Day 11

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=95 BGCOLOR="#999999" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="08f005f0ermwup.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>International Ringette Federation (IRF)</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="International Ringette Federation (IRF)"><B>home</B></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=189 style="border-right: 1px solid #CCCCCC;" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id128.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 1"><B>Day 1</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id129.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 2"><B>Day 2</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id130.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 3"><B>Day 3</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id131.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 4"><B>Day 4</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id132.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 5"><B>Day 5</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id133.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 6"><B>Day 6</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id134.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 7"><B>Day 7</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id135.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 8"><B>Day 8</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id136.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 9"><B>Day 9</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id137.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 10"><B>Day 10</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id138.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 11"><B>Day 11</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id139.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 12"><B>Day 12</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id140.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Day 13"><B>Day 13</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id142.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Finnish Experience in Czech Republic"><B>The Finnish Experience</B></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=385 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Day 11</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="485" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1066 WIDTH="479"><div> Today in Helsinki we arose to clear skies, so the teams decided that it would be a good time for a visit of the Suomenlinna Islands, approximately a 15 minute boat ride from the Helsinki harbour. These islands were home to Swedish, Russian, and Finnish soldiers many years ago, and we learned that the entire fortress actually stretched onto 6 islands! Our tour guide was very entertaining, his vivid descriptions and the fluctuating pitch to his voice definitely made the historical aspects of our tour much easier to listen to. After about an hour and half of our guided tour around the main island, we were left to wander around and look in the many gift shops for souvenirs of this beautiful place. </div> <bR> <div> We returned to our hotel for a group buffet lunch, where Team White was left with a few hours before their game and Team Red was able to prepare for their night off. Some of Team Red started out with an hour and a half boat tour of the canals, while the others took the opportunity to shop for some more gifts. Our hotel is conveniently placed within downtown Helsinki, so its hard for us girls to resist some good shopping! </div> <bR> <div> While Team Red was enjoying the sights, Team White was playing the first of a 3 game medal round. The game started off slow, but Team White quickly pulled ahead in the first 20 minute period. The second period had some questionable calls, but the girls pulled through and showed that what mattered the most was to come off with a win - which they did. The final score was 7-6, and after 3 periods it was a welcome win. </div> <bR> <div> Later in the night, both of the teams enjoyed the Helsinki night life in various ways. Before the fireworks Team Red decided to take a late supper before heading off for the show. They enjoyed Italian food at a very nice Restaurant that actually had english menus! The food was excellent, especially their pastas and pizza. When the team had first gone into dinner it was beginning to rain very heavily, but luckily it had stopped as they left for the show. The fireworks were themselves amazing, as the girls had snagged a perfect spot right on the wharf. The first show was pretty much your ordinary fireworks with streamers and pinwheels, the next shows were much more sophisticated with hearts, happy faces, and spinning wheels of colour. There were some very interesting ones that would shoot up and then explode twice into different colours and drift for about a minute before going out. All in all despite the damp weather the Fireworks were excellent and well worth the wait. Unfortunately Team White was not able to catch the show, however they did enjoy a familiar meal at the Sports Academy, a downtown sports club where the food was very close to North American favourites, like bacon cheese burgers and pasta. After everyone was stuffed full with food and "beverages", the night was left to explore for both teams, and we are sure that the girls (and parents) took advantage of the opportunity. </div> <bR> <div> Breanne & Chelsea </div> <bR> <div> PS - photo is some of the group on a cannon at the Suomenlinna Islands fortress</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 434 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="0ea3aac0.jpg" border=0 width="570" height="428" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>