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WU24 Q&A – Felix Martin

Some of the best young talents from around the globe have recently been to Heidelberg, Germany to compete in the Open, Mixed and Women’s division. GB took a strong team this year, including some Warwick Bears.  GB’s Mens finished 8th, Womens 8th and the Mixed team 13th. We talked to the Warwick Bears who made the trip to Germany.

Felix Martin

How long have you been playing frisbee, and how did you start?

I started playing ultimate in my first year of university in 2015. I found out about the sport at the Sports Fair that takes place during Freshers week and thought it sounded interesting, I wanted to try a new sport at University anyway. So I went to a taster session and a beginner’s tournament the next week and I’ve been hooked on the sport since.

What is your role in the GB team?

On the GB team I mainly played on the defensive line which meant trying to shut down the player I was marking and generate a turnover.

What was your best on pitch moment of the tournament?

I would say my best on-pitch moment came on the last day of the tournament in our rematch against France. We had played France on the second day of the tournament and lost convincingly 15-8. This was easily the most frustrating and disappointing loss of the tournament for me, effectively eliminating us from top 8 contention. However, the second time round we were a different team and managed take the lead early in the game. Towards the end of the game they started to make a small comeback but I managed to get a block near our own Endzone and boost it to a receiver going the other way – eventually ending in us scoring the break. We ended up winning the game 15-12 leaving us undefeated in our last 6 games of the tournament.

What was your best off pitch moment of the tournament?

It’s difficult to pick out a single best off-pitch moment. Getting to know some of the best Ultimate players in the UK in our age group was an amazing experience and I enjoyed every minute with the team 😍😍 #squadgoalz

Any advice for the rest of Warwick Bears?

My advice would probably be to just have confidence in yourself and keep pushing yourself to take on new challenges that you aren’t quite ready for yet but will push you the furthest. Also: throwing is really important – try to throw as much as possible – throwing every day is the dream and will make you so much better. When you are playing or training, try to analyse yourself to see what you do well and what you do badly. Then look at the way other people do things and try to copy them.

How did you find the trials to join the squad?

The trials were pretty fun. It was essentially just a very long training session with some coaches I’d never been coached by before. It was difficult to judge myself against the other people there so I was pleasantly surprised to find out I’d made the team.

What is next?

Honestly after worlds I was a little burnt out and wasn’t very keen on playing Ultimate. I had already committed to playing regionals and nationals with my club team EMO however and after regionals I was back in the swing of things. I’m planning on focussing more on work and other sports next year but to be honest I’ll probably just get dragged back into playing all the time.

Thanks Felix!

Nathan Hall

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