Aussies have arrived! – 23.11.2015

Team Australia is one of the first teams to arrive in Finland for the WFC. Since their players live around the world, some players just met for the first time during their first practice in Finland.


Photo: Martin Neuzil/WFC 2013

The first players of team Australia arrived in Finland already during the weekend and took part in the Opening of the "Aleksanterinkatu Christmas Street" in Helsinki:
- It was really great and the girls were excited. They felt like they were in the Olympics, said Team Manager Shauna Shaw with a small chuckle and added:
- One of the reasons why we arrive so early is that we get a good feel with the flooring. In Australia we don’t have synthetic flooring, but we are getting our first in January 2016.

Jill Roberts arrived in Helsinki on Sunday and has enjoyed her stay. Her journey to Helsinki was a bit faster than for some of her team mates since she arrived from Switzerland.  Jill plays for Floorball Riders DBR. Swiss floorball is not quite the same as down under:
- One difference between Swiss and Australian floorball which I noticed right away is that many players are lefties whereas in Australia almost everyone is a righty. The game is also much faster in Switzerland. There I play with the women, but back in Australia I played with the boys.

Australia has seven “newbies” in the team. Jill describes the team as fresh, young and most importantly fun. Fun is also one of her personal goals in the WFC:
- I want to help the new players to enjoy the experience and have fun. This way they’ll come back the next time despite the costs. As a team we’ll simply face every game as it comes and of course try to win.

Jill Robers wants to invite all the WFC fans to come and enjoy the Aussie-style floorball in Tampere:
- Come and cheer for our team!

Team Australia plays in the WFC 2015 Group C with Japan, Denmark and Singapore.  The teams placed 1st and 2nd in Group C and D play in the first playoff round (for a spot in the the quarter-finals).