Sporting Parents Are Soooooooo Ugly.............

.....and I don't mean physically, although some are much more pleasing on the eye than others.
Tonight we had the first tennis final for son's tennis. During the season you have to play players in the same order each game. For example, with five girls in the team, you rank them all and of the three that play, the highest ranked has to play No 1 the second highest No 2 and the third No 3. My understanding was that that didn't have to be the case during the finals. I was sure that I had checked that out during the season. So based on stats during the season I played a girl who would normally have played No 2 during the season, as No 1 (I hope you're keeping up with this!). A short time into the game a mother from the other side came up to me and asked if I realised I was playing the girls out of order. This resulted in three people on their mobiles to various association gurus to determine the rules about this. It was determined that I had done the wrong thing, so then came the decision about what to do. Do we stop the games and start again, do they make us forfeit, or do we just keep going, keep things in perspective (ie. this is kids tennis, not Wimbledon, and no money involved!). It was decided to keep things going - although the opposition was divided on this. The opposition team manager was a really nice, easy going bloke. He was happy to let it pass, but other parents weren't so happy. At one point he said to me 'We seem to be the only two calm parents here'. I don't know that I was that calm, but certainly wasn't treating it like the end of the world as we know it! Unfortunately it got a bit nasty on both sides. We ended up losing (it wasn't an elimination final, so we get a second chance), but they still wanted to put in a protest (the poor team manager was very embarrassed).
If we win next week, we will end up meeting this team again in the Grand Final. It will make for a VERY unpleasant final.

I have to say the future of our society doesn't hold much hope with the example they have!

Why do people get so affected by sport, especially parents?!?! (Don't worry, that was a rhetorical question - I know it's all around projection issues!)

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

Today reached the low 30's (celsius) here in Melbourne. That's pretty high for mid November. Tonight at son's tennis it was a balmy evening. With daylight saving we didn't have to put the lights on until soon after 8.00pm. Once they were on however, it was like an invitation to a bug party. They came in their thousands. All sorts of bugs, from little mosquito types to larger cockroach types. They were hovering under the lights and also all over the courts. The kids had to ensure they kept their mouths closed while they played. It was like being in a Hitchcock movie.
Tonight was the last of the home and away matches. We're in the finals which start next week. One of the more difficult aspects of being team manager is that I have to decided who plays in the finals. We need three girls and three boys to play. I have four boys and five girls to choose from. Therefore three kids are going to miss out. They are all pretty even in ability, so there aren't obvious kids to leave out. I'm too soft to find it easy to tell kids they aren't playing in the finals! I don't know how I'm going to decide, and then tell them! I've got less than a week to do the deed! I hate this part of the job!
Thanks to those who have been enquiring about my shoulder/neck pain. Much better now. The semester is over which is great. Last Monday was my first day of no Uni or other responsibilities. I had a lovely day. I could get used to part time work and no study. Although the bank balance may object!