Three Spring Tournaments Energize PPI – ME

Below is the web update and photos from 2008's Spring Tournaments:

PeacePlayers International – Middle East’s Twinning Program recently finished up a great month of Spring Tournaments. Throughout the months of April and May, hundreds of Palestinian and Israeli boys and girls from East and West Jerusalem, Abu Ghosh, Beit Shemesh, Jaffa, Holon, Qalansuwa, Bat Hefer and Kfar Yona came together at three separate events in the Tel Aviv area.

The first two events, April 4th for 10-12 year old boys and April 11th for 13-15 year old boys, were held at the beautiful Herzliya Sportec in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv. The third event, May 2nd for 10-14 year old girls, was held at the Tel Aviv Sportec.

The young PeacePlayers came together to enjoy full days of basketball games and additional fun activities, including Juggling, Body Art, Trampoline, “Wacky Baskets”, and a “Hot-Shot” Contest.

Participants played on mixed teams with their Twinning partners. For example, the Arab girls from Qalansuwa played with their Jewish counterparts from Kfar Yona, strengthening the bonds they have developed during the year-round Twinning Program. Each mixed team was co-coached by an Arabic and a Hebrew speaking coach, who jointly led their team through the day’s games and activities. Members of the Leadership Development Program (LDP) helped referee and keep score at the events, in addition to challenging PPI – ME’s Program Directors and excellent Volunteers to a 5-on-5 basketball game. At the closing ceremony of each tournament, the coaches from each team selected a player from their team for the “PeacePlayers Award”. The award went to each team’s player who best demonstrated a combination of sportsmanship, hustle, helpfulness, compassion, and hard work.

The three Spring Tournaments were eagerly looked forward to by PeacePlayers’ Twinned Communities, and each one in its own right was excellent!

The three events were put together and coordinated by new Middle East Program Director Pamela Kelly. Pam’s event coordination prowess impressed everyone and resulted in three exciting tournaments that will leave positive long-lasting memories for the whole PeacePlayers' family.

Originally posted "Three Spring Tournaments Energize PPI – ME" by Brian Sigafoos

Photo slideshow of the Boys' 10-12 Tournament:


Photo slideshow of the Boys' 13-15 Tournament:


Photo slideshow of the Girls' Tournament: