Looking back on our Hockey & Rugby Tour to Toronto, it’s safe to say that it was well worth the 2 year wait. However, it didn’t get off to the best start in Scotland as the day before we left, we still didn’t have our visas. But once that was sorted the excitement truly began and the trip was well under way.
We all met bright and early on Thursday morning at Glasgow Airport where we quickly assembled into our six teams: The Bellew Bears, Maple Leafs, Torontoes, Brims Baller’s, Mounties and Grizzly’s. The first thing we did was a Badge Check. Everyone was issued with a team badge prior to the trip and if found with it not on them at any time during the week, points would be deducted from their team. This team spirit and competition ran throughout the whole trip, where we earned points for a variety of different things including a prepared entertainment act from each person on Tour.
Although a sporting tour, the full week incorporated the perfect balance between matches, leisure, rest and sight-seeing. This could be seen on day 1 as we all ventured to view the CN Tower, a sight that personally I have always wanted to visit. Taking the glass bottom lift up to the top of the 550m high tower was well worth it as the views from the top were simply incredible.
Later on that evening the boys kicked off the first sporting performance of Tour where they played against the Guelph Redcoats winning 80-14. It was a very exciting match and great to see the boys come together so early on in the week. The obviously impressive score massively boosted the moral of tour and we couldn’t have asked for a better start to our trip. Furthermore, this high standard set by the boys was quickly followed by the girls’ performance at an all-day tournament the next day. Both hockey teams played a number of matches against different age groups from the Ontario district, with the 1st XI winning all four of their matches gaining 1st place overall. The 2nd XI also played some excellent hockey against hard teams and although unlucky in their results managed to place 5th overall.
Even after only our first fixtures the Canadian welcome was already clear, from the respect of the players on the pitch to the conversations post-match. For me this aspect of tour is one that I won’t forget, the ability to form new connections on the other side of the world purely through the enjoyment of playing sport.
Throughout the week even the bus journeys became a highlight, with each teacher providing a form of entertainment, featuring Mr Brims’ rendition of Belter and Backstreet Boys. The girls’ bus journeys on the way to matches were nothing short of a good time as we screamed our throwback songs to the entire traffic jam on the motorway much to the boys disaproval.
Our third day promised to be busy as we set out for a full day of matches which would later be followed by our trip to Canada’s Wonderland. Not even a fire alarm at 3:30 that morning affected our performances as the boys came away with a big win beating Streetsville Secondary school 46-0 and the girls played some of their best hockey against GOA club. The hockey matches took place at Appleby College, a stunning school which looked out over Lake Ontario. The 2nd XI lost however saw massive improvements from their first performance, meanwhile the 1st XI retained their winning streak. During our games, we were helpfully encouraged by the boys through a variety of chants from the side-lines including some very original songs of questionable content and of course the national anthem.
Canada’s Wonderland was something that everyone had been looking forward to the whole week and it’s fair to say that it definitely didn’t disappoint. Due to the obvious time of year, the full park was Halloween themed with masked actors scaring us wherever we went, so much so that one of the actors had Sophia in tears literally at the entrance gates.
After a hard few days of fixtures a rest day was in order, and where better to visit than Niagara Falls. Following our long bus journey, we boarded a boat which took us right up close to the falls. We all relished in the photo opportunity even though we were soaked by the mist of water.
Looking back its hard to believe the amount of match playing and sight seeing that we managed to squeeze into one short week. Sites such as Niagara Falls are a once in a lifetime experience and I know that all the pupils who went on tour are grateful for it.
During our first matches we were unsure of the style of play that the Canadians would bring. However, going into our final hockey games we all now knew to expect a fast-paced, highly intense and structurally different match to what we were used to back home. This element of tour was very exciting as the teams in Toronto were far different to our usual Saturday morning fixtures and so both girls and boys had to adapt. In the boys final match they played Ontario’s U20s team; this was a much harder fixture which brought new challenges that they hadn't had to face before as they were up against a much bigger side. Unfortunately the boys lost, however they played some of their best rugby of tour and scored two great tries against a tough defence.
Meanwhile, the girls returned to Appleby College but this time to play the school itself. For the 1st XI this was definitely our hardest match as we went 1-0 down quite early on. However, we used our momentum of it being our last match and scored two fantastic goals which saw us take the win and close out our tour with a complete clean sheet. Up next was the 2nd XI and after having fought hard in previous games but been unlucky they put in an absolutely amazing performance winning 8-0 and ending the tour on a massive high.
In addition to the obvious highlights of tour being the matches and sight-seeing, our two year groups really came together and bonded in a way that we hadn’t before. The team aspect was a great way of mixing everyone up whilst adding a competitive and funny edge to the whole trip. In addition, we couldn’t have asked for a better group of teachers to come with us as they added an extra edge of hilarity and without them the tour would have been a lot different.
On our final day came the opportunity to shop to our hearts content as we visited a mall in Toronto which was later followed by our last tour dinner. By this point we all didn’t want the day to be over as we knew that it was then time to board our overnight flight back home.
To conclude, our Tour to Toronto was one that I know we all won’t forget as it was perfectly planned to ensure that every day came with new and lasting memories. I hope that you all now have an insight into some of the best bits of the trip however if you want to see more then there is a tour vlog created by Marni, the link is in her bio so like and subscribe. To be honest I’m sad that its over not only because I won’t get to witness Georgia’s original cover of the Canadian National Anthem or listen to HecWed’s MC skills again but because it really was a trip of a lifetime and one that we will look back on fondly in the future.