Kat is a disc dynamo
WHEN Kat Smith was introduced to ultimate frisbee as a University of Queensland student in 2012, she was sceptical.
“I didn’t want to do it but then I tried it and it was so much fun,” she said.
Fast forward to this year, and Smith is now based in Townsville and representing Brisbane and Australia in competitions across the country and around the world.
The 24- year- old physiotherapist is a marquee player on the Brisbane Breakers side in the inaugural Australian Ultimate League, which recently held a round- robin competition.
Ultimate frisbee is a sevena- side team sport played by men and women, where players can’t run with the disc but move it up the field to score points.
There are no umpires, with players responsible for calling out infractions.
“I think it’s a really exciting concept of a game — the fact that you have a frisbee that’s so easy to chuck in your bag, and combine it into a game where you have to be fast, you have to be agile and you have to be skilful,” Smith said. “Seeing how far it has come just in the five years I’ve been playing is exciting.”
The Australian Ultimate League competition came days after she had returned from the USA where had taken part in the World Club Ultimate Championships with Sydney mixed side Friskee, before embarking on a tour of the east coast with the Asian- Oceanic All- Stars.
“I think frisbee people are incredibly inclusive,” Smith said. “I think that’s because it’s a bit of an alternative sport. It’s just so ( much) fun and relaxed.
“It can get really intense though, we do a lot of running.”
Smith will compete in the Australian Mixed Ultimate Championships in Nelson Bay in October, with Townsville sending two teams to the tournament. Beyond that, her next big goal is to be part of the Australian team that will compete in the world championships in 2020, with the first training camp to be held in November.
“I get excited when I speak to people who know what ultimate frisbee is,” she said.
“It’s got the potential to be a really big sport.”