After the latest padel buzz, there’s another sport on the block and it’s here to stay! Ultimate frisbee is a passion of Lujain Al Mulla, who started playing the sport at the beginning of 2018 and she hasn’t looked back since! She is the captain of a team she co-founded called Pampered Cats, a team which has participated in several regional tournaments and has won a couple of titles, most recently the Middle East North Africa Championships.

31-year-old cat mom (and aspiring cat lady), Lujain, led the team to victory at the championship, which was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this year. The competition hosted 16 teams from across the Arab countries. The Pampered Cats played exceptionally well and won the tournament, which was a first for any Kuwaiti team! Other than captaining the team, playing ultimate frisbee, and coaching beginners in the sport, Lujain is also an English instructor at a private university here in Kuwait.

Lujain tells us that “although I teach English full time, lately, it seems ultimate frisbee has turned into my full time commitment. I spend almost as many hours on the field as I do in the classroom. I’ve also been involved in animal rescue for some years, which has become increasingly difficult to juggle with training and teaching, but I do what I can.”

Ultimate frisbee has become a primary focus of Lujain’s. She shares that “what I enjoy most about this sport is that it truly becomes a lifestyle. Ultimate frisbee informs how I spend my days—the kind of energy and people I surround myself with—and it has shifted my perspective on my roles in life and what I can achieve. On the field, though, what I enjoy most about the sport is its pace and the rush of throwing a smooth scoring huck or blocking a disc on defense.”

Lujain’s team, Pampered Cats, was officially established in early 2021 and has 27 members. You may ask, how difficult is it to learn the sport? Well, we are told that picking up and playing the sport is easy for anyone willing to practice their throws, learn the rules of the game, and just play! There are people on the team that have never been part of a team sport before. The weekly community training is beginner-friendly, and the coach, Chris Varon, starts with the basics of the sport. So, there really is no excuse to not sign up for training!

As captain, Lujain’s main responsibilities include team retention, enforcing training hours, tracking member attendance, address tensions and mishaps, making budget decisions, overseeing delegated tasks, and handling the logistics of tournaments, She is exceptionally adept at undertaking these duties because of her career as an educator; it has groomed her to be more confident in her role as captain. She shares: “What I enjoy most about being captain, though, is knowing my team has my back and that they trust me—seeing people commit to training and give their all on the field for our chosen common interest and, eventually, reaping the results of the tougher tasks with measurable results and growth. Ultimately, I enjoy sharing the love I have for this sport with my community.”

The team is still on a victory high, having won the regional championship in Saudi Arabia. Lujain comments on the competition that “Winning this time around was a dream—one that was made possible with the reinforcing efforts and confidence of some players from around the region who chose to join our ranks and realize this achievement. To compete at this high level is always invigorating and leaves you wanting to train harder and come back for more! I look forward to continuing to compete and grow as a player and person.”

Lujain hopes that more people will learn about the sport and give it a try. She believes that the sport has the potential to transform and rework the sports scene here. Ultimate frisbee is more a sport for the masses, and all you need is a disc and some friends, and there’s plenty of opportunity to train for free. Ultimate frisbee is a sport that instills noble values in young people; it enforces the application of fair play and the upholding of high spirit and good sportsmanship—values that can elevate any school’s P.E. curriculum. It is accessible to people of all ages and genders, with its emphasis on safe play—this means families can play this sport together at gatherings and in parks. Besides this, the sport also opens the door to feasible opportunities to play at high-level tournaments abroad and represent Kuwait doing so.

Other than all that she does already, Lujain is super passionate about animal welfare and tries to dedicate some time to that during the week, as well as cooking up a storm in the kitchen, and exploring the world!

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL

What do you most value about your friends?
Their loyalty and the security I feel around them.

Which living person do you most admire?
It’s difficult to choose one. I admire different people for their contribution/expertise in different fields. Out of the people I personally know, I admire our team coach, Chris Varon. I admire his ethics, passion, and skill in the sport.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being with the people I love, doing the activities I love. Also, cuddling with cats.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Does my master’s degree count? That cost me an arm and a leg.

What is your most treasured possession?
I’m not attached to objects, but if I had to choose—a symbolic necklace I wear around my neck.

What is your greatest fear?
Losing people/pets I love.

What is your most marked characteristic?
I like to think I’m a good teacher and have a way of influencing others when I am passionate about what I teach (whether it be through my career or my other interests).

Which talent would you most like to have?
I practiced oud for some time and then left it on the back burner; I’d like to pick that up again.

What is one trait you have that you are most grateful for?
My love for animals.

What is the human trait you most dislike about others?
Disloyalty.

What is it that you most dislike?
Animal cruelty makes my blood boil.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“GUYS, STOP THROWING DURING WATER BREAK!”

What are your favorite words to live by?
“Only give as much emotional energy to a person that equals the amount of respect that you have for them”. I still struggle to do this consciously but try to remind myself of this when I’m most affected by others. And I’m also quite affected by the idea that, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

Where would you most like to live?
Anywhere I can feel fulfilled at. This could be in Kuwait or anywhere in the world where I feel secure in my social and career life.

If you could have any job, what would it be?
I love teaching English, but who wouldn’t prefer being an astronaut over their current job.

What would you consider your greatest achievement?
I wouldn’t call any of my achievements great, but the day my master’s thesis was approved was a life highlight for sure.

What do you hope for the future?
A peaceful life with lots of love, cats and frisbee.

Currently, Pampered Cats holds a community training or “catch-and-throw” at the beach currently for free. Stay up to date with the latest activities and achievements of the the team by following them on Instagram @pampered.cats, and you can also get in touch to play the sport for a free weekly beginner training.