A Furey filled event

This past weekend was the 5th International Ultimate Frisbee Tournament on Jeju. With a series of games on Saturday and Sunday, several teams from Jeju competed against other teams from mainland Korea, China, Japan, and beyond.

For anyone involved with the event, it was also a time of remembrance for the late Nathan Furey, who was actively involved with the frisbee community. The team jerseys for Jeju were designed in his honour, with proceeds going towards his family.

On Sunday, I went to the final day of games at the arena near the Korea baseball hall of fame. When I arrived, the Jeju teams were waiting to start their semi-finals in the B division.

There were four divisions, A, B, C, and D, each categorized by the level of play of each team and organized accordingly. There were also games being held earlier in the day at another field complex out in Jungmun, but I didn't make it out to that. Our Jeju team won the C division there.

There were several other teams playing when I arrived, covering two of the fields within the arena complex.



I knew a few of the people competing in the tournament and went to greet and wish them luck as they warmed-up for their match. The weather was perfect for the tournament, a slightly overcast day with enough sun to keep it shining all afternoon.



T-shirts, frisbees, snacks, and beverages were also available at a nearby tented stand. T-shirts were selling for 15,000 won with 5,000 from each going to Nathan's family. They came in three different colours: black, red, and white, and two types of fabric: cotton and the air-coolant active wear fabric. Brian picked up a black one:



I opted for the more active wear in white. Here is the front design of the t-shirt, which is three silhouettes of Nathan from photos of his frisbee play:



Some kids from local schools showed up to watch the tournament. There was also some cameramen that came with them, following them throughout the afternoon.

For about an hour or two there was several different events held to show the kids how to play frisbee and the various skills involved with the game. Volunteers from the tournament participated in the activities with them.



It was a good way to get the kids more involved with the sport, since there isn't really any frisbee sports anywhere on the island besides the group involved with the tournament. The kids were throwing the frisbee to one another, doing sprints and attempting to catch them while running, and there were competitions for the furtherest frisbee throw.



All of the kids seemed really excited about it, especially when prizes were brought out. I estimate around forty or sixty children showed up, probably most from the area where I teach in. I thought I heard my name being shouted, but didn't see any of my students in my observations.



As the semi-finals started up, I grabbed my HD camera and took a position up on the exterior wall to get an overview of the matches. The closest to me was team Jeju Juno, whom was competing against team Zolla. It was interesting to see how ultimate frisbee is played, as I've never seen it in action before.



Team Juno seemed to be making some progress early on against Zolla and scored first to take the lead.



Zolla made a few attempts, but the defensive play of Juno was equally impressive and more than enough to keep their lead.



For a while, Juno had struggled a bit against their competition's defense, but definitely were doing better. Some very quick thinking and well timed throws/catches gave Juno the edge they needed to win.



It didn't take long before Juno had developed a big enough lead to run with and never look back, securing their spot in the B division finals.



The match between the other Jeju team in the semi-finals, Guambats vs. Jeju Hyojeong, was a lot closer. Guambats took an early 6 - 2 lead, but Jeju managed to come back tying it up in the final half, but the Guambats scored the final point to move onto finals.

It would have been awesome to see an all Jeju final, but things don't always go the way you want or expect them to.



All of our teams were wearing the red t-shirts. I'm sure there will be many leftover, so if anyone is looking to buy one, you can probably get one at Bagdad cafe in Jeju-si, which produced the t-shirts for the teams.



The final match of Jeju Juno versus the Guambats was a close one, with Guambats scoring first, however, not long after Juno was in control once again and won the match. It was a really well co-ordinated effort, and everyone was pleased with the results from the tournament.



There was a few group photos after the match and some closing ceremonies. Afterwards many people went out to Gecko's for some dinner and drinks. In all, it was a successful tournament and a great Sunday afternoon of fun and games. Congratulations to all the winners!


Photo by Brian Miller