Friday, August 14, 2015

A Tactical Demo, The Races, and Niagara Falls


Wednesday morning was a lazy one! The bus was picking us up at 1 o’clock so we had the morning to relax. Ema and Nicole walked to the Arboretum down the street from the college while and Jenn and I (KC) hung out in the dorms. The best part of the morning was that Janna, our awesome coach, arrived! Our team was finally complete. Soon after the bus arrived to take us to a police tactical forces demo. When we arrived we were greeted by one of the Police team’s robots used for dangerous situations. The IPE Canadian organizer Jacquie works as a police dispatcher so she was able to set us up with a behind-the-scenes demonstration of the city of Guelph’s tactical unit.

All the teams with the police and General, the dog.

We saw the inside of their fully stocked vans, learned about all the different types of equipment, saw what being a sniper is like, examined repelling knots, and learned all about the new robot technology. This tactical team has two robots that they are able to use when needed. To end the demonstration we were able to watch General, the K-9 member of the tactical team, and his oh so handsome handler preform. General went through all of his basic obedience training moves, found articles of clothing we hid in the field, and caught the “ bad guy” when his handler gave him the cue. We were all incredibly impressed.

General demonstrates a bite.



After the demonstration we rushed beck to the dorms to get changed and cleaned up for our dinner at the racetrack. The racetrack was a trotter track called Grand River located in Elora, Ontario. When we arrived at the track we were escorted to the front of the seating area closest to the track. We had a great view of the track and a yum dinner in our tummies. The second race of the day was named after the IPE 2015 team and we even got to go down to the winner’s circle with the winning horse and rider. After our winners circle debut we were given a private tour of the barns as well as the judge’s booth on the roof of the building! It was a fabulous evening.

Dressed up for the races.


Thursday morning was filled with excitement as well as tiredness. At 9 o’clock the bus arrived to take us to Niagara Falls! A mere 2-hour drive later we arrived.  Naturally we Americans we excited to be so close to the U.S. border which was just across the roaring river. At 1 pm we took a tour behind the falls, and at 2 pm we rode the Hornblower—a ferry that takes tourists to the base of all three sections of the falls. It was a misty yet exhilarating adventure for all of the teams! At 4 pm we boarded back up onto out trusty bus and headed back to Guelph saying goodbye to America for only 4 more days. Back in Guelph we had a four-course Thai dinner that was delicious. After a slight altercation in the bathroom (Jenn had a moment and locked herself in the stall) we finally made it back to the University dorms after almost 12 hours. To end a great day our team as well at the “Kiwis” (New Zealand) team preformed our skits for the rest of our company, which provided the audience with plenty of amusement.


On the boat!

A kiddie table we sat at for laughs. 


A magnificent backdrop.

No comments:

Post a Comment