More than 5,000 athletes and volunteers attending the WFDF 2026 World Masters Ultimate Club Championships in Nottingham and the World Junior Ultimate Championships in Logroño are helping inspire the next generation of Flying Disc players through a simple new global initiative.
Created in partnership with Discraft, the Teach a Youth to Play campaign is built around one powerful idea: every participant has the opportunity to introduce one young person to the joy of Flying Disc. By turning every athlete and volunteer into an ambassador for the sport, the initiative has the potential to create thousands of first experiences that will continue long after the World Championships have concluded.
Throughout both championships, participants have been invited to collect a complimentary Discraft J-Star youth disc. There are only two rules. First, take the disc home, gift it to a child or young person in your community, and teach them a few of the basics—how to throw a forehand, throw a backhand and make their first catch. Second, upload a photo or short video of the moment via the campaign QR code so that, together, we can celebrate these stories and demonstrate the collective impact of the campaign across the world. It is a beautifully simple concept with the potential to introduce thousands of young people to Flying Disc through thousands of personal connections.
Every athlete and volunteer who accepts a J-Star disc leaves the World Championships with more than a souvenir—they leave with a mission. With participants travelling from more than 30 countries and territories, those discs are now finding their way into parks, schools, beaches and sports fields across every inhabited continent, where they will introduce children and families to Flying Disc for the very first time. While each individual act may seem small, together they represent one of the largest coordinated grassroots participation initiatives ever undertaken by the global Flying Disc community.
The campaign doesn’t end when the disc changes hands. Participants are encouraged to upload photographs and videos of the moment they gift the disc and teach a new player, creating a global gallery of first throws, first catches and first smiles. These stories will showcase the campaign unfolding in real time, celebrating the generosity of the Flying Disc community while inspiring even more people to introduce the sport in their own communities.
Jonathan Rigby, WFDF Secretary General, said: “The legacy of a World Championship shouldn’t end when the medals are awarded. If every one of these discs inspires just one young person to discover Flying Disc, together we’ve created something far more valuable than a giveaway—we’ve created thousands of new beginnings. The real power of this campaign lies in its simplicity. Thousands of athletes and volunteers returning home with one mission: to share the joy of our sport with the next generation.”
At the heart of the initiative is the Discraft J-Star, a youth-sized disc specifically designed for younger players. Its lighter weight and comfortable grip make it ideal for smaller hands, helping ensure that every child’s first experience of Flying Disc is both fun and successful. Discraft has been a passionate supporter of Flying Disc for decades, and this initiative represents another example of its commitment to investing not only in today’s athletes but also in the next generation of players.
Pad Timmons of Discraft perfectly captured the spirit of the campaign: “We’ll gift you a disc and all you have to do is take it home and teach a kid to play. Because that’s how our sport grows.”
WFDF extends its sincere thanks to Discraft for making this initiative possible and to every athlete and volunteer who accepted the challenge. Together, they are returning home not only with memories of competing on the world stage, but with the opportunity to inspire a young person to discover Flying Disc for the very first time.
One disc. One child. One first throw. That’s how our sport grows.
