Commonwealth Games in Adventures in paradise

It was actually pretty liberating being a spectator at the Commonwealth Games. I’m glad I went.
I did end up training and tramming all the way down there and all the way back, only to get up again six hours later to head down and do it again. Hey, saved myself $150 toward Europe by doing so, and I had free transport with the tickets so yeah, it was just sacrificing time for money. I sure did have a look around for what was available though and the cheapest nearby accommodation would’ve been $150 for a motel. Anyway, all done with!

My first event I attended was a para-event. The para-powerlifting. Talk about impressive. Some of these competitors didn’t even have legs and were pushing weights three or four times the amount I can, WITH LEGS! Naturally, they had to be tied down with straps so they wouldn’t go flying from the sheer amount of weight they were pushing.

I was fascinated by the scoring system. I still can’t figure it out, even now. I had to Google it, to try and get a grasp on it. What I couldn’t understand was why the competitors who lifted more seemed to always win and how the handicaps worked. Like, some competitors cleared all three lifts, and others only cleared one, but that didn’t seem to matter if they had only lifted one - they’d win??? I’m still confused lol. Pretty cool to watch though. Nigeria won both Gold and Silver.

I had to get a selfie, even though I look like crap. I did walk all the way from the train station lol.

Later that night, I had a ticket to the swimming finals, which was easily the best ticket I managed to nab. What an amazing night that was. The atmosphere, everything about it. I got to see John Williamson perform “True Blue” lol. Also Dawn Fraser was there, and Malcolm Turnbull was in the crowd below where I was. I was up toward the back with a great view.

Then I went home early to beat the crowds and I’m glad I did, but it did mean I missed the relays, but I wasn’t risking it. Plus I had to be up early to make it back for the diving.

I loved the diving! My ticket was to the 1m springboard prelims, which meant I got to see every diver competing. I had the hots for one of the Scottish divers, Lucas, and also one of the other British divers, Ross. I got to see Jack Laugher perform his dives in person, which was pretty cool! All three qualified for the finals which was awesome. Jack is something else, I tell ya, he’s on a level so much higher than his competitors. He naturally took out the gold medal, and again today in the 3 meter, which I watched on the app. I was at work and couldn’t tear myself away from it haha. Australia got silver.

The stadium across from me where I was the night before looked so weird with no-one in it, considering how wild it was.

The attempted selfie in natural daylight with the grates blocking the sun over my face left a lot to be desired. I look like a seed with the mo’ LOL

I was in the second back row this time, so a cool view of the Goldy to the south.

This selfie is slightly better. My cap I bought is to the side because the sun kept creeping it’s way around lol.

Anyway, just wanted to write about how it was. I think they organised it quite well, but I did leave plenty of time to beat the crowds, which also worked out well.

Last updated April 12, 2018