Ultimate Frisbee in China!

Four days in Hong Kong was as much of a welcome break in my teaching schedule as it was a culture shock.  From my perspective, I basically went from being one of the few Westerners in Hefei, Anhui, and therefore an object of great curiosity, to being one of millions of people from all corners of the globe in the international city of Hong Kong.  I picked a good time of year to visit this beautiful city, as Hong Kong is comfortably warm in autumn, which turned out to be perfect weather for the event that brought me there:  the 2009 Hong Kong Pan-Asian Co-ed Ultimate Frisbee Tournament.

Upon my arrival at the airport, I took the (very efficient) high speed MTR train straight to Central Pier, where I enjoyed the view of the sea . . . while enjoying my first cheese burger since leaving the states.  Although I do enjoy the food in China very much, it wasn’t until my meal at the pier that I realized how much I miss much of the food from back home in the States.

I met up with one of the Shanghai Ultimate Frisbee teams who were kind enough to have me play with them over the weekend, and this too turned out to be a much needed treat.  Having played Ultimate year round over the last 10 years on a very regular basis, how I felt doing without for 2 months was something that I underestimated when deciding to teach in China.  However, “seek and ye shall find.”  Thankfully, I had anticipated the opportunity to play before leaving the States and brought all my gear with me to PRC so I could play.

The tournament itself was wonderful, and the view from the fields was spectacular:  the green peaks and blue skies will remain among my fondest memories of the sport I love, and I’m sure it will be among the fondest of my stay in China.  “HuWa” of Shanghai won the tournament in a close battle with “Ringers of Fire”, which is composed of some of the top players in Asia.  Most importantly, I realized the global popularity of the sport for both men and women.  I could go on and on, but will just say that I’ve met some of the finest people at ultimate tournaments, the one in HK being no exception.  However, this tournament had an international flair to it, which caused me to ponder the future of the game as I overheard the plethora of different languages being spoken over the course of the weekend.  However the universal language was unquestionably ultimate, which eliminated any language barriers with ease: a truly beautiful thing  The teams and/or players were from Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Beijing, Australia, and UK, and spoke.

I topped off the 2 day tournament with a visit to the Peak, HK’s highest point, and the view was as spectacular as my company; I had the pleasure of passing the time with a gorgeous new friend, fellow Ultimate player, Shaojun.  Although a 4 day visit is hardly enough time to do a visit to a city like HK justice, I definitely made the most of my short time there.  I would definitely like to return to HK, and will probably check out more of the Asian Ultimate scene at other tournaments in the region during my time teaching in China.

Attached are some pictures of my trip.  Enjoy!