You can always see an energetic group of athletes perspiring intensely as they throw the Frisbee to and fro on the Songjiang campus’s athletic field. This is the YK Pao Ultimate Frisbee team.
Recently, alumni Sandy, Class of ’20, who is now studying Sports Medicine at Rice University in Houston, won recognition as 2022 D-III* Woman’s Breakout Player of the Year for her excellent performance as part of the college’s frisbee team – far away from her days in Songjiang when she began playing the sport. The award highlights players who are emerging talents and have been gaining a name for themselves over the championship season.
“I feel very honoured, the Breakout Award is usually saved for juniors and seniors,” explains Sandy, who received the award as a sophomore – younger than the usual recipients. The Ultiworld 2022 College Awards, which awarded Sandy with the title, described her as a “future superstar in the division” and highlights her impressive offensive and, even more impressive, defensive capabilities.
Often a core member driving her team to victory, Sandy notes that there are certain challenges in playing Ultimate Frisbee, especially as a niche sport. As Ultimate Frisbee is less well-known in Texas and often considered recreational, Sandy finds herself at the forefront of the team as one of the more experienced members and as someone who practises seriously. Therefore, in order to help her Rice teammates, Sandy often shares with them the skills, such as different throws, she learned during her Pao School years.
In fact, Sandy feels, it was her experiences playing Frisbee that helped her get into Rice: “I wrote about Frisbee throughout my college application essay, as it matches with sports medicine and my love of sports. If you talk about your experiences playing sports or going to tournaments, it makes you more unique.”
The story of ultimate Frisbee at YK Pao School began in 2011, introduced by American biology teacher Mr. Knows and his wife, who were both members of USA Ultimate, America’s national Frisbee team. They brought their passion for Frisbee to Pao School and established an ultimate co-curricular activity (CCA). It became so popular that its members surpassed those on the football team.
Co-Curricular Activities (CCA)
The Co-Curricular Programme is a unique aspect of life at Pao School, allowing students
to participate in a wide range of different activities designed to cater to their diverse
range of interests and skills. From Monday to Thursday, students have the opportunity
to join CCA activities each day, with the option to change the activities each semester.
The Co-Curricular Programme is a compulsory part of the day for all students and is
divided into different sections: Chinese cultural activities, sports, performing & visual
arts, enrichment activities and High School CAS/Community Service.
The first class of ultimate students with teachers
Mr. Shane Xin, the Middle School Head of Character Education and humanities teacher, joined the Frisbee team at the invitation of the students. Mr. Xin noted that ultimate Frisbee is an easy game to pick up. The threshold for entry is low. As long as there is an open space available and you are willing to throw the Frisbee around and run, you can play.
The ‘self-refereeing’ aspect of ultimate is the embodiment of “integrity” in Pao
School’s core values of “compassion, integrity and balance” as it requires
athletes to have a high degree of self-discipline and integrity, and follow the
rules of the game without supervision. This tests students’ self-discipline.
Learning effective self-discipline also teaches them how to be honest with
themselves while respecting their opponents.
——Shane Xin
Head of Middle School Character Education / Humanities Teacher
Over the years, Pao School students have been enthusiastic about ultimate. The biggest fans of the sport have formed a club, while from 2013, the school hired professional ultimate coaches to provide training for students. In 2018, the Pao School Ultimate Frisbee team was officially established and since then has performed well in numerous off-campus competitions.
In recent years, the YKPS Ultimate Frisbee team’s record
2019 SSSA Champion
2019 Shanghai University Student Exchange Competition, 1st place
2019 UWG World United Games China U19 Frisbee Team
3rd place in Shanghai Youth Open
2020 Shanghai Youth Open 1st place
2021 SSSA runner-up
2021 2nd place in Shanghai Youth Open
At present, the YK Pao School Ultimate Frisbee team is divided into a junior varsity (JV) team and a varsity team. After the JV’s team training and selection, top players will have the opportunity to join the varsity team and represent the school in various external competitions. The school’s ultimate team now includes 26 players from different years, with a male to female ratio of almost 1:1. The players participate in one-hour training twice a week, which includes basic throwing, intra-team competition, and tactical layout.
Pan Shipeng, the school’s ultimate coach, lauds the team’s strong capabilities and performance. He notes, "In recent years, the Pao School Ultimate Frisbee Team has done well thanks to the students’ perseverance. They have worked to hone their ultimate skills, in rain and shine, in hot and cold weather. In addition, they have displayed excellent team spirit, realising that success in ultimate comes not from individual contributions but close cooperation among the players.”
2019 tournament photo
Ultimate Frisbee Rules
There are many ways to play with a flying disc (a Frisbee), including ultimate,
Frisbee golf, throwing Frisbee and dodging Frisbee. Ultimate Frisbee is the
most popular form of the sport and is also the way the game is played at Pao
School; other names for ultimate are Frisbee competition/ or team Frisbee.
Ultimate is played as follows: The game is played by two teams, each with
7 players (four men and three women or three men and four women), with
scoring zones set up at both ends of the field. The team which has
possession of the Frisbee must attempt to move the Frisbee into position
so that they may score a goal. A player may throw the Frisbee in any way
they wish but the disc may never be handed from player to player. In order
for the Frisbee to go from one player to another, it must at some time be
in the air. No player may walk, run, or take steps while in possession of the
Frisbee. The defensive team gains possession whenever the offensive team’s
pass is incomplete, intercepted, knocked down, or goes out-of-bounds. A
goal is scored when an offensive player has two feet in the end zone after
receiving a pass from a teammate. A player in possession may not score by
running into the end zone. The team that scores receives one point.
A game usually lasts 100 minutes and to win 15 points must be scored.
2018, 2019 team photo
2020 May team photo
The biggest difference between ultimate and other sports is that ultimate has rules but no referee. Ultimate captain Year 12 Antonio joined the team in Year 9 at the encouragement of his swimming teammates. In his opinion, the lack of referee penalties has had a positive impact on his growth: "Ultimate has opened up my understanding of competitive sports. Unlike basketball and football, it is a sport without physical contact. There is no referee. The game has made me more self-disciplined." In the opinion of Antonio’s mother, her son has also become better at expressing himself after joining the ultimate team.
Due to the lack of a referee in ultimate, when there is a dispute on the field, the players of the two teams must speak to each other face to face to resolve the issue. This allows the players to bolster their communication skills and makes ultimate an especially social game. Regarding this point, current ultimate captain Year 12 Jennifer notes, “Playing ultimate has made me more positive and confident. It has improved my communication skills, whether in facilitating cooperation among my teammates or resolving disagreements with opposing teams. I have learned to more effectively reach a consensus and calmly resolve disputes.”
Pao School Athletic Programme prepares students to discover and realise their full
potential. We measure success in personal growth, achievement, impact on other
people and enjoyment. All our teams strive to represent the school with pride
and excellence by reflecting our core values at home and away.
——Simone Sancinelli
Head of Secondary PE
* The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is an association of more than 1,000 American and Canadian universities and colleges. The NCAA organises various sports leagues every year and classifies member schools into Division I, Division II, and Division III according to their size, athletics funding, and althletics programmes.
