This article is from page 81 of the 2008-07-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 81 JPG
ENNIS man Rob Kiely has the hon- our of leading his country at the World Ultimate and Guts Champion- ship (WUGC) in Canada in August.
Rob has been chosen as one of Ire- land’s four captains for the event, the world cup of Frisbee throwing.
More than 100 teams from 30 coun- tries will compete for the title from August 2 to 9.
Ireland will be represented by two teams in the Open and Women’s categories, at the championships or- ganised by the World Flying Disk Association (WFDA). Rob ts a sea-
soned ultimate Frisbee international, having represented his country on four occasions. Before departing for Vancouver, Rob said the memories of one of Ireland’s greatest sporting achievements fired his ambition to represent his country.
“Having the opportunity to repre- sent Ireland is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a young lad watch- ing Italia ‘90 on the big screen in the Roslevan,’ said Rob.
The Ennis native also hopes, that just like Jack Charlton’s team, Ireland can again cause a few upsets. “I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in four national squads up to now, and
as one of this year’s captains, Ill be looking to get the most out of myself and our squad to bring Ireland to new heights at the world level, and take a scalp or two along the way.
“I’m particularly looking forward to the challenge of facing Switzer- land again, and hopefully this time coming out on top.”
Both Irish teams have completed an intensive training programme over the past six months, compris- ing of fitness, skill-based and set piece training. The teams have both competed in a number of prepara- tion events. At a recent tournament in Amsterdam, featuring the best
teams in Europe, the Irish Women’s team achieved runners-up placings, after the first final appearance for an Irish Women’s Team. The Open team faced a number of European teams at an event in Berlin and achieved im- pressive victories over Germany and Holland.
The Open team is seeded 10th of a division of 19 teams, and will travel to Vancouver full of confidence fol- lowing strong performances in the lead-up to the competition.
The Irish women are seeded 12th of 15 and are fired up to make an im- pression on only their second world championship.