On Sunday 10th April, the Bobcats arrived in Nottingham to attend the first tournament of the season, aptly named FirstBall. Spirits were high and the weather was glorious! For the first time at a tournament we had enough bobkitties that we didn’t have to borrow any players from a different team.
Nerves began to set in once we had seen the other teams in our group, both of which have recently been national champions, were playing on home soil and train throughout the winter. Since October the Bobcats have had only 3 hours of training and needless to say we were a bit rusty.
Our first game was against the Nottingham Pyros and although it was a close game we lost 11-10. Spirits fell and for once the Bobcats were silent. However, there was no time to lick our wounds as we immediately proceeded on to our next game against the University of Nottingham Swingwers. It was not good.
Lunchtime soon came around and the pressure was off – we were no longer in the running to win the tournament. However, there was still the wooden spoon to play for so the Bobcats used the time to train, sunbathe and BBQ – good thinking Chris!
However, some bobbicats thought it might be time to switch to a new sport!
At 1pm it was time for the relay races and quite reluctantly the Bobkitties stepped up to the plate. After a few practice goes they were ready. They faced eight other teams and were victorious in the first heat. They won the semi finals was ease, but it was the final which the Bobcats craved – especially as a case of beer was at stake! It began and with steady precision the ball was passed from Charlie to Meg, Maizey, Kate and then Jane, before going back down the line. Without a single drop the ball reached Charlie and to our complete and utter surprise we had beaten the other team by a long shot!
Next were the boys and the practice heat was superb. However, it all fell apart in the semi-final – perhaps the girls should lead the next training session!
Our spirits were once again raised thanks to the felines and the bobcats were back to their usual loud, bubbly selves – however, that could be because Ilana had returned! 
We approached the next game against the Beeston Beavers with renewed confidence, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough as we lost 11-8. Our last game was the Battle of the Cats and finally the Bobcats showed off their skills and played amazingly well, beating the Alea Alleycats 11-7. At the end of the day the Bobcats were jubilant and eager to play the Leamington Hawks on the following Sunday. The girls were officially presented with their case of beer and bag of chocolates to an almighty cheer. The winners of the tournament were the Swingwers – but that’s not important.
Here are some of the pictorial highlights of the day:
Charlie and Steve at their first tournament - they came well prepared!
Committee Felines Kate and Debbie
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