10:48am : Sitting court side along with Peter Martin (the Kiwi who is coaching South Africa and all around nice guy until we play them, then he will be ….).

Lots of school kids in attendance, who were bussed in to liven up the joint.

The opening ceremonies were short and sweet with 10-15 year old kids singing and dancing followed by aborigines interpreting native songs and finally very short speeches (opening of the games, athletes and referees oaths) and the Ozzie anthem.

Team Canada will be meeting at 11am in preparation for their 12:30 game vs. New Zealand. The Kiwi’s line up will be bolstered by the presence of class 2.5 Curtis Palmer and 2.0 Sholto Taylor who didn’t play on the Sunday friendly.

Temp inside the gym is decent, a little warm but very tolerable. The facility is 1^st class (Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre), there’s the main court and practice court (the practice court will be used for three matches during the tournament.

Lots of noise coming from this very enthusiastic crowd, Japan with a quick turnover and the early lead and the jump but Shin with a soft rainbow pass gives it right back. Shimakawa still has the tendency to throw soft passes in danger situations but oh baby, what speed! I believe the key for this game will be Aussie 3.5 Ryley Batt, but how much stamina will he have left in the tank by the 4^th quarter? Australia relies heavily on Batt as standout 3.5 Brad Dubberley has now assumed the full-time duties of coaching the Australian Team.

Australia was victorious, beating the higher ranked team from Japan 47-44. The complementary line ups played well enough to keep the game close and combined with the pressure exerted by 3.5 Ryley Batt, Australia grabbed control of the game in the 3^rd and never looked back

Canada 40 vs New Zealand 46

Canada started out slow and never recovered, eventually losing by 6. The Kiwis looked sharp and unshakable and took the early lead and never came close to relinquishing it. Canada showed some signs of getting back in the game but couldn’t sustain the pressure and the Kiwis pulled away and were firmly in control all the way through. On defence Jai White class 1.0 was a thorn in the side of the Canadians throughout the match, frustrating Canada’s high pointers. Whatever line-up the Kiwis threw out there, they dominated. Although a setback for Canada, there’s a long way to go and hopefully we will have the opportunity to match up to the Kiwis once again.

Right now I am watching China vs. Korea: after a lacklustre start by the Koreans, they composed themselves and got back in the game. The Chinese surprised the Koreans with the speedy play of class 3.5 Pan Zi Lin who dominates with his superior speed. The Koreans seem to have a better grasp of the game but the Chinese look like the more athletic team.

The game resembles a pinball game with turnover after turnover. The "take it away, give it away" syndrome is quite prevalent. But its quite nice to see these two teams present here at the Oceania Championships showing that this Zone is developing. It would be great to see the same level of commitment from the Americas zone although Columbia and Argentina are trying hard to push their programs forward. I know money is a huge issue for Argentina and its probably the same for Columbia, but they are working hard. I’m wondering how much the Chinese chairs are worth and if it might be a good alternative to developing countries. I'll find out the chair details in the next few days!

Both China and Korea have women playing for them: for China there is class 2.0 Zhang Wen Li and Korea has class 2.5 So Young Kim.

China finally pulled it out and defeats Korea 38-35. Shows U how little Vegas knows. Could we see a rematch of this game on Friday?

I am now watching China vs Japan. Japan is playing this like any normal game and the Chinese will have their money’s worth. Japan quickly pulls away and puts 71 on the board. Canada and Korea play at the same time and Canada wins by 37. Both games show how much these teams need experience at the highest level, I don’t know how many penalties China had but it was pretty impressive. Even when they were penalized, they still played too close to the goal line and they seem to lack a little of the knowledge of the rules of the game but considering everything, it was an ok performance for a 1^st time on the world stage.

Lots of questions will be raised about the presence of the Chinese team in Beijing as they might not be competitive until 2012 but its their right to be at the '08 Para’s and they will be there unless they change their minds... which would make for an even more competitive competition, but oh well!

In other games, all the favourites won. I don’t have all the scores as I thought the scores would be posted on the Australian web site, and no I didn’t have the internet at the gym 'cause everyone would have known the scores by now if I did.

Many thanks to Chérie Harris for the photos! :)