Ultimate Palestine Competes in MENA Ultimate Club Championships 2016
Ultimate Palestine Competes in MENA Ultimate Club Championships 2016
Earlier this month, Palestine was represented at the 2nd Annual Middle East and North Africa Ultimate Club Championships in Amman, Jordan. Competing against eleven other teams from the region, Ultimate Palestine attended their first tournament of this kind. Being a new club in a region not typically known for playing frisbee, Ultimate Palestine used this opportunity to better understand how the game is played at a more competitive level, improve basic skills of disc handling and network with other teams in the region for future partnerships, clinics and tournaments.
Ultimate Palestine is coached and organized by our own, Daniel Bannoura, from BBC, and team member, Keren Kandel, also volunteers in our Communications Department. Spending time weekly in practices and showcasing at local schools, Ultimate is gaining traction in the area! As a result, ten local youth from around Bethlehem as well as a few internationals living in the area joined together to form this year’s MENA 2016 Ultimate Palestine team.
While results from the tournament were not favorable in terms of games won, Ultimate Palestine is far from dismissive when it comes to the future of the program. As the youngest team in the tournament, Ultimate Palestine recognizes the importance of development, empowerment and a sense of belonging as being key to making a team successful for the future. In large part, this tournament was an opportunity to learn, develop and further cultivate spirit and unity within Ultimate Palestine, but also in Ultimate as a whole.
It has been the vision of those coaching and giving direction in Ultimate Palestine that the field be a place where anyone can come to learn how to play Ultimate, but also to feel a sense of belonging all the while working to improve one’s Frisbee skills and knowledge.
We are encouraged to see initiatives like this taking place in our community. It is a blessing to see a sense of comradery and unity that all comes under a sport whose main emphasis is on the spirit of the game and sportsmanship.
Keep your eyes open for Ultimate Palestine as they continue to grow and compete in the future!
Kamila is volunteering full-time with Bethlehem Bible College in the Communications Department. In addition to her love for writing and sharing stories, her endeavors in Bethlehem and greater Palestine involve facilitating cultural immersion programs for young adults from North America to see first-hand the realities that those living here encounter. At times deemed the “eternal optimist,” Kamila holds fast to the future hope of restoration and reconciliation of all things back to God. When she’s not writing, or organizing trips, you’ll catch her training and competing with the Ultimate Palestine frisbee team.
