The venue: Playa Pocitos. The date: December 4. The time: 7pm. The event: The World Flip-Flop Tennis Championships. The winner: Zenchai Abrams.
How did he win? Who did he beat? It was an all-family affair. He defeated his father (me). The rules? Don't ask me. But it seemed the idea (Zenchai invented the game and name and I huffed in anticipation, as so many of his 'created' games have in the past had no style or substance) was to replicate tennis using flip-flops instead of a ball and dispense with rackets.
As a net, we used a row of palms growing in the sand. Zenchai tossed over his f-fs and I threw them back. He chased them down, did a few spins in the sand, carried them back and served again. I served back.
He got more exercise than I did. But I got plenty of laughs, played with a smile on my face and felt the warm glow of the sun going down behind me. As I keep reminding Zenchai, I don't mind if I win or lose so long as I have fun. That I did.
After a day of moving accommodation (again) and Zenchai being indoors for long periods, this was a great end and he got some much-needed exercise, particularly as it's harder to run in sand.
I thought he'd be wiped out after 25 minutes of dashing and lunging around. But it wasn't the end. This was turning into the Olympics.
He grabbed his f-fs and my sandals and then started planting them strategically in the sand.
What was he up to now? He had created a row of what looked like shoes and then began running and jumping over them. What was going on? Any guesses? This is hurdling - beach-style, Zenchai-style!
When I arrived on the beach without our ball, I thought we'd maybe struggle for some inspiration. But Zenchai, thankfully, keeps surprising me.
We came off the beach and dusted the sand from our feet and bodies. An old Uruguayan couple, looking happily in love and sitting by the main road running along the waterfront, smiled broadly at Zenchai and said something.
Zenchai asked me what. I didn't know, but (making it up) told him, "perhaps they'd just seen you in the World Flip-Flop Tennis Championships."
The couple looked back and laughed, as though they'd understood me and agreed.
*Footnote: The next championships, in four years' time, will apparently be held in Qatar!
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