In 2008, Australia celebrates 20 years of men’s
teams at World Ultimate Championships. The first group of bright-eyed young
Australians ventured to the World Championships in Belgium in 1988. That pioneering
group of Aussie mongrels came home inspired and impressed by the standard out
there in the newly-discovered theatre of world ultimate.
It’s 20 years on and a new group of
Australian men are proud and excited to represent our homeland, our frisbee
community and the Dingos tradition.
We’re a bit more worldly wise these days but just as eager to taste the international
treats on offer at the World Ultimate Championships in Vancouver in 2008. The Dingos are hungry.
In Australia we face the challenge and
have the blessing of being a small Ultimate Frisbee community. You may be
interested to know that Netball is over 107 times more popular than Ultimate
Frisbee down here. The challenging aspect of this small player base is that
high level competition is difficult to come by as teams need to travel long
distances to compete with other enthusiastic and competitive teams. The
blessing of this situation is that many meaningful and lasting relationships
are formed between players from different regions of the country.
When the Australian Dingos are selected it brings
together players from all across the country. These individuals have been
battling it out with and against each other for years and share a mutual
respect and deep understanding of the collective situation that they share.
Only once every four years do the top players from around the country find
themselves in a team of players who are as talented, passionate and dedicated
to playing Ultimate Frisbee at the highest level as they are. It is an
opportunity not to be missed and the Dingos of 2008 are focussed on doing
everything they can to perform at their potential.
There are 12 players from the 2004 World
Championships returning to the Dingos and they are joined by 12 new pups for
this year. The playing group is supported by a coach, 2 strappers and trainers
from Australia, and a
physiotherapist who will join us in Vancouver.
We also have a pack of Australian and international fans joining us in Vancouver to enjoy the
Dingo experience. Consider this your official invitation to be part of the
Australian Dingo adventure.
The Dingos team has prepared well for the
tournament and look forward to getting up close and friendly with the world
Ultimate community over a great week at World Championships, both on the field
and in the players’ lounge.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for your support.
The Australian Dingos
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