Ultimate Warriors: Don't Mention the “F” Word

I’ll never forget the image of Ken Su, captain of Beijing Bang, standing on a chair during a post-tournament dinner last May trying to toast everyone with screams of “China Ultimate Frisbee!” He did it at least twice that night, rip-roaringly drunk and happy. His team had just completed a glorious and unexpected run to the finals of China Nationals, and he was ready to celebrate.

But perhaps we should back up a bit. Ultimate Frisbee? In China?

It so happens that China Ultimate is separated by only two degrees from the sport’s progenitors, a group of kids at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, in the late 1960s. Bob Evans (Ultimate Players Association Hall of Fame, Class of 2009), a Columbia original, wound up at Princeton University, where he tutored one Russell Young, a four-year starter from 1976-80. “That makes me a second-generation Ultimate player,” Young chuckles. When Young arrived in Beijing in 1988, he became one of the first Ultimate Frisbee players in the country, and having never left, he currently holds the distinction of being the longest-active player here.

Young’s efforts to promote Ultimate have been ongoing, and while injuries have forced him to recede a bit from the scene, the sport’s rise to prominence has just begun, judging by media coverage this past year from China Daily, China Sport Magazine, CCTV-5 and Beijing Today, among others. What’s more, players from around the country have recently begun groundwork towards establishing a national organization. “Ultimate is an ideal sport for China,” Young says. “I think it’s ready to explode.”

Perhaps the biggest potential catalyst, at the moment, is the China Nationals tournament (also called China Open), which will be held this year for the third straight time in Beijing, on May 15-16. Asia has a vibrant and competitive Ultimate events calendar, but only China Nationals is devoted solely to Chinese teams with predominantly Chinese players. “We can expect the same type of growth that we’ve seen in the last three years,” says tournament director Jeff Orcutt. “I believe this year Ultimate around China will enjoy an even bigger boost in popularity and community as local programs become increasingly self-sufficient.”

And after the games, the drinks will flow (among the few similarities between Ultimate now and in the ’70s are the parties, which are wild). “Ultimate has an interesting social component to it that creates a common bond for people to get together and get to know each other on a personal level,” says Jim Kirchhoff, captain of a local expat team called Big Brother. All are welcome, and all will be toasted.

The China Nationals take place May 15-16. Ultimate Frisbee takes place all month.