Pardon our mess while we update The Huddle over the next couple days. The Huddle 3.0 begins next Tuesday, March 16th, 2010. Thanks — Ben & Andy

The Huddle

Manilla: The Heart Of Phillippine Ultimate

by Wends Simbulan

Ultimate in Manilla was started in late 1998 by a couple of expats. At first games were just pick-up once a week with barely the numbers to make two teams.

Gradually more Filipinos joined the game as the word spread. We held our very first league in January/February 2003 with four teams.

The real turning point came when an events management company was hired to help promote the sport. Beginners' clinics were held a couple of times a week and Ultimate was publicized in the local press. The Philippine Ultimate Association was formed in early 2003. The number of teams grew with each subsequent league. We held our first successful international tournament in November 2003. 10 teams participated including Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and various other international players.

The key to the growth of Ultimate in the Philippines was getting local players involved. Numbers grew exponentially from year to year. We kept leagues club based so friends could continue to play together. We held hat tournaments and clinics to help raise the quality of the game. A couple of times Ultimate gurus from neighbouring countries came over to help teach. It took a few years for the skill level to catch up with the numbers, but now Philippine Ultimate is one of the powerhouses of Ultimate in East Asia.

Ultimate started to spread to the provincial areas of the Philippines when the first Asian Beach tournament "Boracay Fever" was held in March 2003. The Boracay Dragons had learnt the game three days before the tournament and made it all the way to the finals. They are now unbeatable in their home tournament, which is held every year.

Players from Manila took Ultimate to Cebu and Davao as they traveled and worked around the country. The outer island provinces now have healthy Ultimate communities and regularly travel to Manila for tournaments.

Wends Simbulan is an active player and organizer of Philippine Ultimate, having been involved in the governing body (PULA) and as a handler on the Philippine National Team.