I'm Married to a National Champion

Clint plays on a Touch Rugby team, Tumeke Touch. They just hosted the national competition this last Friday and Saturday at Discovery Park in Gilbert. Amelia and I went to watch two of his three games Friday evening. It was chilly outside so we were both bundled up in sweaters. My mom bought Amelia a cute green zip up sweater with a picture of Bambi on the hood and Bambi's ears that stick up above on top of the hood. Everybody thought she looked adorable. I took Amelia home to go to bed and Clint played one more game Friday night. They won all three games and Clint got a try (like touchdown in football). The second game they played was against a team from Portland (This was the team they played last year in Dallas for the championship. Portland won last year and Tumeke took 2nd place). They beat them Friday night 4 to 3!

They had two more games Saturday morning and won both of those games too. They were seeded number one for the semi finals. Amelia and I arrived around 2pm; semi finals started at 2:40pm. It was very cold and rainy. We were both bundled up again and sat under a canopy to stay dry. Their team played the number four team and beat them 11 to 5 I believe. The clouds disappeared and the sun came out and it started to warm up quickly. We took off our sweaters and got to spend time with Clint before the final game at 4:20.

The playing field at Discovery Park is in a basin. There is a decently steep hill to climb up if you want to get out and to the top. Amelia enjoyed walking up and down this hill. We bought a meat pie and sat on the side of the hill as a family, watching the mixed touch team play their semi final game.

Clint had to leave and go warm-up with his team for the championship game so Amelia and I went back down the hill to the canopies where the other kids were playing. Amelia enjoyed following the bigger kids around. Clint's game started a little bit late. The sun was starting to go down and was getting a bit cold so I put our sweaters back on. Before the game started, their team lined up and did the haka (the haka is the traditional dance form of the Māori of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment. It is supposed to scare the opponent. The New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks, do the haka before their games). Their team was playing Portland for the championship, just like last year. It was a very intense game. One of our players got hurt and possibly broke his ankle. This was the player that Clint would take turns with to go in and play. Since the guy was badly injured, Clint got to stay in and play for almost the entire game. Near the end of the game the score was 3 to 3 and Clint scored a try, making it 4 to 3. Their team just needed to stop Portland from scoring. Time seemed to pass so slowly. Finally we heard the blow horn, signally the end of the game. Their team had won and were the national touch rugby champs! After all their hard work this last year, it finally paid off. Their team was so excited. They did the haka again after the game.

The award ceremony was held after the mixed team had their championship game. Everybody gathered around and the trophies and medals were awarded. Clint's team got a large trophy that they will keep until next year's nationals. Each player on his team received a gold medal. There were select players chosen to be part of the All Tournament Team and Clint was one of them. He received a special shirt. I'm so proud of Clint and his efforts to play hard. I know winning and becoming the national champs meant a whole lot to his team.

I can't wait until next year's nationals competition! They will be playing on the sports field that sits inside the Walt Disney World park in Florida. They will get package deals where the players and family members who come along get park tickets for Disney World. I have only been to Disneyland once as a young child. My family tagged along with my sister's school trip when we lived in San Diego. It was raining the entire time. Our souvenirs were Mickey/Minnie socks. We took off our soaked socks and put the new socks on, put our feet in plastic bags, then put on our shoes. This was so we could have warm dry feet.

TUMEKE TOUCH...2009 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!