For some unknown reason the Vics were held at the Croydon leisure centre for the first time that I can recall. Unfortunately its not the most ideal venue as it's situated half an hour from the city (in the east) and could not cater for the spectators and athletes. Their was limited parking and the canteen was undersized without enough staff for the lunch time rush. We were lined up for what seemed like an hour but was probably closer to 30 minutes.
I'm not quite sure why the organisers would select this venue especially as it was the competition we "had" to compete in (to be eligible for the Nationals). The only reasons that spring to mind are cost and availability at the SNHC?
Being smaller in size the stadium definitely had a good atmosphere with the onlookers crowded in and cheering for their clubs. Unfortunately the down side of this was the courts were once again reduced in size, for the second time this year!
I believe this really affects how our sport is being played for two reasons.
The first is you don't have the space your familiar with to move around. I recall our first Vics held at Box Hill, that there is a greater implied pressure on you when your at the edge of the court, the catch being take one step back from the centre and your almost out of the ring. For me this changes my reaction, were I was no longer able to evade therefore being forced to attack and perhaps getting scored on by a counter.
Secondly, (I'm unsure if the referees were told to do this or it was a case of bad refereeing) on many occasions the referee was not calling a warning for stepping out of court. Matches are won and lost on the accumulation of warnings (Gold Coast Open I was able to finish the match early by pressuring my opponent into the corner and forcing kyong go's) hence this also can impact the result!
As referees and interpretations of the rules vary from court to court you can argue that its up to the players to change their tactics to suit their current environment (and to some degree this will always be true). But I believe in enforcing a higher standard here at State and National level as it will better prepare you if competing internationally.
The past month for me has been difficult to say the least. Unable to train and having to watch the Vics rather than competing had dampened my spirits to say the least. The exceptionally slow recovery of my injury appears to be associated with the length of time I may of had it and in hindsight now I wish I had been more proactive when I first noticed discomfort in the muscle. That could have been as early as March but the fact of the matter is you cant change the past so there's little point dwelling on it!
The hardest thing has been attempting to do the rehab and pulling up extremely sore the next day. Its a balancing act of exercising within the limits of the injury and slowly progressing forward. A month or so of trying to get this right and now I finally think I can see the light again.
I see the physio again today and will tell him I think Im ready to train. Though Im sure his response will be wait another week. Regardless things are looking up and not a moment to soon as Nationals are only a month away! With the right program of strength and conditioning and hopefully 3 weeks of training I may just have enough time to get myself into a position to be competitive. Anxiously Im awaiting for some good news today. Fingers crossed.
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