Ultimate Frisbee in Taipei, Taiwan

Katherine Tse is a 24-year-old Ultimate Frisbee aficionado from the USA. She has been living in Taipei for the last four years where she works in the marketing industry. She is a core member of Taiwan Ultimate, also known as Renegade Province, and Whisby Nation, Taiwan’s only regularly traveling club team. In this interview she talks about her passion for Ultimate and the Ultimate Frisbee scene in Taiwan.

Whisby captain Kuo Hsun’s huge sky

When have you started playing Ultimate Frisbee?

I started in 2007 as a freshman at UCLA, which has a pretty big women’s program. I quit for two weeks that year but then came back and haven’t left it since!

For how long have you been playing Ultimate Frisbee in Taipei?

I joined Taipei ultimate for the first time on the same night I landed and moved here. It’ll be four years in September.

Where do you play? What format?

We play in Xinzhuang with a local sports university on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Sunday afternoon pickup is more expat-oriented. Both are usually 5-2, though sometimes it’s 6-1 or girls marking guys when there aren’t enough ladies.

Where is your club located? How long has the club been operating?

We’re based in Taipei but have players from all over Taiwan. Whisby Nation’s first tournament as a team was Jeju Dirty Dozens in 2011.

How many members are there in the club?

It varies by tournament, but if we’re counting all the players who have joined us over the years, it’s about 30-40.

What are the membership costs?

None! But tournaments and everything are paid out of pocket ourselves.

A-han’s layout

Also, tell us more about Whisby Nation.

Whisby is the only regularly traveling club team in Taiwan. Even though we always have a few Taipei expats on the roster (including me!), we strive to be a Taiwanese-majority team, and I think we were one of the few club teams at Jeju this year that had more locals from that country than expats. That’s probably our most unique quality.

We are also focused on developing the competitiveness in Taiwan. We always have practices before any tournament and open them up to any other Taiwanese players to join. Whisby also tries to engage and scrimmage other Taiwanese club teams at these practices. Earlier this year, we hosted a clinic with former MLU player Aaron Liu, followed by a one-day hat, and both of these were firsts for Taiwan ultimate.

With tournaments, we competed in Manila, Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore since 2011. In July we’ll be attending Malaysia Open. We’re also hosting the inaugural Turn Up Taipei tournament September 27-28, 2014, and hope to see Asia ultimate out here in full!

Whisby at Taiwan Open (2012)

What is your opinion about the “Ultimate Frisbee movement” in Asia and Southeast Asia?

It’s pretty incredible. This is a hard one to answer! I think Asia ultimate is a few years behind the US in terms of growth, but that’s not a bad thing, though – the size can’t really match the US, but the density of the ultimate community in Asian countries is an impressive figure. For instance, Singapore and the Philippines come to mind because both have relatively large communities and a whole spectrum of club teams of different levels in spite of their country size. Places like Hong Kong and Korea have leagues, and the number of women’s tournaments are picking up frequency and numbers. Coming from the US, where ultimate is not so uncommon anymore, it’s refreshing to be able to experience and see Asia ultimate as it matures.

Have you ever played abroad? How did you fell about it?

I’m playing abroad now, in Taiwan! I’ve also played in Korea, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Asians are fast and squirrelly, especially the Taiwanese. It’s a workout just to keep up with them at pick-up. But seriously though.

Whisby at Jeju (2011)

What is the biggest difference between Ultimate Frisbee in Taipei and ultimate Frisbee in your home country?

This is probably a skewed answer because I was recently watching some footage from this year’s US College Nationals. In 7 years of playing, only 3 have been in the US, so I’m a little out of touch with the community there, so one huge, unmissable distinction watching those videos was the ego there was on the fields sometimes. (I feel like I might get some fire for saying this!) A lot of guys, even girls, spike the disc on the ground after a score or kick-spike it into the air egregiously, even just for regular points. I know there’s been arguments made for it being a point of pride to have worked so hard and showmanship, etc.

I’m just saying that it looks like too much ego, coming off 4 years in Taiwan where spiking is rare, along with a show of ego, and the majority of players I see react to huge plays (their own and others’) with more modesty and quietness. Taiwanese players in particular come off the field giving high-fives and congratulations to each other, after setting the disc back on the ground, and there’s no in-your-face flashiness or excessive grandeur about it. When I said ultimate is a few years behind the US, I think this humility is one of the results too – it hasn’t become a spectacle of superiority at the more competitive levels, yet.

Is it physically challenging?

It can be! If the running doesn’t wear you down, sometimes the weather will or the player you’re guarding.

Whisby at Jeju: Champions (2014)

Who is Ultimate Frisbee for? Why should anyone start playing Ultimate Frisbee?

Anyone! Join because you meet people from all over the world. Join because you can enter into a solid set of expat networks wherever you are in Asia. In Taipei, the ultimate expats are my hiking, travel, and social companions too – all-in-one. I couldn’t imagine how else it might be so easy to find such a solid group of people.

Do you have any personal “ultimate Frisbee experiences” you would like to share?

One of the best feelings is hearing international players say that they know about Whisby or when they say that Whisby is Taiwan and vice versa. Previously Taiwan wasn’t very known in the international scene, or least the local players, which is a shame because the players here have layouts and hopes to match any of Asia’s strongest. But with 3 years of building up Whisby through tournament participation and involvement, it’s music to my ears to know that Whisby has become a team that is well-regarded in Asia.

Whisby Nation will be hosting the inaugural Turn Up Taipei tournament September 27-28, 2014. For more information, contact Whisby at whisbynation[at]gmail[dot]com or find the event on Facebook. 

Connect with Whisby Nation via their Facebook Fan Page.