I had the privilege of representing the u24 Ultimate Frisbee South African team at the World Championships in Heidelberg, Germany this year. The trip was an amazing experience and I learnt a lot both on and off the playing field.
I had the opportunity to spend a few days with family relatives before the tournament started. I stayed in a small village called Hornbach, about twenty minutes outside of Heidelberg. The family was very accommodating and helpful with immersing me in the rich German culture.
The tournament included 51 teams from 27 different countries from across the globe. It was split into three divisions Men, Women and Mixed of which South Africa participated in the latter. We played a total of eleven games and two warm-up fixtures against Singapore and Czech Republic. Some of my highlights were playing the Irish team, as they were definitely one of the best spirited teams in the tournament and fun to be around. My second is playing the Singapore team as they finished 3rd overall, it was amazing to watch and play against such a strong team. The final highlight was to be able to witness some of the best u24 players in the world play in the finals.
Although we did not finish with the desired result in placement we were awarded the spirit trophy for the Mixed Division. This is given to the team which most embraces the Spirit of the Game. In addition we moved up three places from our original seeded ranking.
Thank you for supporting me throughout this wonderful experience and helping me achieve my dream of competing at this high level. Your support, financially or in other manner, has been highly appreciated. Thank you to all who helped make this happen.
Here are a few links that may be of interest to you.
https://www.facebook.com/SAu24wilddogs - pictures of the action and tales of the team.
World Flying Disc Federation: http://www.wfdf.org/ - more about the sport of Ultimate Frisbee
Opening ceremony video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlMVuwHQ3Qc
Highlights from Day 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBejGGsD3T4)
News provided by Stuart Rencken (Grade 11 at Howick High School.)