Volleyball Touranment in El Salvador

Although Scott has been in the country for less than six months, he was invited to join the Jr. Men´s National Team for the 2008 NORCECA Championship in San Salvador, El Salvador. This was a great opportunity to get back into the sport and enjoy travelling and meeting other referees from the zone.

Interesting volleyball situation: Scott was the second referee for the USA –Puerto Rico and Dennis Cespedes (Dominica Republic) was the first referee. The match started with strong competition: (PUR 37-35 37 minutes, USA 27-25 28 minutes) and then the roof started to leak due to the heavy rain. As per protocols; the match was delayed for four hours and then suspended until next day. The entire match started over – USA won in 4 sets (25-22, 25-27,25-18,25-22). In all there were 6 sets and total playing time was over 3 hours. Overall Scott refereed 2 matches as first referee (including the very first match of the tournament and the 3/4 position - USA/MEX), and 4 as second referee (including the semi-final between USA/CUB).

The Canadian team also performed very well. The team ended up first in their pool with a record of 3-0 aganist DOM, PUR, and USA. They played MEX in teh semi-final and won. In the final was CUB versus CAN.

A signifiacnt monument/church we observed was in the middle of the city. Oscar Romero commnly known as Monsenor Romero, was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador. He witnessed ongoing violations of human rights and started a group which spoke on behalf of poor vicitms of the country´s civil war. In 1980, he was assassinated by a right-wing group headed by former major - Roberto D´Aubuisson as he held consecrated host up during mass. This provoked international outcry for reform in El Salvador. This provided a large civil rights movement in El Salvador.

Spring School Field Trips

Scott was very fortunate to join the children and their classmates on St. Vincent de Paul field trips. Ty and his grade 2 class went to the Glenbow Museum, Kyle and his grade 4 class went to the Calgary Zoo, and Tait and her grade 6 class went to the Calgary Police Service – Interpretative Centre.

The Glenbow Museum is an art and exhibits as well as hands-on activities that primarily focus on the history and development of the northwestern North America. Ty´s class was also studying the Inuits.

The Calgary Zoo is the second largest zoo in Canada. The Calgary Zoo's facilities are considered to be world-class. The featured animal exhibits are organized by geographic region in large, realistic, and natural enclosures. A botanical gardens and a prehistoric park (dinosaurs) are also featured. Kyle´s group name was the Wild Turkeys.

As stated on the CPS webpage, “Sometimes fun and exciting, sometimes startling and heart-wrenching, the interactive exhibits at this one-of-a-kind police museum deal with the consequences of crime and the role of the police. The Calgary Police Service Interpretive Centre focuses on youth, and each display offers important messages about the realities of life, crime and law enforcement.” Tait and her friends also had to solve a crime they had been working on in class over the past few weeks.

Sports Over the Spring

Jordan joined the Viking badminton and flag football school teams. He played singles and mixed doubles badminton during the school-to-school challenges. The flag football team had 4 mini-tournaments, and placed second in their division. They played for the city championships at McMahon Stadium (where the Calgary Stampeders professional football team plays). The team lost a very close fought game 19-18.

Tait, Ty and Kyle all played outdoor soccer in the community. Each enjoyed the physical activity and the social aspect. Tait and Ty played for the local community whole Kyle´s team played in the city league. They finish second in their division with an impressive 12-3-1 with a goal ratio of 22-9.