(You gotta love Frisbee!)

Last last Friday, Bill and I took a quick 1.5 hour plane ride to Entebee, Uganda for a frisbee tournament in Kampala. The city was originally built on 7 Hills, which, coincidentally, was also the name of the tournament. How lucky! 😉 We have been playing with the Nairobi team called Cool Water Frisbee Club (FC) every Sunday, and, as this tournament is one of the few in East Africa, everyone was really looking forward to it. We were 17 strong at this tournament – which is not a lot – and I have never felt so sore after a tournament in a very, very, very long time, like since those early college days of playing savage (no subs). I was so tired after Saturday’s 6 games that I got in bed at like 7:30pm, had dinner brought to my hotel room, and ate the spaghetti laying down watching tv by myself. Bill was downstairs at dinner being social.

The tournament had 9 teams, so the structure was a round robin – because everyone wants to play everyone! – then into bracket play on the second day. The rounds were 45 minutes long, mostly I think because of lack of field space (there were only 3), so there was no option of coming out slow. At the Sunday practices leading up to the tournament, we had been really working on our offensive flow and practiced playing zone defense. The captain split us into offense and defensive lines, and each line really got to gel together over the weekend. Bill and I played on the O line as the main handlers mostly because we have been playing a decade longer than everyone else and don’t really get stressed or feel the pressure of playing in a tournament. Like I mentioned, there are only a few tournament playing opportunities in this part of the world – which is the exact opposite of the Bay Area where there may be multiple playing opportunities to choose from on just one weekend (tournament, pickup, league game, beach, goaltimate, etc.) – and 7 Hills is treated as a very big deal by all the teams playing. It makes me sad to know just how much talent is here that may never get to reach their full potential just due to the lack of competitive opportunities. If our college aged teammates got to play on any college team in the States, they would for sure become a difference maker on field.

We won all but one of our games on Saturday, and we played 6 games! We lost to Entebbe which was a bummer. But we overcame and beat Kakamega in our last game on Saturday 10-0. Our zone defense was stifling against the newer and less practiced teams. We finished up pool play on Sunday morning and played Kisumu, the team that represented Kenya at the world championships earlier in July in Cincinnati. (Bill and I were invited to play with them, but – and no offense to Cincinnati – but we didn’t want to go there. Maybe if it was in a place in the States near our parents, or any other country in the world, but Ohio?! No thanks.) We lost to Kisumu in a tight, many long points game, but it felt great. I personally played my best in that game, and the sprit was high. We then entered the bracket and played Kakamega in the quarter finals. They were seeking revenge over their big loss yesterday, and we were getting tired. It was in the high 80s low 90s (Farenheit) all weekend, with no breeze and little cloud cover. It was HOT. And we were not used to playing two full days in a row. Luckily on our way to the fields both days, Bill, our teammate Jeff, and I (we travelled from the hotel together) picked up two of those huge 20 liter jugs of water for our team. There was water at the fields, but not right away. Also lunch was more than 2 hours late on the first day. However there were plenty of bananas to go around. Pretty sure the 10s of bananas I ate prevented me from cramping, so that was good! Anyway, we lose to Kakamega and don’t advance to the semi-finals. It was for the best because as soon as I took my cleats off, I was so glad to not be playing anymore and to be sitting in the shade in my camping chair! Jeff smartly booked a cab straight from the fields just after our quarters game, and Bill and I hop in the cab with him even though his flight was more than 2.5 hours before ours. The airport is about an hour – hour and a half away, and by the time we would have had to call an Uber to the airport, it was pouring rain and we never would have gotten a car. We have priority pass, so we hang out in the lounge on the big comfy couches, eating delicious samosas and mini pizzas, and watch Netflix as we wait for our flight.

The thing about going to a city you have never been to before to play ultimate means you don’t actually get to see the city. I have played in “Boston” at least 20 times, but I have never been to Boston, you know what I mean? What we saw of Kampala was the drive from the hotel to the fields and back. And to the airport at Entebbe from the fields. The city reminds me of Nairobi in terms of pot-hole ridden roads and tons of traffic – although there seemed to be way more boda bodas (motorcycles) than Nairobi, I am guessing because of all the hills. The rolling green hills of the city dotted with colorful houses reminded me of a postcard of some quaint European town. Overall, it was a fun weekend with wonderful people, amazing teammates and no sunburns! And while I didn’t get to see the city, in an effort to get rid of our Ugandan shillings, I bought a Uganda Ultimate jersey to match my Kenya Ultimate jersey!