Purple team won the first prize.
KOTA KINABALU: Participants from 10 countries gathered here for last weekend's Borneo Headhunters Hat (BHH) international ultimate frisbee tournament, which returned after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic.
This event saw some 300 participants from Australia, South Korea, China, India, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia, tournament director Dinoza Mahruf said on Friday (March 10).
He said this was the 11th tournament in the series and the organisers received over 700 applications but could only accept 300 because of space limitations.
“We were worried that travel arrangements would affect the turnout but... this is a very good sign that people are eager and willing to come to Kota Kinabalu,” he added.
The tournament took place on March 4 and 5, and saw 16 teams of 19 each vying for top honours.
Former Malaysian Flying Disc Association president Ong Ben Jin said the tournament was among the best in the region despite its relatively low profile.
“Kota Kinabalu or Sabah itself is not known for its 'ultimate' scene in Malaysia. At the same time, Malaysia is also super thankful to the BHH committee for always organising one of the best such events in the region,” he said.
In this kind of "hat format" tournament, players sign up as individuals and rate themselves on skills and experience before organisers assign them to teams with the aim of creating balanced groups.
Teams consist of players of all ages and backgrounds who have to find their own chemistry during the competition.
Honesty, self awareness and integrity are said to be important values in the game, according to the organisers.
After many close matches, the Purple team led by captain Bernard Lee from Bintulu, Sarawak emerged victorious, winning six games and losing only one.
They beat the Neon Green team, captained by Andrew Yew of Kuala Lumpur, in the final in a "grudge match" after losing to it the day before.
Team Dark Green, captained by American Neil Orzechowski, won third place.
Although ultimate frisbee is a team sport, participants also voted for the most valuable player on each team with Penang's Rey Sheng and Kuala Lumpur's Thong Gin Yee emerging winners.
The tournament was supported and sponsored by Kasigui No 1, Sabah Tourism Board and the Malaysia Aviation Group, among others.
