2022 World Masters Ultimate Frisbee Championship runs until July 2 at UL and TUS Moylish

2022 World Masters Ultimate Frisbee Championship opening ceremony – Pictured above are Barry Walsh and Liam Grant  both of Siege Events & Local Organising Committee with Mayor of Limerick City & County, Mr. Butler pictured in University of Limerick. Picture: Brian Arthur.

The international event has attracted 115 of the world’s best Masters Frisbee Club teams

The WFDF 2022 World Masters Ultimate Club Championships (WMUCC) kicked-off in Limerick with much fanfare.  The international event, which has attracted 115 of the world’s best Masters Frisbee Club teams, is taking place at the University of Limerick Sports Campus and TUS Moylish Campus from Saturday 25 June to Saturday 2 July.

As the first WFDF Masters Championships since 2018 due to the pandemic and the first of any WFDF World Championship event since 2019, over 115 teams registered, rather than the 80 anticipated, such was the pent-up demand to compete and engage in international competition.

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The Local Organising Committee (LOC) ensured athletes and their supporters were given an Olympic-style Irish welcome. A special Opening Ceremony heralded an exciting week-long competition and saw all 23 nations represented through a Flag Parade. An Irish dance demonstration and live music and entertainment added to the spectacle and helped awaken everyone’s Irish spirit for the week.

A showcase game from the Masters Women’s division between Ireland’s Masterclass and Canada’s StellO gave a flavour of the excitement and drama expected during the 550+ game tournament.  The Masterclass team comprises a number of female athletes who were pivotal in Ireland’s golden success at the 2019 European Ultimate Frisbee Championships (EUC) beating Switzerland 15-8 to get the gold. They had tough competition up against the Canadian side that have Canadian Ultimate Championship (CUC) wins dating back to 1998 and multiple National titles.

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Daniel Butler, said “Welcoming some of the world’s best Ultimate Frisbee players and serving as the host city for the 2022 World Masters is incredibly exciting for Limerick. We are a sporting city with outstanding facilities and a reputation for hosting world-class events.  I hope that the entire Ultimate community gathered here – the players, coaches, officials, and fans – have a wonderful experience both on and off the field. I would encourage people in Limerick and further afield to show up and cheer on the teams, giving them the support they will no doubt thrive on.”

Robert “Nob” Rauch, President, World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), said “On behalf of the World Flying Disc Federation, I am pleased to welcome all athletes, coaches, supporters, volunteers and spectators to Limerick for the WFDF World Masters Ultimate Club Championships. It’s great to be celebrating with our first Ultimate World Championship back after the long pandemic pause of over 2 years. WFDF is excited to see over 3,000 participants from 23 countries representing 115 teams competing this week. The playing fields here at the famous sports University of Limerick are in top condition and are ready to welcome athletes from all over the world. We offer a big thanks to the entire UL team for their support and preparation, and to the Local Organising Committee for their huge effort in bringing this world class event together.”

Liam Grant, Siege Events and the Local Organising Committee, said “We are delighted to have finally arrived at D-Day. What an occasion and honour to host the 2022 World Masters Ultimate Club Championships. Staging such a large-scale International event could not have happened without the invaluable support from the World Flying Disc Federation, UL Conference and Sports Campus, TUS Sport, Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau, Failté Ireland and Limerick City and County Council. I would like to sincerely  thank them and our wonderful organising committee who have given their all to make this tournament an enormous success. We expect this event will have a lasting positive impact on the Ultimate Community and sport in Ireland.”

Echoing this, Barry Walsh, Siege Events, said “The Local Organising Committee of WMUCC are passionate about the sport and the Irish Ultimate community. We are determined to make a positive impact on the youth development of Ultimate in Ireland and are aware of the endless hours volunteers have put in contributing to this. We want the sport to come out the other side of this summer stronger and better with more members in every youth club and have more kids playing the sport in schools. As a result, we have allocated a total of €5,000 from our finances to support this cause nationally and ensure that not only Limerick benefits from this landmark event.”

Karen Brosnahan, Shannon Region Conference & Sports Bureau, said, “The Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau and Failté Ireland are delighted to support the prestigious 2022 World Masters event. Securing this event for Ireland and attracting such an enormous international delegation to Limerick underlies the importance of sports tourism. It is wonderful to see how the University of Limerick (UL) campus has become Ireland’s sporting campus and a perfect location for the event with fields, facilities, accommodation and restaurants all wrapped up into one Olympic Village- like setting.”

During the 8-day tournament, athletes will compete in either the Masters Open, Masters Women’s, Masters Mixed, Grandmasters Open, Grandmasters Mixed and Great-Grandmasters Open divisions. The age criteria for athletes playing at the event varies by division but minimum age for the Masters’ divisions is 33 for men and 30 for women up to a minimum age of 48 for men and 45 for women in the Great Grandmasters divisions.

The WFDF 2022 World Masters Ultimate Clubs Championships are supported by Limerick City & County Council, Failté Ireland, Shannon Region Conference & Sport Bureau, Greatest Bag, Friction Gloves, WFDF, University of Limerick, TUS Sport, VC Ultimate, Discraft, Greatest Bag, Ulti TV, Showgame.

Event running order: 

Everyone is welcome to come along and witness the games. UL and TUS are open and free to access venues for all of the public.

30th June – Introduction to Ultimate Frisbee, 15:00-17:00 at Maguires, University of Limerick

1st July: Finals (UL)

2nd July: Finals and Closing Ceremony (UL)

For full results go HERE

To view all of the action, watch the livestream HERE

For more info go HERE

For more Sports stories go HERE