2016 CAREBACO Team and Individual Championships, Aruba

It was time to fly out again, this time I would be gone for almost 4 weeks in a row with a packed tournament schedule. Aruba, Brazil, and Mexico back to back then a week break and off to Columbia. This time I was heading to the Caribbean for the CAREBACO championships which happen every year, last year it was in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and we got a bronze medal in the team championships. This year we would see what we could fight to get. I was also the first seed in the individual BWF singles event.

 

2016 Trinidad and Tobago Senior CAREBACO team (L to R: Me, Solangel, Leanne, Kerian, Will, missing Alistair)

Flying to Aruba proved a little longer and harder than expected but nothing terrible just an overnight layover. For all the upcoming trips I would be flying through Houston international airport in Texas as it is a united hub for South America and the Caribbean. It was substantially cheaper to book all my flights as round trips than trying to go from one location to the other, weird yes I know. Unfortunately didn’t have status yet so I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the lounges or anything for the next few trips, I was just star alliance silver which doesn’t get the perks of lounge access but got priority check in and boarding. The last time I went to Aruba was when I was very small and we went island hopping one summer with my mom, aunt, and cousins so I didn’t remember it to well from back then.

 

Who could pass up these beautiful beaches on the island?

Arriving in Aruba was nice, the weather was hot and sun shining bright. It was still summer in Calgary, well ending, but the weather was good there however winter was looming around the corner. Upon arrival I was unfortunately not picked up from the airport which is something I am quiet use to despite submitting my arrival information. After some time and using the wifi I was able to contact somebody from the Trinidad team and the tournament organizers came and took me to the tournament hall where the junior team tournament was happening. I stayed there for a while to support the juniors. The rest of the senior team was to arrive the next day. The venue didn’t look terrible, definitely not the worst place that I have been to before. That night I got a decent rest and the following day me and Rahul (President of the TTBA), Navin (TTBA position), and one of the juniors Renaldo went to have an early morning practice at the hall. It was a good first hit in the venue and something well needed as the Senior Team tournament would start the following day.

 

The tournament venue, practice day

I headed back to the hotel and rested for the majority of the day, venturing out for food and to explore a bit but didn’t stay out long due to the heat. That night the rest of the team thankfully arrived and we were relieved to see them. Team matches would start the following day and was in the format of men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. To win the tie you had to win 3 out of 5 but they would play out the entire tie for completeness sake. There was only 4 countries entered this year; Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Barbados, and Suriname. Every team was strong and it would be a fight right to the end. We played Suriname first and unfortunately lost 1-4. I played singles against Suriname for that tie. While Dom Rep played Barbados and won their tie. Next tie was playing against Dom Rep and we lost 1-4 yet again. This time I played both doubles and mixed doubles having 2 close matches. Suriname played Barbados and won their tie. This meant that playing for first and second place would be Suriname and Dominican Republic. Playing for third and fourth place would be Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. There was only 3 medals; gold, silver, and bronze nothing for fourth place.

 

Tournament venue during the competition, it was actually a good venue for an island

Game day. It all came down to this tie against Barbados, either we would be going home with a medal or we would be going home empty handed. I played first singles and it was national champion against national champion. I was able to beat the Barbados player but it went 3 games because of my nerves and safe play at times. Next up we won women’s singles with Solangel winning in 2 straight. Then came doubles, if we won this match then we would win the tie and be bronze medalists at CAREBACO. Alistair and Will were able to beat out the other 2 players winning us the tie and taking it home 3-0. That was a good feeling to have gotten a bronze medal at least from the tournament which was a big moment for national pride and made me feel good about being Trinidadian.

 

2016 CAREBACO Team Event Bronze Medal, award ceremonies

 

The medals that we got, they are actually pretty cool

That however was not all that took place in Aruba, I was there for just over a week due to the amount of events I was participating in. there was a day where I did have no badminton due to the team tournament finishing and the international starting the following day. What better use of a day than to explore the island or as much as possible and within walking distance of the hotel. There were 2 shopping malls down the road which we checked out earlier in the week to find food but this was the first time that actually spent time walking through them and seeing what was what. There was a dock where the cruise ships came in and then just retail all along the strip since it was a very tourist heavy area. Located there was also a giant “I love Aruba” sigh which of course is the perfect photo opportunity and a must have picture. The walk to the mall/shopping area wasn’t terribly far maybe about 15 minutes but the heat is what was really the killer, it was also deathly dry there so not a good combination. The view however could not be beat, blue clear water just tropical paradise status, and was always a welcome sight. Not to mention very tempting to just jump in and go for a swim.

 

Climbing up on the Aruba sign

 

Another Aruba sign and of course I needed to climb it again

Talking about going for a swim and the ocean this was yet another trip where I was not fortunate enough to actually go into the water. Despite our hotel literally being across the street from the beach the most that I went into the water was up to my knees for a picture…but it was a good picture and the water was so warm. We did however spend some time hanging out on the beach both during the day and at night. During the night there was a food truck which came out and the food that they served was delicious. What better thing to do than grab some food and walk down to the beach. Listen to the calming of the sea and stare into the abyss of space seeing the sky lit up with the stars of our galaxy…alright if you couldn’t tell I enjoy space a lot.

 

Couldn't leave without getting a picture in that perfect looking water

We spent a lot of nights eating at this food truck, it got lots of business

With the team tournament over it was time for the senior BWF individual event to start as well as there was a junior international event happening too. The draws were late to be posted and we only found out the draw 2 days before the tournament was to start which is almost unheard of for international standards. This international was only a future series which is the lowest level offering no prize money, and very limited points. I had a decent draw playing against a Suriname player first round and then that took me into quarterfinals where I played a Jamaican player and unfortunately lost. This loss would cause me to leave Aruba the next day and focus on my tournament in Brazil which was a much higher level and offered a lot more points. Because of the tournament in Brazil I did not play men’s doubles or mixed doubles due to the time constraints of getting to Brazil on time. It would also be the next step in my new partnership with Matt for world championships qualifications so was important to get to and adjust to the venue. All that was left was to leave Aruba and fly back to Calgary for believe it or not a 5 hour layover before flying straight to Brazil. I know what you are thinking that is a major backtrack but it was insanely cheaper (over $1000 cheaper) to do it this way, also I would get a lot of qualifying miles for my United reward status so not a total loss. Just meant that I would be spending a lot of time flying and in airports, something that I have become accustomed to over the past few years. So now onto Foz Du Iguassu, Brazil for the 2016 Brazil Grand Prix.

2016 CAREBACO team event men's singles, me vs. Barbados

2016 US Open Grand Prix Gold

 

The US open had been moved back to LA since its move to New York for 2 years. Despite the move back it was not given back to OCBC down in Anaheim so this was something new. It was awarded to a facility called the Los Angeles Badminton Club (LABC) which I actually played at once before.  This was good news as I would be staying at Yukos house and it wasn’t a terribly far drive, nothing compared to trying to go from Manhattan Beach to OCBC. This tournament I would be playing all 3 events. Singles, Doubles with Matt Fogarty, and mixed with Yoshi (Yukos daughter). So let’s discuss something first, let’s talk about this doubles partnership.

 

Earlier in the year the opportunity came up to play with Matt in the attempt to make a run at qualifying for the 2017 world championships in Glasgow, Scotland. This meant that we would be playing tournaments together in order to get the required points and the world ranking needed. The qualification for world championships is May 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017 so a one year period. The best 10 tournaments in that time count and only 2 teams from the same country are able to qualify. Because we are a split partnership we would count as one team from Trinidad and one team from USA. The US Open would be our first tournament together and first set or ranking/qualification points.

 

At the time I wasn’t even thinking about qualifying or trying to qualify for singles but that would come into play later on. So that is the new partnership that was formed and that would also lead me to some more travels than I had intended for the year. Canada open passed and then a few days later I was on my flight to LA and to see Yuko again. We got to practice at the tournament hall with Dean and Dean’s partner, also with Tuck and Jenn Yee too. The tournament venue wasn’t terrible it was a darker hall and they had adjusted the lighting to make it more “professional” but that wasn’t necessarily the case. Yuko was the nurse on duty so she would be going up each day which was nice for me as it was at least an hour to an hour and a half drive each way.

 

2016 US Open GPG venue at LABC

Before the tournament started though it was time to celebrate 4^th of July American style, aka go down to the beach and suntan. Of course everyone was out on the beach partying and drinking it up so it was definitely a great time and so relaxing as well. That evening we went out to the tournament hall to practice again and while driving back we could see the 4^th of July fireworks being set off all over the place. It is about a 40 minute to 1 hour+ drive depending on traffic but with fireworks going off it was enjoyable. The next day would be the start of the tournament and I would need to get a good night’s rest for my singles match.

 

Manhattan Beach on 4th of July

 

Soaking up some sun

First day of play, singles. It started off just like that and I was playing Ruban of Guatemala, I have never played him before and he is about the 2^nd best Guatemalan after Kevin Cordon. This match was something else, I did not play smart and did not have my focus where it should have been. Because of this it left me shell shocked and scrambling around to try and figure out what to do. Ultimately that did not end well and it was a loss in singles for me. So my day was over, we stuck around and watched some other matches that were happening before me and Yuko did the long drive back to Manhattan Beach.

 

During Mens Singles

Mixed doubles was up first with me and Yoshi playing against Nyl and Britney from Canada. That was a tough match from the start but we didn’t do badly actually and it was a lot of fun. We ended up being on the streaming court as well so that was a bonus. Afterwards I had to play doubles and that would be the debut of me and Matt playing together. We had a decent first round against Dean (his former partner of many years) and a younger university student Ali. This was a good warm up match and ultimately we ended up winning, it was a little bit of a bittersweet win though because I like Dean and we are great friends off the court but I know this one hurt him a little. Every match from there on out I play for Dean because it truly is because of him and Yuko that I am having this opportunity available to me and I don’t think I can ever repay them.

 

Not gonna lie, fanboyed a little and finally got my picture with Peter Gade

This is where things would get once again interesting. We had now progressed to round of 16 at a grand prix gold tournament. The first time I could say I have been that far, even if it is just winning one round. Now we were in for a real shock, we would play a pair from Japan. The match started and I have never felt this lost before ever. No matter what we did, no matter how good a shot, no matter what everything came back with interest. I could hit a net kill straight down at the service line and somehow they would get it back with a crosscourt tight winner. It was brutal, of course they are good and it would be easy but I have never felt that lost, even when I have played top 20 singles players in the world. But the simple fact of the matter was we got absolutely destroyed on the TV/betting court. This was the beginning of a partnership though which would take us too many countries and hopefully many more wins.

 

For the time being my experience at the US Open was done and I would spend a few more days in LA with Yuko and her family before heading back home. The next few days involved doing some simple things, badminton and checking out Venice beach of course. We ended up going kayaking in the marina with Dean and one of his friends which was super fun to do. Having some good food and great company is always the best way to spend time. First doubles win of the year under my belt and onto the next tournaments we had planned out. Aruba with Trinidad and Tobago for CAREBACO team and individual championships in August. Brazil Grand Prix in Iguassu Falls beginning of September. Mexico International series in Cancun, and Columbia International series in Nevia both in September. I would definitely be earning my elite status this year.

 

Some fun out on the water

Can't go to Venice Beach and not see Muscle Beach

 

2016 Manhattan Beach International

The time had come and it was the first tournament of the year, the 2016 Manhattan Beach International in Manhattan Beach, LA. I had been to LA many times before, to many to count on ones hands but never to Manhattan Beach. My good friend Yuko Kawasaki lives there and invited me to stay with her for the tournament so I wouldn’t pass up the offer to hang out with a good friend. I boarded the all familiar flight to LA and before you know it had landed in LAX the only difference was that I had a late night flight and arrived some 1am in the morning. After arriving I was picked up and whisked away to Yukos house to get some sleep for the night. I had never seen her house before and when I arrived I was amazed at how tightly packed all the houses were packed into their lots and next to each other. But it was nice to be in their mansion for the week and hang out with and meet the family. The tournament wasn’t to start for a few days I went down early to adjust to the place and get a decent hit in at the venue and of course check out the beach.

The beach at Manhattan Beach

So first things first I went down to the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club (MBBC) which is where the tournament was going to take place. A small private club located about a 10-15 minute walk from the beach. The club is a simplified version of the Glencoe Club in Calgary as it is just badminton courts and an outdoor pool area as well as a sort of sitting area too. Nice little club located within Manhattan Beach though and very popular not just for its badminton but just as a space for people to go and hang out by the pool. The tournament wasn’t meant to start for a few days so I was able to get in some hitting with friends who were there as well as some of Yuko’s friends who were playing the tournament (Dean and Jen) as well as Yuko’s daughter who I was playing mixed doubles with. I was however unable to practice with my doubles partner before the tournament happened.

 

Manhattan Beach Badminton Club (MBBC)

One nice thing that you don’t always see at the lower level of tournaments is that they had a welcome dinner for us. The city of Manhattan Beach hosted an athlete’s welcome dinner at the local fire station for the event. The firefighters cooked some pasta dishes for us and salad as well they honoured some of the top badminton players to come out of Manhattan Beach and the MBBC be those nationally, internationally, and Olympians.

Gift bag from the tournament

 

Dinner at the local fire station

The time passed and eventually the day arrived for the tournament to start. In singles I would play Job Castillo from Mexico, in doubles Tuck and I would play Bjorn and Matthew Fogarty both from USA, and in Mixed Yoshi and I would play Bjorn (USA) and his girlfriend Marina from Mexico. Side note I was going to play Manhattan Beach international and then after play Thailand Grand Prix Gold but the flights didn’t work out to leave and get to Thailand in a good time for my first match so I had to cancel that trip and withdrew from the tournament before the draw was published even though I was in the main draw. Match day came and singles was up first, I played Job and this was the first time we had ever played despite attending so many of the same tournaments. It was a tough game from the start but I was able to rally with him and make him move, in the end though he prevailed and beat me so that ended singles. Doubles came next and it was the first time me and Tuck had played together period. We had such a close game with Matt and Bjorn losing 19-21, 19-21 to them, the winner of that match automatically went to semifinals and got a medal. Matt and Bjorn would however make it to the finals and lose in 3 games to a pair from Indonesia so the fact we almost beat them was very promising for us and a great result. Mixed was last and likewise it was Yoshi and my first time playing together so it was a learning experience and a fun time none the less. We were able to string some rallies together but I would need to improve my mixed for sure after playing.

The tournament had come to an end, a phrase I say all too often these days it seems. No medals here but was very close in the doubles to getting one yet at the same time I was satisfied with the results. It was the first tournament of the year and definitely not the last to come. But in the meantime I would be off to China to spend time with Belinda and her family so I had that to look forward to. Anybody who knows me knows that I have a huge soft spot for China, I just love it there and now I would get to go back first trip for the year so of course I was excited. Plus it’s a long flight on a big plane and just as well anybody who knows me knows that I love flying on big planes and that I don’t consider anything under 5 hours of flying traveling. I did however have a few days left to kill in LA so I did spend most of my time at the tournament and the beach of course as well at one local attraction.

Sand Dune Hill is the name of the massive sand dune in Manhattan Beach that is famous for anybody into fitness and working out. Back in the day everyone use to run it from the football and basketball teams that call LA home to the various other athletes and just anybody who wants a killer workout in general. So me being me the lover of fitness I had to try it and run up and I was not disappointed at all. Firstly off it is all sand, secondly the angle of it is rather ridiculous, and thirdly it’s pretty high. Starting out strong I soon felt the effects of running and having your feet just sink into the sand, at one point I was almost on my hands and knees to crawl up the hill but in the end I made it. Dean recorded the whole thing and added a pretty fun commentary to it as well. I got a picture at the top cause Yuko took the stairs up to meet me there and then headed back down. After that we went for a nice and a lot easier walk along the beach. That was my last activity in Manhattan Beach before flying out to Beijing the following day.

 

Sand Dune Hill

All in all I am satisfied with the tournament and learned more about what I needed to do and work on. The next tournament would be Trinidad and Tobago nationals which I would try to defend my title at. That would be taking place in April so still a few months to prepare for it but no travel or tournaments prior unfortunately. Until then another trip to LA was completed and added to the books for the travel stats of 2016. Not to mention I had now switched from Air Canadas reward program over to United’s program because Air Canadas was getting harder and harder to achieve status and the past few years I would always be one tier lower status each year. United’s program was so much easier and I always fly United to Trinidad so it is a no brainer, I also am pretty happy with their service.

Victory on top of sand dune hill after conquering it

2015 CAREBACO Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Not more than a month had passed since the surrealistic experience of the Pan Am Games and I was flying out again to another tournament. This time it was the regional Caribbean championships called CAREBACO and was being held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Trinidad was sending a team of us to represent the country and compete in the senior and junior events. The senior team consisted of Jason Ramjass (my doubles partner from nationals), Alistar Espinoza, Solangel Guzman, Avril Marcelle, and Leanna Castanada, and myself. We were the senior team that would represent Trinidad and Tobago at the championships. Along with us was a large junior contingent which had entries in all age categories for the individual events as well as a junior team for the junior team event. There was also a Junior International that happened right before the Junior CAREBACO so in a way the juniors got 2 tournaments out of it.

First things first was getting to Santo Domingo and I needed to find a decently cheap flight there and that proved to make things very interesting on the route that I would take. Logic does not always dictate that flight routes make sense and believe me when I say that mine wasn’t the most logical both going and returning. Let’s start with the journey there which had me go for the milk run. From Calgary to LA, LA to New York, and finally New York to Santo Domingo. This proved to take a full 24 hours of traveling including an overnight flight from LA to New York and arriving into Santo Domingo around 1am in the morning. The rest of the Trinidad team arrived just an hour before me so they waited at the airport to collect me and head to the resort. The host hotel was at an all-inclusive resort by the beach so there was no complaints there as it was pretty much food and drinks included and a beach with picturesque clear water. The accommodation though wasn’t as ideal, there was 3 of us sharing the room during the team tournament phase (Jason, Alistair, and me) but then during the individual tournament Jason and I were to have a room to ourselves but we got stuck with one of the juniors in the room with us.

 

Aside from all that the resort wasn’t anything special, it wasn’t a 5 star resort right on the beach there was a little walk to the hotels private beach. The food was sub-par at best and most of the time it appeared to be under cooked but it was free so I guess I’m not allowed to complain. There was also drinks involved but they were watered down for sure which is expected from an all-inclusive resort. Didn’t matter because we wouldn’t be spending much time there other than sleeping anyways as the tournament hall was at least an hour drive away with no traffic. That journey easily jumped to 2 hours when there was traffic. It also meant that all the players had to go down at the same time and stay there the whole day as there were not multiple shuttles do and from the hotel. Over cramming the bus going followed by being sweaty, tired, and hungry on the ride back was not a fun combination or fun way to spend a week.

 

The original tournament venue was to be close to the hotel but some last minute complications happened which required it to be changed to the further one. This new venue was just like most other tournament halls I have experienced in my travels to South America and the Caribbean…crap. There were multiple openings in the wall which allowed a lot of wind to come in. funny story and spoiler alert, here was a hurricane coming towards the island which would hit later in the week when we were there. So the tournament started with the team championships, there was 4 teams present. Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, and of course Dominican Republic. It was a format of a men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and a mixed doubles. The order of play could vary and usually always started with a men’s doubles. We played Barbados first and the following day we played Dominican Republic and the next day Jamaica. At the end of the team championships when all was said and done we came in 3^rd place so a bronze medal for the Trinidad and Tobago senior badminton team. After that started the CAREBACO International which was a BWF event and counted towards world ranking as well as Olympic qualifications.  

 

Individual events started and I was the 4^th seed for men’s singles. That was the first time in a really long time that I have been seeded for an international tournament. I played a local player first round and then after played Gareth henry from Jamaica. However the day that I played Gareth there was a hurricane that blew through and they only played a few matches that morning because the winds and rain were coming in, unfortunately I was one who played and that was a hard time with the shuttle blowing every which way. Unfortunately I lost 2^nd round singles and then 1^st round men’s doubles and 2^nd round mixed doubles. My tournament was over but first we had to make it through the hurricane. That hit us but not as hard as it could have been, there was some minor damage and to my knowledge no causalities.

 

The tournament was done for me on Friday and I was leaving Santo Domingo Sunday morning at 4am with a ridiculous flight path to New York, then to LA and finally to Calgary. That meant that I would actually have Saturday to relax/enjoy the place. But first it meant going out on Friday night to the resorts club on the beach, that was a lot of fun and with free drinks it turned into quite the night of partying island style. Waking up the next morning I didn’t have a hangover or anything though so I was grateful for that. Thankfully the hurricane didn’t mess up the beach and Jason and I were able to enjoy the water, it was incredibly salty but warm none the less. At this point it had been a long time since I made it to the beach let alone went into the water. So to relax in the ocean was such a peaceful and calming thing to do. At this point half the day was done and that meant I needed to pack and get ready for my early departure. 

 

 

Once night hit we ventured into the streets and wandered around because one of our friends wanted a real drink and no more of the watered down alcohol at the resort. Our walking took us straight to the red light district of Santo Domingo and we ended up getting bombarded by prostitutes and their pimps. It was quite the interesting experience to see how many foreigners were actually there enjoying themselves and taking in the sights. After finally getting our friend his drink we left and headed back to the club on the beach for a little and I said my goodbyes to everyone from the Trinidad and Tobago delegation that was there. The driver who was talking me to the airport was also at the club so I didn’t have to worry about missing my ride, 1am rolled around and we made our way to the airport. Early morning flights/red eye flights are the bane of my existence and when I retire from competing and am traveling I will avoid them at all costs.

The trip back to Calgary would take me all day and I would arrive at 9pm that night as I had a few layovers in New York and LA. The flight to NYC from Santo Domingo started off smooth but then only 45 minutes there was a medical emergency and we were not sure if we would have to turn around or divert to another country/airport. In the end we continued forward and made it on schedule to NYC. The rest of the flights I ended up sleeping and watching movies on my tablet but was grateful when I finally arrived home and could sleep in my own bed, and not have to share a bed. That would be the end of the trip not the worst but not the best. I ended up coming home with one medal at least and that’s something big a medal from an international tournament. I would get a bit of world ranking points for Olympic qualifications and got to go to the beach and into the ocean. I wasn’t planning any tournament’s for September but that meant that I had to figure out what to play next as tournaments/points from the previous year would start to fall off.

 

 

2015 Mauritius International

Off to Africa I was going, well an island off the coast of the African continent but it still counts and falls under being in Africa. The 2015 Mauritius International was taking place June 11-14^th (those dates would slightly change later). This would count as an Olympic qualifying event, any international tournament between May 1, 2015 and May 1, 2016 would count towards the 2016 Olympic qualifications. This was my second tournament I’d be playing of Olympic qualifications and I had to play 2^nd seed Kevin Cordon of Guatemala first round. Not the best draw for flying all the way across the world for a tournament but anything is possible. So the flight to Mauritius wasn’t anything that I haven’t done before, 12 hours from Paris was about the same as going to Hong Kong from Vancouver or Korea from LA. The flight was smooth and landing in Mauritius was a nice sight, seeing the tropical island appear out of the otherwise desolate ocean. Upon arrival went through customs and then began the journey of being picked up and heading to the hotel.

Quite the sight to see

There turned out to be a small complication when we arrived in the city of the tournament, only 40 minutes away from the airport on the other side of the island. The tournament hotel that the tournament organizers had booked players in was full. I arrived with a few other people for the tournament, a girl from Finland, and 3 Turkish players plus their coach. None of us had a room in the hotel we were promised so the association gave us the run around and brought us to another hotel which would house players at the same tournament rate and provide the same services (meals included). This place wasn’t any resort looking area and was smack dab in the middle of a residential (neighbourhood) surrounded by houses for blocks around. There was nothing available for the tournament at that time, no practice times or bus schedule to the hall so the day I arrived was a write off and I was more than happy to relax and fight off any jet lag.

My wonderful hotel

And its slightly sketchy looking pool

The next day rolled around and we were told that there were practice times available for early that afternoon. At that time some other players had come into the hotel, a guy from Hungary and a team from South Africa. Not to mention at the same time as our badminton tournament there was a football tournament so there was a lot of teams staying at almost every hotel in the city at that time. So I went to the hall and was able to have a hit with the Hungarian player for about an hour on the courts. The hall in Mauritius was nice as it was the national badminton center. 14 courts but only about half of them had mats on them the others were simply a sort of rubber hard floor that while provided grip was very hard on the knees. After the session I was able to have another quick hit with a player from India and then called it a day heading back to the hotel.

Tournament Hall

The nice part about the hotel was the meals were included in the price so upon arrival we got lunch and then had a few hours to kill before the managers meeting that very evening. The team managers meeting is something that I attend every tournament I go to usually because I am the only Trinidad athlete present so I have to go. This one was no different only that it was single handed the longest managers meeting I have ever been to…and I didn’t even stay for the whole thing. This is where an interesting predicament arose. The tournament was originally June 11-14 with qualification events being on the 10^th. The 14^th was Sunday and there was a government election taking place that same day. By law on the day of elections it is illegal to have a public gathering of people so that meant that it would be against the law to have the finals for the tournament on that day. The tournament organizers had only found that out about 2 weeks before the tournament, long after everyone had booked their flights and everything to come so they couldn’t cancel the tournament. This meant that the tournament would now happen over June 11-13^th… only 3 days. There was 1 round of singles the first day, 2 rounds the following day and then on the Saturday semi-finals in the morning and finals in the evening. 

So the tournament started that night with qualification events, 3 rounds of it. The following day around noon I played my match against 2^nd seed Kevin Cordon of Guatemala. I set up my gopro to record it but the modes got switched and it just ended up taking a picture every 10 seconds for the entire duration of the match. So that was my unfortunate mishap and I was kind of disappointed at that fact. The match on the other hand went well, a lot better than expected. I was able to win points, the major reason that I lost points were primarily unforced errors. Don’t get me wrong Kevin is a beast on court and he is able to change the pace as well as has a cannon of a smash. All in all it was a long way to fly to play another Pan Am player but I and Kevin finally had our match 2 years later than it was scheduled. In 2013 I was to play Kevin 2^nd round at the 2013 Tahiti International Challenge but that is when he blew out his knee the week before in Peru and I played another played 2^nd round making it to quarterfinals of an International Challenge.

I was out of the tournament just like that, meaning I had another 4 days left in the country to enjoy and relax as well as celebrate my birthday. Friday rolled around and what did I do but sleep in till 4pm, my body was destroyed by jet lag and I didn’t want to do anything that day at all other than sleep. Essentially Friday was a write off. Saturday rolled around and I slept in again but this time I got up and went into the town to explore and see what was what. I was planning to take a boat trip to a remote island and enjoy the beach, etc on Sunday since it was my birthday but then after looking through everything I realized that it wouldn’t be as much fun to go alone. Instead when Sunday rolled around I got up nice and early and went to a place called Flic-en-Flac beach which is a famous destination in Mauritius and a very beautiful beach. I spent a solid 5 hours at the beach doing a multitude of things from swimming, reading, running, and sun tanning (yes even I can tan and look better with a tan). Spending my birthday on the beach of a tropical island in the middle of the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa turned out to be pretty sweet after all. The day came to an end, the hotel provided all the meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) so they knew it was my birthday and cooked me a special birthday meal even with a dessert surprise. The next day I would catch my flight back home in the night, the long journey to France and then to Calgary.

The wonderful beach where I spent my day

Everyone needs a shirtless beach picture

I woke up the following morning and finished packing, ate some food and then went to check out the big shopping mall that was across the highway from the hotel. There wasn’t really much present in terms of shops just random places and no souvenir shops, which was quite a surprise because even in town itself I had a hard time trying to find souvenirs. After that had my last dinner at the hotel and it was a kind of bittersweet ending to the tournament. The van came and picked me up, there was other player from an African Country who was also leaving that night. We drove to the airport and then the long trip home would begin with a 12 hour flight from Mauritius to Paris, a layover and then another long haul flight home to Calgary. Overall I felt good playing in Mauritius, the big moment was when I was sitting in the airport in Paris and got the final confirmation that I was attending the 2015 Pan Am games to represent Trinidad and Tobago in badminton. That made the trip all the more sweet but meant I would only have 3 weeks to finish my preparations for that. Knocking 2 continents off the list, getting to see 3 countries and some amazing sights/architecture as well as got a tournament in I’d say that the trip was well worth it and quite a success. But first up would be the 2015 Canada Open which would be in my home city of Calgary, Alberta just a week after my arrival back from Mauritius. 

My plane back to Paris, France