Story By Yvonne Yap/Red Sports
Mo’Chi fighting hard to keep up with Philipinas who held the lead for most of the game. (Photo 1 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Anchorvale Fields, Sunday, August 9, 2009 – Japan-Taiwan Ultimate team Mo’chi came from behind to beat Philipinas from Philippines 12-11 on the final day of the 11th Singapore Ultimate Open 2009 to emerge champions.
CUUP (China) beat Vudoo (Indonesia) 12-8 to become Pool B Champions while it was an all Singaporean final in Pool C, where Lagi Shiok beat SMU 12-7 to claim the position of Pool C Champions.
Ultimate players from countries such as Thailand and India came together for this 2-day event, each bringing their passion for the sport.
“Ultimate is good spirit and fun, but at the same time challenging…A lifetime of fun!” exclaimed India’s captain Mark Scott, 33. Alec Hutson, 29 from China United Ultimate Party, also known as CUUP, shared, “Ultimate is based on fairplay, fun and love for your opponents…One of the best things in my life.”
The 11th Singapore Ultimate Open 2009 saw lots of fast-paced action and treated both players and spectators to a showcase of fine skills. Here are the highlights from the tournament.
Combine Taiwan-Japan Team Mo’Chi wins the 11th Singapore Ultimate Open 2009 against Philipinas. The Japanese and Taiwanese players did not have enough players to form teams from their country alone, and decided to collaborate, coming together under Mo’chi. “We have played against each other before… We linked up for this tournament,” shares Taiwan-based player Uli, 25. Their goal was to win the Singapore Ultimate Open 2009, which they did so after a gruelling fight against Philipinas. (Photo 2 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Philipinas had to settle for 2nd place after a nail-biting showdown with Mo’chi, which ended 11-12. After the match, a player from Phlipina shared, “If we can walk away thinking we played well, obviously you guys played better.” The respect the players felt for each other was evident as they huddled together after the game. (Photo 3 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Some spectators attempting the Kallang Wave… (Photo 4 © Yvonne Yap/Red Sports)
…while others are having fun trying to play the game blind-folded. (Photo 5 © Yvonne Yap/Red Sports)
Hong Kong Junk walked home with the Spirit Award, which is given to the team with fair play. Captains from each participating team voted for another team they thought possessed integrity during the games. Veteran player Brian Sheehan gave out the award to the players. (Photo 6 © Yvonne Yap/Red Sports)
Captain of RMIT, Nam Trieu Dinh, revealed that it was veteran player David Jensen (who plays for Vudoo) who came to RMIT and introduced them to the game of Ultimate. “Never stop running,” a few of the RMIT players mentioned about Ultimate, which is a popular sport in Vietnam. The team finished 19th in the event. (Photo 7 © Yvonne Yap/Red Sports)
Local club Chuckies had lots of laughter throughout the tournament even though they did not fare as well as their local counterparts, earning comments from other teams that they were “a fun team”. Sree Ganesh, 24, from Chuckies said, “You don’t play Ultimate to get fit, you get fit to play Ultimate.” (Photo 8 © Vanessa Lim/Red Sports)
Cool! Sporting Singapore!!!