KOTA KINABALU, Feb 16 – Sabah’s biggest annual ultimate frisbee tournament will be back next weekend with its 13th edition.
The Borneo Headhunters Hat (BHH) tournament will be held on February 22 to 23 at Padang Sukma in Likas, Kota Kinabalu featuring 320 athletes from 10 nationalities coming together for two days of ultimate frisbee competition.
“We have participants from the United States of America, Australia, South Korea, Canada, China, India, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, and Kuala Lumpur. Some 60 percent of our athletes are non-Malaysian.
“As usual we had more people sign up but due to field restraints, we can only accept a maximum of 320 every year but this was still a very good sign that people are eager and willing to come to Kota Kinabalu,” said Kinabalu Flying Disc Club president Ronnie Ting.
The annual tournament is among the biggest of its kind in the region, attracting ultimate frisbee players who love the sport and meeting new people.
In a hat format tournament, players sign up as individuals and are assigned to teams based on their skills and experience.
Teams consists of players of all ages and backgrounds who have to find their own chemistry and compete against each other. There are 16 teams with 20 players each, each with a different colour.
Honesty, self awareness and integrity are important values to the game which are embodied in the Spirit of the Game, or good sportsmanship which is integral to the sport.
“We have players as young as 17 years old from South Korea up to a 61 year old Danish who has been one of our loyal supporters. We also have regular players flying in from Australia, Singapore and Brunei, some who have been with us for 10 years.
“The tournament is known for having good hospitality and a wide range of players who can bring it on the field and off-the-field,” said Ting.
The tournament started on a small scale about 15 years ago with just 36 local players but has grown into one of the most anticipated tournaments of the year.
The public is welcomed to watch the niche sport during the weekend.
The tournament is supported and sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Ministry of Youth and Sports and Gamuda Land among others.
Other sponsors that contributed to the tournament were Tritonic isotonic sports drink, Trio sports apparel, Evergold metal roofing, Kedai Makan dan minum Kasigui No 1, Signel Poshtel, Signel Hostel, Toojou, MyDisc, Geek Gear Brunei, Excelon IT, Px5 functional gym, Hayano, Proton Wayne, Innolink Sdn Bhd, Terranova Studio, Synergist Physiotherapy, Dotts Egg Tart, Walnut Bakery and Omni Sound System among others.
For more information, please email ultimate.borneo@gmail.com or visit their social media page Borneo Headhunters Hat on Facebook and Instagram.
