GOALS FOR GAZA: Olympia Ramadan Fundraising Tournament & Community Iftar Meal

Join RCF for GOALS FOR GAZA: Olympia Ramadan Soccer Tournament Fundraiser & Community Iftar Meal!

For 11 years the Rachel Corrie Foundation has proudly supported the Rachel Corrie Ramadan Football (Soccer) Tournament in Gaza. This program has grown from a small tournament to the all-encompassing Rachel Corrie Gaza Sport Initiative, which includes a Young Men’s and Juniors tournament during Ramadan, and a Tournament for Athletes with Disabilities in the winter.

To celebrate the success and growth of this initiative, ensure its financial sustainability, and connect the Olympia and South Sound community with our friends in Gaza and our local Muslim community, we are excited to host GOALS FOR GAZA: Olympia Ramadan Soccer Tournament Fundraiser and Community Iftar Meal!

Our objectives are simple!

Fundraise! The Gaza Sport Initiative has an approximate budget of $26,000 for 2018. Our goal is to raise at least $5,000 through team and player registrations, generous donations, food and t-shirt sales, and community support.

Educate! The situation in Gaza is more dire than ever before, and Gazans have called on the international community to do their part in ending the occupation. We feel that it is our responsibility in the United States to educate our communities about how U.S. foreign policy and support for the Israeli government directly contributes to continuing the occupation. We’ll share more information about the current situation on the ground in Gaza, and how efforts like the Gaza Sport Initiative positively engage Palestinians.

Relationship Building! Like the Gaza Sport Initiative, which focuses heavily on community building and strengthening bonds, we want to extend the opportunity for community members to meet and build relationships with their Muslim neighbors through a community Iftar meal at our local mosque. An Iftar meal is the evening meal that breaks the fast for the day during the holy month of Ramadan.

RSVP VIA OUR TICKETING PAGE!
We encourage individuals to take part in the tournament and the meal, but participation is up to you! RCF kindly requests attendees to RSVP to the best of their abilities. These community events require planning, staff time, and funding to organize, so the more accurate attendance numbers we have, the better the events will be!

Olympia Tournament Overview
This is a round-robin style tournament, with four rounds and a championship finale game (teams determined by points scored). Games will be 30 minutes (15 minute halves) with a 15-minute break between games. Awards will be given to 1st, 2nd, 3rd place teams. The tournament will be played at the RAC Sports Complex in Lacey on Fields #1 & #2. We strongly encourage spectators to bring blankets or folding chairs to view the tournament in comfort! PLEASE NOTE THAT THE LOCATION HAS CHANGED FROM THE ORIGINAL LOCATION OF CHINOOK MIDDLE SCHOOL.

Tournament admission is FREE to the public, with a suggested donation of $5. Please RSVP so we have an idea of the crowd size to expect!

Want to Play?

Registration: Players may register as a team or individually. Teams may be 7-10 individuals, with at least two women on the roster. Individual players will be assigned to teams with space available. All players must be 18+.

Fees: Team registration is $250, individual registration is $40, which may be paid via the ticketing page or through the RCF office (cash, check, and credit card accepted). All registration fees must be paid in full prior to the beginning of the tournament in order to participate.The registration and fee deadline is Thursday, June 7th, 2018.

Forms: In addition to payment, we require registration forms and signed medical waivers for players. All forms must be completed and turned in for players to participate.

A volunteer first-aid responder will be on site with a first-aid kit and the ability to assist in the event of an injury. Water will be available for all players.

Community Iftar Meal

The Community Iftar Meal is FREE to the public, with a suggested donation of $10. Please RSVP so we have an idea of the number of guests to expect!

ALL FUNDS RAISED FROM THESE EVENTS WILL COVER THE COSTS OF THE EVENTS AND SUPPORT THE GAZA SPORT INITIATIVE

Learn More About the Gaza Sport Initiative

The Gaza Sport Initiative transcends factional identities, age, gender, and physical abilities to unite Palestinians together through sports for enjoyment, play, normality, and community building. This grassroots initiative helps heal communities, strengthens bonds, and promotes nonviolence as a response to an ongoing military occupation, siege, and blockade.

The objectives are to provide a safe place for sports enthusiasts and athletes to gather and participate in athletic events, encourage peaceful grassroots organizing, affirm the place of the disabled in Gaza society, and provide an opportunity for female athletes to participate in a public forum.

The enduring military occupation of Palestine is the primary issue addressed by the initiative. Individuals affected by ongoing siege and its associated trauma find positive role models and examples of community members addressing their immediate situation – working together, creating healthy outlets to dispel stress, and peaceful community relationship building. The initiative also reaffirms the place and value of the disabled and women participating in public forums.

“The Rachel Corrie Ramadan Football Tournament is a celebration of the spirit of the Palestinian community in Gaza. It is an opportunity for people to get together, for fleeting moments to look passed the scars of war, the ongoing struggle under siege, and the anxiety of the pain that is yet to come, and seek unity, togetherness and the love for sports. Gazans are resilient people. Their struggle is deep-rooted and recurring. But they always find a way to prevail, and somehow to survive.

The Ramadan tournament, which carries the name of Rachel Corrie, whose memory is cherished by all Palestinians, is one platform that helps Gazans articulate, yet once more, their insistence on their love for life, and hope for the future, despite every attempt at denying them life, and depriving them of hope. It is a project that I fully support and endorse. It is pure in its intentions, and noble in its message. Please support the tournament, this year and every year.”
– Dr. Ramzy Baroud, Palestinian-US author, editor and journalist.