Titans USA Tour 2023

“Wal-mart… do they like, make walls there?” Paris Hilton

Don’t tell anyone but I think I miss our 40 tour poppets – I have no content for the blog ☹

Today was another day with homestays, and apart from the games we hardly saw them, which obviously bodes well for the connections they have formed with their USA families. I wonder if they miss me?

We did have a couple of highlights worthy of mention today:

• In a bid to challenge our girls in the Junior Varsity, Sharon issued the decree that no fouls were to be made during the game. The threat was made that the person who fouled would need to sing our anthem for the Varsity Boys game. All started well, until like dominoes the fouls started to fall - Matilda, Katie, Jaimee and Portia – we’ve got our own little choir ready in waiting (how lucky are they there was no anthem tonight, but we will remember).
• When Portia was issued with her offensive foul, did she A: take it in her stride or B: issue a Portia-infused-scowl to the referee? You guessed it, she failed to hide her disgust at the call, and the crowd appreciated the referee’s exclamation of “Daaaaamn Portia”.  Even Portia laughed.
• Deanna had her first taste of coffee today – a cappuccino flavoured protein shake to be precise. Within 20 minutes, she was buzzing, her hands were trembling and she was chatty, very chatty.  She won’t sleep for days. Tomorrow we’re moving her onto espresso. 😊
• Ben, Deacon and Teangi had their first taste of USA snow (not literally), when their host families did the two hour round trip to the east just for them to see the snow, there’s even rumours of snow angels.

Some of the poppets hit the mall again today, others went out to lunch, some had an afternoon of rest, all in preparation for their final night in Sacramento. Tonight the majority of the poppets are off to watch a dance concert, followed by a full crew attendance for Smores (you can never get enough) around the fire pit.

It’s going to be a late night, and an early morning tomorrow, and as much as all the crew enjoyed the basketball experience, there was also much jubilation that they could pack away their basketball uniforms and now concentrate on the serious stuff of sightseeing – it’s time to be a tourist! We’re off to LA baby!

Junior Varsity Girls – 61-41
We were welcomed back to Center High School after a long history of playing against them on past tours. The JV girls were keen to hit the court for the last time. The game was a little one-sided but the girls played well and embraced great sportsmanship. Once again, everyone contributed to a good team win.

Junior Varsity Boys – 74-67
Wow!, what a finish to the basketball side of the tour. Playing off for the consolation cup against Granite High School, another great game with a real team effort lead with Jonty’s selfless leadership on court. A complete team effort with all players buying in to the true Titans spirit. All tied up at full time, which meant we needed to play another four minutes in overtime. Our Titans boys shifted into overdrive and finished with a seven point win, 67-74. Deacon was rewarded with the Tenison player of the tournament and our boys will be bringing home the silverware as cup winners. A great way to finish off the tournament, amazing ambassadors for Tenison. Well done boys.

Varsity Girls – 63-37
The girls started slow against Center High School  before finding a rhythm and utilising their ball movement to create some easy opportunities. The home side found some space at the perimeter and worked for some second opportunities to get some points on the board. Good defence led to some transition opportunities and a big win for our girls.

Varsity Boys – 72-57
The boys started with some good energy against Placer High School but were up against it with a smaller rotation. Breakdowns on the defensive end led to some easy opportunities and a lead for the opposition. The boys were valiant but could not match the energy required as our shots fell short. Jackson was awarded with the Tenison player of the tournament