seeing
and shopping. Every man had a busy plan. We had
people to see and places to be. One of these places was
of paramount importance to us all. Disneyland, all “nine
lands”, meant that the boys spent a lot of time on rides and
in shops. This large expanse was a tourist haven. When
the boys were not riding joyfully on the roller coasters or
singing merrily on the ‘it’s a small world’ ride, they were
waiting in lines, queuing up for hours. A select few boys
were so overjoyed by the time spent there that they lasted
well into the night. Myself, of course, being one of them.
Now, with all the fun having been had, and with all
our energy expended, the last few days were spent gladly
in our quality accommodation. The ‘Quality Inn’, rightly
named. However, without losing sight of why we were
there, the last day or two were indebted to the swimming
cause. Being a high profile meet, the competition was tight.
I can honestly say, we swam well, and made our presence
known.
As the sun set on our final day, the camaraderie of
the boys was best felt when we visited Newport Beach,
famously known as the “O C beach”. We all got together
and immersed ourselves in the culture by playing a social
game of grid iron (or ‘football’ as we were often corrected!)
Special recognition needs to be shown to George, our
good friend and bus driver who sang a good tune or two
at his own expense.
A great opportunity and an even better experience.
We thank the touring party, who held great responsibility
and were the source of discipline (although little was
actually needed) and organisation. The boys’ thank you Mr
Langley, Mr Zolezzi and Mr Tenisons for all your efforts.
Christian McMahon (Year 11)
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