Three major WFDF events kick off in Gold Coast, Australia over the coming days – WFDF’s Annual Congress, the WFDF 2024 World Ultimate Championships (WUC), and the WFDF 2024 World Guts Championships (WGC). Over 1200 athletes on 71 teams will be representing 23 National Federations across the two athletic events.
Congress
The Annual Congress of WFDF National Federations meets on Friday and Saturday, 30th-31st of August at the Gold Coast Performance Centre in Runaway Bay, QLD. All 111 National Federations are invited to attend in a hybrid meeting accommodating both in-person and online attendance. Key topics will include votes on certain bylaws revisions, four new member applications, two member submitted proposals, and the usual financial matters such as the 2025 budget. The meeting will also feature reports from the executive leadership and committee and commission chairs.
World Ultimate Championships
On Saturday 31 August the quadrennial WFDF World Ultimate Championships, featuring national teams in Mixed, Women’s and Open divisions, returns after eight years. The event was last held in London in 2016 as the 2020 edition of the Championships, and the subsequent 2021 rescheduled event, were both canceled due to Covid-19. Excitement is high as athletes and attendees have already begun arriving in Gold Coast in preparation for this elite event.
Following the Opening Ceremonies, a game between the Australian and New Zealand Open division teams will kick off the first round of Pool Play at 3:30 p.m. AEST. The game, which takes place on the showcase field, can be watched in person by attendees and will be streamed live on Ultiworld’s YouTube channel. Additional pool play begins Sunday morning.
In partnership with Ultiworld, more than 90 games will be broadcast throughout the event from four showcase fields. All of the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will be streamed, and each team in attendance is scheduled to play in a live broadcast at least once.
An Ultiworld subscription or event pack is needed to watch. However, there will be a daily free stream available on Ultiworld’s YouTube channel. Dates and times (all times AEST) for the free games are:
- Saturday, Aug. 31, 3:30 p.m.: Australia v. New Zealand (Open)
- Sunday, Sept. 1, 11 a.m.: Australia v. China (Mixed)
- Monday, Sept. 2, 1:30 p.m.: Canada v. Great Britain (Mixed)
- Tuesday, Sept. 3, 5 p.m.: Power Pool (Open)
- Wednesday, Sept. 4, 9 a.m.: Power Pool (Women’s)
- Thursday, Sept. 5, 9 a.m.: Quarterfinal (Mixed)
- Friday, Sept. 6, 3 p.m.: Bronze Medal Match (Women’s)
World Guts Championships
Games for the WFDF 2024 World Guts Championships (WGC) begin Monday 2 September. This will be the first WGC to include a Women’s division. The event features 13 teams across both Men’s and Women’s divisions. Games will be streamed throughout the event directly to WFDF’s YouTube Channel and are free to watch. The first place matches this year will be played in a “best of three games” format.
Qualifying for The World Games
WUC also marks the beginning of the “Road to Chengdu” for eight National Federations in attendance, as the Championships serve as the qualifying event for Ultimate at The World Games 2025. Details for scoring and placement can be found on WFDF’s website.
“We are thrilled to be able to welcome so many of the top Flying Disc athletes from around the world,” said WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch. “We look forward to witnessing the competitiveness and spirit the Flying Disc community is known for, and seeing who will join us for The World Games in Chengdu next year. We also want to thank Mathew Ryan and the Local Organizing Committee for all their hard work, our member federation the Australia Flying Disc Federation, and Tourism and Events Queensland for their generous support.”
Highlights and information can be found on WFDF’s website and official social media channels throughout the events, with live WUC results available at results.wfdf.sport/wuc.
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