Three members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints represented the United States at the World Flying Disc Federation World Junior Ultimate Championships in Logroño, Spain, in July and won medals for their country.
Blake Holt from Hyde Park, Utah, 17, was selected for the U20 men’s team, which won silver, while Silas Bell from Logan, Utah, 19, and Emilee Jensen from Bountiful, Utah, then 18, played on the U20 mixed team of men and women, which won gold.
After competing in Spain, Jensen will soon be returning to the country as she has been called to serve in the Spain Madrid South Mission. Holt plans on serving a mission after graduating high school and Silas has begun the application process.
Ultimate is played with a flying disc and is a noncontact, self-refereed team sport played on a field about the same length as a football field but narrower. Goals are scored when a player catches the disc in the opposite end zone.
This particular tournament occurs every two years and features the world’s best ultimate players under the age of 20. Two years ago, three Latter-day Saint athletes also represented the U.S. during that tournament in England and met a Latter-day Saint from Australia playing for his country. The U20 tournament is for athletes under the age of 20.
Speaking to the Church News before leaving for the July 11-18 competition, all three athletes were excited about the opportunity to play and to meet the 47 teams from more than 20 nations competing. They also were thankful for the opportunity to meet others on the USA teams and answer any questions about the Church.
Jensen was ready to love the people in Spain.
“I’m super excited to represent my country in Spain and then also to go back and represent my Savior as a missionary,” she said.
Holt said people were respectful of his faith. “Everyone’s super nice. The coaches do a really good job of creating good culture that’s welcoming and uplifting. So that’s been a good experience,” he said.
The culture of Ultimate Frisbee is what drew Bell to the sport after playing soccer when he was younger. He was impressed by the spirit of the game and the camaraderie among all players, even on opposing teams.
All three have been playing for up to 10 years or at least since they were young — Bell and Jensen went with their dads to come play for fun for example.
“I would go to those games with him and just kind of run around the field almost aimlessly,” Jensen said. “It was just so fun. I loved going and like being with people, being with my dad. It was super fun Saturday morning activity.”
Each athlete found competitive leagues and clubs in Utah and kept playing and improving. The process for the USA team began last summer, Bell said.
“You have to apply for the application and then be invited to try out,” he said.
The two-day tryouts were in California in November, where Holt said they spent hours each day on the field. “It was really long and it was really hard, but it was super fun.”
A few months later, he was at school when someone sent him the roster on social media. “I just sat down and told some of my close friends, ‘I just made Team USA.’ And, they were pretty excited for me.”
The athletes all hope to continue playing in college after their missions.
Jensen said a fun part of playing Ultimate is that the disc flies so uniquely in comparison to a football or baseball. “It has this curve that you can really use to your advantage.”
Everyone — handlers and cutters — has their own playing style, she explained. “I just love moving that disc in, in long spaces. I like throwing it deep, which is called hooking. I like to hook it. It’s very fun.”
When asked if she could tell the Frisbee world one thing about her faith, she said, “I love my Savior, and I know that He lives. He loves all people. He loves everyone equally.”
— Church News intern Madeline Miles contributed to this story.
