Rogers Cup

Well, Rogers Cup is over, which means I'm home for at least a little bit. It was in interesting experience. Met some pretty interesting people, watched some great tennis up close and my first pair of real tennis shoes (more about that later)!
Just as a quick recap, this was my first year volunteering at Roger's cup. I was a shuttle bus volunteer, which meant I had to give guests certain information as we travelled from the parking lots to the tournament grounds.
First day was pretty nerve racking. First year volunteering and I show up looking for the tent where we were supposed to meet, only to have a forest of tents spring up before my eyes. I wandered about, glad to find I wasn't the only person lost and looking for their comittee heads. Confusion loves comapny! We got ourselves sorted out after a bit, and we all hopped on the bus. I somehow ended up being the last one on, and therefore, the token guinea pig. It had been a while since I had done any public speaking, plus with the script being in a regular point size, bouncing up and down in front of me as the bus travelled down the road, it was a bit of a mess, but everyone else seemed to like it. But, by the 3rd ride, I felt relatively comfortable.
At the end of the day, I decided to watch a little tennis. It was the last match inside the stadium, featuring Ayumi Morita from Japan. At the beginning, I was pretty torn who to cheer for. It was obvious that Morita was hurting but playing hard. But, the other player was Canadian. Then, the man standing next to me, asked me if I was Morita's sister. That helped me make up my mind to join the 3 man Morita cheering squad. I had to cheer for my "sister". It turns out she was suffering from the heat, and even though she forced a 3rd set, she couldn't finish it.　よく頑張った、ありがとう！

On Monday, I learned the meaning of karma. I was finished my shift, and I was just cooling off in the stadium, waiting for the exibition match to start. There was a tap on my shoulder from someone who was looking for the Olympus store (her camera was broken). I decided to walk her there. On my way back, I happened upon a sign that said "Autograph Session: Serena Williams". So, that's how helping someone got me a Serena Williams autograph. That night's exhibition match was pretty amazing. It was between Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Serena Williams and Alex Wozniak. The players had mics on, so hearing the banter was hilarious. I couldn't believe how fast Navratilova was. The best 2 moments were when Navratilova sat on her raquet when all the ball were going to Serena. And when Monica squealed and took cover when she saw Serena was about to smash a ball her way.

Saw some serious doubles matches for the first time. I'd always just seen exhibition ones live. I should state that my tennis education is pretty limited and some of it comes from manga. So, imagine my glee when I actually saw players doing Australian and "I" formations! Oh, I'm such a geek! But yikes, doubles can be scary, especially if your at the net. There was one rally in the finals where it one body shot shot after another.

Oh! And last day, while everyone was watching the finals, I snuck out and bought...my first pair of real tennis shoes!!! This might seem like nothing, but it reminds me of Kazu-sensei. He had mocked me mercilessly for wearing my all-terrain runners to play tennis. If only he could see my new shoes! And the best part is, they were on sale! Shoes and a sale, what more could a girl ask for :P