Eagles Show Determination & Sportsmanship on International Stage

Congratulations to our ICS Eagles, who returned from countries throughout Southern and Eastern Africa on Sunday, after days of competing in basketball, rugby, and swimming.

Our student-athletes demonstrated immense amounts of teamwork, sportsmanship, and perseverance at the season 2 ISSEA Tournaments, which bring together athletes from eight international schools in our region. The ISSEA trips are the pinnacle of the competitive sports season for our high school athletes, and they are also an opportunity to foster connections and community building across a diverse range of student populations.

“One of the most exceptional parts of the ICS Addis experience for our high school students is getting the chance to travel around the African continent and participate in athletics tournaments, arts festivals, and academic challenges with their international school peers from around the globe,” Athletics and Activities Director John Kim said. “Our teams are continuously recognized by other schools, coaches, and communities for their teamwork, sportsmanship, and commitment. This group of Season 2 athletes carries on that tradition, and we are so proud of them.”

Our student-athletes and coaches performed exceptionally across the three season two sports. Click to see photos of our season 2 teams.

In rugby, both our boys’ and girls’ teams finished in fourth place. An evolving program at ICS, our rugby team grew immensely in the last year and surprised many at the tournament by proving to be tough competition for the conference’s most experience teams, including the defending champions. The boys were fingertips away from winning their final match against the host International School of Uganda Leopards, while the girls showed grit to place fourth in their final match against the defending champions, American International School of Johannesburg. Four ICS Eagles were named to the ISSEA All Tournament Team, including Eric Fackel, Charles Grant, Ella Powell, and Antonina Talbot.

In basketball, our teams traveled to the International School of Tanganyika in Tanzania for long days of basketball in a crowded and competitive field of teams. A season of hard work paid off, as the boys demonstrated grit and determination to finish first in their pool. They went on to edge out a third place finish in the tournament, winning by one point, and earning a plaque to bring home to ICS and hang on campus. The ICS girls team’s tournament was characterized by hard work and development, laying the foundation for a young team with high hopes and aspirations for the future. The ISSEA All Tournament Team honors went to Mete Kobanbay, Ammar Amerellah, Michelle Ferraro, and Abegel Mataku.

In swimming, our team traveled to Johannesburg and, like the girls basketball team, was the youngest in the competition. Five of the 10 ICS swimmers represented our Middle School, which shows a lot of promise for the years to come, especially with the completion of our on-campus aquatics center scheduled for next year. Isabella Hedstrom, Laura Tello Foster, and Addison Cowherd all qualified and swam well in their finals.

Season 3 ISSEA sports begin this week. ICS Addis will host the conference’s biggest and most popular tournament, ISSEA Soccer, from 11-14 April. We hope to see our community there to cheer on our Eagles! A live stream video broadcast, social media posts, and photos and video will be available from the tournament to Eagles fans around the globe. Go Eagles!