A week in Christchurch…
I spent the last week halfway around the world in Christchurch, New Zealand. I was invited on this trip by Tina Cain, Team Manager of the US Paralympic Track and Field team. Next January the IPC Athletics (otherwise known as track & field in the US) World Championships will take place in Christchurch. So Tina, April Holmes, one of my teammates, and I set off last week for an adventure in New Zealand. Our mission: to see all there was to see and learn all there was to learn about the future competition, venue, hotels, city, etc.
We departed the US on Sunday, March 21 and after a very long voyage we arrived in Christchurch - two days later! We didn’t waste anytime getting acquainted with the city and had a wonderful meal that night at Spags, a cute Italian/pizza restaurant. This was only the start of good eating for the trip. We visited restaurant after restaurant and were never disappointed by the variety and tasty food we were served. If you’re ever in the area our top picks were Cafe Roma on Oxford Terrace and Cafe Valentino’s on Columbo St. 
We spent the first couple of days getting to know the lay of the land. We visited Queen Elizabeth II park (QEII) where World Championships will take place. Our trip coincided with the New Zealand National Championships, which were also being hosted at QEII. When not at the track we spent time driving around the city finding the local malls, bike shops, foodstores and other areas the team will visit when we return in January. We also spent a morning touring host hotel options. Its funny how after a while one hotel room looks just like the next. I should note that from the minute we stepped on our Air New Zealand flight from Sydney to Christchurch we were overwhelmed by the kind nature of the locals. Hotel visits were no exception. Every manager we met with was incredibly accommodating and eager to host our team.
On Friday competition began at NZ Nationals. April and I both competed in the 100m. The weather was beautiful on Friday - sunny, warm, and calm winds. Unfortunately the good weather didn’t last all weekend. Saturday and Sunday were much colder days with cloudy skies and lots of wind. Despite that overall I was happy with my performances. I ran four races over the weekend - the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m. My times certainly left room for improvement but seeing as it is just the start to my season I can’t be too upset. Sabra Hawkes, another US teammate, joined us for the weekend. She is currently studying abroad in Wellington NZ. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to compete because of an injury.
On Monday we decided to finally be tourists. We headed north out of the city to an area of wineries. The four of us had a great timing tasting wine and experiencing a little New Zealand countryside. We headed back to the hotel that night sad to pack our bags for our trip home. I am currently writing this note mid-flight from Sydney to San Francisco and missing the beautiful city of Christchurch already but also happy to be headed home.
This entry was posted on Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 6:35 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Sounds like a great trip! The wine tasting in particular! Good luck with all up coming competitions!