#Ultimate Frisbee

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

By Steve Janoski

A group of Israeli teen Ultimate Frisbee players were banned from an international competition in Belgium last week after a vandal scrawled antisemitic statements near their playing field — and the heartbroken kids and coaches are wondering why.

The Israeli delegation — which included 33 players between the ages of 13 and 16, as well as nine adults — had been practicing and preparing for years ahead of the European Youth Ultimate Championship in Ghent, Belgium, according to Chen Bankirer, president of the Israeli Flying Disc Association.

But just as the team — which traveled thousands of miles to get to the tournament — was getting ready for Tuesday morning’s inaugural games, the tournament director told them that somebody had spray-painted “Boycott Israhell now!” near their field.

6A vandal scrawled antisemitic statements near a playing field in Belgium — and got the Israeli team banned from the competition.Hope For Israel Alliance/Facebook

6The Ultimate Frisbee team had traveled thousands of miles to participate in the tournament, but was banned before it could play.Hope For Israel Alliance/Facebook

Daniel Ben David, a 22-year-old assistant coach who lives near Tel Aviv, said the Ghent police chief told the adults, “This is your war, not mine,” before saying their presence would cause problems in Belgium.

“It’s just very antisemitic, honestly,” the coach added. “We just want to let our kids play. We aimed to win this tournament, we’ve been working for three years just to prepare. And to have it robbed from the kids is horrible.”

Bankirer told The Post that the local officials tried to claim they were concerned for the team’s safety.

“Basically they said to us, ‘You’re not going to play.’ The claim of the police and the city is that the fields are too open, and they cannot protect the fields [or] ensure the safety of the tournament,” he said.

“We heard the news on Tuesday morning at 6 a.m.,” he said. “We were sad. We were waiting for [the kids] to wake up. And then we gathered all of them together, and we broke the news to 33 kids that they cannot play because they’re Israelis. And they were heartbroken.”

The Israeli Foreign Affairs and Culture and Sports Ministries tried to intervene, but the final decision banning the teams was made Tuesday night, according to the Jerusalem Post.

To add insult to injury, the city also banned the kids and coaches from even watching the games as spectators.

“I think they did not want people around to know that there were Israeli Jewish people there,” Bankirer said.

[beardedmrbean]

[ultimateaclrecovery]

Masters regionals!

Overall a fun weekend, although very hot and windy. We didn’t always play our best, but we did qualify for nationals! I was pretty pleased with how much I got to play when lines got tightened and how I played overall.

Our hotel also had a pool which was very fun.

And please enjoy the absolute panic on my face in my last photo

[fata-vocant]

pissing off all the people at ultimate frisbee by calling it “ultimate frisbee”

[speciouspessimism]

the thing is i care about the state of virginia for two very weird reasons and one is because of a book series that takes place in a made up town and the other is because of the dorkiest sport in the world that i also no longer play but goood it’s so important

[pokemonwearingsportsmerch]

[beachedsandcastles]

storytime when i was at ultimate frisbee practice (i'm on the guys team) and one the guys and i was talking about spiderman across the spiderverse my absolute favorite hyperfixation, and we were talking about how i think hobie's better than miguel, and vice vera for him for character design and he literally pops out 'so you're a boytoy twink for hobart and i'm a malewife hunk for miguel' like huh???? how do you even know those terms??? you're like straighter than a metal pole???? you're constantly talking about your girlfriend (who also has the same name as me which is FREAKY)???????? (he's not bi or pan or demi or ect, it's been confirmed) like literally none of the other guys on my team knows those terms. i am now scared of the tenth grader dariush for his vocabulary. i am also most definitely not a twink lol

extra: he said that miguel makes his insides feel squirmy and gets his blood running south. straight guys scare me

[187days]

Day Twenty-Seven

Today was a schoolwide community service day, so our students- decked out in neon for the day's spirit theme- reported to their advisories first thing in the morning. Then we all gathered in the gym to hear from a panel of speakers- students, community members, The Police Chief- about the importance of service. After that, we boarded buses and traveled to different parts of town. Most groups picked up trash, but some raked leaves, some did trail maintenance, some did other things. Kids who didn't get permission to go off campus picked up around the school, took care of our trails, chopped firewood to distribute to folks who need it, stuff like that.

If you're thinking that's very country, you're right.

My advisory was picking up trash in one of the main parts of town, so we got a lot of supportive horn honking and waving from passing cars- and, thankfully, a lot of patience as we crossed roads (tenth graders do not always realize when they ought to walk quickly, heh). We also got some adorable praise when we passed by one of the local preschools; the kids were out for recess, and they and their teachers waved and told the students they were doing a great job. Everyone loved that.

The town's public works folks picked up the bagged trash for us, and the police dealt with anything potentially dangerous (not an issue for my group this time). And the local ice arena allowed their parking lot to be the drop-off and pick-up location for buses, so our group- plus the other two groups we'd ridden with- ended up finding a pile of snow (I guess from the ice making?), building little snowmen, and having a snowball fight.

There was a cookout waiting for us when we got back to the school, as well as games on the athletic fields: soccer, kickball, tennis, cornhole, ultimate frisbee, you name it. Our ropes course was open, too, for kids who wanted to give that a try. I ended up in a massive teachers vs students ultimate frisbee game, which was so much fun. I even scored a goal!

So we all did something to give back, and got to be outside on a glorious autumn day, and our students to have some freedom to hang out with their friends and have fun in the afternoon. There were some who opted not to show up, or got their parents to dismiss them early, and that's a real shame, but it was awesome for those who were there.

I think it was a fantastic day.

[live-laugh-huck]

[flirtingwithlucidity]

We spent the weekend in Louisville KY for my son’s Ultimate tournament, and we took our geriatric girl with us since we didn’t have a dog sitting option. It was definitely a challenge for her and us. She’s always loved to road trip with us, so I’m really glad she got to go because it was probably her last family trip. 🥹💔

[bathmatthew]

ultimate frisbee and transgenderism are inherently linked

[steakrogers]

I ONLY THROW HAMMERS 🥏🔨

[deadontheinsidesexyontheoutside]

The World’s Ultimate Frisbee Community Is Revolting Against Its Leaders Over Gaza

[lifeisalittleinteresting]

WOAH

woah.

So I totally forgot about my Tumblr account...i feel like I need to get back into it.

I don't really know what to say so I'm just gonna start with some random stuff.

I had an ultimate Frisbee tournament yesterday and we won every single game.

I also had two mental break downs because I realized I would have to be eating in front of my team.

I opened up to one of my friends on the team about my eating disorder and they helped me calm down.

My dad has covid 👍👍

I have a crush and I think they like me back which is great.

There's someone that I used to have a crush on that I'm sitting next to in English and I only see them as a friend now which is great -- we spend the entirety of class just laughing and joking around.

I submitted my one missing assignment yesterday and now I have all A's!

Okay I think that's all for now- I'll plan out something better to say tomorrow lol

[frozenocarina]

What I can’t stop thinking about is ultimate frisbee as anime potential. Literally any person on my team would be an incredible protagonist to start with. It would be like haikyuu complete with the team rivalries, sport wide traditions, and making a 2 second play take 8 minutes of monologue

[oompady-loompady]

Something athletes have to deal with day to day is the constant pressure of preforming their absolute best at all times. It’s just embedded in our systems. Always comparing ourselves to better players because there is always, always going to be someone better. One day, we have a bad morning, or we turn our ankle, or we bomb a test and we are not playing our best. We get home, upset and disappointed in ourselves because we know we can do better.

But maybe that’s just the thing. Maybe you weren’t playing the best you ever had, but you were doing the best you could at the moment. I think, in the long run, that is all that really matters.

Working hard and playing your best are two completely different concepts. Maybe todays 120% effort was yesterdays 70%. Or maybe yesterdays 10% effort is tomorrows 1000%. It is all relative. Your 100% strength changes day to day. All that matters is that you work your hardest. Working hard with what you have is the stepping stone to playing your best in any circumstance.

So when you come home from a tough game, down in the dumps, try to pivot your thinking. When you catch yourself in the mindset of “damn, I was playing so bad today” or “I have played so much better before”, ask yourself: “did I try?” “Did I work hard?” Think, reflect, then execute. That is what makes a strong player.