RHUK INLINE ROLLER HOCKEY CAMP, SPAIN 2006

PHEW, WHAT A WEEK!

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[NEW GALLERIES JUST ADDED - 16/08/06 - with thanks to Fiona Alder and Helen Starkey for providing some of these pictures:

• Click here for general photos from the Camp. (With apologies to Mason for failing to get a shot of him actually in the air jumping over Stephen - he really did do it, 3 times!)


• Click here for photos from our trip to the Waterpark.


• Click here for photos of the Matches against local teams.


• Click here for photos from the end of Camp Tournament.]

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We are back from Barcelona!

After a very successful RHUK Camp in Spain we are back, or at least most of us are who returned by coach... others got an extended holiday courtesy of the Spanish ground crew at Barcelona airport!

It has been a long week but one full of different experiences and some very memorable moments - all for the right reasons!

Click here to see the first batch of photos from the Camp (mostly of the matches against local Spanish teams), many thanks to Artur for these. (Standby, more here soon!)

It has been a lot of fun. We really enjoyed the company of all the players on the trip, everyone had their own part in making the week a success.

There was some fast furious hockey which was very entertaining to watch, especially in the matches against some local Catalan teams on Tuesday and Thursday - we managed to beat their Under 14s and their Seniors team (which included some excellent women players) but lost to their U16s despite a valient effort.

As the Camp was partly a holiday (and we could hardly ignore the beach, bowling, Waterpark and other activities!)... we didn't spend as much time training as we would normally do on an RHUK Camp but still we definitely saw an improvement in skills and game awareness.

This being our first visit to Spain we have learnt a great deal and we have identified a number of things we will do differently next time, but overall we feel it was a very successful trip, ending very well with the final RHUK Tournament on Friday (won by the Mini Locos in the U15s and the Locos in the U18s) and the fantastic barbecue afterwards laid on by our hosts.

During the prize giving and presentations the following awards were given:

• Most Valued Player U18s - Peter Alder
• Most Improved Player U18s - Artur Arques
• Most Valued Player U15s - Stuart Alder
• Most Improved Player U15s - Oli Harrison-Jones
• Furthest Travelled & Best American Accent - Patrick Scherz
• Most Extreme Pose - Ollie Singer
• Best Chat-up Line - Mason Wild
• Most Loved-up - Matthew Harrison-Jones
• All-round Nice Guy - Alex Huges

There will be a full report and lots of photos uploaded here over the next week or so but in the meantime we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped make our first Spanish Camp such a success:

• The players who participated - Alex F, Alex H, Andrew D, Ben B, Ben C, Daniel J, Daniel O, Declan O, Jake D, James H, Kieran W, Leigh M, Luke H, Luke P, Luke S, Mason W, Matthew HJ, Michael P, Oli HJ, Ollie S, Patrick S, Peter A, Remi W, Roni W, Stephen P, Stuart A, Zach W - for showing great patience while we figured out the best possible mix of holiday, hockey camp and "Barcelona experience"... and for being great fun to be around, as well as showing us some impressive hockey skills... and of course all the parents who let them come on the Camp!


• The parents who came out to lend support at the matches and tournament, it was great to see you there and to have you along to the barbecue, we hope you enjoyed your time in Barcelona!


• Artur and Paloma Arques, without whom it would not have been possible. We owe them a great deal, not least for the fantastic meals provided by Artur's catering company which ensured we were better fed than on any Camp/Tour to date! Artur has spent hours and hours helping to make this Camp/Tour a reality and we are very grateful to him and his wife Paloma for everything they did. Also to the Spanish players - Aitor, Artur, David, Diego, Eric, Fiol, Guillermo, Miquel, Pol, Sergio, Victor - who were great fun and participated with enthusiasm and commitment despite not being able to understand everything we said! Finally to the staff at the School and Hostel.


• Lastly but very importantly, our thanks to the Coaching/Counselling team - Jon, Andy, Dom, DJ and Mike - who kept the whole thing running and the boys out of trouble! They worked hard on-rink to provide training and scrimmaging, they worked equally hard off-rink trying to ensure everyone had a good time on the beach, in the pool, around town etc. It was a very full programme and they were working all hours. They did a brilliant job and it couldn't have gone so well without them!

The general consensus seems to be that everyone had a great time and a number already want to know about the next trips abroad! (We've also returned to the office to find a large number of emails asking about booking the next trip.)

So for those of you who can't wait and want to get in on what promises to be an amazing week next year - now that we have everything figured out! .....

Click here for all the information you need about the Camp we are planning for 29 July - 5 August 2007!

One key difference next year - we are switching to flying, giving everyone the chance to make their own travel plans, with us "meeting and greeting" at the airport as people arrive, and bringing them to the Camp. We believe this will be more convenient for most people, and with the incredibly low prices and plenty of advance notice to book cheap flights, we think it will prove the best value for travelling to and from Barcelona.

The full report of the 2006 Camp will be online soon, in the meantime click here to see some of the first photographs of the 2006 Camp now online (thanks Artur!).

More to come soon! Watch this space!

Thanks again to everyone who participated - it was great fun, hope to see you next time (which for some of you will be sooner than others - in a few weeks time at Rotherham or Bisley!)

The RHUK Barcelona Camp Staff