INTERNATIONAL TEAMS ARRIVE AS COMMONWEALTH GAMES NEARS
FANS and snakes turned up to Townsville Airport to welcome four international Commonwealth Games basketball teams to North Queensland.
England’s women’s and men’s teams, Canada’s women’s team and Mozambique’s women’s team all arrived on Saturday to warm welcomes including a display from North Queensland Warriors Cheerleading and some quality time with Aussie animals from Billabong Sanctuary.
Team England players Andy Thomson and Mike Tuck said they had been in Australia for just over a week preparing for the competition.
“It’s been awesome with the hospitality, everyone’s been very welcoming. I’ve had a great experience so far,” Mr Tuck said.
“We’re really excited, I think we have a really strong team. There’s some great teams in our group but we’re feeling confident and we’ve had a week to get ready here so we’re starting to put things together.”
Mr Thomson said the weather was a bit different to what the team was used to at home.
“But the whole experience has been great so far and we’re looking forward to what’s ahead of us,” he said.
“Prep’s been going great. We’ve got a warm- up game before the real thing kicks off but we’re taking it day by day and we’re excited to get going.”
Canadian basketballer Paige Crozon also touched down in Townsville after three days at the Commonwealth Games Village on the Gold Coast. “I’ve loved it actually. I was just in Germany all winter so it was cold when I left, so I’m really enjoying the heat,” she said.
“I’m really excited to get started, we’ve just been practising for the last three days so I’m excited to get the jersey on and actually play.”
England fan Jeremy Moffat, originally from Nottingham in England, came to the airport to show his support for his team.
“It’s just nice to be able to support my country in something like the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
“It’s pretty awesome, how often do we get that in Townsville?”
More Commonwealth Games news: SPORT.