The Journey
I went from Paris to Sofia, and then it should have been a further 30min internal flight from west Bulgaria to east.Because it was just a domestic flight, we were round the corner at the side of Sofia Airport's departures terminal. We were waiting for a while, say 20-30 minutes, for something or other.
Then it got a bit eerie for a moment - I think we all kinda noticed together that it was a lot quieter than it should be. The background noise of the main terminal had disappeared.
A man came round the corner and stopped, confused. He started barking at us - something in Bulgarian first, presumably, and then English - "everybody out!"
No punchline, I'm afraid. For some reason the terminal had been evacuated, and they'd forgotten about us. We all milled around outside for 30-45 minutes, then we were let back in. The flight was one of those funny ones - a smaller aircraft than normal, and about five minutes after we finished our climb we started our descent.
Accommodation
We actually stayed a little further up in essentially a holiday resort in Albena. Half the teams were in the same place as us, and the other half were across the road. I heard there was a swimming pool, and I was keen to do some exercise, so I asked at reception - "I saw one, is it that one over the road?" - "no sir, it's this one" - she pointed to her right and I followed, now noticing a swimming pool through the window that was about 20 metres away. Nice!The Action
On the court, I wasn't sure what to expect exactly. Obviously, the women's U16 tournament is the least-regarded of the six youth tournaments that FIBA stage every summer - but that just depends on how you look at it. And fortunately, for me and then I suppose for FIBA, I'm the type of sports fan who, once my attention is captured, really cares about the efforts of those in front of me. You can't tell any of those players that this is "only" the U16 girls. This is THE European Championships! For some of them, it might be the highest level they ever play at (although of course, none of them think that) - one day they might look back and say "actually kids, your mum was a pretty good player when she was young - I once played in the European Championships, don't you know..."For others, this might be the beginning of a glorious international career (notwithstanding the regional tournaments they'd have already competed in) - this is the first real BIG stage they've been on, this is what they've worked for, and they're playing for the pride of their country.
So, not to overegg what I do in any way, as really I appreciate that I am just a "support artist" there to help make these players look good. But I never overlooked these games - I enjoyed it from the very beginning. You get used to all the screaming in due course!
Off the court, we had a great team, with Goranka and Verena doing great work for FIBA and Goranka particularly supporting me hugely. Romanians Cosmin and Ovidiu did the photos and videos respectively and were great drinking buddies on our nights off, with Cosmin my "partner in crime" when I tell my "once upon a time me and a Romanian gatecrashed an Estonian wedding on a Bulgarian beach" story.
Tournament Highlights
I still remember quite vividly that the last game on Day One was Spain vs Croatia, and (oblivious to the fact that in just four years time, she would be part of the senior gold-medal winning squad in Prague) Maria Conde drained a huge clutch-shot to seal Spain's win.Short fun interview with Francesca Pan, who was great to talk to.
Another short one with Dutch forward Janis Ndiba, with Laura Westerik helping with translation. Unfortunately, I'm not sure this was explained to her, so I think she thought it was me interviewing both of them. She left quite unimpressed!
A look at the value of experience (even at such a young age). Really appreciated all the coaches giving me such time (and having good access to them at the accommodation!).
A nice interview with Latvia's Strautmane sisters.
A look at the Italian team and set up with coach Lucchesi, who was fantastic to talk to.
A short one with Czechia's diminutive playmaker Karolina Maleckova.
A summary of who's performing well ahead of the Quarter-Finals, and a preview of the last eight.
Francesca Pan's stellar performance gave Russia their first defeat and put Italy through to the Semi-Finals. Coach Lucchesi was ecstatic afterwards!
Spain pipped Hungary in a thriller in the Semis, before Czech Republic eased past the Italians.
Hungary got their first medal in 37 years with victory over Italy. France nabbed 5th place (and World Championship qualification) with a last-day win over Russia, and Belgium relegated their neighbours Netherlands in a dramatic game (which we didn't see live, unfortunately, as the bottom half of the draw was in the second gym).
Spain took the glory, sealing gold in a gritty final. Angela Salvadores claimed MVP with five different countries represented on the All-Tournament Team - all four semi-finalists with a representative, as well as Russia's impressive (and just-turned 15!!) center Maria Vadeeva. Pan was a natural choice, while Czech center Julia Reisingerova and Hungarian wing Debora Dubei are both regularly involved in senior national team squads now (speaking in 2018!).