Scobel Wiggins Photography

The UK season is well structured, beginning with a series of three spring/summer tournaments called Tour that will have an overall winner, and our Nationals usually are in September. This competition also serves as a regional qualifier to EUCF, the European Championships, in early October.

The bigger club teams will aim to win EUCF as the goal for the season, and incorporate a couple of trips to the continent into their schedule. These finals have only been around for three years, but have helped to bring together the European Ultimate scene.

Most players begin at university then move onto a club team when they graduate. There isn't much Ultimate in schools so players take up the game at a relatively late age, I think this is the main challenge in growing the sport nationally, and making Ultimate more competitive.

I don't know what the numbers are, but we have a lot of players, clubs, and a thriving Ultimate scene. In London alone there are 30+ teams that enter into the winter and summer leagues.

UK Ultimate has a governing body and a paid national administrator. Every player competing in sanctioned tournaments must pay a membership fee. The current administrator has a strong vision for growing the sport and supporting the needs of the players, as well as taking care of day-to-day essentials.

The British style of play can't be well defined anymore. A few years ago it was certainly one of hard-running and a never-give-up attitude but lacking in technical skill on the disc. Now we have structured coaching and experience of competing with the best North American teams, player's technical skills have become more consistent and teams have clear strategies to score rather than making up offence as they go along. There is a strong desire amongst the top-level players to be the best in the world. Our top mens and women's club teams have traveled to the USA for the last couple of years and competed well in big tournaments, and the National Teams are putting in a lot of preparation for Vancouver.

My club team views playing the North American teams as essential for improving our own team. It's in these games where we see a level of intensity that isn't reached in European games.

Alex is a longtime member of the most successful UK Open team, Clapham United. He currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.