Ultimate frisbee hits Oakura
A Mexican siesta-themed Ultimate Frisbee competition drew spirit, competition and teamwork to Oakura beach at the weekend.
The fifth annual Oakura Classic Beach Ultimate Tournament saw eight teams, all the way from beginners to professionals, competing in the two-day event.
Ultimate is a non-contact sport similar to netball.
There are two end zones with a playing field in the middle and the aim of the game is to catch the disc in the opposing team’s end zone to score a point.
The game is self-refereed, meaning it relies on sportsmanship from the players to maintain a fair game and the competition was a hat tournament, meaning players signed up individually and were then put into a team at random with people they didn’t know.
Grayden Scott has been playing ultimate for three-anda-half years after a schoolmate got him into it and he fell in love with the sport.
‘‘I really enjoying playing competitive ultimate and it’s a really different mindset to playing in a social tournament like this.’’
He had just been selected for the NZ U20s ultimate men’s team who competed in Manila in December and in July they are travelling to Sweden to compete in the World Junior Ultimate Championships.
He was competing in Team Taco, which had a mix of professional and beginner players, and said he enjoyed the atmosphere of the tournament.
‘‘I’m really impressed with people’s attitude all the time. I’ve never had issues at hat tournaments.’’
‘‘This is a really good way for me to reset before getting into that competitive season and the long stretch of serious ultimate.’’
There were a lot of bystanders watching throughout the weekend and Scott encouraged people to give the sport a go.
‘‘If they want to give it a try they can come down to Lynmouth Park at 5.30pm on a Monday,’’ he said.
Tournament co-director Ben Pollard said people from all over the country had attended and the event was a good way to showcase the sport to the public.
‘‘Ultimate is a minority sport so it’s really good exposure for the sport.
‘‘And ultimate in Taranaki is growing and growing,’’ Pollard said.