Frisbee Tournament in Mombasa Day 3

We weren't playing in the first game of the day, so we took plenty of time to warm up and decided that we would start our next game with representatives from five different countries on the line. At this point, our main ambition was to win the spirit award, so we were just going out there to have a great time. So as we lined up against Peace Corps, we had Mic (Tanzania), Karina (Netherlands), Rose (UK), Angela (Canada) and Simeon (USA) out there.

I was psyched for the game, since I knew most of the players on the team. We went into the half trailing 6-4, and to start the second half, we put 5 girls on the line. They reminded us that we only needed one on the field to match them. We replied with a friendly smile that we would try not to embarrass them. We kept the girls out there for two points and they scored one and yielded one, before we subbed some fresh players in (and provided a bit more of a gender balance). We lost the game 11-7, but we all had big grins on our face.

After that, they took the results from the 6 games that everyone had played and seeded the teams for a single elimination bracket. We were the 8th seed, so we were playing the 1st seed. As it turns out, that meant the Ugandan team that we had played once the previous day. We were a little tired following our game with Peace Corps, but we lined up against Uganda with five girls on the team. We had to assure this team as well that we were confident in our strategy and that this was a perfectly sane strategy.

We stayed with them all the way to the half, with the score seesawing back and forth reaching 6-5 their lead going into the break. Several of the spectators as well as the other team seemed to be wondering if we were really the 8th seed. Unfortunately, for the second half, they seemed to draw on infinite reserves of energy, and we couldn't keep up. They pulled away and won 11-6, eliminating us from the tournament. They joined us on the field as we made a pyramid and congratulated us on some really solid play before we took a bunch of pictures together.

We ate a big lunch and reflected on our stats for the tournament. We finished 0-7, but we had also played five of our games against the top 3 seeds (Uganda, Mwanza and Uganda) and we played each of the two teams in the final twice. There was another team that finished 0-7 and we never got to play them, and they were only seeded ahead of us since they scored more points. We talked about scheduling a friendly match, but we were all a bit tired, so we just shook hands.

We swam in the pool and enjoyed the perfect coastal weather. Unfortunately, I forgot to put sunscreen on my legs (they almost never burn) and in my 20 minute swim, I picked up a pretty nasty sunburn. I spent most of the rest of the day hiding in the shade. We did go to watch the final match (Uganda vs. Uganda) and we were happy that the team that we found more sportsmanlike ultimately prevailed. After that, there were a few more random Frisbee related activities.

Jodie, Mic, Shannon and Karina all left early, so we said good-bye to them. We grabbed dinner at Twiga, where they further disappointed us by charging us 200 shillings for an avocado salad (three of us ordered it) that was listed on the menu for 150. They assured us that the menu was wrong and that we should have asked them the price beforehand. This seems like a good place to reiterate my comment that the service at Twiga Lodge was really disappointing and I hope that people traveling to the coast find more pleasant accommodations for their stay.

At night, there was a big party where they awarded prizes, and we were really excited to receive the spirit award (combined with a frisbee and a carved keychain for each of our players). We were really thrilled and everyone seemed really happy for us. There were some games at the party, but I mostly found quiet places to talk to some of my friends from Peace Corps about how their projects were going. Then I started hanging out with the remainder of my team at the party and we didn't crash until after 1.