Ultimate recognition for UCT trio

Ultimate's status as one of the fastest growing sports at UCT - it became an official club in 2010 - was cemented recently when three of the club's players were named to represent South Africa at the, well, ultimate international Ultimate tournament.

A disc-throw away: John McCoy, Nicholas Zaloumis and Matthew Lewis will join the SA team that travels to Japan for the world Ultimate (the sport) championships in July.

Matthew Lewis, John McCoy and Nicholas Zaloumis will be UCT Ultimate's (UCTU) representatives at the World Ultimate & Guts Championships that takes place in Sakai, Japan, in July this year. It is the first time that the trio have been selected for the national side.

Three other UCT players, Sean Massyn, Thomas Morris and Timothy Taylor, have been called up to the training squad for the duration of the preparation for the championships. The UCT contingent in the national squad is rounded off by two more students, John Heydinger and Robert Skelton, who play for other Cape Town clubs.

The students agree that the competition in Japan will be stiff, and are cautiously ambitious about their targets for the tournament. "We're hoping that South Africa will finish top of the bottom half," says McCoy.

As is typical for a small sport in South Africa, the students will be digging into their own pockets to make the trip to Japan.

"Most people in the team are paying their own way," says UCTU captain Zaloumis. "Obviously the team is doing some fundraising, but I don't think we have any huge hopes of a big company coming in."

Hopefully the rewards will be worth it.