Three North Vancouver ultimate players are suiting up as members of Team Canada to take on the world’s best at next week’s World Flying Disc Federation’s 2016 World Junior Ultimate Championships, July 31-Aug. 6, in Wroclaw, Poland.
Ty Barbieri, 18, and Aidan Wiebe, 18, will play for the Canadian junior men’s team, and Katie Wong, 19, will join the junior women.
Canada has a strong track record at the tournament, a biennial event that brings together the best junior ultimate players from around the world.
“Usually Canada has placed with a medal finish. Two years ago, they brought home the gold for men’s and women’s got silver,” says Barbieri, adding he has similar hopes for a top three finish this time around.
“The team is extremely strong. ... I think we have a really good chance of doing really well in the tournament. We’re all aiming for that gold medal so hopefully we’ll bring it home,” he says.
The three athletes have known each other for a number of years. Barbieri and Wiebe met in Grade 8 as students at Sutherland secondary, and they were introduced to Wong, an Argyle grad, in Grade 10 through their shared involvement in the North Shore Bonfire ultimate program. All three recently wrapped up their first year at Capilano University, where Barbieri also plays for the Blues men’s soccer team.
Barbieri says he first got involved in ultimate at Sutherland, where the sport is hugely popular. He and Wiebe were encouraged by head coach Carla Keffer, also of the North Shore Bonfire, to give it a shot.
“Ever since then, the first game, we just loved it and enjoy it so much and it’s been such a huge part of our lives now,” he says.
“I like it so much because it’s definitely a mix of a few different sports I’ve played. Your freedom on the field and how everything can just always be so different. The flow of the game and some of the amazing plays that can be made are just so exciting. I always have enjoyed going to practice and going to games. It’s almost a different vibe around it too, which I really like so much,” he adds.
The three players have continued to compete on different teams, moving up the ranks, paving the way to next week’s worlds.
For example, Wiebe and Barbieri recently completed their first season with the Vancouver Nighthawks, part of Major League Ultimate. The Nighthawks are a men’s semi-pro ultimate team that plays against other MLU teams from Portland, Seattle and San Francisco in the Western Conference. The Eastern Conference is comprised of Boston, Washington, D.C., New York and Philadelphia.
“I really enjoyed it – a great group of guys. We maybe didn’t have the best season but it was definitely a good experience opening me up to what it’s like to play with adults. It was pretty interesting,” says Barbieri.
The Nighthawks finished 1-9 in 2016, their only win at home at Thunderbird Stadium in what was described as a “double-overtime thriller” against the San Francisco Dogfish, according to the league.
A week after returning from worlds, Barbieri and Wiebe will head to the United States as members of Vancouver-based elite-level men’s ultimate team Furious George. Through USA Ultimate, the team is set to compete in a number of tournaments, including in Indiana and Wisconsin.
“Hopefully we place in the top 16 and then we can go to the national championships,” says Barbieri.
For now, the trio is firmly focused on worlds, selected after attending a prospect camp a few months back. They’ve been given weekly workouts to complete and have participated in training camps in Vancouver and Toronto.
The players leave Wednesday, July 27 for Poland and will return two weeks later.
The opening ceremonies will kick off Sunday, followed by the tournament, some of which will be live webcast, visit wjuc2016.ultimatecentral.com for info and schedule.
