Boon Christmas Tournament 2018 Presented by the Boracay Dragons: Not So Little Anymore.
One of the many things that I like about my work is, I always end up where I began this amazing journey...
Beach Ultimate.
As some of you may know, I started shooting Ultimate on sand. And I started posting my photos online after the 2014 Boracay Open, covered the Philippine Ultimate Team in two World Championships of Beach Ultimate in Dubai and in France after that. This year 2018, Sunsoaked Beach Ultimate Tournament was one of the very first tourneys that kicked off my shooting season. I love Beach Ultimate. And ending the year under the rainy afternoon in Boracay shooting the legends of beach ultimate (Boracay Dragons Legends) and the future huckers of the sport all in one playing field was just the perfect way to end the Ultimate year.
After a year of Christmas Tournament Hiatus in Boracay (Karen and Buboy need to do a little Disciplinary Action to these young bucks. I mean, when you are starting to know a lot of things in this world, some folks need to put you in check to remind you that not all things in this universe are nice); Karen, Buboy, the rest of the Boracay Dragons and of course the generous folks from Boon Technical Clothing are back to bring joy to the ultimate community in Boracay this holidays. The Boon Christmas Tournament presented by the Boracay Dragons is a two-day hat tournament for everyone. Anyone can join and enjoy the weekend. Free lunch. Free Boon Tournament jerseys and yes, registration is FREE. All you got to do is show up, play ultimate and have some fun.
But of course, the level of competition was intensely high as expected. This is the island of some of the best beach players in the country. The competition level has to be off the charts.
Seeing them grow through my lenses.
The Boon Christmas Tournament was all about these kids. Boon, Karen, and Buboy created this tourney as the kids’ culminating activity event in 2014. Most of them were 12-13 years old back then. And boy, they all love to go for that layout grab or for that monstrous sky battle and fancy throws. But seeing them grow for the past 3 years, photographing them every year and seeing the improvement through my camera lenses was definitely amazing. No more fancy moves. Fewer layout grabs, more on point passes. For their age, they are doing pretty darn good on sand.
Check out these 2014 and 2018 comparisons:
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Good things happened during the Boracay Closure.
For some reason, the Boracay Closure gave the kids in Boracay a chance to learn more about Ultimate. Thanks to all the legends of the Ultimate community in the island for not giving up on the sport. They kept on developing younger generations of Ultimate players. Three years ago, there were only two playing fields around the white beach when the clock strikes four in the afternoon. This time around, there are three and sometimes four playing fields from Station one, two, and all the way to station 3. Two years ago, there were only about 50 kids playing the game after school hours. During the Boon Christmas Tournament 2018, we saw almost two hundred Boracaynon kids of all ages hucking and grabbing that white plastic disc in the beautiful white sands of the Island. It was one of the coolest and proudest moment that you will ever see with your very own eyes. The Beach Ultimate Legends are doing something right in Boracay. The future of Beach Ultimate in the Philippines is getting better and even brighter every year.
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Congratulations to the Boracay Nex Gen for winning the Men's Division title and to the Lady Pirates for winning the Boon Christmas Tournament Women's Division trophy. But if you ask me, it doesn’t really matter who won. It doesn’t really matter if you have the best highlights or the best plays of the weekend. What matters most is this...
TWO HUNDRED BEACH ULTIMATE PLAYERS. In one little island. That right there is a huge Victory for the Ultimate Community in Boracay. And I hope that it will continue to grow in the coming years.
Congratulations to Karen Cabrera and Buboy Famorcan for not giving up on these kids, for spending a lot of time and resources just to make this tournament possible every December and giving a platform for these kids to showcase what they have learned through the years.
Big Thanks to Aldwin Ibanez of Boon Technical Clothing for the undying love and support from the beginning. The awesome Boon jerseys always make this tournament look good. The kids (and the legends, of course) love them!
“Super Proud kami sa inyo. I hope na ipagpatuloy ninyo ito dahil balang araw kayo na ang susunod, at yung chance to represent yung Pilipinas sa International tournaments ay sobrang iba.” - Xtian Guerrero
Happy Holidays everyone!
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