Wow, what an INCREDIBLE weekend we just had. Friday AND Monday before and after the Easter (and Passover) weekend are national holidays in Kenya, so we had a 4-day weekend! And we spent it playing frisbee. Having been playing frisbee for well over a decade now, going into the weekend I had very mixed feelings about “wasting” a 4-day weekend on mediocre frisbee instead of going on a long safari exploring a national park, or another “only in Kenya” type activity. But, as it turns out, there was nothing mediocre about it, and FEAST, Frisbee East Africa Sand Tournament, was exactly that “only in Kenya” event! For those of you who’ll understand the reference, it’s like the Kaimana of Africa, except smaller and more intimate with a better dance party.

 

Our teammate Mark picked us up at 3am on Friday morning in his huge 4-wheel drive Nissan Patrol that proved its worth on the 10-hour car ride, as there was a 3 hour stretch on a road that most humans would qualify as “off-road”. Will, Litizie, Carol, Bill, and I were very thankful that Mark is a great, safe driver. After losing then finding a pair of pants that blew out of the luggage strapped to the top of the vehicle, and one missed speed bump that made Bill, sleeping in the back back row, levitate out of his seat for a second, we made it to the coast in the afternoon feeling great, pulling up to Twiga Lodge at Tiwi Beach around 1:30pm. There were a number of people there already, hanging out, throwing frisbees, and swimming. We set up our tent under the shade of the palm trees in the sand, with a front row view of the ocean waves.

Since our team was not only newly formed but also consisted of a large handful of new and young players, at around 4:30pm we have a team practice, which was actually only our second time practicing together! We practiced a horizontal stack, which proved unnecessary as we changed our strategy to a side stack after our first game for the rest of the tournament, so that was so funny!! Our team, Cool Water FC (Frisbee Club), was 1 of 3 teams from Nairobi. The name Nairobi comes from a Maasi phrase which literally means Cool Water, hence our team name. There were two teams from Kampala, Uganda, a team from Kisumu, and a team from Kakamega, for a total of 7 teams.

Opening ceremonies started at 8:30am on Saturday, and it was already about 88 degrees. And it only got hotter! The 12:00 noon game time, right before the lunch break, was the hardest for me because I do not do well in the heat. Despite the crazy hot sun, I had so much fun playing with Cool Water FC. Over the course of the weekend, our team really grew in chemistry and our young players grew their understanding of the game. There are not many tournament playing opportunities in Kenya, and the early tournaments of a player’s frisbee career are where an exponential amount of learning happens. I was so incredibly proud to be part of this team and it was so rewarding experiencing this tournament with Cool Water. I loved coaching the college teams I coached, and this weekend allowed me to feel all those feels again – that proud teacher happiness about accomplishments not my own. Here’s how much we grew over the weekend:

• We lost to the Hungry Impalas from Uganda in one of our first games on day one, but we beat them handedly the second day in the quarter finals!
• We lost one of our first games to the Jumping Impalas from Uganda on day one with a score of 4-12. We played them the second day in the semi finals, and lost to them 6-9. We scored more points on them than we had, held them to fewer points, and actually outscored them in the second half!
• We had a few no turn points, where we executed our offense perfectly!
• We also won the spirit award!!

I guess I really do love playing frisbee. It has been a while since Bill and I have played beach ultimate, as we used to play quite a bit back in SF. My feet are sore from running on the sand for two days, but other than that, my body feels great, and I feel so happy!

The hangouts on the beach were also a highlight of the weekend. There was always amazing music with a chill beat playing and there was a full moon or a near full moon every night adding to the already awesome atmosphere. It was such a perfect and relaxing beach weekend. But the best part of all?!…

We went swimming in the ocean every day after our games, and…

I DIDN’T GET STUNG BY A JELLYFISH!!!