Sarah Wentworth will be hightailing it to London on June 11, to help Australia stake its claim on the World Ultimate and Guts Championships from June 18-25.
Wentworth is part of the Firetails, the 22-player Australian women’s team, which will contest the world ultimate frisbee championships, against 25 other countries.
She’s quietly confident the Firetails will make it to the semi-finals, after winning the Dream Cup in Japan in March, but admits there are lots of variables on the day.
“It [the Dream Cup] was a good experience, getting used to their style of play,” the Warrimoo resident said.
What the Japanese team lack in height, they make up for in speed and precision.
“They will catch and throw, and throw into a space ‘cause they know someone will be there,” Wentworth said.
She expected Canada and the US would put the Firetails through their paces with their height and jumping ability.
Wentworth has been training hard for the championships with lots of strength work and travelling into Sydney for training with her club Rogue.
She plays a utility role, keeping the disc moving, and has represented Australia twice before at the World Championships and twice at the World Games.
Ultimate frisbee is a fast-flowing sport that requires the skills, tactics and fitness levels of touch football, AFL and netball. Seven players take to the field and the aim to is to get the disc from one end of the field to the other, and score points by catching it in an end zone, like a touch down.
The non-contact sport is not refereed, relying instead on players knowing the rules and playing fairly.
Wentworth particularly likes this spirit of the game, saying it is “a great model for sport in general.”
She sees a place for this type of sport in schools, and has already brought ultimate frisbee to Warrimoo Public School last year in a six-week clinic, with hopes to introduce it to other schools this year.
Ultimate frisbee was recognised as a sport by the International Olympic Committee last year. Japan is pushing for it to be included as a demonstration sport at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
