Preparing for Puerto Rico
Next Wednesday, our team heads out to Rincón, Puerto Rico for a winter basketball tournament! While there, we’ll be playing two games against local university teams. We’re excited for new competition, for the sunshine and warm weather (especially with the snow that’s come through Swarthmore this week!), and to see how the resilient communities of Puerto Rico have bounced back from Hurricane Maria. Since we’ve gotten back from winter break, we’ve been working hard in the gym in preparation for our conference games this week and the games we’ll play in PR. We haven’t had too many away games this season, so these two games will be fun ones for sure! This trip offers our team an amazing opportunity to play the game we love in this new place.
We’re excited to learn about this new place as a team. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory known for its vibrant people and places--for being a melting pot of cultures and for its over 270 miles of beaches. However, on September 20, 2017 the island of Puerto Rico was forever changed when Hurricane Maria tore through the island. In addition to playing some basketball, we are also looking forward to participating in a community service event in which we will deliver water to people in the more rural areas who were impacted by the hurricane. We’re looking forward to spending time together as a team and bonding on our annual trip!
Some fun facts about Puerto Rico:
Rumor has it...Piña Colada was invented there!
Basketball, volleyball, and boxing are the most popular sports in Puerto Rico
Spanish and English are the most popular languages spoken on the island.
One of the world’s largest radio telescope in the world is located in Puerto Rico at the Arecibo Observatory.
Many streets in Puerto Rico are paved with blue cobblestones.