Many people know of the term ‘frisbee’ and view it as no more than a recreational pastime to occasionally enjoy on a beach or in the park, but few know of the sport ‘Ultimate Frisbee’ and the dedication behind it. A community that has nothing but admiration for its competitors and a strong sense of friendship wherever you look, Ultimate has often been referred to as a ‘unicorn sport’ due to its outlandishly compatriotic nature.
As the coach pulled into the car park, the stage seemed set for another year of intense matchups. Every pitch, coated in a warm layer of sunlight as the brisk, spring wind occasionally sharpened the atmosphere. As we walked through the sliding doors and into the arena, the indescribable smell of outdoor sports enveloped the whole team, coaches and players alike. Each pitch was already filled with teams from up and down the country running through their warmups, breaking an early sweat. We quickly moved to our ‘camp’, dropped our bags down and headed onto the pitch to begin our own drills.
Having had a comparatively short amount of time to stretch and get moving, we were called up for our first match of the weekend. We had been matched up against a team from Warwick called ‘Ocelots’. With this being a yearly tournament and having qualified every year since 2011, we already had a good understanding of each team that we faced. Ocelots had always started strong and would inevitably tire themselves out as the game went on, so when the starting horn went, we immediately set up a defensive formation. As we had expected, Ocelots pushed from the get-go and were exhausted by the time we went 4-0 up. It didn’t take long before we scored our 15th goal, and the game was brought to an early end.
After two further games against lower-ranked teams, which we won with consummate ease, we had our lunch break and came back to play the quarter and semi-finals. These two games were of a relatively similar level as the first and we ended up winning both without conceding a single point. Before we knew it, we were lining up to play the final against Air Badgers. Our biggest rivals and perhaps the only other team in the tournament that could give us a run for our money.
As the starting horn went, it was obvious that we had been given the tougher run to reach the finals. Having not conceded a single point all tournament, Badgers looked fresh and energetic from the very beginning. We quickly went 3-0 down. After a stern talking to and a complete reshuffle, we went back onto the pitch with a hunger only matched by that of a Buffalo following a Saharan drought. As the game went on, we started dismantling the opposition with frightening efficacy and before long, we were 10-7 up with only 20 seconds left.
With only a matter of seconds between us and our third successive national title, people had already started climbing barriers onto the pitch and as the whistle blew, we were all swamped by the players of the teams that we had beaten on our way to the final. And with that, our reputation had been upheld once more.
Tom Leyland Sports Journalism 