Praying and Playing

The City of Jerusalem recently promoted a "Shul Basketball Tournament". It is not really a big deal, Bet Shemesh has had such a tournament for a number of years already, and other cities do as well. All it means is the members of different shuls put together a team among the members and compete against other "shul teams".

Very appropriately, the winning team of the Jerusalem tournament was just awarded by Mayor Nir Barkat a pot of kugel for kiddush on Shabbos as their prize.

The way some people misunderstand what was going on is funny. Ladaat wrote a critical report on the victory and the prize. It is obvious from their article that they think that the basketball games were played in the shul itself.

Ladaat writes, after the initial report:

All that remains for us is to wonder about this strange custom, and if in the shul they do other things besides sports games and eating kugel..

What Are They Doing In Shul?
This "wondering" can be taken two ways:

1. do they only play ball and at kugel in shul, but not daven?
2. besides for sports and eating kugel do they also do other types of activities as well that might also be inappropriate for a shul? perhaps BINGO night, dances, singles events, garage sales, malls, poker night, movie night, tiyulim, picnics, etc.

It is pretty funny to think that they are playing ball in the shul, and then to "wonder" if they do other inappropriate things, or if they daven at all. I see nothing wrong with friends form shul getting together to play ball, go on a tiyul together, or do any other activity. Just because they use the shul name does not turn it into an inappropriate activity.
They are only using the shul name as a way to gather the friends together for a joint activity. they are not doing anything inappropriate in shul.