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This article was written by Becky Thompson who is here in Heidelberg, Germany to commentate the WFDF World U24 Ultimate Championships. She's has recently left her position as Ultimate Canada's Communications Manager to live, study and play ultimate in the UK. ***    The week here in Heidelberg has come to a stunning close and I for one, can’t truly believe it’s already over. It seems like eons ago that we watched the teams march into the opening ceremony, all of us making predictions on how this week would finish. In the end, the USA were triumphant across all divisions as they were expected to be, and we will have to wait another two years to see if someone can dethrone them once again at the u24 level. While the final results were as expected, there were moments in each game that captivated me. Women’s Final The Americans came out with so much fire and intensity in this game. They had mad key defensive adjustments since their power pool game with Japan and they executed them perfectly. My favourite moment of the game came straight out of halftime. After going down 8-3, Japan had to start of defense out of half and answered immediately with a break on the American team. There was so much energy in their celebration and suddenly it seemed like there was some momentum with them as well as they immediately followed it with another break to close the game. Japan showed tremendous resilience in the second half to keep the game a bit closer and forced the USA to work hard for every disc. I have so much respect for both of these teams and the incredible athletes on the field. You could see how badly they both wanted it, and in the end the USA put everything on the line to earn the gold medal. For this final we also had a badass all-female media team running the show and it was so awesome to be a part of it. I got to do my first real sideline interview and I hope it’s the first of many more! Men’s Final This game was back and forth throughout the first half. There was so much Canada hype from the crowd and the team delivered with highlight reel worthy plays all over the field. It is always a great feeling to watch your country compete in a world championship final and I felt so much pride watching them go for it. Unfortunately, the USA was able to work through some of their early mistakes and stormed through to win the gold 15-12. I was so impressed with all the performances but the player that stuck out the most for me was Canada’s Bryan Kuo who had the most exciting moment of the whole game. Off a deep shot to the endzone, the USA was able to make a play and knock the disc away from Kuo. But they didn’t knock it far enough as he was able to turn on a dime to layout for the amazing score. Even though Canada came away with the silver, it was an amazing game and the crowd absolutely loved every minute of it. Mixed Final The final game of the day brought the most excitement for me as I got to join the legendary Tom Styles in the booth to call the match. This game was back and forth, and was so hard to call who was going to come away with the victory. The USA went up by two, before Japan brought it back to take half. Just before halftime there was a ridiculous 12-minute-long point that saw six turnovers from each team. Despite all the turns, the excitement on the pitch was electric. The second half saw the two teams continue to go toe to toe until the Americans finally pulled away to win 15-12 over Japan.  The best part about this game for me was the unreal display of what mixed ultimate can, should and look like. The play between both genders was seamless, roles were shared evenly and it set an example for mixed teams everywhere. I feel so lucky to have been able to call this final. It has been an amazing week here at the 2019 World Under 24 Ultimate Championships here in Heidelberg, Germany and I want to wish a massive congratulations to all teams on a sensational tournament!   I have loved every second of this week, even the moments where I have been dead exhausted. It was a grind but one that I am so lucky to get to do. These weeks remind me not only how much I love my work, but how much I love this sport. Thank you to everyone for the support all week long, it has been a pleasure. *** Stay tuned for more coverage from WU24 on our social media channels and watch the games for yourself on WFDF's livestream.  Event website: https://wu24heidelberg.com

This article was written by Becky Thompson who is here in Heidelberg, Germany to commentate the WFDF World U24 Ultimate Championships. She's has recently left her position as Ultimate Canada's Communications Manager to live, study and play ultimate in the UK. ***   After a long week, the World Under 24 Ultimate Championships are finally heading into the last day of play. Earlier in the week it felt like we would never make it here. With the long work days, there can be a weird feeling of moving in slow motion and at full speed ahead at the same time. But here we are on the eve of the gold medal games and it is shaping up to be a stellar day. The semi-finals day here is always an exciting one with all the action going down simultaneously on two pitches. Unfortunately for Canada, only one of our teams was able to make it into the finals. The women’s team battled hard against Japan but were left having to play for third, where they successfully brought home the bronze medal. The mixed team bounced back from a disappointing quarterfinal to finish strong in fifth place, and the men’s team made their semi-final against Japan look like easy work as they locked down their spot in the finals. For today’s highlights, I want to share some of my favourite moments as well as something I have spent a lot of time thinking about this week. National Anthem After losing in tough semi-final games today, Singapore and Latvia were left to face off for the bronze medal in the mixed division. Both teams were clearly still feeling the effects of their prior loss but had no choice but to come together for this game. At this point in the day, most teams had either left the pitch, were playing in their own consolation games or were busy trading jerseys. There weren’t a lot of players watching the game and it felt a bit anti-climactic to begin with. Even with the subdued nature at the start of the game, the two teams gathered on the center line to face each other. Singapore then sung their national anthem, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders. It is a sign of respect to sing their anthem at the beginning at the game and it was a simple but beautiful moment before the game. Lindsay McKenna I think Lindsay McKenna could be the best player in the mixed division. She is so dynamic and so purposeful in every movement she makes. Not only does she have the height and athleticism that is so dominant when she goes deep, if you take away the out she will burn you under and put up a perfect huck to the endzone. McKenna has also been pulling for the USA mixed team on many of her defensive points, which is not something you usually see in the mixed division. She has been a joy to watch and commentate, and will surely have a big impact on the final tomorrow.  Travelling Fans One of the things I’ve noticed a lot this week is the masses of travelling fans that seem to accompany the Canadian and American teams. It is great to see so many families and friends coming all the way to Germany to support their teams. But over the course of the week I have really noticed the difference in the number of fans here with the North American teams compared to the rest of the tournament. There is a good number of European fans, but for other countries to have to travel as far as North American teams, there is a huge contrast. It has made me think a lot about the inequalities and barriers that face countries who are trying to come compete on the world stage. *** Stay tuned for more coverage from WU24 on our social media channels and watch the games for yourself on WFDF's livestream.  Event website: https://wu24heidelberg.com

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