Baseball for Snails

              This past week I have gone out to support my fellow St. John’s residents in two games of cricket. Before going all I really knew was that many people compared it to baseball and that there were two batters at once. I know a fair amount about baseball and am a huge Yankee fan at home, so I thought I could pick up on the game if they are in fact so similar. The first game I went to I could only stay for about an hour, maybe a little less. Well, needless to say that hour was the most confusing hour I have ever spent watching a sport. I didn’t understand why no one was really moving and why the two teams didn’t switch fielding and batting. I couldn’t even tell who was winning and what was good or not. I would just clap and cheer when other people in Johns did. After this game I thought my cricket watching days would be over.

              I went back again, this time making sure I got there early and sat with my Australian friends. They told me that these games could go on for hours on end. I also learned that each team only got one inning at bat, and one in the field, and in order to end the inning you must get 10 out of the 11 players batting out. When the ball is hit you don’t have to run, but to get a run you have to run to the opposite set of sticks. That is the equivalent of just one run, but most of the time the players at bat scored at least two runs. If the ball rolls past the cones that line the field, that counts as an automatic four runs. If the ball is it on the fly and goes over the cones that is an automatic six runs. In order to get a player out the ball must be caught on the fly or the stick that lies on top of the other three needs to get knocked over either by throwing it when bowling (pitching) or when they are running.

All the different rules and conditions make cricket an acquired taste and I am still working on it!

Nippers

        This past Sunday at Maroubra Beach, I got the chance to watch the Nippers in action. The Maroubra Beach Life Saving Club has a program designed for children of all ages to learn about the beach and water safety. They meet once a week, every Sunday, for about one and a half hours. The program starts around 9:00 AM with the youngsters running around the beach and competing in races. After a period of time, they proceed to the water. Normally the children present range from age five to thirteen, but due to a surfing competition that was taking place on the same day, we were only able to watch the young ones. For this age group, the program is intended to inform the children not about life saving skills, but more about beach safety. As they get older, however, they get more involved in the water and the activities associated with being lifeguards.

            This program is not only a great opportunity for the children, but also for the parents and the local community. The program is completely volunteer-based. The adults get such pride and a sense of community from watching and helping the Nippers out. Because Australia places a great deal of importance on its water sports and its beaches, it is important for these young children to understand, respect and feel comfortable with the water; but it is not all work. The youngsters and the adults participate in this program mainly because it is FUN! The kids wait all week just to get the chance to run around in the sand and get their feet wet in the ocean. This program is an example of the importance and emphasis that Australia puts on community and water safety.

Go Sydney Roosters!

I wanted to start off by introducing myself before beginning my blog. My name is Samantha Norden. I am originally from New York City, but I have been studying at a small private university in rural Pennsylvania for the past three and one-half years. I am currently studying abroad at the University of Sydney, Australia for this semester. Many people thought I was taking the easy way out by going to a place where the people spoke English and the culture was not too different from what I already knew. Technically the Aussies do speak English here, however I still have trouble understanding the true meaning of Australian slang. The culture, especially in the sports world, is also very different from what I experienced back in the States.
 

This past Friday I went to my first rugby game where the Roosters (white) took on the Rabbitohs (red/green) at Sydney Football Stadium. I had never before been to a rugby match although I had had friends who played the sport and even my older sister was on the club team at her university.  I regret to say that I cannot really tell you what was going on half the time. I had assumed that it was similar to American football except that one could only throw the ball backwards and that the players did not wear padding. I was proved very wrong. Unlike football, rugby is a fast moving game. I was accustomed to a much more “stop and go” game where the whistle was blown about every 10 seconds. In rugby, by contrast, the plays were continuous and very rarely interrupted. It was exhausting just watching the players. It is no wonder that the after-game is such a celebration. They survived!

 Not only was the game itself different from what I was used to, but the fans were also unlike those back in the States. When I have gone to sporting events in the US, the home team usually has much more support than the visiting team, and the home fans tend to be louder and generally take over the stadium. Even when two home teams play each other, the fans of the team in their home stadium are usually in far greater numbers than the opposing fans. This was not the case here in Sydney! The Rabbitohs fans (in red and green) were at full throttle on Friday night, and at times completely overwhelmed the Roosters fans.

It was a great experience. The excitement of the crowd and the action of the game made it an evening I will never forget and I can’t wait to go to my next game!