September 26, 2007

SWG wasted no time in getting back into the rhythm of things. We arrived on campus Thursday night and dominated the conditioning test the next morning. Everyone came in to the gym well prepared and passed each section of the test with ease. We had a few hours to relax before packing our bags for the annual team retreat. This year we went to Lake Tahoe. After the five-hour drive we spent some time getting settled into the cabin and relaxing by the lake. Well… the seniors took it easy while the freshman, sophomores, and juniors decided to swim in the freezing lake water!

When we returned to the cabin, we were greeted with a feast! The coaches had cooked up a storm: spring rolls, Chinese salad, noodles, shrimp, chicken, and a bunch of other treats. We played some team-building games and activities designed by the coaches while the food finished cooking. Finally, the time arrived for SWG to indulge in the deliciousness the coaches had spent all day preparing. After our appetites were appeased and our food had settled, the coaches informed us of the real reason for the feast. The hearty meal that night would provide us with the energy needed for the heptathlon that awaited us in the morning. We were split into three groups and given instructions for the tasks we would complete the next day.

The heptathlon consisted of a 3.5 mi bike race, 150m swim, a killer partner sprint circuit, a canoe course, a sponge-water-bucket filling race, a sand castle building contest, and a five-piece-nature-boat-constructing challenge! A person from each group participated in one of the seven tasks (some of the tasks required full team participation). I know that the heptathlon was supposed to be a fun, friendly, team competition, but all the teams were really fired up. I bet bystanders watching us thought we were competing in the Olympics. The energy and spirit of each girl participating was overwhelming. It was inspiring to see the enthusiasm and competitiveness that everyone brought with them to the heptathlon. It showed the unbelievable amount of passion and heart that the team has this year. I think the coaches were surprised with the spirit of each team and tactfully deemed every team a winner (haha). At the end of the epic battle, the coaches challenged us to build a Blair-sized sand castle as a team! It was nice to work as one unified team and we completed the challenge readily (you can look at pictures on our website). We were all pretty exhausted after the heptathlon and were given the rest of the day to relax. A bunch of the girls who still had energy decided to go on a hike. I hear that they really enjoyed it.

We slept like logs that night and woke up early the next morning to return to campus and move into our dorms. SWG is excited to be back on campus and can't wait to get going in the gym. That about does it for now. Thanks for checking in!

-Tabbs ☺