Wallace Tournament Take 3

Doing my babysitting duties looking after Chichi as she slept

Last weekend marked the third and final Wallace Tournament of my time in Zambia as Group 3 organised, hosted and delivered a fantastic day to celebrate the hard work of the past 6 weeks. The Wallace Tournament always acts as a great day for not only all of the participants but for the students to come together and really recognise the fantastic work they have been doing in and around the communities in Lusaka.

The day started with an early rise as we all made our way across to Munali, one of our placement sites, to set up and prepare for the arrival of approximately 400 children and teams from Fountain of Hope, Chipata, Mtendere, Munali and St Patricks. As with most things Zambian time always plays a part as our 9:30am start was delayed and we soon found ourselves over an hour behind on some of the tournament schedules. I have to give credit to each and every IDEALS student, as despite this, a scenario which would often cause mayhem back at home, they were relaxed and embraced it as all part of the day. 

Team Photo... Munali U12s

One thing that is great about the Wallace Tournament is that Steph and I can take a step back as Team Leaders and let the students make the day what they want it to be. From the sport specific scheduling to the theme for the day, to the team colours and posters, the students have the flexibility to make the day all they want it to be and more. This also means that on the day, we can help umpire and officiate but also spend some time wandering around observing the different sports in action, chatting to the participants and enjoying the day. From the first Wallace Tournament to now, I have had the chance to get to meet every team from each of the placement sites, getting to know some of the individual players and have be grateful to have been able to spend time getting to know them as people but also as players. For a few of these teams I have also had the chance to coach them, playing a small part in helping them become better players. This means that although we shouldn't have favorites, admittedly when watching some games there were a few occasions when my allegiance was one of the teams other the other ones but obviously this I couldn't show!

With my Mtendere Netball Family

Unlike the two previous tournaments where we had certain placement sites dominate specific sports, it was great to see other teams emerging as winners with Fountain of Hope making history and winning the U12s boys' football competition for the first time ever... History in the making for this Wallace Tournament. Mtendere won both the U15s and U17s netball competitions but not without tough competition from Munali who fell short by one point in one competition and lost in extra time in the other. Those games could have gone either way! Another positive sign that the level of ability being demonstrated by each placement site is bettering, and even since my arrival in Zambia four months ago, the players have without a doubt got better; something I attribute again to the hard work and effort of all of our students who have worked tirelessly with the Peer Leaders and teams to play their part in enhancing the teams they coach. We are all here because we believe not only in the power of sport as a tool but because each of the students are coaches who are here to share their knowledge, ideas and skills to enhance the lives of those they are working with.

Never a dull day with these boys :)

A crazy busy day but one I know I absolutely loved, as did all of the students and that was even with the challenges of it being one of the hottest days we had experienced so far. The Zambian summer has well and truly arrived. What a way to wrap up the past 6 weeks, it's been fun and these students have done themselves more than proud! I feel somewhat like a proud mother as I stand back, take a moment and smile on what has been a fantastic adventure which we wrapped up with a cracking Wallace Tournament!

My Zam Dream Team after the fun of the Wallace Tournament was over