2016 Hawai'i Football Fall Camp
Day 1: Into The Fire: Football Opens 2016 Camp With Strong First Day
Day 2: Football Building The Team Behind The Team
Day 3: Shells On And It's Sweet Home Hawai'i For Football Staff
Day 4: Summer Dedication Paying Off As Football Camp Rolls Into Day Four
Day 5: Football's Offensive Line Leading The Drive Into 2016
Day 6: Experienced Outside Receivers Unit Looking For Big Plays In 2016
Day 7: Returning Inside Men Provide Versatility For Football's Offense
Day 8: 'Bows Rise To Meet Challenges
Day 9: Deep, Experienced Running Backs Look To Propel Offense In 2016
Day 11: Cornerbacks Rely On Experience, Depth To Reload In 2016
Day 13: The Combination Of Experience And Youth Strengthens 2016 Safeties
Day 14: Few Questions Exist Among Football's 2016 Specialists
Day 15: H-TV: Defense Bought With Coordinator Lempa's Culture Changes
Day 16: A Variety Of Game-Tested Tight Ends Available For UH In 2016
Day 17: Next Man Up The Mantra For Reloading 2016 UH Linebackers
Day 18: Youth Movement Provides Plenty Of Options For 2016 Defensive Line
Day 19: Plenty Of Talent To Go Around At Quarterback
 

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HONOLULU – Saturday marked the final time in seven days that the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team will be on O'ahu, or in the United States for that matter. Following a final hometown practice under first-year head coach Nick Rolovich, the Rainbow Warriors departed to the airport check-in en route to Australia for the season opener.

The Rainbow Warriors opened up the weekend with a 6:00 a.m. practice on the turf field at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. Breakfast and a team meeting followed before boarding the buses, four in total to transport all 105 players and the 200-person total traveling party to Honolulu International Airport.

As UH prepares to face California in Sydney on Friday, Aug. 26 at 4:00 p.m. (HT), the hassle of travel seems miniscule with the hard work of the past few months both on the field and preparations with Australian customs now in the rear-view mirror.

"Every one of our players, coaches and support staff had to get passports if they didn't have them, and then you've got to talk about a work visa," Rolovich noted of some of the challenges.

Not only will they need to have all their paperwork in line for the full party, Australian officials are extremely sensitive about agricultural materials. A single blade of grass or chunk of dirk could send a player's equipment to quarantine for the duration of the week. The squad practiced on the artificial turf for the past three days and made a heavy scrubbing of all equipment to counter to concern.

All-in-all, the Rainbow Warriors finished out a productive fall camp and have now fully turned their focus to the task at hand, game one.

"So far they've shown some good maturity," Rolovich said. "I think they understand the goal is not to get a stamp on their visa or their passport, their goal is to go down and play the best football we can play."

The traveling party departs from HNL on Saturday at 12:35 p.m. for the nearly 11-hour flight to Sydney. They will practice throughout the week in preparation for the 2016 college football opener at ANZ Stadium in the College Football Sydney Cup next weekend.

Prior to departure, Rolovich and players senior Jalen Rogers, sophomore Jahlani Tavai and Australian freshman Maxwell Hendries spoke with HawaiiAthletics.com about the journey. Check out the full video below.
Follow the journey for the Rainbow Warriors 'down under' on the Syndey Cup Coverage page found here.