Toshikazu kawaguchi says, “Life is a fleeting dance, a delicate balance of moments that unfold before us, never to return in quite the same way again”. As an Ultimate Frisbee community, our past might not be as good as we wanted it to be but our future for sure is one to be proud of. Is the world ready for us? An Analysis of the state of Ultimate Frisbee in Kenya.
Having been introduced in Kenya around 15years ago, Ultimate Frisbee has taken a steady growth that supersedes imagination. Just as the tides ebb in pain and the sun at times gets covered in clouds. Just as the rivers meander and in the end find a way to where hope stands tall, the journey of Ultimate Frisbee in Kenya is one that hasn’t missed hurdles. The recent rise of Kenyan stars who are ready to take on anybody might just be a nightmare to any team that chooses to categorize Kenya not as a home of Ultimate Frisbee in Africa.
Ivan Xu, an Ultimate Frisbee player from China, got an opportunity to attend the Kilimanjaro Ultimate Frisbee tournament held in Tanzania this year on 25th and 26th of May. I wasn’t there, I had plans to attend but fate had its own choices. He is the one who whispered to me about what transpired there. He told me, and I quote, “I got a chance to play against KEMRI from Kenya and I must admit, this wasn’t something I was ready for. The gentlemen and ladies played ‘beautiful Ultimate’ if such a phrase exists.” I won’t delve much into that event because I believe you already know who the winners of that championship were.
Having witnessed what unravelled during the All Africa Ultimate Championship last year, I can clearly make the world aware of one thing, “Kenyan teams are now ready for South African teams and any other world team that term themselves tough. ” I was following the World Under 24 championship that happened just a few days before the All Africa Ultimate championship. I saw a south African team breaking the world record for the longest swing during that event. I talked to Natalie Kibor, who happens to be the President of Tropical Rangers Ultimate Frisbee Club about that and she courageously told me that, that was not a time to watch as all continental trophies head to South Africa but a time for South African teams to watch as Kenyan teams battle against themselves in both the Semis and the finals. To my disappointment, South Africa didn’t front a team for All Africa Ultimate championship. Is it because they sensed defeat? A question for another day. And you know what, four Kenyan teams battled in the Semis and eventually a Kenyan team emerged winner in the finals.
As an avid reader, I have never read a story whose plot is so clear. No twists and turns. No time to give fate a chance to decide. Just a wonderfully weaved piece of art that foreshadows what is yet to come. This might be the current state of Kenyan Ultimate. You don’t have to listen to a podcast about Ultimate Frisbee in Kenya for you to understand Kenya is the future of Ultimate Frisbee on mother Earth. All you have to do is, take a breath and wait for what is yet to come.
As we close the pages of a past that was only held by a few clubs in Kenya, the current Kenyan Ulti-space remains unpredictable. These days, walking into a championship, darkness is all you carry because you can’t predict the team that will take home the trophy.
I know you might be aware but let me just remind you. This year, two of our Kenyan teams head to Portimao, Portugal for World Beach Ultimate Club Championship. I’ve played against them and I can tell, I won’t be surprised to see them battle against themselves in the finals. Kakamega Wolves, the mother club to Milton Adina, who happens to be the most decorated male Ultimate Frisbee player in Kenya and Phena Adoyo who I believe when in good form no Kenyan lady can outshine, head into the championship as the National grass Ultimate Frisbee champions while Black Fish Ultimate that has had a myriad signings in a bid to restore their buried glory days step into the world challenge as the national beach Ultimate champions. This clearly tells you, the artists weren’t fools when they sang about good days they hadn’t experienced yet. As we clap and shout in praise of these two team, we aren’t doing so because we believe they are the best. We are doing so because we know what they carry with them to that championship.
Diagracious Ebiringet happens to be a former player of the two time East Africa champions, Tropical Rangers Ultimate Frisbee Club, and a current player for the All African Ultimate Championship winners, Black Fish Ultimate. You now get to know, he takes into the championship an experience from two separate clubs which gives him a good chance to showcase what best he has learned from these two clubs. In Rangers he was taught resilience , in Black Fish Ultimate, he’s working with experienced players. On the other hand, Moses Njatha takes the team to the championship as a coach who understands all the ups and downs in the sport. Having navigated through great terrains and led his team to winning major championships even outside Kenya, I won’t be surprised to see Kakamega Wolves walking back heads high with the WBUCC medals.
Each dawn comes with a new hope. Seeing disc golf flourishing as the last born of Kenya Flying Disc Federation should be a reason to live yonder a smile. A few days back, I talked to Kevin Becker who has been running this project in Kenya about the future of Disc Golf and from what he uttered I picked only one thing, We are heading into a future where we will not only see Kenya as a home of Ultimate Frisbee but also Disc Golf.
Unlike the arrow whose focus is only in one direction, our hope is not just for the World Beach Ultimate Club Championship but also for the upcoming East Africa Championship that is set for 21st and 22nd of September in Kampala, Uganda. The defending 7Hills Champions Cool Waters FC, the current 2time East Africa LVGUT Champions and All Africa Ultimate Championship Finalists Tropical Rangers, and KEMRI Ultimate head to Uganda to showcase what Kenya boasts of. I am not a fortune teller but Kenya Ultimate teams aren’t heading to Uganda to show Ugandans the flags on their jerseys arms. They are going to Uganda to conquer her teams at their grounds. It is during such days that I miss the skilful play of great ones like Allan Ateti.
There are these sentient sentiments by Heidi Priebe and he says, “We are not meant to stay the same. We are meant to grow and change, to evolve and transform. And sometimes, in order to grow, we must let go of the things that are holding us back. We must let go of the people who are no longer serving us, the beliefs that are no longer true, the dreams that are no longer possible. It is not easy, but it is necessary. For it is only in letting go that we can make room for the new, for the better, for the more.” For us to continue thriving as a community, we need to continue putting this into practice. We are in a position so precious to grow. Unless we stop throwing stones every corner of our way, we won’t realize this growth. The evolution of Frisbee in Kenya is something we should keep on pushing for the growth to be realized in a good way.
By Patrick Juma.
(Patrick Juma is the General Secretary of Kenya Flying Disc Federation, an Ultimate Frisbee player for Tropical Rangers Ultimate Frisbee Club, a published Author ).
John Kariuki