IN A country where sports is a prominent aspect of culture, dribbling a ball across a court or scoring goals on a grassy field has become second nature to the Filipino people. With athletics on the local and international scale being a huge source of entertainment for most, sports have given our country an identity and common ground, uniting players and fans across islands with a mutual respect for these games. This is evidenced by phenomena such as packed crowds at the Araneta Coliseum, the spread of “Azkal fever” with the rise of the men’s national football team, and the infinite number of makeshift hoops set up in every nook and cranny of every barangay. This love for the thrill of competition is testament to the undeniable truth of a modern sports proverb: In the Philippines, ball is indeed life. However, in recent years, a new game has emerged on Philippine soil, bringing with it the idea that disc can be life, too.

Since its first appearance in the country on the fields of San Lorenzo Park at the turn of the 21st century, Ultimate Frisbee has seen tremendous geographical and social expansion. The universal code espoused by the sport called the “Spirit of the Game” has transformed a group of foreigners having fun with a plastic disc into a community of over 5,000 players in more than 60 active teams dispersed throughout the 7,107 islands of the Philippines. Within a decade, small gatherings of fanatics in Makati playing a game without referees swelled into large-scale recreational tournaments that invited both local and foreign clubs to dish it out on the field.

The establishment of a governing body called the Philippine Ultimate Association soon followed in 2003 to oversee and sanction all official activity with a disc, sparking the creation and maintenance of an Ultimate image and identity through international representation. And while the world-renowned Boracay Dragons have expertly carried the hopes and dreams of the nation on their shoulders by defending their reputation as the kings of beach ultimate on the world stage, the Philippines has demonstrated that it is capable of holding its own on the grass as well. This was the challenge four Atenean students undertook at the recently concluded 2015 World Under-23 Ultimate Championship (WU23UC) held in London from July 12 to 18.

Ateneans represent on the world stage

Information design sophomore Angela Titular, management economics sophomore Gerard Diño, communications supersenior Anjo Umali, and Anj Nguyen (AB COM ‘15) represented the country as members of the national squad that participated in the WU23UC, a week-long international tournament that pitted the youth teams of the strongest nations in the world against each other in contention for the ultimate prize in Open, Mixed, and Women’s Divisions. The biennial tournament this year saw the crème dela crème of the Ultimate Frisbee world test their mettle on the world stage as 17 nations from six different continents took to the British fields and skies in a competitive display of sportsmanship and spirit.

The Philippine delegation was composed primarily of the most skilled stalwarts from different teams around Metro Manila and a few other talents outside the reach of the metropolis. It was comprised of two teams meant to compete in the Open and Mixed Divisions, each winning two games apiece in five-day pool play but eventually failing to qualify for the play-offs that were dominated by North American squads in each division.

“The competition we faced in London was like nothing we’ve ever faced before,” shares Diño. “In a tournament like this, we faced players who are considered to be the best of our age in their countries, while some players are even part of the professional league in the [United States]. So simply put, these were elite level players who are at the peak of the Ultimate Frisbee level in the U23 age bracket.”

In addition to the surreal level of skill the squad was facing in London, a few other setbacks that transcended the white lines of the field made life much more difficult for the team on British soil. Shorter training times and drastic differences in temperature and weather were key factors that worked against the Philippine team.

“Another problem was experience as individuals and as a team,” explains Nguyen. “Teams like Australia had their roster since December, while we only had three months to train together. We also faced harsh weather since it would get really cold and windy and it would rain for awhile and stop, so we’d be left soaked and shivering.”

But perhaps the most anticipated complication was the team’s vertical disadvantage against taller sides, an age-old story in the realm of Philippine athletics. “Except for the Asian teams, all the other teams were towering over our guys and girls. I almost felt short, and I’m 5’9”!” says Nguyen.

Despite the disappointment, defeat could hardly dampen the spirits of the Filipino team. The experience of representing one’s country and being able to play with and against athletes who share the same love for the sport was much more valuable than any success on the scoreboard. Failure can do little to bring an athlete down in the sport of Ultimate Frisbee, where the values of teamwork, discipline, patience, and camaraderie come before victory.

“The competition was easily the greatest experience in my Ultimate Frisbee life,” comments Titular. “Being able to compete against foreign teams teaches you how to adapt to their different styles of play, to maybe even bring home and master.”

A share in the spotlight

The Philippine team brought home much more than a few mere victories tucked under their belt. The fire of Ultimate Frisbee in the country burns brighter with the squad returning as heroes who have accomplished much for the sport by opening the eyes of the public to an up and coming game. Besides growing as individual athletes, the journey to London has promoted the sport a hundredfold in the Philippines by giving it a boost in a crucial area that has greatly hindered its growth–publicity.

The lack of attention and funding in the game has long kept Ultimate Frisbee from attaining the level of a national sport despite its ever-growing popularity. Although basketball and football will not likely be unseated from the throne, it would be a shame for Ultimate to be cast in shadow forever when it has, in fact, seen great development in the past decade through the efforts of an enormous community of fans and players.

Ultimate Frisbee is growing rapidly with competition spreading from school to school through tournaments like the Philippine Ultimate Little League and the National Ultimate Collegiate Championship (NUCC). With the game sharing the same humble beginnings as many of the country’s most popular sports, it is only a matter of time before it achieves the same status and level of popularity, perhaps even becoming a UAAP sport in the near future–a vision about which the national team players are hopeful.

“Ultimate promotes a lot of good things such as teamwork, discipline, strategy, patience, and spirit of the game,” says Titular. “Because of that, I see Ultimate Frisbee growing more and more in the country. It really is a great sport to play and to be a part of.”

Diño shares similar sentiments. “As for Ultimate in Ateneo, I hope that [the WU23UC] will inspire both new and older players to start a real club where they will train and help one another to become better players,” he says. He also envisions having more clinics around the country wherein new players can learn the sport from Ultimate coaches and veterans.

For now, the life of Ultimate Frisbee on campus takes form in the Ateneo Frisbee Organization, an unaccredited student organization that represents the school in the annual NUCC. They finished first runner-up behind the University of the Philippines Diliman at this year’s tournament—a milestone in the team’s history and a definite leap forward to further the sport in the school.

Participation in the WU23UC was a necessary step in pushing for a more prosperous future for Ultimate Frisbee in the Philippines—a course of action that produced positive results by garnering public interest in the sport and one that is definitely going to take Ultimate Frisbee soaring to greater heights.