[was supposed to send this years ago to the PUA board guys for the website, but didn't]
The Ultimate History of Pinoy Disc
[“Unofficially” seen through my eyes… and if I can still remember anything… hic.]
As of this writing, I am now the longest playing active member of Philippine Ultimate.
I first learned of Ultimate when I was still a young old fart [read: 32]. I was then a wannabe slash trying-hard Flag Football player who in more than a year of playing never scored a touchdown even during pick up games. Little did I know that my so-called athletic career would take off in a different, much cooler sport.
BACK IN THE DAY...
It was a century ago… September, 26 1999 to be exact when I first played the game I love the most. I heard that some people turned throwing and catching a Frisbee into a sport… and they played Sunday afternoons at the Urdaneta Park. I was curious… so I dropped by and was warmly welcomed by around 8-10 players, most of them expats. In those days, Ultimate was as alien to Pinoys as [for lack of a better example] Cricket and Aussie Rules Rugby.
We played 5-6 aside with just one sub… and during that time THAT WAS THE ENTIRE PHILIPPINE DISC COMMUNITY. O.K., maybe I’m exaggerating. Anyway, on my first pick up game, I scored 2 points and even assisted on 1 score. Wow… an equal opportunity sport for non-athletes, weekend warriors, athletes, alcoholics, smokers, and people who just wanted to have fun. The gods of Flag Football and Basketball weren’t this good to me. So I was hooked on Ultimate. Probably for life.
Just to raise the level of competition, our small community of disc addicts had hat tournaments once in a while. We played at Sanlo, Ateneo, the British School and at the Ascom field at the Fort. There were always 3 or 4 teams that were formed and we would hold our parties at the home of an expat who was generous enough to let a bunch of rabid party animals ruin the furniture.
Our first ever league had teams named after colors – Yellow Fever [first league champs], Red Pirates, the Blackheads [my team] and the pink team called themselves… [to all you youngsters out there, here’s a piece of trivia you should never forget – the Breakfast Club is the only surviving team from the first league… only goes to show you beer drinkers never die, they just mutate into alcoholics.]
POPULATION EXPLOSION
Then the inevitable happened. Players started inviting friends, acquaintances, relatives, classmates, strangers, bums, people they met in bars, even their FBs. The number of players swelled before my very eyes. And as the community grew, so did the level of competition. Leaving me to utter the words “I miss playing not so competitive pick up.”
LIKE THE ENERGIZER BUNNY, WE’RE STILL GOING
From Sunken Garden to Sanlo Park, Alabang to Davao, Espana to Cuenca, Urdaneta to Iloilo, Bora to Isabela. the disc just keeps on flying. Now, we have expats, bankers, mountaineers, ex-college athletes, lawyers, tri-athletes, basketball players, single moms, students, bums and more playing the game.
And that’s what I love about Ultimate – you may come from different backgrounds and teams, but you’re just part of a big, round, spinning universe.
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