Community Sport

I played sport as a kid just like most people did, but gave it up when I went to uni where I picked up Go. I was never a natural at sport - really sucking for the first few years and only being mediocre after I got a bit of experience.

A few years ago I was hunting around for something to do that would keep me physically fit and happened on community sport. I knew adults played sport because I’d played a bunch of adult teams as a kid, but I’d assumed it was super-competitive and only for people trying to get into the national team or similar.

Instead what I found was a wide bunch of people just looking to have fun running around and trying to play well. I picked up Ultimate Frisbee, a sport particularly known for its inclusiveness (e.g. no referees even for international games).

I’ve been amazed at how much I’ve got out of it. A huge and eclectic bunch of friends, a far easier way to maintain my fitness than any exercise programme, and a new bunch of skills to develop like snap decision making and proactive communication that have been surprisingly useful in other areas of my life.