evangelism
Wednesday and Thursday we had our yearly, oft-delayed Intramurals Meet at school. Somewhere between the Olympics, West Side Story, and my elementary school field day, Intramurals packs a large number of sporting events (and some dancing) into a day and a half, and serves as the major athletic event of the year. There are some regional events but those are much less of a hubbub.
I've been trying to establish an Ultimate team at my school since about last December, and it's been a far longer and slower process than I imagined. I've had plenty of kids who stop by where I stand, on the oval by the tree near the gym, and toss around with their friends. But only a few come regularly, and rarely in sufficient numbers to play the game. I've tried posters and announcements but nothing seemed to even dent the general awareness of the student body, let alone foster interest.
After last years Intrams I knew it could be a good platform to introduce the game, so I made a lot of trips to the equivalent of the athletic department to try and organize something to show the kids and faculty. I also tried to organize the small group of kids that had actually gotten to the point where they set up a field and had teams. Last tuesday, after I missed an opportunity to have a demo game because the kids (which I had talked to two school days before about playing) had all gone home, I had pretty much given up.
But intrams were postponed once again, so I got one more opportunity to show the world the glory of Ultimate. Amazingly, it went without a hitch. I had enough kids to play 7 on 7, we used some nice pink plastic footstools (or squatting stools as they are used here) as cones, and we had a nice slot in the closing ceremonies right after the new dance troupe performed at intermission. I impressed everyone with my language skills during my short explanation of the game, the gym teachers ate it up, and my supervisor even looked happy afterward.
Great!
I've been trying to establish an Ultimate team at my school since about last December, and it's been a far longer and slower process than I imagined. I've had plenty of kids who stop by where I stand, on the oval by the tree near the gym, and toss around with their friends. But only a few come regularly, and rarely in sufficient numbers to play the game. I've tried posters and announcements but nothing seemed to even dent the general awareness of the student body, let alone foster interest.
After last years Intrams I knew it could be a good platform to introduce the game, so I made a lot of trips to the equivalent of the athletic department to try and organize something to show the kids and faculty. I also tried to organize the small group of kids that had actually gotten to the point where they set up a field and had teams. Last tuesday, after I missed an opportunity to have a demo game because the kids (which I had talked to two school days before about playing) had all gone home, I had pretty much given up.
But intrams were postponed once again, so I got one more opportunity to show the world the glory of Ultimate. Amazingly, it went without a hitch. I had enough kids to play 7 on 7, we used some nice pink plastic footstools (or squatting stools as they are used here) as cones, and we had a nice slot in the closing ceremonies right after the new dance troupe performed at intermission. I impressed everyone with my language skills during my short explanation of the game, the gym teachers ate it up, and my supervisor even looked happy afterward.
Great!
posted by ben at 12:03 AM
3 comments
