Members of the team visiting Ubud's Monkey Forest
So many sports teams fly in and out of a country they're competing in without connecting on a cultural level. Modern Pentathlon New Zealand (MPNZ) did not want to be one of these teams.
World championships are normally held in Europe, and Indonesia (Bali) winning the bid to host such an event is rare - so the team took the opportunity to take advantage of the location and learn about the local culture.
Before we left, we held discussions on how we could spend some extra time to bond as a team as well as experience the culture of the host country.
Modern pentathlon is made up of five events —fencing, swimming, horse riding, pistol shooting, and running. The New Zealand team included a mix of able bodied and para athletes (including one vision impaired athlete) with athletes competing across all age ranges, from under 15 to over 60.
The venue - Nusa Dua beach - was stunning. The local volunteers made us all very welcome, and the Indonesian officials were warm and appreciative of everyone who competed.
After the completion of the competition, the team put down their foils and pistols and donned hats and sunscreen to take part in a range of activities, including a traditional Balinese dinner, a cultural show and dance, a cooking class, a monkey temple visit, wood carving, coffee plantation experience, waterfall and jungle experience, and a fish spa and wellness experience.
The traditional Bali dinner was an opportunity to enjoy some amazing Balinese hospitality and food in an outdoor setting.
The dinner was followed by a cultural show, which took the team on a journey exploring the seven regions of Indonesia.
The show was a hit with all the athletes, made particularly special when audience members were invited to participate and the group’s oldest member joined in for a dance.
Following this, the team embarked on a trip to Ubud, a town in Bali's uplands. There they were taken on a tour of a coffee plantation and learnt how traditional coffee, Kopi luwak, is made, discovering that prior to roasting ,the beans pass through the intestinal tract of the Asian palm civet (a small nocturnal cat-like mammal). This was definitely a surprise for most of the athletes! Despite this, the team sampled a range of coffees and bought some souvenirs.
Next on the itinerary was a visit to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary where some 2000, very cheeky, monkeys live.
We got to wander through the lush forest and visit three incredibly elaborate temples, all the while being watched over by troops of confident and curious monkeys.
From the Monkey Forest it was on to a workshop where we got to try our hands at carving wooden masks — a four-hour task, which yielded surprisingly good results!
Ubud is renowned for its arts and crafts and the carving not only provided a chance for the athletes to learn about the culture (and take home a mask) but was also connect with locals.
Carving masks (left) from wood was highlight for the athletes and an opportunity to learn about the local culture
While there were challenges, especially for our athlete who has only five percent vision in one eye, with narrow streets and uneven surfaces, the Balinese people were always smiling and offering assistance.
Our time in Indonesia also allowed us to developed friendships and connections with the teams from Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong China, Sri Lanka, Philippines and several of the European teams.
On the last day of the four-day event, we were able to exchange shirts and national items with these teams and many others from around the world.
The President of the Indonesia Modern Pentathlon Federation gave New Zealand an open invitation to return to Indonesia to train and improve the abilities of the athletes from both countries. This was the major win for the team and New Zealand modern pentathlon.
We really want to thank the Asia New Zealand Foundation for providing the team with the opportunity to experience so much more of Bali than we would have otherwise had a chance to. The majority of our athletes are self funded, so this grant helped create a memorable experience for the team and helped us connect in a more meaningful way with the local people.
The Foundation's sports programme provides New Zealand sportspeople opportunities to grow more knowledgeable, connected and confident with Asia.
The Foundation's Community Sports Fund provides funding for community sports groups travelling to Asia for sports to include cultural activities to their itineraries.