(Photos by Nykko Santos.)

Boring. Not tiring enough. Corny. For your dogs only. These were the preconceived notions I carried about Ultimate - or Frisbee, as the sport is more popularly known - before I headed to West Field of Manila Polo Club to cover the Pocari Sweat Ultimate Club Championships.

I didn’t know better.

Just like the sport, the games are rapidly picking up the pace, and Ultimate is emerging as the latest alternative sport for basketball-crazy Filipinos. The object of this non-contact, fast-paced and highly cardiovascular field sport is to throw a Frisbee or disc up the field from teammate to teammate until the disc is caught in the opponent’s end zone. The game combines elements from other sports: the running of soccer, the jumping, pivoting, and passing requirements of basketball, and American football’s long bombs - this time of the Frisbee - into the end zone.

The tournament, which is organized by the Philippune Ultimate Associate (PUA) and sponsored by Pocari Sweat health drink, can be very intense…especially in the heat of the late summer season. It can get fast and furious. But it can’t get dirty. As the so-called “Spirit of the Game” decrees, Ultimate is a player-officiated sport that promotes sportsmanship and genuine camaraderie.

I also found out that model Derek Ramsay and TV personality Reema Chanco get in their respective perfect shapes while playing Ultimate, which naturally makes the sport a lot more attractive to the ordinary human being. Which is what I really am. So to all canine creatures out there, allow me to show the same interest as you do in catching flying discs. It’s not, after all, boring as I initially thought it was.

For more information on how to learn Ultimate, visit www.philippineultimate.org.
For more information on Pocari Sweat health drink, visit the official website at http://www.otsuka.com.ph and http://www.pocarisweat.com.ph.