PRESS RELEASE
HCMC Welcomes International Ultimate Frisbee Tournament
HCMC, December 8, 2009. RMIT International University Vietnam, the RMIT Ultimate Club (RUC) and the Saigon Ultimate Club (SUC) are combining forces to organize Ho Chi Minh City’s Sixth International Ultimate Frisbee tournament, to be held on December 26-27th, 2009 at the South Saigon campus of RMIT International University Vietnam.
Officially dubbed the “6th Annual Vietnam Hat Tournament,” the tournament is expected to attract up to 120 athletes from across Vietnam, Asia-Pacific, Australia, Europe and North America.
In addition to RMIT Vietnam, the 6th Annual Vietnam Hat Tournament is sponsored by Diamond Sponsor and Ultimate clothing outfitter Zone, and Silver Sponsors Hongo, Handspan, and Greencross, with two local bars – Le Pub and Cage - serving as venue sponsors. Special thanks go to Zorok and RMIT Basketball.
Ultimate Frisbee (also referred to as “Ultimate”) is the world’s fastest growing team sport, and is currently played in more than 50 countries by an estimated 150,000 players. Invented in the United States in 1967, Ultimate began to experience rapid growth in the late 1980s, and has since gained wide popularity among male and female athletes across North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia-Pacific. Ultimate combines elements of other popular sports – including football, basketball, and American football – resulting in a fast-paced, exciting sport that is truly one-of-a-kind. Renowned for its emphasis on sportsmanship and team play, Ultimate Frisbee has been a medal sport at the World Games since 2001 and is well on its way to becoming an Olympic sport.
Though Ultimate Frisbee was first introduced to Vietnam by foreigners, the Vietnamese players are now the heart and soul of the scene. The passion for the sport was first brought to the country by expats in Hanoi, where they established the Hanoi Ultimate Club (HUC) in 1997. In 2004, its southern counterpart club, Saigon Ultimate Club (SUC), was established. Soon thereafter, the sport caught on among Vietnamese students at RMIT. They organized the RMIT Ultimate Club (RUC) in 2006, made up entirely of local Vietnamese players. Since then, the popularity of the sport has exploded among the Vietnamese student population at the university.
Since 2005, Vietnam Ultimate has sent teams to compete in tournaments around Asia. Because of some noteworthy successes in tournaments such as the Singapore Open, Manila Spirits and the Bali Nusantara Cup, the Asian Ultimate community has begun to take notice of Vietnam Ultimate. RMIT students now play an integral part in the make-up and identity of the teams competing overseas.
In December 2004, Hanoi Ultimate Club organized Vietnam’s first ever international Ultimate tournament, the Vietnam HAT 2004. Since then, the tournament has been contested in Saigon, hosted by the generosity of RMIT University and fuelled by the passion of the RMIT students.
For further information on the 6th Annual Vietnam Hat Tournament, and to learn more about the sport of Ultimate Frisbee in Vietnam, please visit
www.saigon-ultimate.com.
Media contacts:
Mr. Jeigh Santarina
Mobile: 0909990522
Email:
Ms. Trang
Mobile: 0908971486
Email:
