Our university squad at Sunderland went to Perth in Scotland at the weekend to compete against other universities. The big news in short, is that we did pretty well, securing first and third place in the BUCS 5 girls category. I came ninth, but none of our trampettes came last, which was good. We are known amongst each other as the trampettes, and I kind of like it.
There was a lot more to the trip than just our judged routines and final results though. It all starts before we even get on the coach. The last week before a competition is always taken more seriously than the rest of the time. In training it was all about practicing our routines. We can’t move on to going until training is done.
This coach trip was like every other. It started off with everyone talking and playing about and eventually began to wind down more and more the closer we got to our hotel, which we couldn’t find straight away. When we all walked in it was a relief that it was the right place, and even better was the fact there was a Toby Carvery attached to the Travelodge. We knew what we were doing for our dinner that night.
Later on, when we were all back in our rooms a few of us went round to see other people. It was nice to just chill out and chat. A few of the girls decided to move mattresses from their rooms and have a big sleepover in one place. As much as I liked being there, I was the boring one and decided against this plan, opting to sleep alone in my assigned room. At first I thought it would be fine, and in terms of getting enough rest for the busy day to come, it was. However, the minute I got laid down with the lights off, I began to get a little wary. I know it’s stupid and I don’t believe things I see in horror films, but at that moment, being alone in a dark, silent hotel room, I felt uneasy. I finally managed to settle and get to sleep though thankfully, and nothing got me in the night, so that was good.
Saturday – The big one. A trampolining competition is an all day thing, even though each person is probably required to be on a trampoline for just a few minutes. We get chance to practice, which is good for perfecting moves, but ultimately as something to do to pass the time. It’s a long day until it’s your turn to be judged. That’s why it’s good that we have such a big squad. There was plenty to talk about and plenty of people to talk to. What really helped though was that some of the universities didn’t even turn up who were supposed to be competing, so each category took a lot less time to get through, meaning we finished up nice and early. This also meant we had a better chance of placing. The time saved was even better for those of us who were going on to Newcastle as it meant we actually had time to get ready. It was all slightly chaotic with everyone wanting to use mirrors at once and stuff, but we managed it.
The bus back was a lot less lively than it was coming. Most people just slept or kept to themselves. I had my iPod in and tried to settle, but to no avail, so I half listened to what was going on around me as well. Stepping off the coach, the icy wind hit us and we realised we were in for a cold night. The whole night was exceptionally cold actually and it surprised me just how unbearable it started to become. While we were inside it was fine and I managed to get a few cocktails down me. Cocktails are probably my favourite type of drink but I never usually have them, so it made a nice change. A few of us ended up separating from each other, but all met again to go home. I wouldn’t say it was one of my best nights, but hey, they can’t all be perfect. It was still good and I didn’t regret going.
One thing I wasn’t happy about though was that when we got back to Sunderland, I couldn’t get an answer from a taxi company. I rang and rang, but got no answer, so I had to walk home. Luckily I wasn’t alone though and it worked quite well that all our warm clothes we took the competition were there waiting for us to collect. Even with all the layers, I still felt like I would freeze on the spot, so was grateful to fall into my bed, where I went to sleep almost instantly. It had been a long weekend after all – a very good one though, and one I’ll remember for a long time.