July 19 was a good day for Singaporean frisbee community, the enthusiasts, athletes and their families, as the team clinched the number 3 spot in the entire world! This is the first time the Singaporean team has reached the podium in this sport.
The bi-annual U24 event, held in Heidelberg, Germany saw 1,150 athletes on 51 national teams from 29 countries.
According to a post of the team on Ultimate Players Association of Singapore, The Singapore Ultimate U24 Mixed team competed in Heidelberg, Germany at the WFDF 2019 World Under-24 Ultimate Championships. They had defeated powerhouse teams such as Austria and Canada, and also went up against the United States, and had gone on to get the bronze medal for the event.
The post said, “Congratulations to the U24 team for clinching bronze in the World Under-24 Ultimate Championships! For the first time in Ultimate history, Singapore is top 3 in the world!!! Celebrate hard, chans. Thank you for the spectacular display of skills, valor, and patience.”
Supporters of the team said that the athletes call themselves “The Chans” as an affectionate term.
Yesterday, they had played and won against Canada in an amazing match, with the final score of 15-11. In a Facebook post, they said that, “The Singapore team ended today by bringing home the game against Canada with 15-11. This brings us to the semis at 7pm later! The Chans have done us proud and are an amazing bunch to watch and root for.”
According to a comment, the Singaporean team won against the Latvians with a final score of 15-20, which gave them a podium finish with the third spot.
The coach for the team, Benjamin Ho, also said in a livestream that, “We are happy that we have so much support from home where a lot of people watched live on a Facebook stream. We want to bring back to Singapore the confidence that we can stand shoulder to shoulder with the big ultimate nations.”
Singaporeans express their amazement and support for the team
One of the commenters on a Reddit thread discussing the team’s journey in the championship said, “I have a friend who is playing for the Singapore team and he was telling me that they had to pay for their own travel ticks, expenses and etc…”
If this is true, then these people are certainly dedicated to their sport, and have been greatly rewarded for their passion and hard work.
Another comment mentioned that, “I know a girl who used to play a few years back, quit because of her job, and then came back again this year because she loved it and wanted to help the team. Their passion for this sport is really no joke.”
A commenter on Reddit also said, “One of my poly classmates is currently in that team. Way to go SG! Proud of y’all. All the best for the rest of the competition!”
Want to get into frisbee? Here’s where to sign up
According to their website, you can learn the basics of the game for free every Wednesday evening, from 7:00 in the evening to 10:00 pm at The Lawn @ Marina Bay Financial Centre, next to The Sail Marina Bay Residences.
You can check out their events for beginners on this page or on their Facebook group.
Header image from Ultimate Players Association Singapore Facebook page.
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