When a fashionista takes a chance on WAKA.

As I waited at the designated gate at Hyde Park corner on a chilly Thursday evening, I found myself wondering what I was letting myself in for. My introduction to WAKA Kickball all began when an American friend of mine (who shall remain nameless) recommended that I join the London WAKA kick ball team. Her reason being; “it is all the rage over here in America”.

So having no clue about the game (although she did try to explain it), I found myself standing alone at 6.15pm during rush hour and wondering how I was going to spot my new team mates. I really did not relish the idea of approaching random strangers and whispering “are you part of WAKA?”

As the clock struck 6.30pm, I decided that I had reached the end of my patience (yes 15 minutes is just about my limit). So I made the decision to head on home and catch up on the episodes I missed of my guilty pleasure Gossip Girl. It was as I turned on my heel that I noticed a small gathering of people dressed in shorts and t-shirts. Why had I not spotted them before? Could this be them? I decided then and there that if I even heard a whisper of an American accent coming from their direction that I would put my fear of approaching strangers aside and walk right up to them. So straining my ears I tried to listen to their chit chat whilst trying to not raise too much suspicion. It was then that I spotted a girl walking towards the group holding a rather large and unusual ball. I called out “Lauren” ( that’s the name of the girl who organises the London team) and she turned round and answered “yes” with an American accent- I gave a sigh of relief because it was in that brief moment that I realised that the American accent has never sounded so sweet- the wait was finally over!

As we all walked over to the grass area to try and locate a nice patch to play on, I took a good look at the members of the WAKA kickball London team. At first glance one could see that the team was made up of individuals from all different walks of life with different reasons for being there. There was the British Barrister, the Irish jock, the friendly Austrian, the fun filled Australian, and the happy go lucky Americans and me- the London fashion girl whose entire aura just screamed “will this game ruin my fresh manicure”

Once a patch of grass was found we split into two teams of 5 aside and then it was time to play ball! Being a total newbie, my lack of skills certainly showed as I kept missing the ball. To be quite honest I was scared it would hurt luckily I had patient team mates who whopped and yelled encouragement whenever I attempted to catch a ball. Luckily for me, I was not alone in my bad ball catching ways, there was one team mate- who shall remain nameless- who actually managed to make catching the ball a comical event by always running towards it with arms opened so wide that it made catching the ball an impossible task.

As the game progressed and the clock ticked on, I found myself huffing and puffing painfully. I had never realised I was so unfit. I was constantly thinking of giving up and throwing myself onto the mercy of the grass that was worsening my allergies by the minute. But like a trooper I soldiered because if the truth be known I had caught the WAKA bug. I was enjoying the company of my new team mates as we laughed over some quite bad playing and screamed with excitement when someone made an inning. Once the game was over we forgot our pains, tears and aches as we headed to the pub for the promised glass of Chianti for me, and some cool pints of beer for the rest of my team mates- a worthy reward.

Lastly, as a Brit I can admit that I was quite cynical, unsure and rather proper about the whole WAKA game. Now I have had the WAKA experience all I can say is “Bravo”. It is indeed a great game that magically manages to create a great vibe among strangers and turn them into friends. So will I be returning to play? Definitely! I have unofficially dubbed the London team the Breakfast Club of WAKA. It is definitely a team I consider myself to be part of, meaning that the tale about the London WAKA kickball team is without doubt to be continued...

from the rather aching,

Champagnista M