As the international Ultimate community gets ready for the WFDF 2024 World Ultimate Championships next month, we are putting the spotlight on some of the teams that will be traveling to Australia for this premier event, and a chance to qualify for The World Games 2025. Join us, as we follow their Road to WUC.
Since the last time they competed in a WFDF World Ultimate Championships, a few things have changed for Chinese Taipei.
The small island nation will be returning to the biggest international Ultimate stage at the WFDF 2024 World Ultimate Championships after a 16-year hiatus. Though teams have competed in continental WFDF championships and two club teams attended the WFDF 2018 World Ultimate Club Championships in Ohio, this August will mark the first time Chinese Taipei national teams will cleat up since 2008 in Vancouver.
In those intervening years, the local Ultimate community dealt with a decline in the sport’s popularity and challenges in returning to play after the COVID pandemic.
But now they’re ready to show the world what they’re made of.
“Very excited is the overall feeling,” said Eric Chang, the Secretary-General of the Chinese Taipei Flying Disc Association. “We’re going to use this opportunity to see how Chinese Taipei Ultimate stands in the world, what kinds of challenges other teams can present to us, and what challenges we can present to other teams.”
In the last two years, Chinese Taipei has seen growth in both sheer numbers and the development of talent in the Ultimate scene. At the upcoming championships, which kick off in Australia on August 31, Chinese Taipei is one of only two nations with representation in every division of both Ultimate (Open, Women’s, and Mixed) and Guts (Open and Women’s). Disc Golf and Guts are also increasingly popular in the nation.
Despite the recent resurgence of interest in Flying Disc sports and a renewed push to connect with the international community, Chang knows the Chinese Taipei teams still have a ways to go.
“Although Chinese Taipei is just a small island, we train very hard for Frisbee and try to contribute to the sport,” Chang said.
Already, all that effort is paying off, especially for the Women’s team. At the WFDF 2023 Asia Oceanic Ultimate & Guts Championship, the Chinese Taipei Women’s team took home the bronze medal and this summer, they won gold at the Trio Invitational in Malaysia.
“We treasure each opportunity to play together,” said ShiangAn Shih, a member of the Women’s national team. “We have a team of strong and athletic players and we’ve been practicing in preparation for the world-class competition we will face.”
So what can teams at WUC expect from the Chinese Taipei team? Shih-Chieh Wei, a member of the Men’s national team, said their team’s game is marked by creativity and versatility.
“I think what’s special this time around is we are building on the systems we have used in the past and we are making it more creative and less rigid. We’re taking what we like and adding new creative pieces to it.”
“We’re excited to show that off,” he said.
In the short term, the Chinese Taipei delegation is focused on giving the competition at WUC their all, but the players are eager to build beyond this one event.
“One of the reasons this tournament can be very meaningful is because it has the potential to bring a lot of talented players more confidence in everything we do on the Ultimate field, to know we can compete on the world stage,” Wei said.
Chang, who himself is a Guts world champion, said he’s not sure what the future holds but he is committed to ensuring Chinese Taipei continues to build after their WUC appearance. And don’t expect the national team to take a decades-long break again.
“It has been a big challenge for us to get here, but it also tells the world that Chinese Taipei is back!”
Follow Chinese Taipei’s WUC teams on Instagram at @ct.women.2024, @ct.mixed.2024 and @ct.batman.tw