Expect the unexpected
Friday the 2nd of March 2018, finals day. The day began with the now usual breaking of eggs to make an omelette. We then headed for the 6am bus to take us to the competition, unlike earlier in the week the bus was half empty and there was an eerie sense of quiet and nervous tension for the day ahead.
First up after a days rest in La Antigua was AVANS School of Applied Science from the Netherlands. This team was top seeded from the group draw the previous Sunday and we knew full well the caliber of opposition we were up against. We received a case on VOX Capital investment fund based in Brasil. We presented our case to a panel of 5 excellent judges which was an increase from the usual 3. After an anxious wait and then watching another team present, we found out our fate. We won by 6 points to 5 points!!!!
This result meant that we had reached the grand final. A stage that DIT had never reached before. Now the final prep for NIBS 2018 against Bishops had begun...
We finished and were confident with our preparation, now the nerve wracking backstage walk to the Auditorium, we were taken around the side entrance where we were given microphones as it was a very large room to present in. This was very professional and grounding experience as none us at ever presented on such a scale before in front of such an attendance or arena before.
After the Presentation
We were delighted with how it went and we showcased our personalities and engaged with the crowd and we even received a partial standing ovation and showed the affection the crowd to us, this was an extremely humbling moment collectively, we then took a few pictures and a breather and went back to the hotel to get ready for the gala ball. The Gala started off with speeches from the NIBS President/Vice-President and a traditional Guatemalan arts and culture performance. After the dinner and awards we were then called up for the moment of truth....
WE DID IT! We won by 6 points to 5 points. The dream was now reality.After all the months of preparations we had reached the promised land. NIBS Champions 2018. We proceeded to then take what seemed to be hundreds of photos with teams, coaches and officials from across the globe. Then the real party begun and we went out and enjoyed the night.
One of the best weeks of our lives had come to an end, we complied all the moments of the week into a short video, see the embedded video at the top of the page, like, share and enjoy!
We would like to thank all followers of the blog since it began last week. In particular we would like to thank, firstly Ty our amazing, fantastic ambassador a man we can now call our brother, secondly Bryan who went out of his way and facilitate our needs and give us an in-depth look into Guatemalan culture. Finally thanks to all volunteers, judges and officials who made the competition as amazing as it was.
The journey is over.
The Video: