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derireo · 4 years ago

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A3! And What Sports They’d Play ↦ All Troupes

So.. I was talking to a friend about the sports we used to play in the past. I loved sports as a kid and thinking of Haikyu also pushed me to do this. All troupes are included, and individual characters gets their own sport and my take on how well I think they’d do in it!

Kind of went off on Autumn and Winter Troupe;; sorry.

Uh, E-Sports, of course. He gets absolutely winded from walking, so sitting down and competitively playing a game he loves is his dream. On particularly intense matches, he breaks a heavy sweat and needs a lot of water and snacks to keep himself focused and in the game.

He's a popular player and a great one as well! Sometimes he gets asked to host little bits of the tournaments he attends because he has such a big fanbase and he's awesome at entertainment despite his normally deadpan tone with jokes.

He has a lot of energy, so I think running in track or doing marathons would be good for him. Afterall, he's one of the first to run after Tsuzuru in the prologue of the game. He isn't the best nor is he the fastest runner, but his stamina is impressive and lets him outlast many of his competitors.

I also see him doing kayaking? Not competitively, but he definitely loves the thrill of crashing down small waterfalls and regaining his balance right after. The flow of the currents is exhilarating and he has a good sense of balance, so he'd rarely overturn in a kayak (which is absolutely dangerous by the way).

He wouldn't do any competitive sports, but skate/longboarding is something I can definitely see him doing. If he needs time to himself or just simply wants to chill, he'll go out and enjoy the breeze as he boards down the bike lane in the park or on the road, hands in pockets.

He becomes a bit of an attraction at skate parks though. He's always seen there on his board, headphones donned and hands in pockets like I said; effortlessly performing tricks that a lot of other skaters would struggle doing. People are very attracted to the sight, and he lures them in whenever someone finds out he's at the park that day.

He's already suffering so much and is always tired— I wouldn't put it past him to play shuffleboard. It's not a laborious sport, and he can play with anyone like his siblings or any elders who need the company. It's a slow paced sport and is great for sleepy Tsuzuru who needs a break from scrip writing. I don't know if there were any canon stories of him actually being involved in a sport at some point, but I think he'd be pretty okay at tennis or table tennis.

Tennis is a very intense sport so he didn't play it for long because practice cut into his studying, his part-time jobs, and his babysitting. Table tennis is similar to tennis with it's concept, except you can just kind of stand in one spot and don't have to run around as much. It's a fun game to play with his siblings since they enjoy it so much, and they always run after the ball so he doesn't have to do much other than play along with them and clean up when they're done.

I honestly have no idea with Citron. I don't remember any canon details of Zahra (I think that's where he's from?) so I don't want to assume what kind of environment he was in that would influence his choice of athletics, but I think he would enjoy swimming! In the beach event, he ran into the water happily with Kazunari if I can remember, and I'd like to think he had a good body type for water.

There's also another part of me that thinks he'd love skydiving! The thrill of jumping out of the helicopter and letting the winds beat against him as he soared down towards the ground below would be awesome. He's practically shouting for joy as he glides down and loves the look of the city from above. Impressively enough, he can do flips in the air and loves twirling around, much to the dismay of other skydivers as they fear for him.

He's not one for actively moving, but ballet seemed interesting to him and he wanted to try it out. He had no idea how intense ballet was, from strict teachers, to getting blisters on his ankles and feet, Yuki actually almost quit. What prevented him from doing so was probably watching a performance where his seniors were giving the juniors an extravagant scene to watch and they inspired Yuki to keep going.

I would have said acrobatics/gymnastics as well, but Yuki's arms aren't very strong and he doesn't like doing flashy things like that anyways (no offense...? I don't know, I haven't watched videos of this sport in years). If he did pursue acrobatics/gymnastics, I'm not sure if he'd be amazing at it, but he would definitely be decent! He's got the flare;;

Running! Since he was in track for a while and was rumoured to be great at it, he would definitely be doing marathons and track alongside Sakuya. He had great speed and a stamina to match so he's a terribly good opponent to go against if you like to get pushed past your limits. If he kept pursuing track he would train during late nights and early morning with Tasuku, who has his routine jogs at those times.

Absolutely adores the sport too! His team of runners were basically second family to him, so if he chose to return, he would have the time of his life growing as a sportsman with them. He would grow into a fine and very popular runner! Hitting his growth spurt would only make him an even more fearsome competitor as his legs would get longer and his intense training with Omi and Tasuku would get his stamina maxed out.

He has no time to do sports since he's always acting, so I honestly can't say what he'd do. He isn't the best runner either and extreme sports is out of the question since he's a bit of a scaredy cat. I guess he would enjoy a casual game of table tennis though? But despite liking the sport, I'm going to say that he kind of sucks at it. He understands the rules and everything, but his rhythm is off and he never manages to hit the ball back.

He's good at receiving a strike back though! He's always lucky at standing in the right spot with his paddle in the correct position to receive a smash hit, and that's basically the only time he wins a point because he catches his opponent off guard. It doesn't happen often though, so he still gets absolutely destroyed during a game of table tennis.

I believe Misumi would be amazing at track & field. He runs extremely fast for one, and he does parkour like no other; he would definitely place first in sports like long jump, high jump, pole vault, and sprints. He doesn't have a particular favourite event to do though, but always does his best when someone gives him an incentive to do his best.

Izumi and Omi offer him triangle onigiri? He's going to run as fast as he can! Jump as high as he can and as far as he can! No one will be able to stop Misumi. But then again, competitive parkour is a thing, I'm pretty sure, so he can just do that sport for fun and still place in the top 3 at least. He would be terrible awesome at Ultimate Frisbee, but the disc isn't a triangle, so. :p

Him? Sports? No.

I'm kidding. Do not know at all what sport he would enjoy playing, but billiards is something that suits him in my opinion. It doesn't have to be competitive, but he's greatly skilled at handling a cue stick, and his aim is impeccable. He's real lucky with trick-shots too, so don't go and start betting money with him; you'll definitely splurge all of your cash on him within seconds.

Sigh. It's super annoying that he's good at everything, and sports are no exception. He plays futsal with Omi and Tasuku the most, and is very light on his feet. He's so good that during competitive games he'll do a trickshot and score, or will play around with his check and do something like dribble the ball between their legs when they're at their most vulnerable.

I'm sure he would fall in love with ice hockey, though. Ice hockey is fast paced and is a contact sport so Banri would feel free on the ice rink. Good thing is that he's pretty good looking, so he's a fan favourite player. The cold air biting into his skin as he pushes himself across the rink to get to the puck is exciting and he loves body checking opponents into the walls (this also makes him a controversial player since he plays rough and dirty).

He'd be a monster at competitive martial arts. Taekwondo especially, considering his kicks come in hot and fast. His spinning kicks are ones to avoid if you go against him, but he's so quick on his feet and can kick higher than his head so you might get a quick KO if you can't read his body language fast enough. Judo is also high on the list despite it being more of a grappling and throwing sport, but Juza's quick reflexes make him a difficult opponent to beat. Normally wins a match using jiu-jitsu grappling techniques on the floor.

He would also be great at ice hockey. His large figure and quick feet would make him a great player, and his posture is always low to the ground so it wouldn't be easy to knock him over on the rink. Not exactly the best at dribbling the puck though, but give him a one-timer when he's open and he'll send that thing flying through the net. No one tries to pick fights with him on the rink though lol, he's notorious for one hit ko's.

Taichi gives off the chaotic vibes of Nishinoya from Haikyu, but he would suck at volleyball so I'm giving him badminton cause height doesn't matter too much I think as long as he's quick on his feet and is able to read the body language of his opponents well. His form would be perfect though and he's super agile so getting to that shuttlecock is no problem for him. He's got a bit of muscle too so he can send those babies flying!

Doesn't really use strategy most of the time, so he'll just keep hitting and receiving the shuttlecock however he wants until his opponent tires or until someone messed up a smash. No one else in Mankai plays badminton so finding him a coach is a bit difficult. He eventually learns other ways to hit the shuttlecock, so when he learns how to slice or do drop shots, he's a little monster on the court!

Oh, the sports he would play.. Obviously, he plays futsal with Tasuku unless you haven't seen his card where he's playing as goalkeeper! With that information, he would absolutely destroy volleyball teams as a middle. Now I don't know if calling middles 'middle blocker' and outside hitters 'wing spikers' is like.. a cultural thing, and I know that's what they call the players in Haikyu, but it definitely catches me off guard and really confused lol. So, yeah! Omi would be amazing as a middle in the front since he's so tall and can shuffle fast on his feet to block a front row opponent. He's like Tendou in a way where he's great at reading people, the only thing is that he's better than Tendou (no offense, I'm serious) because he doesn't need to guess. He already knows. UGH, I want to go off on volleyball (both indoor & outdoor), but this part is getting long. Lmk if you want to hear me talk more about A3! & volleyball.

American football/rugby. Don't tell me I'm wrong please, I'll cry. Both of these are a full contact sport, and looking at Omi's past and his physical structure, you can't tell me he would not obliterate everyone on the field. He is either the offensive guard or the tackle. He will not start offensive plays, but he will end defensive plays. He stops any player from tackling their centre and tackles those who try to hit a blindside. I don't know much about rugby other than it is just as rough as American Football, just with less protective gear. I'm stopping here because I'm thirsting too much for Omi rn.

HOO, baby! When I looked at Sakyo, I just knew he would be able to do something with swords, so I chose kendo/fencing. Keno is a traditional martial art stemming from Japan and is practised with wooden swords. I won't say I know much about the sport, but it is definitely tense and is very noisy. Noisy because kendokas/kenshis shout whenever they strike, this is to show their spirit. Sakyo kind of hates shouting during the sport, but it definitely lets off some steam and gives him more momentum when he strikes.

I also think fencing because there are swords involved here too, it's just that it seems to be more of a European sport and has some sort of specific footwork involved. The piste may seem a bit narrow as well compared to kendo where they have a whole floor to themselves, so Sakyo doesn't practice fencing as often. (The clothing he's required to wear for this sport is also quite stifling as well.)

I'm ngl, but I didn't know what sport to give Tsumugi, omg, so I ended up giving him cup stacking. You know, you remember; I feel like you should do some research if you don't though because cup stacking was a huge thing in the early 2000's (?) and kids were setting world records here and there non-stop. Tsumugi uses his hands a lot for things like gardening, tutoring, bouquet arranging, etc, so he's deft and talented with them.

As long as he puts his mind to it, cup stacking is a piece of cake for him. He doesn't play anymore, but every now and then he'll look at his old kit in the corner of his room and will set it up with Tasuku in the lounge room for everyone to have a go at it. He loves the thrill and the way his adrenaline runs through his veins as he focuses on trying not to mess up the stack down.

HOOOO! Okay, so we already know Tasuku plays futsal so I'm not going to bother, but man.. He would be the same as Omi in volleyball; an absolute monster of a middle player. He's well rounded in the sport, so his coaches/team actually refuse to switch him out with a libero/defence specialist. His digs are almost on point with the setter, and he's always at the right spot when receiving, making sure no one gets an empty spot on the court.

When he's in the front blocking or hitting, he's almost always successful, and since he trains a lot with different drills and regimes, he perfects a lot of things like tipping, tooling, slicing, and even setting. His height added along with his vertical makes it almost impossible for opponents to block him, and when he's feeling good in a game, he'll start doing things like float serves and jump serves. If he's feeling any better, he'll play around and start doing slide hits at the front or will hit from position A on the back court (left corner facing the net). He'd also do swimming!!!!!!!!! BUT THIS IS GETTING TOO LONG

Definitely would do archery/darts. He's got impeccable aim if you take evidence from his outside work chats with Banri and has no problem pulling the string on a bow. Archery is difficult and I am not lying. Pulling the string until it's taut takes a large amount of strength and it digs deep into your fingertips, leaving calluses after one or two pulls.

Figuring out the trajectory and weighing in the factors of weather (if you're outside) takes a lot of skill and practice, and Hisoka always manages to hit the centre of the target with no hesitancy with his release of the string. His hands are all rough from the string digging into his fingers all the time, showing you how long he's been practising the sport.

I don't think Homare was very athletic growing up. I'm saying this only because his body type is quite lean and he's a poet after all who seems to stay inside more often than not if he isn't meeting with an editor/publisher. I think figure skating would suit him very well as it is an elegant and cold weathered sport. I also think he would fall in love with the suits if Yuki made them as they'd sparkle brilliantly and show off his flare as a skater.

He figure skates as a casual hobby rather than competitive, but he definitely makes a lot of famous friends in the community due to his whimsical personality and beautiful posture.

Kyudo (Japanese archery) was a sport that popped into my mind for Azuma, despite the strain it puts on the skin of his fingertips. His skin is very delicate with how much he takes care of it, so he wears a glove on his dominant hand to protect him. Kyudo seems to be more of a peaceful archery, and with the sight of Azuma in the kyudo uniform, the scene in front of you would be quite serene and calming.

I also think he would be great at figure skating since his body is lithe and he has lovely facial features that would complement the body suits that Yuki would create for him. His long hair flowing in the breeze he creates as he glides throughout the rink would be gorgeous along with the way his body looks as he does an axle in the air. His performances on the rink are always mesmerising, and he'll receive a few claps from fellow rink goers when he's in the centre just casually practising.

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chriscoleman · 7 years ago

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Philippines Trip Report

Pangulasian Island and Manila Spirits

November 9th, 2017 - November 20th, 2017

Chris Coleman & Julia Donald

Julia and I took a trip to the Philippines for beach vacation and Ultimate frisbee tournament. The first half was spent at a eco-luxury resort in Bacuit Bay, El Nido, Palawan. Then we flew to the capital city for Manila Spirits tournament with a group of players from Seattle.

Vacation for our family starts with laying out a big pile of food for the cats and taking Skye to the doggy hotel. This trip was the same, although our longest time away from the buggers. I ate sushi dinner as Julia attended her Project Management Professional course at University of Washington. Flight at 11pm on November 9th after Julia bought face lotion at duty free (from two Filipino ladies).

13 hours later we landed in Taipei, Taiwan at 5am on November 11th. We lost a full day to the time zone change. Meals served on the plane was a new experience for me, which weren’t half bad. Dumplings, soup, and cold oolong tea in Taiwan airport were way better. Plus we got to see the Hello Kitty terminal early in the morning.

9am flight to Manila, Philippines was an easy 3 hours. Once we landed we took a taxi to Terminal 3 since walking between terminals at Ninoy Aquino International Airport is not possible. The buildings are not connected and the shuttle system is horrendous. Everyone leaves the buildings to try to take yellow taxis, but we struggled to find anything but white taxis (even though signs and the internet warned us that the white taxis were not recommended). Wings is a hostel/hotel that we reserved in T3, to rest during our layover. We decided to explore the city a bit before our nap/flight. After dropping our bags we went to the Mall of Asia in downtown Manila. Unfortunately we got swindled by our taxi driver and were forced to pay 1800 Philippine Pesos ($35 USD) for the ride which should have cost 250 ($5). The first lesson we learned in negotiations while riding white cabs. However the conversation with the taxi driver was almost worth the $30 upcharge… He was stoked to talk about American mass shootings, holding up two hands while driving and going Bang Bang Bang. Telling us about their own recent mass shooting at a casino. Plus some political talks comparing their president Duterte and Trump - both “strong” men. Julia realized this might be one country we don’t have to apologize for Trump.

Cultural shock hit when we entered the mall. They had armed security at each entrance, metal detectors and bag checks and pat-downs. Each individual shop also had their own white shirt armed security, continuing the strong show of force.

There were many American chains and your basic department store offerings. It was impressive because of the size. We almost stopped for an ice skate, but didn’t want to risk an injury at the very beginning of our trip. Ensaymada pastry at Starbucks was a treat, a delicious Filipino bread flavored with grated cheese and sprinkled with sugar. The best part of the mall trip was seeing the Christmas decorations and hearing the Christmas music. They are already in full holiday swing and it was fabulous. We later learned that Christmas starts on Sept1 in the Philippines. A common saying is “Christmas is coming”. Dinner at Manam restaurant initiated us to Filipino cuisine - Crispy Sisig and Watermelon Sinigang. We finished the trip with a walk outside along the boardwalk. They were preparing for fireworks later in the evening and we sat on the wall overlooking Manila Bay on the far side of the Pacific Ocean.

The ASEAN Summit was happening in Manila during our trip. World leaders came together to talk about Southeast Asian nations regional issues. The security throughout the city was tight, we even saw hundreds of police officers doing a ‘dry-run’ of the parade route as we went between the mall and airport. We missed them shutting down the streets for their test by a couple hours and returned to the hostel. Trump was in attendance for the summit, although we were lucky to be away from the capitol when he was in town.

Nap at Wings until our 6am flight out of Terminal 4. The showers were a treat and we felt refreshed as we entered our last leg of travel to reach our first destination. Taxi driver talked about Duterte/Trump again - telling us that his life is much better with Duterte in power. The 10pm curfew allows him to sleep at night, keeping the drunks out of the street. We kept our political opinions out of the conversation, it was good to hear local perspective on a radical president.

Flight to El Nido, Palawan was 1 hour. A small turboprop plane out of a cramped waiting area. Once we landed - resort staff took care of us right away. They handled our baggage and shuttled us to a lounge with drinks/snacks. We waited maybe 20 minutes next to Lio beach as they loaded our luggage onto the boat via wooden bridge. This was our first introduction to outriggers with their bamboo pole arms stretched out at their sides for stability. Raul called the boat a big turtle. Regardless it was fast while we departed the small El Nido airport. The transfer took about 30 minutes to get us onto Pangulasian Island. We talked to Raul, our favorite guide, about excursion options before arrival.

42 villas on the island, otherwise no houses or people outside the resort. The crew on the island stayed in a house behind the main restaurant and lobby. We learned later that the main building had been built on top of a cave where the water monitor lizards lived, including a big one called Godzilla who was probably 5 feet big. We never saw Godzilla but we kept an eye out for him. Our home for the next 4 nights was Villa #22. On the way to the villa on our “buggy” we saw our first and only macaque monkeys at the resort during the trip. We were instructed not to look directly at them or smile at them because they can get aggressive,. However they are so cute that is all you want to do. The room was luxurious with a huge bathroom, strong air conditioning, private balcony, and ocean views. As we were introduced to our room, we were also introduced to several Filipino english peculiarities, including the ever present honorific "M'amSir". Having grown up in the South, Julia was not sure how this concatenation had never occurred to any of the southerners she knew as it would have undoubtedly saved them much time in their daily salutations. Endless coconut cookies in the mini-bar was one of the best amenities.

We planned out our trip on a piece of scrap paper. No real itinerary before this, but once in the room and aware of our options we wanted to optimize our time in paradise. We went to the activity director with this plan:

Day 1 - sunset hike

Day 2 - 7am snorkel, 3pm Island tour

Day 3 - 8am Lagoon tour

Day 4 - ???

Day 5 - 2pm boat, 5pm flight

Lunch at the pool after seeing our first small/baby Monitor Lizard. Julia had Rellenong - squid stuffed with pork, which introduced us to the Filipino comfort fusion of Asian, seafood, and Spanish food, plus foamy fruit drinks. Then into the water for our first snorkel of the trip. We saw a blue spotted stingray the size of a dinner plate as we were entering the water. Lots of coral right away and tons of fish all around. We were amazed at the amount of life right off the shore of our villa, the reef was alive! Huge blue clams and blue starfish were highlights, then we saw ‘Nemo’ (clownfish) in a home of sea anemone. We quickly learned that the overprotective dad fish are not just a thing of movies as the clownfish tried to chase us away from their anemone homes. Once they started trying to attack you, it was best to swim away so they didn’t leave any eggs defenseless and ready for another fish’s dinner.

Sunset hike was a serious physical task. Hiking up about 500 feet, counted in 1800 steps, to a lookout tower in the center of the island. The steps were counted out with signs every 200 steps. Raul bounded up the mountain with the speed of a mountain goat and the ease of a man who has only worn flip flops (aka “slippers”) while traversing the jungle his whole life. Took us 30 minutes. We were rewarded with 360 degree views and a breathtaking sunset surrounded by islands of all sizes. We hiked with 2 guys - Nunu and Brunu from Portugal and our guide Raul. Early dinner at 6:30, where we were asked by the entire staff how our sunset hike was. We quickly learned that everyone on the island always knew what activities we were up to at all times. Bed by 9pm, which became a regular thing for all of vacation.

7am snorkel tour at our ‘home reef’ on Sunday morning. A resort boat took us to the west end of the island, about a 3 minute ride. Shallow coral as our guide directed us towards the best spots for seeing baby blacktip reef sharks, as they apparently like to stay in 2-3 foot deep sections of the reef. Almost immediately we saw blacktip reef sharks. About 2-3 feet long, nothing scary but still swimming with sharks. Brunu spotted a BIG shark - quickly alerting us, but it turned out to be the second group of snorkelers from our resort.. HaHa

Breakfast buffet at the main restaurant was massive. Options for all nations… American (pancakes, and bacon), European (fruit and pastries), Asian (rice and grilled meat), plus local Filipino dishes like fish, longganisa, and jackfruit.

A kayak tour around the island was settled upon after much debate. The wind was blowing and I was nervous the adventure would not be easy. It ended up being a wonderful decision all around. The boats were easy to launch from the beach next to our villa. We immediately tested upwind and downwind paddling - discovering we could easily handle the conditions. Paddling clockwise around the .2 square mile island took us 1 hour. The side opposite the villa is completely deserted, with multiple beautiful beaches. A small black monkey was relaxing on one, scurrying back into the woods as we floated by. There were also tons of crabs on the rocks, that also scurried away as we got close.

Back in the room Julia read on the balcony while I soaked up the AC + WiFi until our 3pm tour. Island Hopping is a 3 hour tour via outrigger style boat - called pump boat or paraw boat. There were about 10 other couples on the trip although the boat didn’t feel cramped at all. The crew of the boat frequently navigated the length of the boat by walking on the bamboo outrigger support structures, leaving the middle of the boat where we were sitting wide open. Luckily we weren’t required to wear the big red life vests, so I ditched mine immediately.

The first stop on the tour was called Cathedral Caves, about 25 minutes away. Pictures only as our boat was too big to enter the cave. The second stop was Cudugnon Cave another 25 minute ride. We were greeted by two dogs when we landed on shore. Then we walked along the water to a small entrance which we crawled through. It opened up to a huge room which legend says is a Neolithic burial place. We squeezed our way into the cave and marveled at how it opened up to 40 foot ceilings once we were through the entry. The light shone in a way that was impossible for us to capture on film. It was beautiful. Our 3rd stop was Snake Island, named for the S shaped sandbar that connected the island to mainland Palawan. After securing the anchor we walked the sandbar to a shack in the water. A bar on the sandbar, wonderful! No cash, and no bartenders today, so we just looked around and shuffled back and forth on the 2-3 foot deep sandbar, hoping our feet were alerting any stingrays to swim away and not sting us out of self defense.. Another 10 minute boat ride and we were back at Pangulasian Island resort - home.

We stopped at the pool for a sunset swim. Ordered coconut’s and Julia drank them both. After cleaning up I called for a buggy to take us to dinner. At 6:30pm no one was there, it wasn’t until later in the trip that we learned that the restaurant didn’t open until 7pm - they were just too nice to tell us to leave. Again puzzled where everyone else was, we dove into the exquisite menu, amazed at the quality and selection for being on a remote island where everything is ferried in by outrigger. Two orders of bread, shrimp gyro, and a huge seafood paella was a killer meal. Then a stomach settling beach walk home and we were in bed by 9pm.

Monday sunrise at 5:30am was beautiful from bed. It was raining as Julia scanned for wildlife from the balcony. She spotted 3 big Monitor Lizards coming out of the water, plus a baby blacktip reef shark maybe about 1 foot long trolling the shallows in front of our villa.

Breakfast was another big buffet in preparation for our Lagoon Tour at 8am.

The tour was filled with 22 people including our guides, driver, and security. Gold was the main guide - who I found out is also an ultimate player and planning to attend Manila Spirits tournament. Small world in the ultimate community! The group was: 2 Hawaiian couples Alan/Jira and Russell/Joy, dad from Manila and his 3 daughters, an old French couple, family of 4 with a 10 year old boy and 5 year old girl, and a young Asian couple on their phones the whole time. At this time we were beginning to get to know all the other fellow occupants of the island.

1st stop was Big Lagoon, 20 minutes from home. Pictures only as our boat drifted into the lagoon while the guides gave a history / science lesson. We learned about the limestone cliffs and how they were eroded over time by the salt. This was one region in the Philippines that was not part of the ring of Fire and was safe from earthquakes and volcanoes by its place in the middle of a tectonic plate.

2nd stop was Small Lagoon, 5 minutes away. The rain picked up again but it was warm and it didn’t bother us. There were already 5 or so outrigger boats in the ‘parking area’ leading into the lagoon. Some of the outriggers were from other resorts (including other El Nido properties at Maniloc or Lagen islands) and the others were from “town” a El Nido proper, and were part of the tor packages A, B, C, etc. all looked good, but the tour options had little grills on the back that were cooking excellent looking if slightly fire safety concerning food. We dropped anchor in the tight quarters and waited for our kayaks to arrive. Another group was using them and 1 by 1 they finished so our crew could jump in. Julia and I took the last boat, quickly catching up to the group with fast strokes. Through a hole not much bigger than our kayak we entered the lagoon. Walls were dripping with rain into the clear blue brackish water. A quick swim finished our adventure - then into the boat for a final stop.

3rd stop was Miniloc Resort - also owned by El Nido and on the same island as the lagoons. It was set in a cove in the middle of limestone cliffs. The resort was beautiful but it seemed to lack the beautiful beach that we had at Pangulasian. We were affirmed we made the correct resort choice by a couple of the other travelers on the boat, although that is comparing two especially Fantasia options. The reef just off their shore is home to a school of Jackfish, about 4 feet long - big things! They feed them daily so they zoom around near the dock - one nearly jumping over me as I snorkeled by. A Sergeant Major fish with yellow and black stripes bit Julia’s elbow as we explored the reef. I didn't believe Julia and went in to follow up - it bit my hand. Nothing more than a tiny scrape - but that bugger was really defending his territory well, good for him. Sweet tea on the boat home was a perfect ending. We were back before noon.

Ice cream and fruity drinks for lunch told us we were truly on vacation. Any time more than 3 drinks are in front of 1 person - it’s vacation!

Julia took an afternoon snorkel while I rested in the air conditioning. She saw another stingray and more Nemo fish. Then we relaxed in bath robes until dinner time. Julia even won the daily debate of buggy vs. walk - this time only because the buggy service was busy. We spotlighted crabs using the headlamps I brought from home as we walked on the beach to dinner. Large hand sized white crabs dove into their well dug holes in the sand, while hermit crabs just collapsed inside their mobile homes. Our Hawaiian friends came over during dinner to extend an invitation on their private boat tour tomorrow with their lady friends. We quickly deliberated and decided to say yes.

Tuesday the 14th began with thunder and lightning. We ate breakfast as it stormed all around us. Extra banana jam on my pancakes to make up for the nasty weather.

The tour started at 10am with Gold as our guide. Alan/Jira and Russell/Joy were a bit late, but excited to get going. Secret Beach was the first destination. A hole in the side of a steep wall. At high tide you have to dive and hold your breath 5 seconds to get in. We all practiced holding our breath and confirming what kind of 5 seconds were we talking about? One mississippi, two mississippi, three mississippi, or 1, 2, 3. In retrospect, the "mississippi" might have added to the confusion in our clarification attempts. It was low tide so Julia swam straight in, but I still dove. A sandy beach inside was magical, completely closed off from the outside. Unfortunately this is where Julia’s camera decided to die - however we later discovered it was simply a dead battery.

Hidden Beach was the second destination. First we stopped for a quick snorkel just around the corner. A reef on the edge of a 100 foot dropoff. Colorful coral and tons of fish - so amazing to see with our butts in the air. The beach was hidden behind a shallow entrance. We waded through ankle deep water to find another sandy shore tucked away on Matinloc Island. The other 2 boats of tourists were just leaving so we got the whole place to ourselves. Only other person there was a local in a canoe selling coconuts and ice cold beer - how perfect!! Julia ate the soft meat out of the coconut after drinking the water. The salesman even cut a ‘spoon’ out of the coconut shell for her to scoop it out with - genius. My San Miguel beer hit the spot in the midday sun. All of us got coconuts or beer for 400 PHP (8 USD). A good deal.

Lunch at Entalula Island was welcomed at 1pm. El Nido owns/manages a section of beach here with the softest sand of the entire trip. They served us lunch of rice, shrimp, sashimi, fruit, and cold drinks. We only had to sign our room numbers and the bill was taken care of. I could get used to this. When checking out later, we saw all of the receipts where we had signed our room number earlier in the vacation. The stamps for our postcards. The lunch at Entalula. The magnet for our fridge. Imagining them gathering all of these receipts for calculation via outrigger or buggy was humorous.

2 more quick stops at the Cudugnon Cave and Snake Island we had been to previously. We skipped going inside the cave this time. Walked the beach trying to pet the dog and talk to the little girl - neither were successful. Then we waieded in the water and chatted with Russell, learning about his insurance business and life on Maui. Snake Island bar was open this time and we didn’t forget the cash. Bought more beers and coconuts (we learned here our first Tagalog word - Buko - which means coconut) before heading back home.

The private boat tour with the Hawaiians was our favorite adventure during our time on Pangulasian Island resort. We were out almost 7 hours, explored 5 islands, and saw hundreds of fish with new friends. I sure hope we run into these guys again on another vacation!

Black butterflies greeted us at sunset daily. We watched a dark blue / almost black Great-Billed heron hunt on the ocean shore as the mosquitoes began to bite. We also learned about alpha monkeys. Once they became aggressive (stealing clothes off balconies or food from the buffet) an Ecologist would fly out from Manila, the monkey would be darted and wake up on a secluded island. 1 alpha per island, no mates. This has happened 5 times in the past 20 years - meaning that there are 5 islands out there with mad/lonely monkeys on them. The guides told us 1 adopted a cat from a nearby village as his friend, petting it and guarding it. This was the monkey banished to the Sandbar island. We had been warned during our visit not to pet the cat, and it made more sense knowing about it's monkey protector. Hilarious / Sad.

Manila plans were discussed over a dinner of Kare-Kare (oxtail and tripe in peanut sauce) and butter chicken. Super sleepy after this heavy meal. Bed by 8pm, but not before committing to our buggy driver for a 5am sunrise hike.

Wednesday the 15th Julia actually made the 5am sunrise hike. I slept. The guide asked where "Sir Donald" was and she replied, in bed. They discussed ecology on the way up and politics on the way down - a well balanced agenda. This was the first, but not last, person Julia met that was critical of Duterte and the drug war. The guide was especially concerned with the corruption of the cops and the extrajudicial killings. When they discussed the drug wars in both countries, quickly Julia grasped that although the US drug war incarcerates the most people in the world - our drug war isn't killing political opponents in their houses and planting drugs to cover it up. Neither is good, but there is always worse. The guide was worried about the future as all of the political opponents to Duterte were being silenced, and no one knew what would happen at the end of his remaining five years of term.

6:30am I began to pack, reluctantly. Paused at 7am to take the guided snorkel of the home reef again. We saw no sharks but did traverse the entire length of the resort reef - West to East. Almost an hour snorkel with 2 other guys (Australia and UK). We got to see 2 smallish green sea turtles and another stingray. Rinsed off at the dive shop and turned in my fins.

All our new friends were at breakfast. After 5 days it felt like we knew everyone. Catching up with what each other did the previous day and our plans going forward. Many of us were leaving together today so we’d have one last chance to shake hands before island time was over. I stopped at the pool after breakfast while Julia took 1 last snorkel. In true to vacation form, the last snorkel continued a trend we had started on other vacations where halfway through it started raining. When Julia came out, she and Brunu and Nunu (Portuguese guys) all finished at the same time and had a good laugh about "Snorkeling in the rain".

Lunch by the pool, then to the reception desk for checkout at 2pm. Signed the bill for 30,000 Philippines pesos and bought final momentos. Loaded the boat and we were off to the airport. Waiting room for El Nido resort guests was a treat - with drinks, sweets (red bean cakes and cassava cake), and air conditioning.

**Note - Sleep No More is an immersive play based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Hitchcock's movie “Rebecca" that Brunu/Nunu told us about. Look into this next time we visit NYC.

Landed in Manila, fetched baggage, and hailed a yellow cab (metered). Only problem is that the driver took us to the wrong hotel. Hotel Manila is WAY nicer than we booked. Felt wrong from the moment we pulled up. German Shepherds working security, ladies in long ballroom dresses, chandeliers, over-the-top Christmas decorations, the whole package... Thankfully the six bell boys on duty were nice (or bored) enough to carry our baggage and arrange our cab. Driver was way more experienced - getting us to Luneta Hotel on the other side of Rizal Park. This is the first time we were explained it was probably not a good idea for us to try walking in the city at night.

Luneta Hotel is 99 years old. Lovingly restored in a beautiful combination of art deco and French renaissance architecture, we felt at home in our room for 1 night. We ate Crispy Pata for dinner at the hotel restaurant. The waiter explained all the ways we could tear into the beautifully twice cooked & deep fried pig legs / pig knuckles. "The tendons are the best". We noted how much easier it was in the Philippines to eat the peripheral / organ meats, and how much we had been enjoying it. In house made ice cream was a treat - especially the Jasmine flavor which was the national flower.

Thursday the 16th was a walking tour. Out the front door of our hotel was Rizal Park. Named after Jose Rizal - a Filipino nationalist who advocated political reform for the colony under Spanish rule. We visited the monument for his execution along with other historical sites in the area. Rizal is the national hero, a true renaissance man who wrote books and poetry, made paintings and carvings, and explored the sciences as a Polymath. His execution jump-started the successful Philippine revolution. Unfortunately, right after the success of the revolution and the creation of an independent Philippine government, the Spanish promptly lost the Spanish/American war. During the peace negotiation between Spain and America, Spain sold Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the US for $20 million. The Philippines sent their best minds to the US to advocate for their self-rule, but the US failed to grant them their own sovereignty they had fought so hard for. Another war- the Philippine/American war - ended 2 million Filipino lives and settled the question for another 40 years of American rule. It was only after the atrocities of WW2 that the US granted the Philippines their independence on July 4, 1946. Families laid on space blankets in the shade as we walked the park, visiting the Chinese Garden.

Intramuros, a historic walled city inside Manila, was the next walking destination. First we stopped at Starbucks to download maps and assemble a plan. Once Julia made the map her phone background we were on the move again. San Agustin Church was our first major stop. A massive Spanish monastery built in 1607. Now a museum detailing the complete religious, economic, and legal colonization of the Philippines, detailing trade routes and gold mining along with the life of monks in the 1600’s. The Spanish were completely successful in their religious conquest, having converted everyone we met or saw into a devout Catholic. Then more churches and old buildings. Fort Santiago was our last stop inside the walled city. Built by Spanish conquistadors in 1571, then upgraded repeatedly until 1730’s. The American flag was raised here in 1898, who drained the moat to make a golf course. During World War II the fort was captured by the Japanese army and use as a killing ground for hundreds of prisoners - especially during the Japanese massacre of civilians during the liberation of Manila. 200k civilians (including lots of religious leaders) died in mass shootings during this last month of urban fighting. Intramuros and the rest of the city was gutted.

Back in 2017 - an Uber driver picked us up and took us to lunch. Dong Bei Dumpling house in Manila’s Chinatown district. A hole in the wall, that was recommended on every corner of the internet, was kinda scary getting to as our taxi driver took us directly through a slum on the edge of the river and the intramodal shipyard. It all paid off when we were served. One of the best meals of our entire vacation - stuffed pancakes, pork dumplings, and xiao long bao. Then we met our 9 year old friend Jarred outside. His dad runs a shop next to the restaurant and he wanted to talk as we waited for our ride. A very nice boy who had to run back to his dad to get English answers for our questions. Then we became Facebook friends - it was official.

Quiapo Market was our last tourist spot of the day. An open-air market selling everything from fruits to pirated CDs. We walked the hundreds of small booths looking for a fitbit replacement for the one I accidentally swam with in Palawan. We were able to find speakers, phone cases, watches, ‘nike’ shoes, bike parts, herbal “birth control” (it is a very Catholic country), 10 min massage, day-old chicks … but no fitbit. After an hour we escaped without spending a dollar.

Jasmine tea back at Luneta Hotel per the waiter's recommendations as we picked up our bags and then an hour Uber ride, with a sleepy driver, to our AirBnB in Alabang. This house was rented by our ultimate team for the long weekend. Just 2 kilometers from the fields in a secured neighborhood. We actually had to fight through the security gate our first time through, trying to prove we actually belonged there.

The house was huge, as were all the ones around us. 10+ beds upstairs, 2 on the main floor, and ours downstairs. There were also 2 house staff and 1 driver staying with us full time. The owners moved to California last year and use the house rarely. The staff are their personal helpers of the family for the entire lifetime of their children - Julia was lucky to get some time to discuss this further with one of their helpers and learn more about this aspect of the culture.

Team dinner was a ‘Boodle Fight’ - a traditional meal served on banana leaves and eaten with hands. Ours was packed with pork, shrimp, octopus, corn, and rice. I sat next to Summer who was allergic to shellfish - but she was able to avoid death with Epi-Pen on standby.

Friday the 17th began at 6:30am with Shawn cooking eggs, bacon, and sausage. The first van to the fields left at 7:45am, with Alan our driver. Ange and Steph were already there with a spot reserved for us under a canopy on the edge of the fields. Each team had their own section blocked off - which proved critical during rain and sun all weekend.

Manila Spirits ultimate tournament is in it’s 14th year. 40 teams from around the world come together for a fun weekend of competition. It’s a co-ed tournament, playing with 4 men + 3 women or 4 women + 3 men. 60 minute games played to 13 points. Our team - Just Saiyan - was 19 boys and girls, the only team from the United States. Ranked 29th out of 40 teams. I looked for Gold and was able to find 5:30 Palawan team, but he was not with them.

Right off the bat ‘For Old Times Sake’ beat us 6-10 first game. They had the Tournament Director on their squad and were all around highly spirited. An excellent introduction to Manila ultimate. It was a tight match all the way to the end, then near a questionably timed soft/hard cap they ran away with it. Finished with a Spirit Circle and hip hip hooray X 3.

The rain started as we walked back to the canopy. HARD rain that flooded our shelter. Everyone hung their bags on the canopy poles and embraced the storm. The fields were soggy but it slowed by the time our second match began.

‘Love Parade’ beat us 3-13 in the second game. Clearly a dominate team, having won the previous year. We didn’t even make it to the 50 minute soft cap. Ouch!

We beat USO third game 13-8 on a sloppy muddy field. They were young, one player only 17 years old. After our victory we taught them the street fighter spirit game, which ended up being a long 30 minute game, happily played in the sideline shade.

Back at the house we washed clothes and hung everything to dry. Ice bath for the feet was sweet, I almost made it a full minute. The team cooked hot dogs for dinner - which were found to be individually wrapped after grilling for 10 minutes. Why?!?

Julia and I chose to go out for dinner to catch up with each other since we spent the day separated.

Julia went to Pagsanjan Falls (a whitewater gorge once used as a set in "Apocalypse Now" movie), about 3 hours southeast of Alabang. Alan, our driver, helped her find the proper bus after he dropped us off at the fields. Then a motorcycle driver picked her up from the bus station and took her the rest of the way to the falls. 2 guides navigated her up and down the river and underneath a waterfall in a dugout canoe and bamboo raft. “Shooting the rapids” is the tourist activity in the area and there is a rotation system for tour guides - nearly 3,000 villages have "canoeing numbers" assigned and about 1 every 10 days they are able to guide. It is one of the major methods of income in the town and I was reminded "Christmas is coming". The guides paddled and jumped in and out of the canoe to drag it over and between rocks, and pushed off of the gorge walls when necessary for upstream momentum. Julia's concept of whitewater canoeing was greatly expanded from her Outward Bound expedition days, as she never considered anything other than paddling as a method for propulsion. Apparently feet is another acceptable and common option. Good to know. Things put into perspective, Julia enjoyed the trip thoroughly. Then the moto driver, Romeo, picked her back up and took her to 2 other random spots in the area with waterfalls, local boys swimming, and a lake at the top of the mountain overlooking Laguna Bay. Beautiful rural areas with farmers, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and subsistence gardening. she would have never found without his local knowledge. Aware that things could be risky, everything paid off wonderfully with Julia feeling very welcomed by the friendly people in the provinces.

Buko (coconut) pie for dessert. Julia got it during the bus ride home. As the bus rides were long and direct, they never stopped for food but rather let vendors come onto the bus for short rides. Roasted/steamed corn was a common treat, in addition to Balut, Empanadas, and nuts - all usually for 20 PHP.

Saturday the 18th was day 2 of the Spirits tournament. First game at 8am vs. ‘Sentinels’. We beat them 13-6 after Shawn’s hucks warmed up. Ange and Steph, our Filipino teammates who encouraged/organized this trip from the start, forgot their cleats at home. During our long 4 hour break they ran home and brought back Halo-Halo icy desserts that were sugary delicious. We relaxed in chairs from another team (which oddly they were mad about - come on team Vicious be reasonable) bought swag, drank smoothies, and watch games. 1pm was our second and last game of the day - which we ended up losing. ‘Breakfast Club’ was an old school team from Manila. They looked easy to beat but we just couldn’t shake our problems. They also called a bunch of questionable catches/fouls that really took the steam out of our high spirited squad. 6-10 was the final score, bummer.

Reviewed the day with Julia over dinner at Neil's Kitchen - a hip Filipino-fusion restaurant in Westgate Filinvest. We had three amazing plates of food, but the one I remember most was their concept of Dinuguan - a black liver and blood pudding dish complete with pork belly and rice. So rich and the best liver dish Julia has ever eaten. She went back to Manila city and visited 2 museums. National Museum of Fine Arts and National Museum of Anthropology. The art museum was beautiful and intense - the long history of the Philippines being colonized by Spain and America showed through in their religious art featuring Jesus and their modernist art featuring the journey from WW2 through the post-colonial years of independence. The Anthropology museum showed a sunken Spanish galleon which had just been excavated and explained a large part of that period of history. Lunch at Seaside Dampa - a seafood market where you buy anything from crab to lobster to shark to clams to tiger prawns and more - then across the street a restaurant will cook it for you. She had tiger prawns and a crab next to a family singing Videoke, a popular pastime in Asia.

Tournament part was Saturday night, which I decided to skip. It didn’t start until 9pm. I’m an old man. Asleep by 9:30.

Sunday was the final day of the tournament. We changed canopy locations to a central spot next to the first aid station (team Vicious ‘kindly’ asked us to move). Half the team was hungover, which gave confidence to the young and spry Sentinel opponent. They underestimated our experience playing hungover. We dominated from the first throw. I think they scored 3 points total, keeping spirit high the whole time. They did our ‘charge up’ cheer with us after the game - it was loud and awesome. The shitty part of this strong start was our teammate got injured. I threw a terrible pass over Amanda’s head, Ryan attempted to clean up the garbage. Feet got tangled as they approached the sideline - sending Ryan hard onto his elbow. Medics on the field said it was sprained (or torn ligament), he was out for the rest of the day. Felt terrible because it happened on my bad throw. Hopefully now that we are back in the US he can see a doctor and get healed quickly.

Game 2 was vs. White Propaganda. It was extremely hot with no sideline shade. Saiyan players were dropping out left and right. I was playing double points by the end of the game. Normally we were in pods of 3, rotating every point so that each person would play 1 of 3 points. Needless to say - we lost. Lots of simple drops added to the frustration, we totally could have beat this team. They were a fast squad, ready to move the disc quickly against any zone we tried to put on. The final score was 6-10.

Steph came back after the game with all our box lunches (so we didn’t have to stand in line with tickets waiting in the sun). Thanks Steph! Rice, pork, fish, and cookies were necessary to keep the engine rolling. I couldn’t seem to drink enough water all weekend - but the shade brakes helped encourage hydration.

Final game was vs. Stacked Stats, a team of players representing 15 countries. Fun group from the very start. We were never in the lead - they easily won 6-13. I was just happy to have survived a hot/humid tournament in Manila, my first international competition.

Finished the tournament with a box full of beers from the vendors. 24 San Mig Light’s while the team sat on the sideline watching the championship match - Boracay Bandits vs. Mulatto. Bandits were #1 and Just Saiyan ended up #32. Not too shabby.

Julia returned from Taal Heritage Town about 7pm. Alan was just asking about her status since it was getting dark, he had helped her get to the bus again and was worried she made it back easily. Taal is a popular tourist destination because it has a volcano in the middle of a big lake. Most people visit and hike to the top of the mountain volcano in the middle of Taal lake. Julia chose a different route - to visit the town and see their history. A wedding at the largest basilica in Asia, restored houses of Filipino Revolutionaries, market with dresses, halo halo, bikers, and a trike ride filled her day.

Ice cream passed around the dinner table on a Lazy Susan was the perfect capstone to a exhausting 3 days of ultimate. Our team was fun and already talking about what exotic tournament to try next year…Hopu Ka Lewa in Hawaii???

Monday the 20th was travel day. Alan began taking people to the airport at 9am. We relaxed and talked to the house staff, Delaney and Daisy, until 11am. They told us about Tagalog bananas and the backstory for the home owners. Alan stopped at the South Supermarket so we could pick up final ube treats for Julia’s coworkers. Then dropped our bags at EVA airline counter. We still had 5 hours until our flight so we got a taxi to the Mall of Asia to waste time again. Ryan was with us too. Lunch at Manam restaurant again, where we talked to a girl heading to New Zealand for a friends wedding. A quick walk along Manila Bay and we headed back to the airport (only to wait in line for an hour to check-in + customs).

16 hours of flying later, we landed 30 minutes before we took off. Monday was a weird day for us. Tuesday it’s back to work while fighting jet lag. The good news is that Thursday is Thanksgiving!

**Tagalog is a hard language to pick up for me. I learned zero words the almost 2 weeks we were in the Philippines. This is all I semi-learned after repeated instruction by various Filipino’s.

hindi = no

oo = yes

mahal kita = I love you

Buko = coconut

Overall the Philippines were a beautiful and adventurous string of islands. We look forward to going back to visit many more beaches (and tournaments) plus more off the beaten path international travel! We picked up a cookbook for one of our few souvenirs so more Filipino food in our future.

Now it’s time to throw the ball for this dog… she needs love!

Cheers,

-Chris Coleman

#philippines #elnido #pangulasian #manila #manilaspirits

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radcreations2018-blog · 5 years ago

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Provide Your Communities With Something Completely New

The constant drone from your fellow administrator about the same subject—earning money and supporting the community—every day for three weeks straight seems tired. Still, you may be stuck at that meeting unsure about what to do without any new suggestions. Understanding the community but being unable to find a profitable solution can seem daunting. So, what about disc golf?

Disc golf may be completely foreign to you. It’s not the first time we’ve heard that. Disc golf, however, is easy to learn and maintain. It’s also a safe sport, which means that people won’t be breaking necks spending time on your course. And last, but certainly not least, your community will become closer, and the closer the community, the more likely a disc golf course is to attract attention from outside sources.

WHO

Quite often when you’re starting something new that you’re fairly sure no one else has ever heard of, it’s common to wonder who would be interested in a new sport. Disc golf, however, is growing exponentially, and it’s only a matter of time before it hits your town.

But who is going to join a sport in your community that they’ve never tried? The beauty of disc golf is its simplicity. Disc golf does not require an established player base. New players can quickly pick up the sport, which makes it highly desirable to people either unsure about sports in general or are hesitant about playing. It really is open to everyone!

And, yes, disc golf is highly available to those who need a little more assistance.

Though the Perkins school for the blind is located in Boston, it still provides information and plans for people who are blind that still wish to play. They provide uniquely tailored instructions for the blind.

The deaf community is not only involved in disc golf, but it has a designation specifically tailored to the disability. The DDGA, though only currently available in the United States, offers information, membership, and links to media at their website.

Installing ramps and wheelchair accessible locations for disc golf gives your course an edge. Priding paths or even terrain will make your site more popular than many others. Consider the revenue you can receive from players from all over the country drawn to your course! Community members with disabilities can benefit from installation specifically tailored to their needs.

WHAT

Disc golf has been around for a surprising amount of time. Long before Frisbees were openly marketed, students would throw pie tins to each other. We have long since evolved, and the disc golf industry, let alone the Frisbee industry, has expanded exponentially.

If you’ve played golf before, you’ve got the gist of what happens on the course. There is a teeing off location, baskets, and a whole lot of green and obstacles in between. The person at the end with the lowest score wins! Easy, right? Well setting up the course is just as easy.

WHERE

Sure, this all sounds good, but where will you put a course? Luckily, that question is fairly easy to answer. Consider that park you have in the middle of town. Is it rundown? Is it begging for a revamp to keep away trouble makers and vandals? That’s the perfect location! Not only does disc golf offer a presentable location for anyone who wants to visit, but it also keeps that location looking pristine. Amazing, right? All of this from a little game!

If you have a little more money to spend, consider providing a location close to your town that utilizes all types of sports. Sports clubs tend to bring in even more revenue, and adding an attraction to an already teeming sports location brings in even more people. Plus, for parents who are afraid of their children getting hurt, disc golf is a safe alternative to many sports, including football and soccer. You’ll be grateful you took the time to look at locations to benefit your town and community.

WHY

So why would you want a disc golf course? Well, for all the information we’ve previously stated and more.

Setting up a course is easy and cost-effective. Before you baffle at a price, consider what we can do for you. With a professional and experienced designer, you don’t have to worry about designing a course or wondering where to put in the equipment. A well-designed course is more fun, and joining a tournament course will definitely more than make up for the price of installation. RAD Creations offers disc golf course options to suit all budgets, and their courses provide designs that are ready-to-play. You can view our installed courses and designs here.

WHEN

After all this information, how do you know when to put in a course? Well, the answer is now! RAD provides the means for a community to grow! Don’t forget how important your town is to you and your fellow citizens. Get out there are get it done!

#disc golf #disc golf park #disc golf course #sports activities #australia

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callme-jojo · 8 years ago

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hobbies.

So, I picked up a new sport! But before I get to that, here’s the story. I’ve been in Taiwan for years now, right? Right. To be precise, 4 years, going on 5. About 6 months after I moved here, I started playing frisbee which was--as strange as it may sound--a life changing decision. Truly. If I hadn’t started playing frisbee, there’s no way I’d still be here. If I hadn’t started playing frisbee, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Objectively, that probably sounds crazy, but the point is that it isn’t necessarily frisbee itself that’s responsible for these bold claims, but it was becoming a part of the group of people that playing frisbee threw me into and adopting the lifestyle they were living that was different than mine at the time. I wasn’t inactive per se. I just wasn’t that ...proactive I suppose. After I started playing frisbee, I just started doing MORE of everything I was already doing. More workouts, more hikes, more nights out, biking trips, camping trips, weekend jaunts....and in between all that, frisbee. frisbee. frisbee. Fast forward four years and I can’t even tell you where the time went. Sure, you could sum it all up by saying ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ or whatever, but that doesn’t quite cover it. I read (somewhere) about the way we experience time and how having things to look forward to--even on a weekly basis--make a huge difference in how we perceive the passing of time. On a day to day basis, I’m always looking forward to simple things like pickup games of frisbee, workouts and team training, weekend hikes, etc. Every few months, I’m looking forward to tournaments or small trips. There’s always something. And all this time I had been doing these things with friends that I love and care about...until about..6 months ago? Although if I had to mark the beginning of the end, I’d probably start with Austin’s departure last February. This past year or so, my close circle has been shrinking one by one. And in the wake of the absence of so many dear friends (First wave: Jess & Ivan--second wave: Austin, Kat (& Zi!), Bowser, and now Willie) I’ve found myself adapting naturally...filling the void with new friends, but still, it’s different and I feel my time on this island coming to a close. If everyone I loved were here, I could go on living in Taiwan for a lot longer. Wow, this turned into a very long winded introduction to something seemingly unrelated: I started playing Gaelic football! It’s been over a month since I started going and I think I’ve experienced it enough by now to say that I’ll keep at it in some capacity or another until I leave here. So how is it related to everything above? My motivations to start playing are pretty much the same as those that got me into frisbee in the first place. Those motivations being a) I want a fun reason to exercise and run around and b) I want to expand my social circle. Gaelic has so far delivered on both accounts. And here’s the best part, the scheduling works completely fine with frisbee. Gaelic trains Saturday/Wednesday and Frisbee pickup/practice is Sunday, Monday and sometimes Thursdays or Fridays. Basically, I could be doing something active on any given day if I wanted to (except for Tuesday I guess haha). Cross training, yo! I first learned about Gaelic and the community here in Taipei a few years ago, but I didn’t have any reason to look into it any further at the time. Since then a few things have happened that have made me look at it again. The biggest push was that I met two amazing new friends this past year who just so happen to play frisbee AND Gaelic. One of these friends is a hilarious Irish guy who talked up the sport a lot and about how much he missed playing it. The second friend is this girl who lives in Vietnam and plays both sports. I’ve had so much fun getting to know them both this past year at various tournaments. They’ve both encouraged me to give it a try if I have time. So, when I saw that Gaelic was looking to recruit new players, I thought it was an ideal time to give it a go. I’ll have to write about the sport and compare it to frisbee in another post. But so far, it’s been fun teaching my body to do something other than what’s now autopilot (frisbee). I have to think about the way I’m moving on the field and recognize what makes sense for this sport--plus the challenge of a different type of coordination. Don’t get me started. In Gaelic, you can kick pass, pass (volleyball style), bounce, run with the ball, kick to yourself (called a solo), but there’s rules to how this is done of course. Anyway, a couple weekends ago I played in a St. Patrick’s day tournament and my team first place for the Women. WOOHOO!

I’m holding the ball in the second picture! So far, I feel good in that I know how to go to the ball and play defense well, but I need a lot more practice handling the ball..no surprise there. All in all, it’s been a fun change of speed recently and I’ve met some really fun people so far. Oh I forgot about the biggest motivation to join: I want more Irish friends! In my experience--limited though it may be--is that they are all hilarious and fun. Ok, I just like how they talk.

#gaa #gaelicfootball #taiwan #taipei #frisbee #ultimatefrisbee #expatlife

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kadobeclothing · 5 years ago

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25 Case Study Examples Every Marketer Should See

The saying “lead by example” is important in politics and leadership roles — and it’s also critical in marketing.

Sure, you can tell potential customers your marketing team is the best at running YouTube campaigns or effectively increasing a website’s cost-per-acquisition (CPA), but until you offer examples, they’re going to have a hard time believing you. What is a case study? A case study is a detailed story of something your company did. It includes a beginning — often discussing a conflict, an explanation of what happened next, and a resolution that explains how the company solved or improved on something. A great case study is also often filled with research and stats to back up points made about a project’s results. Putting together a compelling case study is one of the most powerful strategies for showcasing your marketing skills and attracting future customers. But it’s easier said than done — you’ve executed the campaign, you’ve collected the results, now what? To help you create an attractive and high-converting case study, we’ve put together a list of some of our favorites. Take a look, and let these examples inspire your next brilliant case study design. Case Study Examples 1. “Shopify Uses HubSpot CRM to Transform High Volume Sales Organization,” by HubSpot

What’s interesting about this case study is the way it leads with the customer. That reflects a major HubSpot credo, which is to always solve for the customer first. The copy leads with a brief description of why Shopify uses HubSpot, and is accompanied by a short video and some basic statistics on the company. Notice that this case study uses mixed-media. Yes, there is a short video, but it’s elaborated upon in the additional text on the page. So while your case studies can use one or the other, don’t be afraid to combine written copy with visuals to emphasize the project’s success. 2. “Designing the Future of Urban Farming,” by IDEO

Here’s a design company that knows how to lead with simplicity in its case studies. As soon as the visitor arrives at the page, he or she is greeted with a big, bold photo, and two very simple columns of text — “The Challenge” and “The Outcome.” Immediately, IDEO has communicated two of the case study’s major pillars. And while that’s great — the company created a solution for vertical farming startup INFARM’s challenge — it doesn’t stop there. As the user scrolls down, those pillars are elaborated upon with comprehensive (but not overwhelming) copy that outlines what that process looked like, replete with quotes and additional visuals. 3. “Secure Wi-Fi Wins Big for Tournament,” by WatchGuard

Then, there are the cases when visuals can tell almost the entire story — when executed correctly. Network security provider WatchGuard is able to do that through this video, which tells the story of how its services enhanced the attendee and vendor experience at the Windmill Ultimate Frisbee tournament. 4. “Customer Case Study: ElliotLee Estate Agents” by Pioneer Business Systems

In 2018, 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week. A video case study could be a compelling way to attract potential customers who prefer watching a video over reading text. Additionally, a video allows you to convey customer emotion. This case study by Pioneer Business Systems, for instance, allows viewers to see firsthand the effects Pioneer’s telephone system had on their clients, ElliotLee Estate Agents. It includes text, as well, to thoughtfully organize and break-up the video into sections. 5. “Sapio User Acquisition Case Study” by Fractl

Fractl uses both text and graphic design on their Sapio case study web page to immerse the viewer in a more interesting user experience. For instance, as you scroll, you’ll see the results are illustrated in an infographic-design form as well as the text itself. Further down the page, they use icons like a heart and a circle to illustrate their pitch angles, and graphs to showcase their results. Rather than writing which publications covered their news story, they incorporated the media outlet’s icons for further visual diversity. 6. “USA Today” by Fantasy

What’s the best way to showcase the responsiveness and user interface of a website? Probably by diving right into it, via video — which is exactly what Fantasy does on their case study page for USA Today. They keep the page simple and clean, with a large red play button embedded at the top, inviting you to review their redesign of USA Today’s website via video. The video itself is simple, showing the website’s interface and clicking on various links with simple instrumental music in the background. If you’re more interested in text, you can scroll to find their goal, “make USA Today’s website responsive”, in one short paragraph, followed by a simple “1” icon, with the text “Became the most visited US News site.” Fantasy understands that, as a potential customer, this is all you need to know. Scrolling further, you’re greeted with a simple “Contact Us” CTA. 7. “Coca-Cola Uses App Annie to Amaze & Delight Customers” by App Annie. (embed link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHo0SnZFTMw) A video is a phenomenal way to grab a viewer’s attention, but in our video-heavy world today, it can be hard to keep potential customers’ eyes on the screen. To combat this, App Annie’s case study of Coca-Cola includes drawings and text to highlight what Greg Chambers, Coca-Cola’s Director of Innovation, is talking about on-screen. They also occasionally cut away from his face to include full-screen text. By incorporating graphic designs and text in their video, App Annie encourages viewers to stay engaged. 8. “How One Ecommerce Business Solved the Omnichannel Challenge with Bitly Campaigns” by Bitly

Bitly takes a different approach to text-heavy case studies, by providing their case study of ecommerce company Vissla in PDF form. The case study is clean and easily scannable, with sections divided into “The Goal”, “Top Omnichannel Obstacles”, and images of “The Set-Up” and “The Launch.” The downloadable PDF format makes the case study feel like an exclusive behind-the-scenes look, and uses colors and text that align with Bitly’s brand. Since the PDF opens in a separate browser, it’s easier for the viewer to avoid distractions as they scroll the pages. 9. “How Social Media Insights Turned Around Lexus’ Holiday Campaigns” by Infegy

It can be risky to include hurdles to your case studies, but with great risk comes great reward, right? In Infegy’s case, their gated content is worth the fill-out form information, particularly since their client is such a big name in the automobile industry: Lexus. The PDF case study reads like a compelling news article, including titles like “The Rise of Lexus” and “The Fall of Lexus”, colorful pie charts, and real online comments from customers who were unhappy with Lexus’ old holiday ads. The PDF is six pages but features big font and plenty of white space, so viewers can easily skim it in only a few minutes. 10. “Fiesta Bowl” by OH Partners

OH Partners doesn’t let superfluous details distract from the most important themes of their case study — “The Situation”, “The Solution”, and “The Success”. Each one of their case studies, including this Fiesta Bowl one, is organized into those three categories, with a video at the beginning followed by a few large font, easily skimmable paragraphs. Best of all, OH Partners puts other case studies on the left side of the page, with highly enticing visuals to ensure a potential consumer can continue perusing the case studies until they’re confident in OH Partner’s track record. 11. “The Gifted Day” by Digitas

Digitas’ case study page for LVNG With, a cancer support community created by AstraZeneca, is one of the more emotionally moving campaigns in our list and might even evoke a few tears. The page begins with a heart-wrenching video of all the moments — a grandmother holding her grandchild, someone riding a roller coaster — that “weren’t supposed to happen”, exemplifying the enormous gift a single day could be to a terminal patient. Scrolling down, it’s obvious that Digitas kept AstraZeneca at the forefront of their strategy, but more than that, they used real people as their focal point. 12. “Wine.com” by RichRelevance

What first attracted me to RichRelevance’s Wine.com case study was the box on the left-side that quickly summed up the case study, including requirements, solution, and results. Adding an abridged version to a case study enables you to attract a larger audience, by offering a quick-read for those short on time, and a longer version for those interested in the details. RichRelevance’s case study also offers an impressive amount of information for those wanting to understand the nuances of their strategy, including a section titled “Fine-tuning Recommendations by Geography”. 13. “Synapse Innovation” by Uniface

SlideShare is a platform that allows you to encourage engagement from your viewers — which is likely why Netherlands-headquartered Uniface chose to use a SlideShare for their customer case study. As you click to the right you’re able to easily read their process from challenge to solution, and they provide a link to the full case study, and their social media accounts, on the last slide. Since each slide only needs a few lines of text, the SlideShare feels especially digestible. 14. “StyleHaul” by Asana

While Asana’s case study design looks initially text-heavy, there’s good reason — it reads like a creative story, and is told entirely from the customer’s perspective. For instance, Asana knows you won’t trust their word alone on their impressive customer service, so they let StyleHaul’s SVP of Business & Network Operations, Drew, tell you instead: “Our Customer Success Manager, Michael, was amazing. If I had a question, I wasn’t put into a queue—I could get it answered right away.” The entire case study reads like an in-depth interview, and captivates the reader through creative storytelling. 15. “Patagonia” by Amp Agency

Amp Agency’s Patagonia marketing strategy aimed to appeal to a new audience through guerilla marketing efforts and a coast-to-coast roadtrip. Their case study page effectively conveys a voyager theme, complete with real photos of Patagonia customers from across the U.S., and a map of the expedition. Personally, I liked Amp Agency’s storytelling approach best, which captures viewers’ attention start-to-finish simply because it’s an intriguing and unique approach to marketing. 16. “Budweiser Influencer Marketing Case Study” by Anomaly

Budweiser’s one page, poster-esque case study is a good reflection of a brand knowing its audience. Anomaly’s case study for Budweiser appears edgy and modern, with a design that playfully pushes the text to the right as it showcases pictures of social media influencers wearing a campaign-related t-shirt. Both the top and the bottom of the page are eye-catching, and the text itself is simple and straightforward. 17. “Clinique” by AdRoll

Sometimes, starting with the results is the best way to capture your readers’ attention. In Clinique’s case study, AdRoll does just that, beginning with some impressive numbers: “8.5 Times ROI, 14 Times ROAS, 265% Amount of Sales”. Once it has boldly outlined their results, AdRoll smartly pulls back to discuss the “Benefits of Personalized Ads”, letting the viewer consider how these same benefits might help their own company. The page is short and sweet and ends with a compelling call-to-action — “AdRoll has generated revenues in excess of seven billion for its customers. Try it now.” The clean, whitespace-heavy page is an effective example of using a case study to capture future leads. 18. “TEXTCARE” by The George Institute

The George Institute chose to display the case study for their program, TEXTCARE, in a documentary-style video with real people discussing how TEXTCARE helped them become healthier and more active. If your case study results benefited people, there’s likely no better way to showcase that than through on-screen interviews. 19. “Reclaiming The Identity of a Brand: A Levi’s Case Study” by Levi

If you’ve got a case study with dense text, one of the more creative solutions to breaking it up could be to organize it by pages. Levi’s case study uses this method — their page one, for instance, is labeled “Introduction”, while page two is labeled “Weaknesses in the late 1990s”. Each page tackles a different topic, and the design makes it feel more like reading a book than a business article. 20. “Red Sox Season Campaign” by CTP

What’s great about CTP’s case study page for their Red Sox Season Campaign is their combination of video, images, and text — a video automatically begins playing when you visit the page, and as you scroll, you’ll see additional embedded videos of Red Sox players, a compilation of print ads, and social media images you can click to enlarge. At the bottom, it says “Find out how we can do something similar for your brand.” The page is clean, cohesive, and aesthetically-pleasing, inviting viewers to appreciate the well-roundedness of CTP’s campaign for Boston’s beloved baseball team. 21. “BIC: Bringing One Stop Shopping to BIC Razors” by Genuine

Sometimes, simple is key. Genuine’s case study for BIC razor’s is straightforward and minimal, with only two short paragraphs, “The Insight” and “The Solution”, accompanied by two images. The simplicity of the page allows the reader to focus on the sense of humor in the text, like “Helping a consumer find their perfect match and making them smile along the way means gaining a brand loyalist for life. Or until they grow a beard.” The page displays Genuine’s brand personality well, while offering the viewer all the necessary information they’d need. 22. “Cisco Systems: Velocity to Value” by Apptio

An attention-grabbing title is one of the easiest, yet most effective, ways to help your case study stand out — like Apptio’s Cisco Systems case study, titled “Velocity to Value: A Mature IT Services Transformation Enables IT to Continually Simplify and Innovate.” The piece is well-organized and uses compelling headers to keep the reader engaged, and offers a side panel for viewers who just need the bullet points. Despite its length, Apptio’s case study is appealing enough to keep viewer’s attention. 23. “Airbnb’s Custom 360-view of the Customer” by Zendesk

Zendesk’s Airbnb case study reads like a blog, and focuses equally on Zendesk and Airbnb, highlighting a true partnership between the companies. To captivate readers, it begins like this: “Halfway around the globe is a place to stay with your name on it. At least for a weekend.” The piece focuses on telling a good story, and provides photographs of beautiful Airbnb locations. In a case study meant to highlight Zendesk’s helpfulness, nothing could be more authentic than their decision to focus on Airbnb’s service in such great detail. 24. “Herschel Delights with Hootsuite” by Hootsuite

If you didn’t know this video was a case study for Hootsuite, you’d assume it was simply an artsy video capturing Herschel’s startup success. The Herschel marketing team mentions Hootsuite, but they do it authentically and remain primarily focused on the appreciation they have for their social media community. This video doesn’t have the feel of a traditional advertisement — instead, it feels unique and true to Herschel, highlighting Hootsuite as both a helpful and unobtrusive partner. 25. “4 Content Marketing Success Stories [Infographic]” by Kapost You don’t always need a ton of text or a video to convey your message — sometimes, you just need images. Kapost’s infographic does a fantastic job of quickly providing the fundamental statistics a potential customer would need to know, without boggling down their readers with dense paragraphs. The infographic includes percentages, customer quotes, and colorful charts to provide the viewer with both numerical and emotional reasons they might choose Kapost. Start creating your case study. Now that you’ve got a great list of examples of killer case studies, think about a topic you’d like to write about that highlights your company or work you did with a customer. For more examples, check out these social media case studies.

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digitalmark18-blog · 6 years ago

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25 Case Study Examples Every Marketer Should See

New Post has been published on https://britishdigitalmarketingnews.com/25-case-study-examples-every-marketer-should-see/

25 Case Study Examples Every Marketer Should See

The saying “lead by example” is important in politics and leadership roles — and it’s also critical in marketing.

Putting together a compelling case study is one of the most powerful strategies for showcasing your marketing skills and attracting future customers. But it’s easier said than done — you’ve executed the campaign, you’ve collected the results, now what?

To help you create an attractive and high-converting case study, we’ve put together a list of some of our favorites. Take a look, and let these examples inspire your next brilliant case study design.

1. “Shopify Uses HubSpot CRM to Transform High Volume Sales Organization,” by HubSpot

Notice that this case study uses mixed-media. Yes, there is a short video, but it’s elaborated upon in the additional text on the page. So while your case studies can use one or the other, don’t be afraid to combine written copy with visuals to emphasize the project’s success.

2. “Designing the Future of Urban Farming,” by IDEO

Immediately, IDEO has communicated two of the case study’s major pillars. And while that’s great — the company created a solution for vertical farming startup INFARM’s challenge — it doesn’t stop there. As the user scrolls down, those pillars are elaborated upon with comprehensive (but not overwhelming) copy that outlines what that process looked like, replete with quotes and additional visuals.

3. “Secure Wi-Fi Wins Big for Tournament,” by WatchGuard

youtube

4. “Customer Case Study: ElliotLee Estate Agents” by Pioneer Business Systems

youtube

5. “Sapio User Acquisition Case Study” by Fractl

6. “USA Today” by Fantasy

If you’re more interested in text, you can scroll to find their goal, “make USA Today’s website responsive”, in one short paragraph, followed by a simple “1” icon, with the text “Became the most visited US News site.” Fantasy understands that, as a potential customer, this is all you need to know. Scrolling further, you’re greeted with a simple “Contact Us” CTA.

7. “Coca-Cola Uses App Annie to Amaze & Delight Customers” by App Annie.

(embed link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHo0SnZFTMw)

A video is a phenomenal way to grab a viewer’s attention, but in our video-heavy world today, it can be hard to keep potential customers’ eyes on the screen. To combat this, App Annie’s case study of Coca-Cola includes drawings and text to highlight what Greg Chambers, Coca-Cola’s Director of Innovation, is talking about on-screen. They also occasionally cut away from his face to include full-screen text. By incorporating graphic designs and text in their video, App Annie encourages viewers to stay engaged.

8. “How One Ecommerce Business Solved the Omnichannel Challenge with Bitly Campaigns” by Bitly

9. “How Social Media Insights Turned Around Lexus’ Holiday Campaigns” by Infegy

10. “Fiesta Bowl” by OH Partners

Best of all, OH Partners puts other case studies on the left side of the page, with highly enticing visuals to ensure a potential consumer can continue perusing the case studies until they’re confident in OH Partner’s track record.

11. “The Gifted Day” by Digitas

12. “Wine.com” by RichRelevance

13. “Synapse Innovation” by Uniface

14. “StyleHaul” by Asana

15. “Patagonia” by Amp Agency

16. “Budweiser Influencer Marketing Case Study” by Anomaly

17. “Clinique” by AdRoll

The page is short and sweet and ends with a compelling call-to-action — “AdRoll has generated revenues in excess of seven billion for its customers. Try it now.” The clean, whitespace-heavy page is an effective example of using a case study to capture future leads.

18. “TEXTCARE” by The George Institute

youtube

19. “Reclaiming The Identity of a Brand: A Levi’s Case Study” by Levi

20. “Red Sox Season Campaign” by CTP

21. “BIC: Bringing One Stop Shopping to BIC Razors” by Genuine

22. “Cisco Systems: Velocity to Value” by Apptio

23. “Airbnb’s Custom 360-view of the Customer” by Zendesk

24. “Herschel Delights with Hootsuite” by Hootsuite

youtube

25. “4 Content Marketing Success Stories [Infographic]” by Kapost

You don’t always need a ton of text or a video to convey your message — sometimes, you just need images. Kapost’s infographic does a fantastic job of quickly providing the fundamental statistics a potential customer would need to know, without boggling down their readers with dense paragraphs. The infographic includes percentages, customer quotes, and colorful charts to provide the viewer with both numerical and emotional reasons they might choose Kapost.

Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/case-study-examples

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lindyhunt · 6 years ago

Text

25 Case Study Examples Every Marketer Should See

The saying "lead by example" is important in politics and leadership roles -- and it's also critical in marketing.

Sure, you can tell potential customers your marketing team is the best at running YouTube campaigns or effectively increasing a website's cost-per-acquisition (CPA), but until you offer examples, they're going to have a hard time believing you.

Putting together a compelling case study is one of the most powerful strategies for showcasing your marketing skills and attracting future customers. But it's easier said than done -- you've executed the campaign, you've collected the results, now what?

To help you create an attractive and high-converting case study, we've put together a list of some of our favorites. Take a look, and let these examples inspire your next brilliant case study design.

1. "Shopify Uses HubSpot CRM to Transform High Volume Sales Organization," by HubSpot

What's interesting about this case study is the way it leads with the customer. That reflects a major HubSpot credo, which is to always solve for the customer first. The copy leads with a brief description of why Shopify uses HubSpot, and is accompanied by a short video and some basic statistics on the company.

Notice that this case study uses mixed-media. Yes, there is a short video, but it's elaborated upon in the additional text on the page. So while your case studies can use one or the other, don't be afraid to combine written copy with visuals to emphasize the project's success.

2. "Designing the Future of Urban Farming," by IDEO

Here's a design company that knows how to lead with simplicity in its case studies. As soon as the visitor arrives at the page, he or she is greeted with a big, bold photo, and two very simple columns of text -- "The Challenge" and "The Outcome."

Immediately, IDEO has communicated two of the case study's major pillars. And while that's great -- the company created a solution for vertical farming startup INFARM's challenge -- it doesn't stop there. As the user scrolls down, those pillars are elaborated upon with comprehensive (but not overwhelming) copy that outlines what that process looked like, replete with quotes and additional visuals.

3. "Secure Wi-Fi Wins Big for Tournament," by WatchGuard

youtube

Then, there are the cases when visuals can tell almost the entire story -- when executed correctly. Network security provider WatchGuard is able to do that through this video, which tells the story of how its services enhanced the attendee and vendor experience at the Windmill Ultimate Frisbee tournament.

4. "Customer Case Study: ElliotLee Estate Agents" by Pioneer Business Systems

youtube

In 2018, 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week. A video case study could be a compelling way to attract potential customers who prefer watching a video over reading text. Additionally, a video allows you to convey customer emotion. This case study by Pioneer Business Systems, for instance, allows viewers to see firsthand the effects Pioneer's telephone system had on their clients, ElliotLee Estate Agents. It includes text, as well, to thoughtfully organize and break-up the video into sections.

5. "Sapio User Acquisition Case Study" by Fractl

Fractl uses both text and graphic design on their Sapio case study web page to immerse the viewer in a more interesting user experience. For instance, as you scroll, you'll see the results are illustrated in an infographic-design form as well as the text itself. Further down the page, they use icons like a heart and a circle to illustrate their pitch angles, and graphs to showcase their results. Rather than writing which publications covered their news story, they incorporated the media outlet's icons for further visual diversity.

6. "USA Today" by Fantasy

What's the best way to showcase the responsiveness and user interface of a website? Probably by diving right into it, via video -- which is exactly what Fantasy does on their case study page for USA Today. They keep the page simple and clean, with a large red play button embedded at the top, inviting you to review their redesign of USA Today's website via video. The video itself is simple, showing the website's interface and clicking on various links with simple instrumental music in the background.

If you're more interested in text, you can scroll to find their goal, "make USA Today's website responsive", in one short paragraph, followed by a simple "1" icon, with the text "Became the most visited US News site." Fantasy understands that, as a potential customer, this is all you need to know. Scrolling further, you're greeted with a simple "Contact Us" CTA.

7. "Coca-Cola Uses App Annie to Amaze & Delight Customers" by App Annie.

(embed link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHo0SnZFTMw)

A video is a phenomenal way to grab a viewer's attention, but in our video-heavy world today, it can be hard to keep potential customers' eyes on the screen. To combat this, App Annie's case study of Coca-Cola includes drawings and text to highlight what Greg Chambers, Coca-Cola's Director of Innovation, is talking about on-screen. They also occasionally cut away from his face to include full-screen text. By incorporating graphic designs and text in their video, App Annie encourages viewers to stay engaged.

8. "How One Ecommerce Business Solved the Omnichannel Challenge with Bitly Campaigns" by Bitly

Bitly takes a different approach to text-heavy case studies, by providing their case study of ecommerce company Vissla in PDF form. The case study is clean and easily scannable, with sections divided into "The Goal", "Top Omnichannel Obstacles", and images of "The Set-Up" and "The Launch." The downloadable PDF format makes the case study feel like an exclusive behind-the-scenes look, and uses colors and text that align with Bitly's brand. Since the PDF opens in a separate browser, it's easier for the viewer to avoid distractions as they scroll the pages.

9. "How Social Media Insights Turned Around Lexus' Holiday Campaigns" by Infegy

It can be risky to include hurdles to your case studies, but with great risk comes great reward, right? In Infegy's case, their gated content is worth the fill-out form information, particularly since their client is such a big name in the automobile industry: Lexus. The PDF case study reads like a compelling news article, including titles like "The Rise of Lexus" and "The Fall of Lexus", colorful pie charts, and real online comments from customers who were unhappy with Lexus' old holiday ads. The PDF is six pages but features big font and plenty of white space, so viewers can easily skim it in only a few minutes.

10. "Fiesta Bowl" by OH Partners

OH Partners doesn't let superfluous details distract from the most important themes of their case study -- "The Situation", "The Solution", and "The Success". Each one of their case studies, including this Fiesta Bowl one, is organized into those three categories, with a video at the beginning followed by a few large font, easily skimmable paragraphs.

11. "The Gifted Day" by Digitas

Digitas' case study page for LVNG With, a cancer support community created by AstraZeneca, is one of the more emotionally moving campaigns in our list and might even evoke a few tears. The page begins with a heart-wrenching video of all the moments -- a grandmother holding her grandchild, someone riding a roller coaster -- that "weren't supposed to happen", exemplifying the enormous gift a single day could be to a terminal patient. Scrolling down, it's obvious that Digitas kept AstraZeneca at the forefront of their strategy, but more than that, they used real people as their focal point.

12. "Wine.com" by RichRelevance

What first attracted me to RichRelevance's Wine.com case study was the box on the left-side that quickly summed up the case study, including requirements, solution, and results. Adding an abridged version to a case study enables you to attract a larger audience, by offering a quick-read for those short on time, and a longer version for those interested in the details. RichRelevance's case study also offers an impressive amount of information for those wanting to understand the nuances of their strategy, including a section titled "Fine-tuning Recommendations by Geography".

13. "Synapse Innovation" by Uniface

Customer Case Study: Synapse Innovation from Uniface

SlideShare is a platform that allows you to encourage engagement from your viewers -- which is likely why Netherlands-headquartered Uniface chose to use a SlideShare for their customer case study. As you click to the right you're able to easily read their process from challenge to solution, and they provide a link to the full case study, and their social media accounts, on the last slide. Since each slide only needs a few lines of text, the SlideShare feels especially digestible.

14. "StyleHaul" by Asana

While Asana's case study design looks initially text-heavy, there's good reason -- it reads like a creative story, and is told entirely from the customer's perspective. For instance, Asana knows you won't trust their word alone on their impressive customer service, so they let StyleHaul’s SVP of Business & Network Operations, Drew, tell you instead: "Our Customer Success Manager, Michael, was amazing. If I had a question, I wasn’t put into a queue—I could get it answered right away." The entire case study reads like an in-depth interview, and captivates the reader through creative storytelling.

15. "Patagonia" by Amp Agency

Amp Agency's Patagonia marketing strategy aimed to appeal to a new audience through guerilla marketing efforts and a coast-to-coast roadtrip. Their case study page effectively conveys a voyager theme, complete with real photos of Patagonia customers from across the U.S., and a map of the expedition. Personally, I liked Amp Agency's storytelling approach best, which captures viewers' attention start-to-finish simply because it's an intriguing and unique approach to marketing.

16. "Budweiser Influencer Marketing Case Study" by Anomaly

Budweiser's one page, poster-esque case study is a good reflection of a brand knowing its audience. Anomaly's case study for Budweiser appears edgy and modern, with a design that playfully pushes the text to the right as it showcases pictures of social media influencers wearing a campaign-related t-shirt. Both the top and the bottom of the page are eye-catching, and the text itself is simple and straightforward.

17. "Clinique" by AdRoll

Sometimes, starting with the results is the best way to capture your readers' attention. In Clinique's case study, AdRoll does just that, beginning with some impressive numbers: "8.5 Times ROI, 14 Times ROAS, 265% Amount of Sales". Once it has boldly outlined their results, AdRoll smartly pulls back to discuss the "Benefits of Personalized Ads", letting the viewer consider how these same benefits might help their own company.

The page is short and sweet and ends with a compelling call-to-action -- "AdRoll has generated revenues in excess of seven billion for its customers. Try it now." The clean, whitespace-heavy page is an effective example of using a case study to capture future leads.

18. "TEXTCARE" by The George Institute

youtube

The George Institute chose to display the case study for their program, TEXTCARE, in a documentary-style video with real people discussing how TEXTCARE helped them become healthier and more active. If your case study results benefited people, there's likely no better way to showcase that than through on-screen interviews.

19. "Reclaiming The Identity of a Brand: A Levi's Case Study" by Levi

If you've got a case study with dense text, one of the more creative solutions to breaking it up could be to organize it by pages. Levi's case study uses this method -- their page one, for instance, is labeled "Introduction", while page two is labeled "Weaknesses in the late 1990s". Each page tackles a different topic, and the design makes it feel more like reading a book than a business article.

20. "Red Sox Season Campaign" by CTP

What's great about CTP's case study page for their Red Sox Season Campaign is their combination of video, images, and text -- a video automatically begins playing when you visit the page, and as you scroll, you'll see additional embedded videos of Red Sox players, a compilation of print ads, and social media images you can click to enlarge. At the bottom, it says "Find out how we can do something similar for your brand." The page is clean, cohesive, and aesthetically-pleasing, inviting viewers to appreciate the well-roundedness of CTP's campaign for Boston's beloved baseball team.

21. "BIC: Bringing One Stop Shopping to BIC Razors" by Genuine

Sometimes, simple is key. Genuine's case study for BIC razor's is straightforward and minimal, with only two short paragraphs, "The Insight" and "The Solution", accompanied by two images. The simplicity of the page allows the reader to focus on the sense of humor in the text, like "Helping a consumer find their perfect match and making them smile along the way means gaining a brand loyalist for life. Or until they grow a beard." The page displays Genuine's brand personality well, while offering the viewer all the necessary information they'd need.

22. "Cisco Systems: Velocity to Value" by Apptio

An attention-grabbing title is one of the easiest, yet most effective, ways to help your case study stand out -- like Apptio's Cisco Systems case study, titled "Velocity to Value: A Mature IT Services Transformation Enables IT to Continually Simplify and Innovate." The piece is well-organized and uses compelling headers to keep the reader engaged, and offers a side panel for viewers who just need the bullet points. Despite its length, Apptio's case study is appealing enough to keep viewer's attention.

23. "Airbnb's Custom 360-view of the Customer" by Zendesk

Zendesk's Airbnb case study reads like a blog, and focuses equally on Zendesk and Airbnb, highlighting a true partnership between the companies. To captivate readers, it begins like this: "Halfway around the globe is a place to stay with your name on it. At least for a weekend." The piece focuses on telling a good story, and provides photographs of beautiful Airbnb locations. In a case study meant to highlight Zendesk's helpfulness, nothing could be more authentic than their decision to focus on Airbnb's service in such great detail.

24. "Herschel Delights with Hootsuite" by Hootsuite

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If you didn't know this video was a case study for Hootsuite, you'd assume it was simply an artsy video capturing Herschel's startup success. The Herschel marketing team mentions Hootsuite, but they do it authentically and remain primarily focused on the appreciation they have for their social media community. This video doesn't have the feel of a traditional advertisement -- instead, it feels unique and true to Herschel, highlighting Hootsuite as both a helpful and unobtrusive partner.

25. "4 Content Marketing Success Stories [Infographic]" by Kapost

You don't always need a ton of text or a video to convey your message -- sometimes, you just need images. Kapost's infographic does a fantastic job of quickly providing the fundamental statistics a potential customer would need to know, without boggling down their readers with dense paragraphs. The infographic includes percentages, customer quotes, and colorful charts to provide the viewer with both numerical and emotional reasons they might choose Kapost.

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mredwinsmith · 7 years ago

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My Experience as a Transgender Woman in the Ultimate Community

My name is Ashleigh Buch, and I am a transgender woman who plays ultimate for the up and coming women’s club team, Kansas City Wicked. I am writing this piece with the hope of adding my voice to a very small minority of ultimate athletes who are trans or non-binary, and to increase awareness of our experiences as players. My journey as a trans female ultimate player is one that has been fraught with difficulty and heartbreak and, at one time, took me away from the sport, but it is also one that has seen me grow into a strong and confident woman who is unashamed to be her true self.

While ultimate is a large part of my life, I am also a Mandarin-Chinese linguist in the Air Force. I have served in the Air Force for eight and a half years. I am extremely passionate about fighting for trans rights and trans representation across all fields, but my focus has primarily been on the military. It was that fight for my right to exist in the military that ultimately gave me the courage to return to the sport as myself.

Beginnings

Like many, I began playing ultimate in college, and I joined Iowa State Ultimate Club (ISUC) during my junior year of school. I had played the sport a little bit after a few summer cross country practices, and I quickly fell in love with it, but I had absolutely no technical skills, and I could barely throw a disc. The two things I did have going for me were that I could run fast and run almost nonstop.

I was nervous about joining the team for many reasons, but at its heart, it was because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to be my true self. I also knew from my previous experiences with team sports that I was going to end up on the periphery. In the past, I was closed off from everyone because if someone were to discover the real me, I was afraid that I would face negative treatment from those in my life. Not opening up and forming real relationships with my teammates was the only way I knew how to protect myself.

While I learned a lot about ultimate and improved my game immensely during my time playing for ISUC, so many of my fears came to the forefront of my experience. It was an incredibly dysphoric experience trying to keep up this image of somebody I wasn’t. I tried desperately to put forth a masculine presentation, but I failed miserably. I was pretty sure most everyone on the men’s and women’s team at ISU either thought I was gay or just super metrosexual.

Having to hide behind a mask not only hurt my heart, but looking back on it, it stunted my growth as a player. Because I was so distant and often struggled with being around my teammates, it became difficult for me to ask for help regarding different parts of my game or understanding more advanced aspects of the sport. Unless we were at practice or a tournament, I rarely, if ever, spent time with my teammates. It was a suffocating and lonely experience.

Paralleling many of my experiences as a child and teenage athlete, I found myself desperately wanting to be a part of the women’s team at ISU, Woman Scorned. I fit in with many of the women so much more naturally than I did with any of the men. While there wasn’t a shortage of great players on ISUC, I found myself admiring and respecting the games of many of the women much more. When you are surrounded by incredible players like Rachel Derscheid, Melissa Gibbs, Taiwo Misra, Magon Liu, Sarah Hoistad, Jasmine Draper, and so many more, it is easy to be star struck.

They played each game with so much passion, and they fostered an incredibly empowering and supportive environment where they could be themselves unabashedly, something I deeply desired. I loved how they talked to each other on the field from the sideline and encouraged each other on the field. The cold reality was that I would never be a part of that team, and I struggled with that almost daily. It hurt my heart and further increased my dysphoria.

I know it sounds like I am coming down hard on the men’s team, but it is more that I didn’t fit in with those guys and the culture of the team. I am still friends with most of them, but if you were to ask them how I fit in with the team, they would almost certainly tell you that I was this incredibly quiet and shy individual who was almost always closed off from them. Looking back, I think that if I had come out about being trans while playing for the team, I have no doubt they would have supported me. At the time though, the thought of that terrified me. Because of the negative way in which society views and treats trans people, closing myself off was the safe thing to do.

Joining a Women’s Team

A few years later, I quit ultimate because I was in the midst of my transition, and I faced some bullying at the local summer league. This spring, I made the decision to return to the sport. Only this time, I was going to return to the sport as my genuine self, as the woman that I am. I didn’t want the fact that I am trans to be a hindrance to living my life any longer. Because of my proximity of Kansas City and what seemed like a team with great chemistry, I decided to reach out to Wicked to gauge their interest in letting me participate in their upcoming open tryouts.

I ended up sending a super awkward message to their Facebook page basically regaling them with my life story. Thankfully, the person in charge of their page is Steph Rupp, one of the most amazing people I have ever met and who is now one of my dearest friends. She was totally cool about it all, and after talking it over with the captains, she let me know that I would be welcomed with open arms.

Over the following weeks, I fought an internal battle of deciding whether I should try out. Indecision and fear almost overcame me the day of the first try out when I was about 40 miles away from Omaha on the road to Kansas City. I was at the point of turning around, but I made the decision to press on. The thought of returning to the sport as myself and being surrounded by so many incredible female ultimate players was something I deeply desired. Despite my fear, the decision to try out was the right decision. After a good showing at the invite-only tryouts, I was notified that I made the team, and I was overcome with emotion. It was something that I thought would never be possible, yet there was the confirmation right there. I was officially part of Wicked.

I struggled a lot throughout this past season. It was filled with many ups and downs, and there were a lot of tears. I am pretty sure I cried at every other practice, every power weekend, and most tournaments. Estrogen-based puberty is no joke. I struggled mightily with my confidence to the point where I was afraid to throw anything other than a quick dump or a quick give and go.

I was so afraid of letting my team down, and I was afraid that if I happened to do anything well, it would be because I was trans and not because I was a good player. It wasn’t until toward the end of the season did I break free of my funk. After a few in-depth conversations with my frisbee role models, Clare Frantz, Steph Rupp, and Amanda “Coffee” Borders, they helped me get out of my head, and I finally began to blossom as a player. The culture of our team is one of empowerment and support of each other through all the ups and downs.

Common Misconceptions

Many of the misconceptions and questions of fairness surrounding trans female athletes scared me about opening up about my experience as a trans woman playing for Wicked. So often as a trans woman, my identity is boiled down to one part of my identity, the fact that I was designated male at birth. Because of that designation, there are a lot of assumptions made about me such as having an innate biological advantage over my cisgender female counterparts. Not only is that an unfair assumption about me, but it is also insulting to all of the incredible cisgender female athletes out there who will accomplish more than I can ever dream of. I was afraid that anything that I was to achieve in ultimate would be credited to me being trans rather than to the all of the hard work and effort I put into growing as a player. More importantly, I am afraid that people will downplay Wicked’s accomplishment because of my trans status. We are some of the hardest working individuals you will ever meet, and if anybody took anything away from what we have accomplished because I am trans, it would tear my heart out.

One of the common misconceptions about transgender female athletes when it comes to women’s sports is that we are doing it so that we can dominate the sport in a way that we couldn’t in the men’s division. It pains my heart to hear that so often repeated. Aside from the extensive changes your body undergoes with hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the overwhelming majority of trans female athletes simply want to compete in an environment where they fit, somewhere where they don’t have to be somebody other than themselves. Team sports are a communal environment, and if you don’t fit for whatever reason, they can become a lonely place.

Another aspect to the question of fairness for trans athletes is how HRT affects the body. My athletic capabilities underwent a dramatic change. I dropped to nonexistent levels of testosterone while my estrogen was cycled in a way that matched those of an average cisgender woman. I went from having what now seems like endless energy that I used to balance a busy schedule with a heavy workout load to being constantly tired.

Despite the same level of exertion, after HRT, my strength decreased sharply and my running pace slowed. It became difficult to not only put on muscle mass, but to maintain any previous muscle mass. While at the same time, that lovely hormone, estrogen, made it easy to put on fat and in turn gain weight. That is exactly what happened. My body began changing rapidly and it never looked back. I basically went from being perceived as a high-level male athlete to being a high-level female athlete.

Finding a Home

Transitioning and playing for Wicked are the two best experiences of my life. Everything that I had desired in my life and in sports fell into place. I had reached the point where my mental, emotional, and physical health were finally at peace with one another, and for the first time in my life, I began to live. My participation on Wicked opened a new aspect to my being. I had finally found a place where I could be myself and play a sport I loved. I was surrounded by and lifted up by some of the most incredible people I have ever met, a group of women who supported one another. While these women are not Scorned, they are Wicked, and they make my heart sing. My journey is most certainly not over, but for now, I am home. #wickedlove

Ashleigh Buch can be reached at [email protected], on Instagram at ashleigh.kathryn, or on Twitter @AshKatRyn. Interested to learn more about her fight for trans acceptance in the military? Check out articles about her in the Omaha World Herald and on the Offutt Air Force Base news page.

The post My Experience as a Transgender Woman in the Ultimate Community appeared first on Skyd Magazine.

from Skyd Magazine http://ift.tt/2rPbMEF

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capitalfellows · 7 years ago

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What sounds like squeaking, wood paneled bunk beds, looks like an athletic hipster convention, and tastes just like high school cafeteria food? You guessed it.

There’s nothing like camp.

This past weekend, the Capital Fellows crammed into a few cars, drove through the autumn-colored Virginia country side, and made the four hour (thank you, D.C. traffic) journey to Oxford, North Carolina where we gathered for a fall retreat at Oak Hill Camp with over a hundred other fellows from the Eastern region.

Our wonderful speakers for the weekend were John Richmond, Founding Director of the Human Trafficking Institute, and none other than our very own pastor and professor, Bill Fullilove. Masterfully, the two worked to unpack God’s command for us to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8). Their wisdom filled 10 pages of my journal, so I regret to say I have room for just a few nuggets of wisdom.

At two months into our fellows year, we have taken classes that have blown our minds and concurrently left us feeling like we just left a group therapy session. We have been literally handed amazing opportunities like working in the inner city with awesome kids and meeting with intelligent and motivated mentors. We have been surrounded by a fellows leadership team that loves us and roots for us in every area of our lives in an almost superhuman capacity. And we have a church family that has accepted us and loved us without question. It’s all quite hard to grasp.

And yet, I have to be honest, the words John Richmond spoke this weekend hit me in the gut, “Christianity isn’t a self-improvement program. It’s a relationship.”

With all these incredible resources at our finger tips, it’s so easy for us fellows to get caught up in it all, occasionally losing touch with the idea that this isn’t just about us. This weekend I pondered the idea that fellows isn’t even about becoming a better me. It’s a year to grow with each other. It’s a year to serve. It’s a year to be exhausted and weary and pulled in all different directions. Because that’s life.

And if I’ve learned anything about life in the past two months, it’s that I wouldn’t rather do life with any other group of eleven people. We’re not perfect. We get testy when we’re hungry. We need our sleep. We’re not always on time. And we need coffee to survive almost as much as we need water, but I love these people. I love them enough to say that despite my tendency to make it all about me, I don’t want this year to be a year spent only on self-improvement if instead it can be about building relationships, relationships that are fun but are also challenging and fruitful. I’m willing to bet it will be worth the trade.

Certainly there were other learnings from the weekend. For example, we learned how to wow a crowd (and embrace the awkward) with our dancing abilities, how to beat last year’s reigning champs in the first round of the ultimate frisbee tournament, and how to get John Kyle to agree to having a painted handprint on his face. It was a productive weekend for all.

If after all of our blog posts, you are still unclear on what exactly we’re doing here in D.C., I’ll let you in on a little secret. Neither do we, really. It’s all the more fun that way, because I’m sure we’ll be pleasantly surprised by the end.

Stay tuned as we explore what this year has in store (and for more shenanigans, of course).

- Taylor

Pictures from the week

The Capital Fellows Dance Company

The smiling faces of (almost) winners

When the Wizards didn’t make the magic happen, but we sure had a lot of fun

A few fellows take advantage of Virginia’s viewz

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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What's the best sports game you've ever seen in person?

One of the best feelings when watching a game has to be just sharing that experience with other people. You can watch it with friends, family, or strangers at a bar. But when something special happens, you’re all part of it. And you can do this with just a TV.

But some events are more unique just because you were at the arena or stadium. The game itself doesn’t have to be a championship game or anything. In fact, a random regular or preseason game that you remember vividly could be as important to you than any title. It’s all on how you experienced and remember it.

We asked you what was your favorite sports game you attended in person. These are our picks:

Hawks-Wizards, Game 6 2015

Paul Pierce’s buzzer-beater that wasn’t for the Wizards in 2015 was so freakin’ cool... until it was called off. This was the same series that Pierce “didn’t call bank, he called game.” I’ll never forget hearing my mom scream for like two straight minutes and the entirety of the Verizon Center shook. I wish I could forget having to explain to her that the shot didn’t count though.

- Matt Ellentuck

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Heat-Lakers, Christmas Day 2004

For Christmas 2004, I got a pair of tickets for Heat-Lakers. I have no idea how my parents got me those tickets and I have never asked, but I probably should. This was Shaq’s first game back in LA after his beef with Kobe finally imploded and he was sent to the Miami Heat in exchange for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, and Brian Grant.

My younger brother and I sat in the cheap seats before the game speculating about what would happen right before tip off. Would Shaq and Kobe acknowledge each other (they did, but barely)? Would the Lakers have an emotional video package during player introductions (duh)? Would I buy an overpriced meal from the in-arena McDonald’s (also, duh)?

I don’t remember much from the video but I do think it was mostly a bunch of people in the Lakers organization saying “Thank you Shaq.” There might have been a cute kid or two in there. It was emotional and I felt the crowd at Staples Center feel the same way.

Anyway, at some point in the game I spilled my soda on a person in front of me. He was probably mad that a dumb teenager just ruined a good blue sweater that looked to be his Christmas gift. We both got over it and focused on the game, which was great since the game was close throughout most of it.

It even went to overtime even after Shaq fouled out of the game for fouling Kobe. How perfect is that. Shaq got the admiration from the Lakers and it turned into animosity after that whistle for the sixth foul. Fans at Staples Center got to both love and hate Shaq in the span of four quarters, and I learned that basketball can tell some beautiful stories.

- Hector Diaz

UConn-Pitt, Big East Tournament 2011

Sitting in Madison Square Garden all day waiting for your team to play a rival is one of the best parts of the Big East Tournament. You get all the benefit of March Madness heating up combined with the knowledge that your favorite team might put forth a classic performance.

During the 2011 tournament, in which UConn ended up winning five games in five days to win the whole thing (in the last year it was possible), being in the room to watch the Huskies was electric. But never more so than against Pitt, which was a duel for the entire time. In the last seconds, Kemba Walker broke some ankles and sunk a basket for the win.

Every single UConn fan present went through the roof, especially since it was still the afternoon and everyone had energy to spare when rooting on their team. I only remember spilling my food everywhere, getting water spilled on me as someone in the row behind our group dumped a water bottle everywhere in their excitement, and texting my dad “OH MY GOD KEMBA I CAN’T BREATHE THAT WAS AWESOME!” By the time the celebrations were over nobody in the section had a voice left.

I found out later my dad had actually taped the game and wasn’t watching live, so he then knew Kemba did something show-stopping but didn’t get spoiled on what it was. Sorry dad!

USA-France basketball, 2000 Olympic Games

Olympic basketball doesn’t belong on this list — but this game does, because I witnessed something iconic, and a moment I will never, ever, ever forget. I saw Vince Carter “Dunk of Death” over Frederic Weis in person.

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The video thumbnail above is almost the exact angle I had. I was behind the basket, just a few rows up. My mum surprised me with the best seats you could apply for in the Olympic ticket lottery.

The game had really been a disappointment up until this moment. Team USA was already pretty weak if you’re a 15-year-old who was hoping to see Kobe and Shaq make the trip, but all of that washed away when Carter didn’t just put Weis on a poster, he etched the image into stone.

The crowd exploded when this happened. Cheering and screaming was almost endless. It was a cacophony or realization that we’d all just seen something that might never happen again. The clip was replayed over, and over, and over again on the screen in the arena — each time being met with more applause.

One family in front of my friend and I said they were going to “talk to Vince” after the game. I assumed they were fans hoping to meet Carter and get his autograph. They ended up being Gary Payton’s family and extended family.

I can’t tell you much else about that game, but that dunk will be with me forever.

- James Dator

Pacers-Heat, 2013 Eastern Conference Finals Game 4

It was Game 4 of 2013 Eastern Conference Finals matchup between the Pacers and the Heat, with the Heat leading the series 2-1. It was before Lance Stephenson thought he should be an All-Star. It was before Roy Hibbert fell off the earth. It was when Paul George was young enough that Pacers fans felt like we had the entire world ahead of us.

The Pacers won that game 99-92 tieing up the series, and eventually forcing a Game 7. Roy Hibbert had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Lance dropped 20 points in the most Lance way possible, and every starter for the Pacers scored in double figures. But what I will never forget as long as I live is Lance Stephenson’s corner three-pointer at the buzzer at the end of the third quarter, with Dwyane Wade flying past him, and after he hit the shot he just sat on the floor and let the Pacers fans celebrate around him. I thought Bankers Life Fieldhouse was going to explode that night.

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The Pacers never won a series against LeBron and the Heat but those games, and especially this one, will always be my favorite.

- Whitney Medworth

Missouri-Nebraska, 1997

I was a freshman at Mizzou in 1997, and the school was just two years removed from getting Tyus Edney’d and seven years removed from getting Fifth Down’d. I saw all the typical “Be prepared for heartbreak” cynicism and defense mechanisms from the upperclassmen around me and brushed it off.

And then, in my fourth home game as a Mizzou student...

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When the ball deflected away from Shevin Wiggins, the student section surged to rush the field, assuming victory. My seats were in the 14th row, and at one point I had my foot on the wall at the front of the stands. Attacking from the hill on the north side of the stadium, a dorm mate of mine was the first one to reach the goal posts and climb on. And while trying not to fall over and get trampled, I saw the ref’s hands signal touchdown.

The ending was a nightmare, but ... what a game. Nebraska was incredible, and Mizzou, a four-touchdown underdog, was going toe-to-toe. The touchdown the Tigers scored in the fourth quarter resulted in probably one of the two or three best crowd pops I’ve ever heard. We’ll just say the game was called after 59 minutes and 50 seconds.

- Bill Connelly

Knicks-[someone], roughly 2006

Once I attended a Knicks game at which the halftime show was people throwing frisbees for dogs, who would jump really high to catch them. During one such throw, a dog slipped on a frisbee that had been left on the floor and totally lost its footing. It ended up doing a full, accidental barrel roll in mid air, but STILL caught the frisbee it had been thrown. It was the greatest sports highlight I ever saw in person, thus making whatever shitty Knicks game that was the greatest sporting event I ever saw in person. I also attended Game 2 of the 2000 World Series.

- Seth Rosenthal

49ers-Saints, January 2012

This was the 49ers first playoff game in nine years. Jim Harbaugh took over a team that had gone 6-10, and turned into an embarrassment under Mike Singletary. The team stormed to a 13-3 record and a first round bye. The 49ers were built more on their defense than offense, but they jumped out to a 17-0 lead. The Saints stormed back to take a 24-23 lead. The 49ers recaptured the lead on a designed QB run that saw Alex Smith run 28 yards for the score. The Saints re-took the lead with 1:37 to go, but Alex Smith drove the 49ers down the field and connected with Vernon Davis for the game-winning touchdown with nine seconds to go. Given all the crap Smith went through dating back to 2005, this game felt like a catharsis for him and the fans.

It was particularly great for me because I had a chance to be down right at the goal line when he ran in his touchdown, and then again when Vernon Davis caught his game-winning touchdown. After the Davis touchdown I found myself jumping up and down hugging the 49ers team president on the sideline. It was an amazing day of football.

- David Fucillo

Seahawks-Saints, 2010 NFC wild card game

The Beast Quake game. I can't do it justice in so few words, please read about it here.

- Matt Ufford

Wizards-Celtics, 2016 NBA Playoffs Game 6

The greatest moment in sports I ever witnessed was game 6 in the Wizards vs. Celtics series last year. I covered the game and, as a Wizards fan, it was a heart attack. But at the same time, it was entertaining as hell. There were lead changes galore, but John Wall hit the eventual game winner to force a game 7 in Boston. I graduated from grad school the next morning a few hours after I finished my column on the game.

- Michael Sykes

Here are some of your answers ...

What's the best sports game you've ever seen in person?

— SB Nation (@SBNation) August 1, 2017

Kick Six. This was my view (pic taken with 0:06 left) http://pic.twitter.com/OpzBtTdIgK

— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) August 2, 2017

2015 AFC Championship - seeing Peyton Manning's final touchdown pass & @Broncos beat the Patriots!!! #PeytonManning #PFM http://pic.twitter.com/nFxuY9QFl6

— Courey (@CoureyPMarshall) August 2, 2017

As a UCF football letterman I'd have to say the '14 Fiesta Bowl. Watched in amazement sitting in that stadium with former teammates. http://pic.twitter.com/TOsg5tfm5t

— Neil Beasley (@NeilBeaz) August 2, 2017

OSU vs um 2016. http://pic.twitter.com/kJ8s0FAJmu

— Green Gold Buckets (@GatorsRaysCavs) August 1, 2017

Game 7 @Timberwolves vs. @SacramentoKings 2004 #NBAPlayoffs a.k.a. The KG game. http://pic.twitter.com/OZuaTh9lwA

— Josh Braaten (@JoshBraaten) August 2, 2017

UNC vs. Michigan State on the USS Carl Vinson in 2011 http://pic.twitter.com/g0oPd9zC2L

— Luke Myer (@LukeMyer1) August 2, 2017

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playoapp-blog · 8 years ago

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New Post has been published on Playo

This Community In Bengaluru Has Its Own Football Team For Women And Aims At Empowering Women's Sports

“Women in Football” might be something that takes you by surprise when it comes to Indian Sports but Maya FC is all about breaking the stereotypes created around women Football players in the society and give the working women a chance to follow their passion.

Most of us were active participants in sports during our school and college days. Even if we weren’t pro’s at the respective sports we had chosen to give a shot at, we at least had the chance to be a part of something we loved. Our passion took deep roots at such a nascent stage but once we left college, we never had the much deserved chance to try the sport we most loved. That’s when a counsellor came up with an idea of starting an organization for women in India, a community which also helped the working women to follow the sport of their choice. Thus was born Maya and Maya FC.

Maya Football Club and How it all began

Maya is a special community for women which was started two years ago by Mari, a counsellor, which connects and empowers women to follow their passion. Maya for Women expanded its programs to Maya Outdoors and WHAQ as days passed. As part of the Maya Outdoors program, the Maya FC team was formed and Football became one of the main initiatives under Maya for Women.

The Maya FC team has been part of various tournaments, showcasing their talent and challenging fellow women competitors at state level tournaments as well. The Maya FC Team, is a women-only Football team and the what makes this team even more special is that, the members are all working women. Coached by Queenie, a former national Football player, Maya FC is one of the strongest women force you will see in the city of Bengaluru.

Maya FC is the Football club as part of Maya for Women. These girls come from various backgrounds. It is a great platform for everyone to come together, be educated and use sports as a medium of communication. You can learn more about the person when you play sports together. You also create a family for yourself, away from home. That was the vision for creating Maya Outdoors.

says Queenie, a freelance Graphic Designer and the Head Coach of Maya FC who has represented Maharashtra in Football for 10 years. She was also part of the Women’s Football League (Dubai) for 4 years. Moving from Mumbai to Bangalore, she wanted to help women who wanted the pursue their passion in Football, this prompted her to step into Maya and coach the team. Maya FC team, is not only about Football players. There are many multi-skilled ladies who also practice Basketball, Cricket, Frisbee etc. Currently there are almost 25 women part of the Maya FC team.

Entreprenuer, Fashion Designer and a Football Player

While most of us crib about our work hours and how we don’t have time for anything, Aloka D’Souza, a member of Maya FC gives us a reason why we should put all our quibbles to rest. A Basketball player at School level and a Football player during college days, she has her own tale to tell.

I started playing sports at a very young age and Basketball was my first sport in School. When I moved to college, that’s when my Football started. I’ve played both the sports for Karnataka.

Graduating with a Fashion Designer degree from Mount Carmel College, Aloka never found a way to keep her passion for Football going as it was not easy to find women’s Football teams once college was done. This cost her to gain weight and she wanted to revive her relationship with sports. That’s when Maya FC happened to her, as she was introduced to Queenie through one of her friend. Later, she attended the trials and went on to even captain Maya FC in due course. Aloka along with Queenie started to steer Maya FC’s coaching and their aim was for the working women to come and try out the sport even if they have never tried before.

Also read: Meet the President of this Bengaluru-based NGO sparking sports in the lives of underprivileged kids

After I finished college, there was no platform to play. There was no team to be part of and suddenly everything came to a standstill. That became quite depressing. For me, I love being part of a team. If i’m not part of a team, I feel lazy and I can’t do things better. I have always been bound to a team and after I finished college my health took a complete U-turn, from being fit to gaining so much weight. Later, I got to know about Maya and I asked myself “Why not?”.

Aloka and the team started training for tournaments then, practising almost two to three times a week at Sree Kanteerava Stadium. Sometimes they had to rent out space at Tiento Sports for their practice as well. This became an encouragement for other women to come and join Maya FC.

Being a Basketball player at School level, we asked Aloka why she took up Football later. This is what she had to say:

Football has always been a passion for me. The inspiration came from my brother as he used to be so good at it. He also used to teach me to play. But my dad put me in a Basketball camp so that I might gain height. That’s how Basketball became a part of my life. Every year I attended various state camps for Karnataka. There were some bittersweet experiences during my college days as far as Basketball was concerned. So I met my Physical instructor and asked if I could give Football a try. I walked up to the Football coach and asked for a trial but he insisted me to try Basketball as I was good at it. Later, the Football coach, called me in as he had seen my movement on the Basketball court and suggested I would do good in Football. He put me on the team after my very first trial and never took me out of it.

Women’s Football in India is still at a nascent stage and not many people appreciate the thought of a woman taking up the sport. Agree or not, this is the scenario of Women’s Football in India. Aloka also had one of her experiences to share with us regarding this.

My Dad is a Cricketer and has played for Karnataka as well. Sport runs in our family, so if you ask me about the support at home, I haven’t faced any hardships. But once when I went to a function, an Indian Cricketer, whose named I would not like to mention, came up to me and asked me what I do? I told him I’m in college and I play Football. I was wearing a black dress and I was in Heels. He looked at me and he went, “Oh, that’s not a sport for women to play”. And I had this big argument with him as to how he can make such a remark, Women can do what they wish to do.

Maya FC has always had some special talents. The Goalkeeper of the team, who has never played the sport before that tournament began was awarded the “Goalie of the tournament”. With all the talent and hardwork, Maya FC has been growing stronger than ever in the recent years. This encourages the on-lookers to come out and attend the trials to be part of the team. Maya FC is not only for the young bloods, it is for women of all ages, women who have passion towards the sport and women who don’t wish to give up no matter what. Sangeetha, a 42 year-old defender never lets the guard down when it comes to a fight against Maya FC and the other team.

The energy that she brought in, we couldn’t deny her the spot of playing the defender in our team. This happened just after one month of her training. We have got that kind of potential

recalls Aloka about Sangeetha’s energy and enthusiasm towards playing Football. It was not at all easy for these stars, sometimes they used to push each other into working harder and still don’t miss out on the fun of playing the sport.

Many women are not used to being part of intensive practice sessions. It is sad that women don’t involve in stuffs like these and they should be encouraged. Once a week, we used to have a practice session with our guy friends at Whitefield, to support and encourage us.

says Aloka about Maya FC’s intense practice sessions. Aloka is of the opinion that every women should try their hand out at sport and why? It keeps you tough, healthy, active and what not? Not only the women out there, she also insists that every human should be actively involved and support the “Sport culture”.

Sport brings a great balance to my life. The fact that I’m an entrepreneur today and running my own fashion studio, the balance that I learnt is all because of Sports. It helped me push my mind and body. No matter what job you do, an active lifestyle brings a lot more to the plate. It makes you realise that winning is not everything.

explains Aloka on how sports has changed her life. So everybody has an idol, a role model and a favourite sports star, we believe. That pushed us to quiz Aloka on her favourite team and role model, the reply was:

I don’t really watch Football much but I catch up on the Bengaluru FC games frequently. If you ask me, one of the best players on the local team is John Johnson. Every match his consistency just prevails. I’m not a defender but a striker. Still, his defence just amazes me.

Maya is not just for the women who love Football. It is for every one of you ladies who want to be part of something passionate and big in the society. If you love playing sports and want to be part of a team, then go ahead and contact Maya for Women on maya4women.org, anytime of the day. They would be more than happy to help the budding sportstars of the society. Not only Sports, they also have a WHAQ program supporting the LBT community and Maya Arts, which is an initiative aimed at beautifying Bangalore.

Don’t just wait, get outside and start playing your favourite sport today, just like these ladies did.

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#Aloka D'Souza #football #Maya 4 Women #Maya FC #Maya Outdoors #Queenie #Women's Football

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