Baku Evil Eyes

One activity that Jeremy and I have gotten more into here in Baku is Ultimate Frisbee.  Before I go any further, I will beg the indulgence of Ultimate devotees by stating upfront that I will explain Ultimate very simply and surely use incorrect terminology and commit other faux-pas against your dear sport.  Please forgive me.  I'm not an expert or even a die-hard player, but I do enjoy tossing a disc on the occasional Sunday.

For the uninitiated, Ultimate Frisbee is a real sport.  I think the simplest explanation is that it's like soccer but with a frisbee. If you'd like to know more, you can get a better description from this website or watch a cool video of awesome catches.

Jeremy makes a throw

While Jeremy and I have played Ultimate in both Portland and Nairobi, we've played more here in Baku, especially me. There's a great team here called the Baku Evil Eyes made up of Azeris and expats from all over the world who warmly welcome players of all abilities.

Adyl throws past Jeremy's kung-fu defense

Last summer, I played beach Ultimate for the first time.  I learned a few things from that experience: 

1. My bikini top was not designed to double as a sports bra.  

2. Caspian seaside sand gets really freaking hot in the midday sun.  

3. Azeri beach goers will stroll right through your field with no understanding that they are interrupting game play.  

4. It is possible to stub your toe on sand...multiple times.  I actually did it so badly that I had to take a break from all running activity for many, many weeks afterwards.

Beach Ultimate at the Caspian Sea

Another first for me was playing in an international tournament.  Ok, well, maybe it's a stretch to call it an international tournament.  But the Evil Eyes traveled to Tbilisi, Georgia to play against the team there.  Despite chilly temperatures and a rough playing field, we had a great time and the Evil Eyes won the final game in a very tight match.

Jeremy (center in gray) and Erica (orange on right) run downfield

True to form, I managed to injure myself there too.  During warm-up...yes, warm-up...I missed a catch and got a disc right in the mouth.  At first, I was afraid I might have cracked a tooth.  Luckily, the only damage was a fat lip with a nasty cut on the inside.  It gave me a crazy lopsided grin for a day.  And made it a bit difficult to eat all the khinkali, khachapuri, and wine at our victory feast of Georgian food that night!  But, as you can imagine, I persevered through the meal!

Erica's attractive fat lip

All this talk of Ultimate makes me realize I haven't played in a while.  Who's in for disc on Sunday?

Baku and Tbilisi players at our "international tournament"