Kishroniyah: Ultimate Frisbee
Kishroniyah is one of our centerpiece programs for our Tzad Bet (B-Side) chanichim (campers). Kishroniyah comes from the Hebrew word kishron, which means skill. For one week each summer, we invite an array of high-level specialists into camp to run intense special programs for our older campers. Machonand Nivonim have 12 hours of Kishroniyah from Sunday-to-Wednesday, and Magshimim and Bogrim have 8 hours of Kishroniyah from Wednesday-to-Friday.
In our Ultimate Frisbee clinic, chanichim (campers) were able to train and hone their skills in this extremely popular sport!
Ultimate Frisbee was started at Columbia High School in New Jersey in 1968 and is now played in countless schools, colleges and clubs around the country and the world. Even at the highest levels of the game, Ultimate is played without referees, instead relying on the honor of each player to abide by the rules (a concept known as The Spirit of the Game). Because of the free-flowing nature of the sport, Ultimate encourages all players to be involved in the action. Each player has the opportunity to be a thrower, receiver and defender in every game. During our Ultimate Frisbee Kishroniyah, chanichim were instructed in the rules, skills and strategies of the game. Each day included scrimmages where the campers get a chance to practice what they learned.
Rick Atkins has been running our Ultimate Frisbee Kishroniyah group ever since we began the program in 2007! Rick has been playing Ultimate Frisbee since 1979 when he joined the team at the University of Pennsylvania. During his many years in the game, he has participated in numerous World and National championships, winning several titles over the years. His team placed second in the Masters division at the 2006 World Championships in Perth, Australia. He has been a captain in the Philadelphia co-ed summer league since its start in 1985 and has organized many leagues and tournaments in the Philadelphia area. Since its inception in 2005, Rick has been a lead instructor at the Philadelphia Ultimate Camp of Philadelphia, and he runs several youth Ultimate Frisbee camps in the Philadelphia area. In the spring of 2011, Rick started the first middle school Frisbee team in Philadelphia. Rick lives in Wayne, PA with his wife and two children.
Rick’s son Alex Atkins accompanied his did to assist in our Ultimate Frisbee Kishroniyah in the early years of the program. Now Alex has grown up into one of the very best Ultimate Frisbee players in the country, and it’s an honor to have him back as a co-coach for Kishroniyah! Alex was named one of the top seven players of the year by Ultiworld in 2022, and he was the runner-up 2022 D-I Men’s Offensive Player of the Year. Alex was one of five men’s division finalists for USA Ultimate’s Callahan Award. Check out Alex’s awesome Callahan Award video!
The Ultimate Frisbee Clinic has been generously subsidized by the Guitelman family in memory of Josh, z”l.
