Fun in the (little bit of) sun

The first month of 2010 has flown by, and we've filled it with all sorts of exciting activities. We were invited to play broomball in the friendly Sunday afternoon league with a huge group of friends. Broomball is a little like Calvinball. The set-up is similar to soccer: two teams, a goal at either end, most goals wins. However, most similarities end there. Broomball is played on an ice rink, but players wear running shoes instead of skates. They use "brooms", which are long poles with a rubber "blade" at the end, and they use these to hit around a kind of mini-soccerball. Feet can be used, accidentally and on purpose, but the use of hands is discouraged (but not illegal).

We're not sure how anyone came up with this game, but we're glad they're did! It's great fun, and it's the only time we end up outdoors wearing just a t-shirt, as we get we a good run-around!

We do also play a more formal sport, although some may argue that it's less civilised. We joined a mixed soccer team and we have league matches every weekend. Neither of us has actually played soccer before, so we were quite hesitant at first. However, our teammates have embraced Daniel's speed and sleight-of-foot, and they put up with my presence on the field when one of the other girls is having a rest...

The matches are all played indoors as the outdoor fields are covered with knee-deep snow. One of the venues, the aptly-named Dome, looks a giant inflatable dome. It is white, and camouflages nicely against the white sky or mountains, which makes it quite tricky to find! Inside there are three fields surrounded by a six-lane rubber running track.

The latest sport we've tried is snowboarding! Although we knew exactly how to excel at it before we even took to the slopes, we left nursing bruised bums and egos. Snowboarding is the "cool" sport at Hilltop, and all the gangly teenagers who whizz past are clothed in baggy shirts, giant hoodies, and ski pants hanging around their ankles. We thought that if we were suitably attired, we'd fit right in, but they saw through us!

Snowboarding turned out to be not that much fun. We didn't take to it as well or as quickly as we took to skiing, and we spent more time falling than boarding. It seems that much of a boarder's time is spent sitting on the snow tying bindings or trying to stand up. It looks like good fun when it's done properly, but we found skiing more enjoyable, so I think we'll be sticking to that!