Canada Bound
Day 1
The 2019 Canadian Foreign Tour is officially underway! The team loaded the buses at 11:30 a.m. this morning in Tuscaloosa and made the three-hour bus ride over to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. After getting checked in and clearing security, the squad grabbed a bite to eat before boarding its 7:30 p.m. ET flight to Vancouver.
The Tide safely touched down at the Vancouver International Airport at 10:15 p.m. PT after the five-hour flight and hopped on the bus for a quick 20-minute trip to a beautiful hotel located in the heart of downtown Vancouver. The team will get a much-needed rest tonight after a long travel day. In the morning, the squad will tour the scenic Capilano Suspension Bridge, while also having free time to explore Vancouver throughout the day. Tomorrow night the team will head to West Vancouver to take on VK Select at 7 p.m. local time and 9 p.m. CT. Live stats for the game will be made available on RollTide.com.
Throughout the trip, daily posts will be added to a travel blog on RollTide.com along with additional content on the Alabama women's basketball Twitter (@AlabamaWBB), Instagram (AlabamaWBB) and Facebook (Alabama Women's Basketball) accounts.
Day 2
It was a great first full day in Canada! The team had breakfast downstairs at the hotel this morning before heading to its morning excursion at the famous Capilano Suspension Bridge. The bridge itself is 140 meters long and suspended 70 meters over the river below. The entire team made the voyage across the heavily populated bridge to make it to the other side of the park and learn about the various trees and wildlife in British Columbia. In addition, there was time to explore the rest of the park which included crossing shorter bridges in the treetops and going on the cliff walk.
After two hours at the park, the team headed back to the hotel to rest and had two hours of free time to check out attractions and scenery surrounding the hotel. The team reconvened at 3 p.m. local time to have its pregame meal before preparing for a 5:30 p.m. departure. The Tide left at that time and made the 20-minute drive over to Sentinel Secondary School for its 7 o'clock tip against VK Select. The team took care of business, taking home the 104-64 victory in its first game of the tour. Following the game, Alabama headed back to the hotel to rest up for tomorrow's game against the University of British Columbia at 5 p.m. local / 7 p.m. CT.
Day 3
Another beautiful sunny day in Vancouver was well spent with the team and staff having free time in the morning to venture out in the city. Several players went biking around the downtown area and Stanley Park, while others walked around exploring the local shops and sights. Following free time, the team met in the hotel conference room for lunch and had down time before getting on the bus to the University of British Columbia for its second game of the tour set for a 5 p.m. local start. The Crimson Tide found itself with another triple digit on the scoreboard in its 104-74 victory.
After the game the team showered and was back on the bus to head over to the ferry which took everyone to the quaint city of Victoria. Following the two-hour ferry ride which featured great food and sights along the water, the Tide checked into its hotel and called it a night. Alabama will have its final game of the tour tomorrow at 7 p.m. PT/9 p.m. CT, against the University of Victoria.
Day 4
What a great full day in Victoria! The team woke up and met for breakfast at the hotel restaurant before going into its daily book discussion. The entire team along with the staff have been reading 'Why the Best are the Best' by Kevin Eastman and talking each morning about the pages assigned. Afterwards, the team had several hours to take to the scenic city. Players and staff walked to the mall, shops, restaurants and local sites. The city itself is filled with beautiful architecture, colorful greenery and breathtaking waterways.
The team met up in the afternoon for pregame meal in the hotel and after prepared for the game against the University of Victoria at 7 p.m. PT at the Oak Bay High School gymnasium. The Tide dominated once again and took the 111-62 win, while finishing 3-0 on the tour. Next up, the Crimson Tide will spend the night in Victoria before ferrying back to Vancouver in the morning to tour Grouse Mountain. Following Grouse Mountain, Alabama will bus up to its final destination on the trip. The Tide will make the one-and-a-half-hour bus ride up north to the gorgeous city of Whistler for three nights, where the team will get to do various outdoor activities, including going on a zipline tour.
Day 5
Three cities, one day. The Tide started off the day packing up and leaving Victoria to head to Vancouver to tour Grouse Mountain. At the mountain, there were two options for the players and staff. One was to take the six-minute ride in the gondola up to the top of the mountain and the other was to make the hour to two-hour hike up the mountain on foot. The group split with the gondola crew exploring the shops, restaurants and exhibits at the top while, the other half took the Grouse Grind Challenge and made the two-mile trip straight up the mountain. The team preserved and everyone made it to the top before heading down to load the bus and head to the beautiful city of Whistler.
After a scenic hour-and-a-half bus ride along the waterways and mountains, the Tide arrived in Whistler at approximately 6:15 p.m. PT. The squad had free time to eat and explored the city before meeting one more time for the day later in the night for book discussion. Friday will be filled with adventure as the players will do different activities with their position coaches, which includes white water rafting, bobsledding and axe throwing. The Tide will spend three nights in Whistler before heading back home to Tuscaloosa beginning on Sunday night.
Day 6
The weekend got started off right with fun-filled activities in Whistler. The players split up with their position coaches for the morning and early afternoon with the wing players and assistant coach Tiffany Coppage going bobsledding down an Olympic course, while the posts and assistant coach Adrian Walters went axe throwing and the guards went along with assistant coach Kelly Curry to go whitewater rafting down the Green River.
After the activities early on in the day, the team split up and had down time to shop in the village and relax. Later in the night, some of the team completed an Escape Room before heading out to dinner. The Tide ended the night with its daily team time and book discussion. Tomorrow the crew will do the Sasquatch Zipline which is the longest zipline in Canada and the U.S.!
Day 7
It was a full day of adventure in Whistler! The Tide began the day by walking to the zipline tours site and geared up to take on the Sasquatch Zipline which is the longest and tallest zipline in all of North America. After splitting up into groups, the team started gathering their safety equipment and headed to the Blackcomb Gondola which took the team up thousands of feet to a stop in the mountain. Following a short van ride over to the zipline, the crew geared up to make the 7,000-foot ride across the mountain. The scenic ride zips players at speeds up to 60 miles per hour, while reaching heights up to 600 feet above the ground. A few players needed extra motivation and took their time before eventually dropping off of the base and onto the zipline. Each player faced their fears and made it down to the other side of the zipline safely.
In the afternoon, a group of players and staff decided to go out to do an ATV Tour. The group took a 15-minute ride up the mountain to the camp site. The squad once again geared up and partnered up to go for the hour-long off-road ride. After a brief training session, the crew made their way through the wilderness, while stopping for pictures and beautiful views along the way.
To finish out the day, the girls went over to the Vallea Lumina, which is a magical multimedia night walk in the mountains in Whistler.
Day 8
All good things must come to an end. The final day in Whistler began with breakfast and book discussion before the girls had a few hours to explore the village before packing up and heading home. In the afternoon, the team and staff gathered for group photos at the Olympic Plaza as Vancouver was the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics. After taking a few pictures, the group headed back to the hotel and packed up the bus to make the two-hour drive to Vancouver International Airport.
The crew grabbed a quick bite to eat before clearing security in preparation for its flight to Atlanta. After a brief delay, the Tide boarded the plane and made the 4-and-a-half-hour ride safely to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Several players booked flights home for the week from Atlanta and made it to their destinations. The rest of the squad went to the shuttle and eventually loaded up the bus to head home to Tuscaloosa. Alabama rolled into campus at approximately 11:15 a.m. CT after a long night and morning of travel.
And with that, that concludes #TheCanadianTour! We had a blast spending time in Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler. It was a wonderful experience and we are so glad we could share it with our fans. Roll Tide!
