Blog-Basketball Tournament-Beyond the game
(Campeonato de Basquét-Mas allá del juego)
Part 1
During the last month or so, we have been planning a basketball tournament for schools in the south zone of the city. We wanted to have a tournament to allow the kids who have been participating with the basketball school a chance to play against other kids their age, as well as, invite others into an experience of the basketball school being something ¨beyond the game.¨ The idea behind this basketball school, or program, is to not only learn a sport or sports, but to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Each practice, we take time to do a team building activity, watch a short video about a theme with a discussion afterward, or some other activity or reflexion to help stimulate personal growth. We have also emphasized putting that personal growth into practice in our lives socially, by doing community service work, as well as in the way we interact with those around us in our day to day lives. So one of the many challenges was...how do we create this type of atmosphere and combine it with a basketball tournament?
With some discussion on how we could promote this feeling and experience of ¨beyond the game¨ we came up with a very unique program that would combine the aspects that we felt most important to try and convey with the participating schools. Our plan was to have two ¨tournaments¨ taking place at the same time, one being strictly basketball, and the other being a combination of participating in workshops, cheering for other teams, as well as the basketball games themself. This was the championship of the best overall ¨team¨ and the one which we were promoting the most. We set up a system where teams were awarded points based on winning or losing a game (10 or 5 points respectively) attending a workshop, somewhere between 1-10 points depending on their participation and other criteria decided by the facilitatores of these workshops, as well as between 1-10 points for encouraging another team during their game (cheering).
Each team was responsible for bringing a score sheet with them wherever they went. They were not allowed to participate in anything without being responsible to present their team sheet before any activity. This made for a very fun and dynamic two days. Teams were constantly playing in a game, cheering for another team, or participation in a workshop. Something which for me made this day special, was the fact that everything was done by volunteers. The tournament itself was also voluntary for the players.
Although this may sound relatively normal from the perspective in the United States, it is a completely different reality and culture here. For example, some of the challenges include kids who usually have to work on Saturday to make money for their family, were allowed to participate. (at least the majority of them) Another challenge is getting adults/young adults to volunteer their time when they are usually doing something to better the situation of their family. (an example of a starting salary for a teacher is about 200 dollars a month) In Bolivia, there is a very strong cultural pressure of obligation. Yes, this means that most of the protests and marches take place because people pay a good fine if they don´t show up. This can be said for school meetings, clean-ups, hunger strikes, and more. It is a sad reality and one that makes any event or activity that we attempt to do very challenging because it is always purely voluntary.
I am pointing out or being critical of a negative aspect of the culture here, but there are many things about the culture that I do enjoy. I have experienced such generousness from so many people. Hospitality is something that is very ingrained in culture. I would also say that there is much more time for people and relationships. Families still largely live together or close by, and its not uncommon to spend hours just hanging out. (frequently:) From my experience, there is a strong emphasis on the community rather than the individual and this makes life more connected. Anyways, I wanted to point out some of the positives but also honestly speak out about a negative side of culture here. The culture of obligation gets my blood boiling!
Its important to realize that within every culture there are positives and negatives. But without thought and reflection we can be swept away by the negative aspects of our culture without much thought of another way to live. My tangeant was only to point out that it is pretty special that we were able to put this tournament together with between 25-30 volunteers between the two days as well as giving all the players the freedom to choose their priorities which is something I think is hugely important...So when it came time Friday to start the event, we really had no idea how it would turn out. We put in the groundwork for a special tournament and now it was time to wait and see what would happen...
