Melbourne hopes and dreams

We are now only 52 days away from the opening ceremony of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, and this seems as good as time as any to start articulating our hopes and aspiration for the Games themselves.

For the individual triathletes my hopes are that they all get there in good shape, with no major injuries and are able on race day to give of their best, with no mishaps which prevent them from giving of their best.

Personally, first and foremost, I hope all the logistics work, re travel, accommodation and training facilties. I also hope we have an enjoyable trip where we make the most of the experience, in making new friends both in and outside of the sport of triathlon. Furthermore, I hope we get to see soem great sporting action, with great performances and maybe the odd world record.

More than anything, I hope we come away from Melbourne with some great stories to tell friends and family, and that as a team we still get on well enough to want to re-tell those stories to ourselves in years to come.

Countdown to the Games

As part run-up to race day there are a number of key dates to remember


16 January - Scott Pitcher departs for Brisbane
6 February - Team Managers meeting
19 February - Hobart International Triathlon
23 February - Reception Government House
1 March - Gary and Tim depart for Brisbane
3 March - Gary and Tim arrive Southport, Gold Coast
5 March - Luke Harrop Memorial Race
7 March - 12.20 pm depart Gold Coast for Melbourne
14 March - 9 -10 am Federation Technical and Team Managers Briefing
15 March - Opening Ceremony
16 March - 9 -10 am Athlete Briefing
16 March - 10 am - 2pm Course familiarisation
17 March - 1 - 3 pm - Bike,helmet and uniform inspection Catani Gardens, St Kilda
18 March - 1pm SHOWTIME

Making the most of on-line resources

As part of our preparations we are trying to make the most of the resources currently available on the internet. One of the most valuable source of information has been flickr which allows you to access photos of Melboure and in particular St Kilda. In addition, flickr also has a number of groups, where you can find out things about Melbourne, indeed both the Melbourne and Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games provide lots of handy household hints about Melbourne, plus providing the oppportunity to make some useful contacts.

So if you want to see what Melbourne and St Kilda looks like have a look at flickr where not only can you see photos - but you'll come across a place where you can upload your own photos - so friends and family can see what were are all about in Melbourne