Soon after Portola High student Bayan Shinaishin helped her varsity lacrosse team defeat Laguna Hills on March 27, she texted the family group chat: “SO HUNGRY.”
The sophomore played the game while observing the Ramadan fast and wanted shawarma for dinner.
“I had a really good game. I was only thinking about food the entire time. I guess that was my motivation,” Shinaishin said. “My position is defense. I’m in charge of making sure that nobody gets the ball and nobody scores so I feel like I did my job really well that day.”
This year, the Muslim holy month Ramadan, which is dependent on the lunar cycle, falls during the school year, leading students to navigate academics with the almost 14-hour fast. Ramadan started on Thursday, March 23, and is expected to last 30 days.
And student-athletes like Shinaishin abstain from food and drink, even water, while also playing a sport.
“It’s definitely a challenge, especially when you’re running up and down the field,” Shinaishin said. “I come out sometimes when it’s hard to breathe because I’m really thirsty. Other than that, I kind of pace myself.”
Her coach and teammates, she said, have been “super supportive” with some even offering not to eat around her.
Raya Abu-Tarif, a sophomore on the track and field team at Northwood High School in Irvine found a different type of support: her three Muslim teammates who also fast. The fast is easier, she said, because they are doing it with her.
“Religion is No. 1, it’s the top priority. So obviously that would come before the sport,” Abu-Tarif said on why she fasts while being an athlete. “I also still love the sport which is why I keep doing it.”
On the first day of Ramadan, Abu-Tarif — who competes in 100m, 200m, long jump and triple jump — had just completed the 200m race when it was time to break her fast. While she didn’t win, she set a personal best time in the race, she said.
For both Shinaishin and Abu-Tarif,…
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