Robert Pierre, our Chef de Delegation tells us the terrain was basically the beach with rocks spread over it, and in this photo taken during the opening ceremony shows it, just look at what they are standing on. Must have been completely different than what any of us has ever played on.
Just next to our team is the France B team who ended up winning the championship in a fanny over Thailand.
One of the duties of the Chef is to present a gift to the host country. Here is Robert offering a very nice photo book in French of the U.S. National Parks to His Excellency Bacor Dia, Minister of Sport for Senegal. The fellow in the middle is Gassan Ezzidine, President of the Senegal Federation. Looks like a warm day, doesn't it?
Another of the duties of the Chef is to attend the President's Dinner along with the team coach, Ly Nguyen. And in the spirit of gift giving, the Chef receives a small gift, in this case a decorated drum, and Gassan receives one of our jerseys.
And how about this for a nice group shot on the beach in Dakar? From left to right, you see Pascal, Christian, Ly, Thuan, Mai, and Robert.
No doubt our fellows returned with more than a few memories and maybe some souvenirs. Our team for the 2010 World Games will be traveling to some far off place, perhaps Taiwan, but we won't know for sure for a while.
Our sincere thanks to all our players, coach, and Chef for doing such a nice job of representing the U.S. in Dakar.
