On Friday and Saturday 18th and 19th October, three teams represented São Lourenço School at in international tournament organised and hosted by The International School of the Algarve.

The following reports were composed by students who participated.

BOYS' BASKETBALL by James (Year 8)
We were greeted alongside many European schools when we arrived at Porches. The team members were Sam, Vincent, Matthew, Peadar, Harry, Andrew and Jacob from Year 9, Edward and James from Year 8 and the youngest players were Oliver and James from Year 7.

We lost the first game and the other three although we came close to winning our last game, going down in a match in which we were leading up to the last few minutes. To cap it all, the girls were far more successful in their games so we went and hid. Nevertheless this was the first time that we had ever fielded a team so we expect experience to improve our chances next time.

MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS' FOOTBALL by Ashley (Year 8)
On Friday 18th a group of ten girls from Year 7 and 8 went to Porches. Our first match was against Marbella where we drew 1 - 1. However we were then thrashed 0 - 4 by Porches (International School of the Algarve). The third game was against St. Dominic's which we also lost 0 - 2. Our coach Sr. Paulo said we had played well. Given that we were playing 7-a-side football we always had at least three supporters to cheer us. We were also encouraged by the PE staff and parents who attended the games.

The next day we were ready to go: we knew what we were up against. Although we played well, we lost 0 - 1 to Marbella (again) and would have had to play them again a third time except for the fact that they had to leave because of their long journey. They therefore conceded the points to EISL. Later that day we were delighted to see the older girls' team win the cup!

SENIOR GIRLS' FOOTBALL - THE FINAL by Edward (Year 8)
By now our only hope was the Senior side which made it to the finals and had to face St. Dominic's. The atmosphere was tense, everyone was watching. St. Dominic's was playing an uninjured team whilst we were a team of walking wounded.

We seemed to be on top for much of the first half but two minutes before the whistle St. Dominic's scored and all hope was temporarily lost. It would now be hard to recover. However, straight after the break we were awarded a penalty. Justine stepped up to take the penalty but 'aaagh!' she aimed the ball right at the keeper. Doubly determined she played with far more aggression. This paid off, as five minutes later she scored the equaliser. The crowd went wild and in the last minute of play Suki scored the winning goal.

The girls had defended their trophy well and it returned to the school for permanent display, after a victory journey back on the coach.

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