Exams, Winterfest, Marauder Volleyball and MVP Volleyball

As the first semester of the 2008-09 school year finished for the Secondary schools, exams took over the gyms throughout the city. Basketballs and goggles were put away, the boots, mittens and hat were taken out for the 2009 Winterfest Opening Ceremonies and subsequent events.

Winterfest, organized by the City of Hamilton began on Saturday, January 24th as 'Rock-in' Ray Michaels hosted the opening affair at Gore Park.

Highlights included performances by Hannah Montana (a tribute) and Backbeat, Lumberjack games and an ice carving demonstration.

Mother Nature provided the bright shining sun and -15 degree celsius weather.
The conditions were considerably warmer inside the Burridge Gymnasium at McMaster University on Saturday evening as the Marauders volleyball teams took to the court against the challenging Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.

My seat for the game was at the scorers’ desk as the public address announcer for the evening. The front row seat was fantastic for both Marauder victories. Both the women's and men's teams won 3-0.

9:00 a.m. comes early on Sunday morning. I made it to the gym on time and spent three hours with about 60 of my favourite U-13 volleyball players in Hamilton. Coach was my role this morning, working on our passing, volleying and hitting, while having fun and giving a great effort.
The afternoon was spent at Gourley Park and Myrtle Park taking photos of more Winterfest events. An outdoor ice rink at Myrtle Park made for some amazing photos. If only I had my skates with me in the trunk of the car...

Sports to start 2009

Coaching with various teams and various sports has offered multiple opportunities to take a variety of approaches and chances with the camera, to see what works and what doesn't. On the downside, my players are usually the only ones that don't have game photos of themselves, as I'm busy cheering them on.

This past Tuesday was an exception. I was able to keep myself away from marshalling the swim meet for high school students and take some photos of the BR swimmers.

Wednesday evening was time to hit up McMaster University as the host Marauders took on the nationally ranked Windsor Lancers. The Lancer women, led by Dranadia Roc, defeated McMaster by a score of 54-52. With the victory Windsor is now 12-1 in regular season play.

The evening was designated a 'Think Pink' affair to raise awareness and money to eliminate Breast Cancer.

That's me just now, stay out of trouble until next time...

A time to start using the blog

The first blog I posted was in June 2008 and it is time to start using the blog on a regular basis.

I intend to use the blog as a place to display my work and share my experiences as a teacher, coach and photographer.

Please feel free to contact me with any observations, suggestions, questions or opportunities to share my skills and capture memories to last a lifetime.

Come back for a read/view soon.

Michael P. Hall