ABOUT 400 of the country’s best Ultimate players will be competing in the Australian Under 22 Ultimate Championships, which will be held at Ashfield Reserve for the first time.
It is also the first time WA has won the bid to host the championships, despite hosting several other national and international tournaments, including the World Flying Disc Federation Under 24 Ultimate Championships in January.
Ultimate is a team sport that uses a flying disc and requires players to make their own umpiring calls and discuss any violations.
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An application to waive the $450 in venue hire fees failed at last month’s Bassendean council meeting.
At the meeting, Mayor Renée McLennan said while she could not support the “picking and choosing” of community groups to have fees exempted, she thought the championships was a “wonderful” event and wished the organisers well.
Tournament director and Lockridge resident Ellen Shackles said despite the setback, the event would still go ahead.
“It is the first time we have used this venue and as a sport with rapidly growing popularity in Australia, we are always searching for venues that meet our needs,” she said.
“Being located along Guildford Road will allow the event to be highly visible and being located next to the train station will also help our interstate competitors to travel easily to the venue from their accommodation.”
Supporting the Town of Bassendean’s focus on sustainability, Ms Shackles said the sale of bottled water and plastic straws would be banned, and waste stations for recycled and compostable foods would be used.
Organisers will also use biodegradable plates and cups and promote the use of public transport.
Ms Shackles said she was expecting 18 teams consisting of men, women and mixed teams along with 30 volunteers at the event.
“The WA athletes are quite strong with many of the players representing Australia in the recent World U20 Championships in Canada,” she said.
“Many of the coaching staff for the WA teams have experience either playing and/or coaching at the international level.”
She said local primary schools would be invited to attend and admission was free for spectators.
She expected between 100 and 300 spectators at the championships, which will run from November 23 to 25.