Levke Walczak has had one goal in mind for years, and that goal has remained unchanged: play at the World Games in 2022. The COVID pandemic has been a setback for this goal, for the simple reason that it’s harder to improve at ultimate without playing consistently, but in this case, it’s a minor setback.
Mentally, quarantine was a distinct challenge for Matt Gouchoe-Hanas. It was impossible to know how long the pandemic was going to shut things down for, and so the summer of 2020 was still marked by hard training and preparation in case ultimate returned at a moment’s notice.
Training and rehab have in many ways dominated Collefas Mot’s life since the pandemic began. Coming off of a devastating ACL tear, the time in quarantine has allowed Collefas the opportunity to gain mobility and explosiveness where otherwise she might have struggled.
Italy has experienced a wide variety of restrictions and changes over the last year. For Giovanni Santucci, this has been frustrating. Trying to figure out how the team will be able to practice from one week to the next is a constant chore, but the good news is that the team has been able to get out and train regularly since May 2020.
For Dena Elimelech, the time off from ultimate during quarantine has been a welcome opportunity to learn new skills. An artist by birthright, with parents involved in fine arts and fashion design, Dena used the break from the field to reconnect with her old passions, taking up print-making and sketching.
Ultimate can be accurately compared to a handful of sports, such as American football, rugby, and disc golf. For Gabriel Hernandez, disc golf filled the frisbee void that was left when the 2020 tournament season was cut short by the pandemic.
In a season already cut short by an unforeseen pandemic, Anne Worth’s was cut even shorter.
