The popularity of frisbee in the local scene has been catching up in recent times owed to the growing interest and increased participation of the sport, particularly among youth.
Despite being viewed as a recreational activity, there has been a steady rise in the number of clubs, tournaments and training sessions within the local frisbee scene.
Local clubs are slowly making a mark in regional frisbee competitions including the recent Malaysia Ultimate Open (MUO), where local club, Troopers finished third out of 16 entrants in Division 2, the Sultanate’s best performance in the meet.
Comprising 24 players including 12 males and females, Troopers emerged victorious on both occasions against Singaporean clubs Warm Waters and Pandamonium at the start of the competition.
They suffered a loss against Superman Return of Malaysia, placing them second in the group stage, though they managed to secure a spot in the quarter-finals after beating D’Tourist from Singapore in a do-or-die match.
Following this, the team went from strength to strength as they eliminated Towkay Tan from Australia to cement their berth in the semi-finals.
Though hopes of a final appearance were dashed when a rematch against Malaysia’s Superman Return resulted in an 8-11 defeat, they ensured a podium finish after edging Sia Mian from Singapore 9-8.
The MUO is widely known as the biggest and prestigious international tournament in Malaysia, therefore slots are constantly being filled with skilful and talented teams and players, annually.
The competition boasts renowned teams such as Swoosh – which combines players from Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia- the previous winners from MUO 2019 as well as Zero Displacement, this year’s finalist.
Troopers founder Md Afiff Razali praised his teammates for placing third while also expressing commitment towards further improvement in future outings.
“This achievement will become a great motivation for us to do even better the next time we join,” he said.
Brunei is still considerably new to the regional scene but their presence has helped gain attention and admiration of the international community especially due to their discipline and skill.
“We often get complimented on our discipline and skill in the games as being on par with them.”
Aware of the capabilities of the opposition, the team’s quick-thinking prompted them to make the necessary changes to their tactics.
“The games were all challenging and unexpected that we needed to use different gameplay for some matches,” Md Afiff continued, adding that the team underwent training for less than two months, prior to the meet.
The team was also cheered on by a few supporters who had also made the trip to Kuala Lumpur while media teams were also set up to cover their games.
Troopers also expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and the Brunei Adventure Recreation Association (BARA) for their support and assistance.
Md Afiff added, “On behalf of our team, Troopers, we would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our sponsors for their support.
“To our family and friends who supported from Brunei, we wouldn’t be on our journey to the tournament without them and our success in achieving third place would not have been possible.”
Troopers have gained knowledge and experience towards their pursuit of advancing the sport to new heights.
The team management said, “In knowing that Ultimate Frisbee is a small sport in Brunei Darussalam, it is always a pleasure going against international teams and players as it seizes us the ability to grow, learn and experience the sport in a higher level of challenge to the game and understanding the community in general within another perspective.
“Although this is not our first encounter in going against international teams, it is always a privilege that comes with excitement to go against other teams coming from different countries.” – Fadhil Yunus
