Players form 'Ultimate' bond
By Leila Wai
Special to The Advertiser
It is just like ... no, not that. It takes a little from ... well, not exactly. It is sort of similar to ... that isn't it either.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
"Ultimate" is a game that combines elements of soccer, football and basketball, using a flying disc better known by the brand name Frisbee.
Michelle Gray of the Portland Schwa, left, and the Santa Barbara Lady Condors' Jessica Hellyer go after the disc at the World Ultimate Club Championships at the Waipi'o Soccer Complex in Waipahu.
"It is one sport that everyone should try," said Lori Middlebrook, a member of Hanahou from Hawai'i. "It is a non-contact sport. It isn't just the average tossing of the disc, it is more competitive than that."
The World Ultimate Club Championships 2002 started yesterday at the Waipi'o Soccer Complex in Waipahu, bringing together more that 2,300 players and 120 teams from 24 countries.
In Ultimate, players utilize the various aspects of each sport, from the freedom of soccer, to the quick fakes and pivoting used in basketball, to the spectacular diving catches reminiscent of football receivers.
Points are scored when a team member catches the disc in the endzone. In this tournament, the first to 17 points wins.
"The game is fast paced and good exercise," said Jim Middlebrook, Lori's husband. "This is an alternative to other sports."
The championships offer a chance to hear screams of "Naisu catchee!" from Japan players and discussions of a certain play in German just 10 feet away. Conversations between people with Australian and Spanish accents can be heard around the park.
"I've met so many people and established so many friends from all over the world," Jim Middlebrook said.
People can also form local ties. The Middlebrooks belong to Hanahou, a coed team with players from O'ahu, Kaua'i, Maui and the Big Island.
"You have a bond with these people," Crawford Shippey said. "You know nothing about them except the fact that you share a passion. It forms a society, and you don't even know them."
Shippey, of Atlanta, made a quick bond when he joined the Hawai'i team Shaka. Shippey was adopted by Shaka after arriving with his wife, Katharine Kidd-Shippey, who plays with Atlanta's Ozone in the women's division.
"From a fitness viewpoint, it isn't golf or bowling," Shippey said. "It keeps you in shape and it is a healthy lifestyle. I'm not a big jogger, I don't like to go out and jog, but I like to have something to chase after.
"It combines a lot of different element of a lot of different sports. It is an avenue to compete at any level that you choose. A lot of people don't play Ultimate at all for the competition, and I think that is a real tribute to the sport."
The championships are being played through Saturday. The masters final played on Friday, and the coed final, women's final and open final on Saturday.
For more information or results, go to www.hui2002.org.
