Wednesday, Day3, turned out to be a long one and what was very pleasing was that at the end of the day, the team was in excellent spirits.  People were tired but it was that tiredness that comes with knowing that you have really put in a great effort. 

Our team spirit shone through today.  At the badminton venue, it was punishingly hot and sticky yet the team did not complain, nor did they wilt under the heat and the pressure.  Instead, people were on hand to support their friends and keep spirits high.  We saw plenty of excellent badminton and it was great to see all our players coming off the court pleased with their personal performances no matter what the result was.

It was a long day at the tennis also with a lot of waiting around.  There were plenty of our supporters who passed through the venue and let our players know that they were not alone.

At the end of the day, the team came away with the following medals:

Badminton:

John Cormican              Badminton Singles         Silver

Deirdre Faul                 Badminton Singles         Bronze

Michael Dwyer              Badminton Doubles        Silver

Harry Ward                  Badminton Doubles        Silver

Tennis:

Rachel Eagleton            Tennis Singles              Gold

Valerie Twomey            Tennis Singles              Bronze

Rachel Eagleton            Tennis Doubles             Gold

Valerie Twomey            Tennis Doubles             Gold

It was a great performance by team and has put everyone in good form for the remainder of the competition.  On the sporting front, today is a quiet one for Team Ireland with Deirdre Faul as our sole competitor in the cycling.  We do not have a volleyball team.

At the General Assembly tonight we will be busy as we present an update on preparations for the 2010 European Transplant & Dialysis Games in Dublin.  We are ready and there is a good buzz from all countries and it looks like we will have a good turnout of athletes and supporters. 

The messages in the website guestbook are being followed by many members of the team and give great encouragement to all. 

That’s it for now. 

Colin.