Road to the Games is a series of articles profiling Ismaili athletes from countries around the world, and the journeys they have undertaken to reach the Golden Jubilee Games. The series is being published in the run-up to the Games, which will take place between 23 – 29 June in Nairobi, Kenya.
Aalia Chatur participated in the Canadian Ismaili Games in May 2008. She chronicles the Canadian journey to the Golden Jubilee Games in three instalments, the first of which is presented below. (Read part two and part three.)
The buzz in the Canadian Jamat in the late spring of 2007 was that the global Ismaili community would be holding an international sports tournament to celebrate Mawlana Hazar Imam's Golden Jubilee. By summer, the rumour had materialised into an exciting reality!
The Golden Jubilee Games – an Olympic-style international sports festival – will bring together some 1 200 Ismaili athletes from over 20 countries around the world. Representing their home Jamats, participants will travel to Nairobi, Kenya in a quest to “bring home the gold.”
A rigorous journey
Prairies participants show their pride. Asif Bhalesha / Michelle Penny
However, the journey to Nairobi is rigorous. Before athletes can qualify to represent the Canadian Jamat, they must make it through try-outs, regional competitions and a national tournament. In May 2008, regional teams from British Columbia, Edmonton, Ontario, Ottawa, the Prairies, and Quebec competed in the Canadian Ismaili Games (CIG) for national recognition. Based on their performance, top athletes from each region were selected to represent the Jamat as Team Canada in Nairobi.
Many see the Golden Jubilee Games as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for creating long-lasting friendships and strengthening unity in the global Jamat. Bringing together Ismailis from diverse national, social and cultural backgrounds, the Games are a felicitous expression of the Jamat's identity – what Mawlana Hazar Imam has described as a “frontierless brotherhood.”
Achieving results
The Men's Volleyball tournament heats up. Ontario eventually took the gold medal. Aziz Ladha
Every year since the 2005 resurgence of Sportsfest West, a regional Ismaili sports tournament in Western Canada, I have had the incredible opportunity to represent Vancouver women in both floor hockey and soccer. While physical results are the most obvious achievement of participating in sports, there are myriad other benefits.
Being a part of the Vancouver team fostered skills development and augmented my sense of belonging in the community. It also reinforced the values of team work, integrity and perseverance. Most significantly, it laid a foundation for many new friendships and mentors.
The journey to the Golden Jubilee Games is mirroring and magnifying these benefits. At age 22, Reshma Lalany had never played sports within the Ismaili community until the Canadian Ismaili Games. She went on to earn her place as a shooting guard in the starting line-up of the British Columbia Women's Basketball Team.
An intense moment during the Women's Basketball tournament. Riyaz Lalani
“I think I'm going to try out for the BC basketball team” Lalany said when encouraging me to try out for the same sport, in which I had minimal previous experience. “I haven't played since high school but the Golden Jubilee Games is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I love being part of a team.”
That got me thinking: imagine – for the first time, exceptional Ismaili athletes from across Canada will come together as a team to compete in a global arena. They will be joined by Ismaili athletes from other countries, whose cultures and languages may be different, but who bring their own national pride, share a similar passion for sport, and are united by the same faith.
What can compete with that? Sign me up!
