Spring Jam participants gather after the Spring Jam Tournament in anticipation of the awards ceremony.
This blog post is written by PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland (PPI-NI) Fellow Megan Lynch. She reflects on PPI-NI’s annual Spring Jam Tournament, which was held on Saturday, June 1, 2013.
After months of preparation, more than 80 PPI-NI participants boarded buses around Belfast on Saturday to compete in an afternoon of basketball matches at PPI-NI’s Spring Jam Tournament. Coaches and players alike were eager to show off their newfound skills and teamwork, and have the chance to win a PeacePlayers medal. This year, all Spring Jam participants had all taken part in our Junior Belfast Interface League (Junior BIL) in their area of the city (North, South, East and West) prior to tournament day.
While having a citywide tournament may not seem like a big deal in some contexts, in Northern Ireland it is evidence of moving forward. As a legacy of conflict, sectarianism, and segregation continues to exist, many children we work with grow up in neighborhoods separated either by a Peace Wall, painted curbs, or any number of flags, all of which symbolize political sentiments, group membership, and community pride. Part of our goal for this year’s Spring Jam was to reclaim those areas by bringing children together from all communities to form one united team of kids from the entire city.
On the day of the tournament, visitors from the Global Peace Foundation (Tom and Phyllis Etzel and Michael Faghy) shared with me their astonishment that you couldn’t tell which community background the participants were from; they instead saw an array of bright team colors blending together across the hall. This was an expression of how well the kids worked together and supported each other throughout the day.
Coaches, referees, and coordinators noted the players’ improved basketball skills, which has been a priority for us. In addition to the skill development that took place during Junior BIL, participants learned more about the Arbinger curriculum for working through conflict, as well as strategies for becoming better teammates and friends.
The South-Belfast-girls’ team placed second in PPI-NI’s 2013 Spring Jam Tournament.
As the coordinator for the South Belfast program, I was fortunate to work with students from St. Luke’s Primary School and Belvoir Park Primary School. Our team had a great time getting to know each other and especially enjoyed a new team building game introduced by one of our new staff members, Aurora Sandell.
The kids were beyond ecstatic to finally get to play “proper matches” after weeks of practice, Arbinger games, and other activities. At multiple points throughout the day, I saw players hugging and congratulating their teammates after a good play, high fiving each other, and displaying overall good sportsmanship.
The tournament was divided into two leagues; one for the girls and one for the boys. The North Belfast girls made their way to the top of the standings early on and eventually became the gold medalists for the girls’ division. As newcomers to PeacePlayers’ programming, South Belfast girls were pleased with their second place finish and were all smiles with their medals. For the boys, South Belfast came out victorious, placing first, while second place was awarded to North Belfast. East and West will have to step up their games next year!
From left to right: Trevor Ringland, Amy Murphy, Donal Hagerty, James Hughes, and Gareth Harper.
Each year, PeacePlayers also recognizes participants for the Hustle and Spirit Award. This year, we were pleased to have Bill Fenlon, DePauw University Head Men’s Basketball Coach, at the Tournament to select and present the Hustle Award to Keelan McMaster and Rachel Paterson. Tom Etzel was on hand to give out our Spirit Award to Emma Brown and Jack Davison.
We also gave out the first annual Paddy and Ethne Fitzpatrick Champion4Peace Award to Donal Hagerty, a player who has exemplified the values of PeacePlayers. Amy Murphy and James Hughes were also honored as Coach-in-Training and Coach-of-the-Year, respectively.
We are grateful to Comic Relief for their continued support of our programs and to former professional rugby player Trevor Ringland, now PPI-NI’s board chairperson. Lastly, we’d like to extend a big thank you to the huge bank of friends, family members, and volunteers who came out to support our teams this year! Your continued support is what makes tournaments like this possible and gives us the ability to continue to bridge divides in Belfast.
