A quick summary of the weekend in Esch: The weather was great, the food was wonderful, and the people were amazing!

I think if you ask anyone how this tournament was, they will mention that it was hot! On Saturday, we had a staggering 31 degrees and only sun on the field. There was little wind, which made it very warm. I think I drank four flasks of water and then had some extra drinks at the canteen. On Saturday evening, there was a thunderstorm with a lot of rain, which dropped the temperature by 10 degrees, making it much more pleasant. The next day, we had about 17-21 degrees with a hot sun, but many clouds that covered it every now and then.

For this tournament of the 5 Nations, I went to Kamera Express and rented a lens that is currently too expensive for me to buy. I wanted to try out the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, and boy… it did not disappoint! The lens did an amazing job on the field. On Saturday, there was a very bright sun, and because we were in the woods, there was a lot of shade and darkness. With this lens, I was able to set the aperture to f/2.8, which allowed me to take better pictures in the darker areas of the forest. On Sunday, the sun was just as bright, but there were a lot more clouds every now and then.

The field was laid out really well. I heard some people made mistakes in recognizing the target faces, which is a sign to me that they fell for the organizers’ tricks. There were some beautiful targets set over ravines, with great light play.

At the end of the tournament, we thanked René Lacroix for his work with the 5 Nations. It was also mentioned that in 2025, there will no longer be a 5 Nations tournament at Fort van Lier. Instead, they are looking for another location, which they will announce once it is decided.

Results can be found at the website of 5 Nations or at Ianseo.

All photos can be found on my Flickr account.

Thank you all for an amazing weekend! See you next year at the 5 Nations Cup!