ASEAN Games Australia 2014: Underdogs Huck Gao win Ultimate Frisbee
PLAYERS scored points not just for skills but also for creativity and wit at the Ultimate Frisbee game last Saturday. Faridah Wu brings you highlights from the field at the 2014 ASEAN Games.
Tennyson of The Mighty Meatballs in his sunflower headgear. Photo: Julian Tay.
The first thing that strikes anyone watching the ultimate frisbee game at Albert Park Synthetic Fields last Saturday was the presence of a very large yellow sunflower.
No, it wasn’t an actual plant growing in the field, but it was in fact player Benjermin Tennyson sporting a very unusual headgear.
Tennyson was a player from The Mighty Meatballs, one of four mixed-gender teams competing for the championship title in Ultimate Frisbee.
The game was an all-Malaysian affair, with The Mighty Meatballs up against Timbersaw, Chubby Ironman and Huck Gao.
While a name like Huck Gao may, for some, bring to mind associations with the popular Chinese shrimp dumpling ‘har gow’, the team said it was really meant to denote “black dog” in Cantonese, as they saw themselves as the underdogs in the competition.
And underdogs indeed they were, perhaps surprising even themselves in wrestling the championship title from the hands of The Mighty Meatballs and Chubby Ironman, who placed second and third respectively.
Team captain of Huck Gao receiving their certificates. Photo: Julian Tay.
But at the end of the day, all four teams scored points not just for creativity and wit when it came to team names, but also for the spirit they displayed on the field.
Positive vibes were felt throughout the afternoon, as players encouraged each other and cheered for the losing teams at the end of each game.
Frisbee Director Yu Kai Liang was heartened by these responses, and said it was an “excellent illustration of sportsmanship and should be highly commended”.
He hopes more people will take part in the Ultimate Frisbee competition in the future.
“While winning may be one part of the game, the main objective of ASEAN Games Australia is to provide a platform for cultural, social interactions between players from ASEAN countries,” he said.
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Chubby Ironman, complete with Ironman t-shirts and poses. Photo: Julian Tay.
Although Chubby Ironman missed the top spot, the team members remained in high spirits. Bright smiles were on their faces as they gamely pose for photographs imitating the signature Iron Man flying posture. They also decked themselves out in red t-shirts with a rotund Iron Man on the front.
The creative team names were also fuel for many jokes at the Closing Ceremony.
“Are there any meatballs here?” emcee Chong Yik Surn joked, as the winning teams were announced and players were invited to the podium to collect their medals.