11th Zarathushti Games

The University of San Diego in California is the venue of the 11th Zarathushti Games, July 2-6, 2008. Such is the popularity of the sports and games event sponsored by the FEZANA’s Zoroastrian Sports Committee (ZSC) that registration for all games and social events is closed (both online and paper based) as of May 24, notes their website.

The Games, held annually over the American Independence Day weekend, feature volley ball and basket ball, tennis, table tennis and track events as well as swimming for youths and adults. Also on the anvil are social events which help the youngsters get together after the sun has set. They include a beach night, Fourth of July party and a formal banquet, with the dress code ranging from informal to semi formal to "dress to impress” for the sit-down dinner on the last night.

The dedicated 10-member ZSC has grown in strength and organizational skill over the years, though not all of them are sports people per se. President Niaz Kasravi, a criminologist and human rights lawyer, says she knows little about sports but because she believes in ZSC’s goals, she has been a part of the ZSC committee since 1998. She loves the enthusiasm sporting events create amongst Zoroastrian youth, notes the Games’ website (www.zathletics. com).

Vice president Bijan Pourjamasb, a committee member since the start of the Games, rejoined ZSC last year and hopes to be able to provide quality events for the new and existing generation.

An innocent standby spectator during the first Games in 1988, Behnaz Dianat, consultant electrical engineer, was five months pregnant when she was recruited by Bijan Khosraviani to collect registration fees from participants, she notes on the website. "I must have been good at my job, hence the treasurer of ZSC since 1988!” she states, adding that she is not knowledgeable about sports or the rules governing them, but loves promoting them with the youth.

Sports director Behrouz Mehrkhoda­vandi enjoys sport activities and has participated in most of Zarathoshti Games. He believes that one of the best ways to bring the Zoroastrian community together is with these sports events.

Tehran Ghasri who handles the teams public relations wants "to take over the world.” Arsham Dianat, son of the ZSC treasurer, started by helping ZSC with little tasks and eventually decided to join the team as sports coordinator. ZSC fundraising officer and group secretary Yassaman Farin has been with it since inception bringing her organizational skills with her.

ZSC’s website has been designed and developed by Iran born Ramin Shahriari who received his Bachelors degree in electrical engineering at Iran’s Sharif University (Ariamehr University), and his Masters degree in Computer Science at the University of Southern California. A very active member of the Zoroastrian committees in US and Iran, Ramin is not a professional website designer, notes the brief introduction on the website.

While Shahram Ghandeharizadeh is the team’s technical advisor, though he claims "I only talk and not much else,” the ZSC’s godfather and founder Bijan Khosraviani is the visionary who came up with the concept of establishing ZSC and put up his own money to fund the first event. He drafted the ZSC bylaws and recruited other individuals to join him in promoting sports amongst Zoroastrian youth. One clearly enunciated rule on the website is the "provoke and retaliation rule” which notes that

"the one that provokes the harm will be ejected from the game/tournament and subsequent games for the following three years. The player who retaliates will be ejected and banned for two years.”