Village Life Begins

Wednesday 3^rd July 2013

My bed on arrival into Kazan - a GB pillow case, pin badges
 and a letter from Princess Anne, the Patron of British
Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) all waiting for me

Waking up and battling through the tiredness was a challenge but the excitement and eagerness to explore made it more than worthwhile as our life in the village was officially about to begin. Prior to this tournament I had explained to anyone who asked about what we were doing and what the 'Universiade' was that it was similar to an Olympics but for student athletes. Seeing the size and scale of the village only echoed the effort, time and resources Kazan had invested into creating these Games all they will be.

All of the surroundings, the accommodation, the flag poles, water fountains, the gardens, the chill out zones, the media centre and food hall (to name a few places on site!) resembled much of what athletes would have seen at London 2012. Walking from our apartment to the food hall for breakfast, each of us couldn’t help but be blown away as we begun to grasp what this event was and how we were part of a bigger Team GBR who were here to represent our country. This is without a doubt an experience none of us will ever forget. Athletes assembling from all over the world from Algeria to Thailand, Australia to Canada, South Africa to one of my favourites Zambia, and of course Great Britain arrive in Kazan with one goal to compete in the sport they love. This is what makes multi-sport events so excellent is that regardless of sport or country everyone’s united with the same passion to play.

Feeding time in the camp

I will try my best not to talk too much about the food hall but you have to visualise what we are provided with. It is without a doubt one of the best all-inclusive restaurants you will ever attend. There’s endless supplies of food and drink from all around the globe provided to a canteen which holds 3,000 people at once. It is unreal; having sushi followed by pizza, pasta and salad with a mix of European food on top is like a dream for food lovers :) I really can’t complain with that kind of service; we are definitely being looked well after whilst in the village. 

In action during training

As you can probably tell we are all stupidly excited to have finally arrived in the Village and I am more than buzzing to be a part of Team GBR for the 2013 Universiade. I can’t help but take a step back and appreciate the opportunities football has given me over the years and this one is no different. I love the game I play and I love succeeding in that game and that’s why we are here, to win. We have only two days to finish preparing before we kick start our tournament campaign where we face Brazil on Friday.

These preparations continued into the afternoon where we spent it training; our first session since arriving in Kazan. We are playing all of our games on artificial 4G pitches, which as you can imagine get rather hot in 25+ degree heat. We all walked away from training with feet that were burning, feeling like we had walked across hot coals! But as with all tournament football, especially competitions played abroad this is something we need to deal with and adapt to too ensure we place ourselves in the best possible position to succeed.

This is only day one of life in the athlete's village and I have to say I am buzzing for what the next few weeks hold. We are setting out as a team, players and staff alike, to win gold and we are striving to make this one of the most memorable and rewarding tournaments ever.

Welcome to Universiade Kazan 2013