Our Ultimate Frisbee champions
Katikati College are the New Zealand Secondary Schools Open Ultimate Frisbee champions, claiming the title last week at the tournament held at Owen Delany Park in Taupo¯.
This is a massive achievement that first saw core players Sean and Daniel Nicholson, Ayrton Hodson, Luke Spurr, Eli Brydon and coach Peter Besley dip their toes into this tournament four years ago.
In another year affected by Covid19, the tournament pretty much only saw the top teams front up. This included reigning champions Auckland Grammar School who have won the title six times and the only other school to win the title, Hutt Valley High School.
The Katikati College team worked their way through what was deemed ‘the pool of death’, overcoming Westlake Boys and Hillcrest High to gain direct entry into the semifinals on day one of the tournament. These games gave newer members of the squad — Lachlan McIntyre, Ben Montford, Murdoch Cameron, Jacob Doidge and Carlo Giacon — the opportunity to get a feel for the sport at a high level and gain valuable experience. Remaining pool games that day were purely to determine semifinal rankings for finals day. The squad dropped both games against the two other automatic qualifiers, Auckland Grammar School and Hutt Valley High School. These games gave the full squad the opportunity to get good game time and a chance to try out new combinations, without giving too much away for finals day.
The semifinal against Auckland Grammar School was livestreamed on Māori Television YouTube channel from the stadium field at Owen Delany Park. The senior players — Aryton, Luke, Sean, Daniel and Eli (plus a fine cameo from Ben) — were behind early but worked their way into the lead and took the game 10-8 after an outrageous overhead (hammer) throw from Ayrton to find Luke in the end zone.
Emotions were running high in the final against the unbeaten Hutt Valley team. The whole squad felt the support from those who had tuned in to watch the livestreamed game and parents who came down to watch the final. The Hutt Valley boys were unable to match the athleticism, fitness, strategic awareness, individual disc skill and player connection of the Katikati team. Katikati took an early lead and never relinquished it, running out winners 10-5.
The next few years will see a rebuild of the squad with the departure of all the senior players. As coach Peter Besley says, “we play everyday” and he is always on the lookout for kids that love to throw a disc. It would be fantastic to get a girls squad to the 2023 tournament as well.