Family returns the favour

By Rebecca Fraser
A LYNBROOK family was more than happy to welcome athletes from the Edwin Flack Games into their home.
After all, Bill and Lynne Toan were simply returning a favour.
Two years ago the couple’s son, Brad, travelled to Springfield Ohio to take part in the Connolly Games, another international sporting and cultural exchange with Casey’s sister city.
Brad, then 18, was home hosted by a local family and his parents also travelled to the United States to watch the sports and cultural gathering.
Mr Toan said he had taken time off work to attend the Edwin Flack events and the family was home hosting two athletes and a chaperone.
The family has already taken the visitors to Sorrento and a cruise through Melbourne and Docklands.
At the weekend the visitors also got a taste for Australian football when they went to the Melbourne versus Port Adelaide game at the MCG.
They also visited Puffing Billy and Sovereign Hill earlier this week.
Mr Toan said they had offered to home host the visitors after their son received similar hospitality during his 2004 visit.
He said everyone had greatly enjoyed the Edwin Flack Games and it was a great initiative.
“The basketball was great and the soccer was fantastic. The night match was terrific and I heard that the volleyball was lots of fun,” Mr Toan said.
“It is not just about the sport and instead it is a cultural exchange where you can see how other countries function and live,” he said.