"Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." -Joseph Addison, writer (1672-1719)
Ultimate Frisbee: common on college campuses, fun pass time on the beach, cool beer drinking community, a game really meant just for dogs...
Those are the things that people usually comment when I mention Ultimate.
I actually began really playing Ultimate when I first lived in Colombia in 2009. (See this post in my old blog and the follow up post.) It was one of the highlights of my time in Cartagena and my experience with the team Jiva inspired me to return to the US to study social work. (I already accounted some of this part of my story previously in my first post on this blog.)
But in the past few years, Ultimate Frisbee has taken on a whole new significance in my life.
When I first arrived in Libertad in 2013, I had a couple of discs with me, ready to make friends through teaching a new game. It took quickly. A group of us played pick-up whenever the soccer players weren't occupying the only field in town. But that wasn't enough for this group of innovative youth. They wanted to spread this game that they grew to love so quickly.
So we did.
In 2015, the first tournament took place in Libertad (San Onofre) with three communities participating thanks to the support of individuals and teams from the US.
We all realized that playing Ultimate Frisbee was more than just fun, but also a way to start conversations about values that sow peace (respect, gender equality, teamwork, honesty, responsibility), and motivate them to become more involved in community processes. Since there tends to be a lot of apathy and hopelessness among youth, it can be difficult to find interesting ways to start conversations about topics like peace and reconciliation. .
Using a sport like Ultimate Frisbee is a creative way to start these conversations. Many youth who don't usually participate in meetings or community processes are attracted to the sport. Also as a part of the rules, the game has topics like respect, honesty, and responsibility (there is not a referee so the players must decide when fouls happen and solve conflicts in healthy way), gender equality (all genders play together), and team work (if a team doesn't play together, they cannot play successfully). In addition to having these values as part of the game, the sport creates the opportunity to build relationships and trust with youth in order to have more direct and open conversations about peace and reconciliation.
In 2016, the youth continued playing and sharing the sport with other communities, and had the second tournament in Huamanga (El Carmen) with five communities participating. This time, Matt and Jared, along with US Major League Ultimate (unfortunately no longer existing) supported the tournament and clinics in each of the communities. They created a video series based on their experiences. Ultimate Frisbee de Montes de María is featured in several episodes:
Episode 1: Clinic in Mampuján
Episode 4: Clinic in Huamanga
In 2017, the youth continued to expand the sport and its values and organized the third tournament in Bajo Grande (El Carmen) with 7 communities participating. Using a promotional video created by a friend, we were able to raise the money for the tournament thanks to awesome donors and believers in the importance of Ultimate as a peace building tool.
Those are the things that people usually comment when I mention Ultimate.
I actually began really playing Ultimate when I first lived in Colombia in 2009. (See this post in my old blog and the follow up post.) It was one of the highlights of my time in Cartagena and my experience with the team Jiva inspired me to return to the US to study social work. (I already accounted some of this part of my story previously in my first post on this blog.)
But in the past few years, Ultimate Frisbee has taken on a whole new significance in my life.
When I first arrived in Libertad in 2013, I had a couple of discs with me, ready to make friends through teaching a new game. It took quickly. A group of us played pick-up whenever the soccer players weren't occupying the only field in town. But that wasn't enough for this group of innovative youth. They wanted to spread this game that they grew to love so quickly.
So we did.
In 2015, the first tournament took place in Libertad (San Onofre) with three communities participating thanks to the support of individuals and teams from the US.
We all realized that playing Ultimate Frisbee was more than just fun, but also a way to start conversations about values that sow peace (respect, gender equality, teamwork, honesty, responsibility), and motivate them to become more involved in community processes. Since there tends to be a lot of apathy and hopelessness among youth, it can be difficult to find interesting ways to start conversations about topics like peace and reconciliation. .
Using a sport like Ultimate Frisbee is a creative way to start these conversations. Many youth who don't usually participate in meetings or community processes are attracted to the sport. Also as a part of the rules, the game has topics like respect, honesty, and responsibility (there is not a referee so the players must decide when fouls happen and solve conflicts in healthy way), gender equality (all genders play together), and team work (if a team doesn't play together, they cannot play successfully). In addition to having these values as part of the game, the sport creates the opportunity to build relationships and trust with youth in order to have more direct and open conversations about peace and reconciliation.
In 2016, the youth continued playing and sharing the sport with other communities, and had the second tournament in Huamanga (El Carmen) with five communities participating. This time, Matt and Jared, along with US Major League Ultimate (unfortunately no longer existing) supported the tournament and clinics in each of the communities. They created a video series based on their experiences. Ultimate Frisbee de Montes de María is featured in several episodes:
Episode 1: Clinic in Mampuján
Episode 2: The Travel Day to Tourney
Episode 3: The Tourney
Episode 4: Clinic in Huamanga
Episode 5: Clinic in Pichilín
Episode 6: Clinic in Libertad
Being involved in a sport also can be a first step to becoming more involved in the community. In these few years, there has been a growth in the participation of the youth on the Frisbee teams (40 players in 2015, 60 players in 2016, and 100 players in 2017) as well as participation in leadership in their communities. Continuing to motivate youth participation in community processes is necessary for the future leadership of the communities, especially in the current context of the implementation of the peace accords that have direct effects in the communities of Montes de Maria.
In addition to the regional tournaments that the communities have organized, they also participated in several guest workshops in which players from Colombian teams and from US professional teams have come to continue encouraging the players and drawing the attention of the communities. One of the longest standing teams in Montes de Maria even participated in a National tournament in Cartagena as ambassadors from the initiative. It was an amazing and inspiring experience, not only for the coastal players but for the other teams to meet a team representing a movement using Ultimate Frisbee as a peace building tool.
From pick up games to national tournaments, the journey with the players from Ultimate Frisbee de Montes de María has been humbling for me and inspiring, and has taught me that peace building comes about in unexpected ways.
"...something to do, something to love, and something to hope for" are not only three grand essentials to happiness, but also to sowing peace. And for us, Ultimate is our something to do, in order to cultivate peace in the communities that we love, so that we can live in the world that we hope for.
In addition to the regional tournaments that the communities have organized, they also participated in several guest workshops in which players from Colombian teams and from US professional teams have come to continue encouraging the players and drawing the attention of the communities. One of the longest standing teams in Montes de Maria even participated in a National tournament in Cartagena as ambassadors from the initiative. It was an amazing and inspiring experience, not only for the coastal players but for the other teams to meet a team representing a movement using Ultimate Frisbee as a peace building tool.
From pick up games to national tournaments, the journey with the players from Ultimate Frisbee de Montes de María has been humbling for me and inspiring, and has taught me that peace building comes about in unexpected ways.
"...something to do, something to love, and something to hope for" are not only three grand essentials to happiness, but also to sowing peace. And for us, Ultimate is our something to do, in order to cultivate peace in the communities that we love, so that we can live in the world that we hope for.
Love it! UP!😍😍😍
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