{"id":948,"date":"2012-08-14T13:15:51","date_gmt":"2012-08-14T13:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.penguino.co.uk\/?p=948"},"modified":"2012-08-19T19:09:10","modified_gmt":"2012-08-19T19:09:10","slug":"team-gb-womens-volleyball-london-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.penguino.co.uk\/general\/team-gb-womens-volleyball-london-olympics","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s Volleyball \u2013 London Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\r\n\n\n\n

\"Olympic <\/a><\/p>\n

I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the Olympic women\u2019s volleyball event for \u00a345. This gives me a chance to support Team GB \u2013 in the historic Earl\u2019s Court exhibition centre <\/a> in West London.<\/p>\n

\"Outside <\/a><\/p>\n

Along the way approaching the venue was a\u00a0barricaded\u00a0street soaked with a joyful party atmosphere on a sunny Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

There was no prolonging queue, no crushing\/sandwich with other people \u2013 just a straight forward walk-up to the venue and through the security checkpoints. True to the British spirit – security check was efficient, civilised, polite and relax. My praises go\u00a0to the Olympic organisers, volunteers and the armed forces <\/a> for maintaining such order.<\/p>\n

Once inside Earl’s Court, this familiar exhibition centre that we know and love has been transformed into a foyer with stalls for food, drinks and souvenir shopping. The place was expectedly spacious which is good for stretching our legs, before entering the gladiator ring to\u00a0sit down and watch the matches.<\/p>\n

\"Inside <\/a><\/p>\n

The queue for drinking water taps was shockingly long – understandably it was a free item on offer(!) and spectators will need every drop of it to sooth their throat for the intense vocal support later during matches.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/a><\/p>\n

I decided to skip the queue, and purchased a pint of “alternative” refreshment at a cost of \u00a34.60, while spending a few minutes to assess the\u00a0volleyball\u00a0match table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\" <\/a><\/td>\n \"\" <\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Walking into the spectator ring, I do not know whether the seatings were temporary or not, but they were found to be surprisingly comfortable. I was blessed with a seat which has a clear, good corner view to the volleyball court. The pre-match cheerleader dance and introduction enticed the crowd to warm-up their throats for a decibel-overload support.<\/p>\n \n\t\t

\n\t\t\t \t\n \"p1000064-s\"\n\n \t<\/a>\n\t\t <\/div>\n \n

 <\/p>\n

Turkey vs. South Korea<\/h3>\n

The first match was Turkey vs South Korea <\/a> . With the presence of substantial number of Turkish\u00a0and S.\u00a0Korean\u00a0supporters in the UK and in London, the crowd erupted a\u00a0deafening\u00a0roar as both teams entered into the arena.<\/p>\n \n\t\t

\n\t\t\t \t\n \"Turkey\n \t<\/a>\n\t\t <\/div>\n \n

 <\/p>\n

Regrettably, as reported worldwide by the press, emptied seats in ample bunches were apparent. Looking around the arena I estimated that there were at least 200 seats which were unfilled. It’s\u00a0ashamed\u00a0that the competing teams would have\u00a0received\u00a0more crowd support, at the same time more people would have the opportunity to experience an Olympic atmosphere.<\/p>\n \n\t\t

\n\t\t\t \t\n \"Empty\n \t<\/a>\n\t\t <\/div>\n \n

 <\/p>\n

The match between Turkey and S. Korea was a closely contested one. S. Korea displayed an all-round blocking and attacking ability, whereas Turkey possessed lethal spikes often commanded by their No. 17 \u00a0 Neslihan DARNEL <\/a> . The match went into the 5th set decider, with Turkey edged out and won the match by a mere 3 points difference. \u00a0It all lasted over 2 hours so my \u00a345 ticket price was well justified by watching that one game alone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t\t\n\t\t\t\t