Another Week To Be Jealous

Well Paris was amazing but I had to get back to London which is becoming a lot like home to me (weird I know considering my home i actually about 5000 miles away in Mississippi). My class and I got to spend the week meeting with all kinds of amazing people in all different aspects of sport. We got to meet with Kate Hoey who is a member of the British Parliament and the Minister of Sport (aka she's a big deal, and Irish!) Mrs. Hoey informed us a lot on how London is creating a lasting legacy after the Olympic Games and how everything new that is being built will transition to community centers to encourage sport in the country. Also, London is being very smart and creating non-perminate structures to house events that can be taken down after the games. The next day we visited the Chelsea Football Club and that was a huge stadium and a lot of blue. Chelsea is consistently ranked in the top 5 of the premiere leagues in London and is a great franchise with awesome facilities. The next day we traveled to Wimbley Stadium which may be one of the largest stadiums/centers in London. It is more than just the home of the English National Football (soccer), and Rugby Teams, the stadium is used for corporate events and concerts. It is going to be used in the 2011 olympics to host many of the soccer games and the finals. After this we had the opportunity to go to the British Open in Sandwich, and yes, I saw McIlroy. The guys is pretty awesome, but what is more impressive is the hole-in-one I witnessed on the 16th hole buy Dustin Johnson. It was kinda insane, and I'm not even a huge golf fan. My class and I also got to travel to one of the English Training Centers called Bisham Abbey which is the development center for sports such as football (soccer), tennis, squash, and golf. This is a place that young people identified to have olympic or professional potential are sent to develop in their sport. Following our trip there we visited Stoke/Mandeville which the home of the ParaOlympics and the national training center for athletes with disabilities. Well I know thats a lot of info but was only one week for me! Of course there are pictures to follow and more posts very, very soon.

Cheers!

Huge stained glass window in Parliament