Diougal club reigns

On Sunday I had the chance to play in an ultimate frisbee tournament that was set up by an expat who's working to bring the game to Mali.  Rodrigue has been working with kids in different neighborhoods of the city and teaching them the game over the past few months.  Ultimate is a great game to teach here since the rules are simple and all you need is a frisbee.

Rodrigue put in a lot of work to get Sunday's tournament set up.  He rented a field, organized transportation for six teams, brought in cold water and a dj, and promoted the event locally.  Soccer is still king here so there wasn't a huge turnout of spectators, but any time there's a dj playing music and some white people running around, it will attract attention.

An invitation was extended to the expat community to get some players to participate.  Only a handful showed up, but I can't say I blame folks.  Running around outside at 4:00 on a hot, sunny Sunday afternoon isn't necessarily preferable to sitting inside an air-conditioned house or lounging next to a pool.  Nevertheless, seven expats were divided among the six teams and the tournament began.

For only having played frisbee for a few months, the players were really good.  I saw some acrobatic catches and passionate play from every team, and it was neat to see boys and girls playing together.  In the many soccer games that go on around town, females are not a part of the game.  Also, younger kids could take part in the games too since the frisbee usually requires more speed and dexterity than brute strength.  My team, Diougal Club, played well enough to win our pool and advance to the championship.  We beat our opponent and won the title to much celebration.  My French isn't good enough to carry on anything but the most basic of conversations and my Bambara (the local language) is non-existent, so I didn't take part in any extensive strategy sessions with the rest of Diougal Club.  Still, a high-five or fist bump is universal and I felt like I was part of the team, if only for an afternoon.

After the matches were over, everyone shook hands and my teammates from Diougal club headed back to their neighborhood, celebrating their victory.  I had a great time and I wish I could take part in the next tournament in mid-July.  By then, though, I'll be back in the US.

Here's an article written about the event (translated via Google Translate).  I guess I'm one of the "European Practicioners" referred to in the article.

Here we are, at the beginning of a match...

...here's a nice action shot...

...me watching the younger, more energetic players go at it...

...showing off my extra-close haircut and one-size-too-small jersey...

...and posing with my skinned knee.

As you can tell from the pictures, even the rented fields around here have lots of dirt patches and piles of garbage.