SWITCHING OFF: FRISBEE-FANATIC MR FOX

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  Posted by: electime      4th December 2018

Gewiss’ technical product engineer, Simon Fox, explains to Libby Stonell the rules of Ultimate Frisbee as well as the importance of playing fair and often…

originally studied engineering at Lancaster University, and when I finished that, I wanted to be a maths teacher, which didn’t work out. I decided to return to engineering and spent a bit of time working for Eton, before moving to Gewiss about six months ago. I’m the technical product engineer, so any technical queries come to me, I also give advice on product codes and their specifications – basically making sure everyone gets the product that they need.

Free time is a good time

While doing my teacher training years ago, I learnt that it is really important to make time for yourself and get that correct balance between work and free time, so I make sure I do that in the form of Ultimate Frisbee.

I started playing Ultimate Frisbee in University. A person came up to me and said ‘why don’t you play ultimate Frisbee?’ and I replied: ‘well I’ve got nothing else to do today’ and here we are, now thirteen years later. I play weekly on a Monday night in Stevenage for two hours. I used to play two or three times a week.

The down low on Ultimate Frisbee

Ultimate Frisbee is a non contact sport, usually played in a field on a rugby pitch. The aim of the game is to throw the Frisbee to teammates who are standing at the end of the pitch. Everyone is allowed to move, apart from the person that’s got the Frisbee at any point, so it’s similar to netball in that sense.

Playing fair

The main difference between Ultimate Frisbee and a lot of other sports is that there isn’t a referee. Rule disputes are carried out between the two people involved, using a term known as ‘spirit of the game,’ which means fair play. At every event, a team is scored on how good they are at the spirit of the game. The prize at the end of the tournament is actually given to the fairest playing team.

One thing I noticed is that the rugby team at my university always had these intense rivalries with other teams. But at the end of each Ultimate Frisbee game, both teams would have a nice friendly chat, so you get a really good relationship with every other team you play against. There were occasions where you wouldn’t have enough players on your team, and you could call up a team from Manchester University and ask if they have any spare players, so it’s quite sociable in that way.

Simon (centre, back)

Passing on his passion

I have coached people that have gone on to play at international and professional levels, so I guess I can take a bit of credit for that. Somebody that I taught is now head coach of the Mexico Under 20’s team. Another guy now plays professionally in America. Once I retire, I might get all the qualifications to teach, contact a university nearby, and pass on what I’ve learnt.

It snowed horizontally when I played my first ever tournament, which makes it really hard to get a grip of the Frisbee, it was quite miserable but I enjoyed it. It really is a good way to switch off as well being as a fun way to stay active.

To find out more about Gewiss, visit their website: www.gewiss.com/ww/en