Richmond Secondary School’s ultimate program continues to build momentum and they have plenty of company too.
The Colts were joined by the Steveston-London Sharks in Surrey last weekend for the Canadian High School Ultimate Championships. Both earned their spots based on strong seasons a year ago.
The Colts are enjoying another competitive campaign that included a close loss to RC Palmer for the city championship last Friday. They finished sixth at nationals and will now turn their attention to the Vancouver and District Championships which starts on Friday at Boyd and conclude Saturday at Churchill in Vancouver. A strong showing there will send them back to Newton Athletic Park in a couple of weeks for provincials.
However, it’s not playing for trophies and medals that has their longtime coach enthused. Sam Law is thrilled to see just how much the game has grown in his hometown. The Frisbee co-ed sport saw all but one city school field a team at the senior level this season. There is a junior league operating too and a Grade 8 circuit might not be far behind either.
Leading these teams are former students like Law. He graduated from Richmond High back in 2006 and is now an elementary teacher in Vancouver. This is his ninth year of giving back to his former school as a volunteer coach.
“Richmond has seen some serious growth in the last three or four years and it’s just fantastic,” smiled Law. “It mostly has to do with the coaches. Not only our program but other schools too. They go to play (ultimate), love the sport and bring it back to Richmond.
“Originally, Richmond didn’t have a lot of teams play but all off a sudden it exploded and now it’s booming.”
So what makes ultimate so appealing? How about the rare chance to play a co-ed team sport in high school with no equipment required.
There is also the opportunity to play outside of high school in a Vancouver league. A couple of years back, Richmond High had three players involved in the national team U19 program.
“The program was founded here back in 2004 when three guys just wanted to play and started a team. The momentum has grown from there,” added Law. “We just want to see these kids continue to play and that’s our main message. Keep playing, taking it one game and one point at a time.”
