Once we had arrived at the campsite we had enough time for a quick coffee, before sorting out the team and the marshal packs. We also had to put the finishing touches to some of the games and adjust some of the others. For instance at the archery, the pins would not hold the balloons to the target boss so the game there had to be rejigged slightly. Fortunately the problems that were encountered on the day were fairly minor. At 9 in the morning it was meant to be time to brief the team captains and the marshals, eventually they were shepherded into place and the briefing were carried out and packs were issued. Of the twelve teams promised, eleven turned up to compete, the only ones who failed to show were Team Vinograd who had withdrawn the previous day. The mayor of Dragizhevo formally opened the games by saying a few words and cutting the ribbon. Once the speeches were over it was over to Bobby martin who introduced the teams and then they were away to their first events. The morning all went like clockwork with each team turning up to where they were meant to be, when they were meant to be there.
The sun continued to climb high in the sky, and the temperatures were rising all of the time, so the pool events were looking more and more inviting. The teams were staggered for their lunches, the theory being that this would help Nick and Nicky's kitchen staff. Hopefully it worked to a certain extent, but people did get fed and the teams managed to appear at their next events. After lunch a few problems cropped up, mainly caused by marshals just going home and not actually telling anyone, so the events in the afternoon were a bit more chaotic. This was also when the TV crews chose to turn up and start filming, and the newspapers wanted interviews. As the various photographs, that have been posted round the internet, show there were plenty of big daft grins plastered on people's faces.
Come five o'clock it was all over, even if we hadn't managed anything else we had got ExPats and Bulgarians working and competing together, and from that point alone the games were an outstanding success. The feedback that was passed on immediately after the games was that they had been an incredible success. Some teams were more interested than others in the final placings, and there were three different trophies up for grabs, which would go to the top three teams. The trophies were kindly donated by Trust Global radio, McNamara's Irish Bar and the VT Times. It all seemed to work out quite well, it was a team of Bulgarian youngsters, from a local Salsa club who came first who came first. A mixed team of Bulgarians and ExPats came second, and an ExPat team who came third. Once the trophies had been given out it was time for the evenings festivities to commence. Along with the raffle there was also the karaoke. People will be glad to hear that I didn't sing, as I can't carry a tune, not even in a bucket. Everyone did seem to enjoy themselves, and I think that I crawled into bed at nearly 2 in the morning. I was also up before 6 tidying up the archery and slingshot ranges. Just in case anyone wonders what Net and I were doing on the day, Net was trying to take charge of the marshals, and myself? Well I was competing. The team that I was part of came third as we were called the VT Camp Crusaders the trophy that we won is now being kept out at the campsite, but I do get to keep my third place medal.
