Ultimate Community

Ultimate Frisbee- you are probably wondering- isn’t that the sport wanna-be-hippies play, the college students who were born twenty years too late? Why yes, it is. But it is quickly becoming much more than that- around the world thousands of players are competing at local, national and global levels. With more of a cooperative atmosphere than a competitive one (it is self-regulated- no referees, no umpires), the sport is quickly catching on.

So quickly, in fact, that I wasn’t half surprised to find a team in Nairobi. I discovered the group online, sent the director an email, and showed up to practice within a week of being in the city.

Back at Georgetown, my ultimate team is my family- I would do anything for any of the girls and vice-versa (like, remember my birthday when I'm not even on the same continent). They are my best friends, and I couldn’t imagine spending college with any other group. Naturally, I was nervous going to the first practice here- my expectations for ultimate teams were set pretty high. Luckily I wasn’t disappointed when I was immediately accepted by the Friday night crew- about ten players from the ex-pat community in their late 20’s to early 40’s. I went out with a few of the players that night, and to a house party the next. Recently I’ve found a group of friends closer to my age, but I appreciate the immediate community nonetheless.

With a mixture of Embassy workers, UN employees, and many in the non-profit world, I spend a few hours every weekend hanging with my idols- the people I want to be in ten years. It is difficult not to pound the players with questions as we’re running up and down the field. It is about 80% male, and about 80% American. I am easily the youngest by about five years. The level of play is good, with a mixture of beginners and extremely experienced. Two of the women, ages not to be mentioned, are slightly faster than me- making it challenging yet enjoyable to keep up with. It is such a cool experience and I am so glad I found the team.

We play on Fridays at the UN recreation field- on real grass surrounded by barbed wire. On Sundays, when we have on average about twenty players, we play at the International School Kenya- the most gorgeous campus I have ever been on. The setting and the team places Frisbee time in a completely different world- with the exception of being outrun by the occasional Kenyan and the altitude, it is hard to believe I am still in Nairobi.