37 degrees Celsius, 98% humidity
This was the temperature of our morning match of the first day of the tournament. Needless to say, it was difficult. It was difficult even to breathe, much less play a match of volleyball. Lucky for us, Norwegians are similarly affected by the heat, so it was just as tough for them. Unlucky for us, our next night game did not fair so well, and we lost a tight 2 set match to some Czechs.
Day 2 - 3:30 pm
34 degrees Celsius, 77% humidity
Playing in the heat once was bad enough. The slight difference in temperature and humidity was actually noticeably better, but still incredibly draining. Again we played a pair of Norwegians, and again it worked in our favour. Sadly, I was not able to recover enough in the hour between our first and second matches, and the Greeks had a slightly higher tolerance to heated conditions. By the third set, I was jello, and my lack of body control led to our dismissal from the tournament in a disappointing 13th place.
It's tough coming from a country where, at this time of year, the best I can hope for is rain with sunny periods. We can train as hard as we can there, but there is nothing we can do in Canada that could prepare us for the intensity and thickness in the air that I experienced playing over the past 2 days.
Meanwhile, teams from Iran and Turkey are thriving under these conditions. Solid teams to start with, they have that extra push under the sun that us northern folk can't quite match. Using familiar temperatures to their full potential. Countries that experience winter will never see the conditions that permeate India on a daily basis. As great as I find the sport of beach volleyball, I don't enjoy the helpless feeling that I got the displeasure of experiencing today.
On the plus side, playing a NORCECA in Mexico two weeks from now should be a breeze.
Cheers,
Ben Jammin
P.S. To those who noticed I missed Monday,
It was out of my control, this is the first time I have been able to access the internet since my arrival in India.
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