To celebrate World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) International Spirit of the Game Day (#iSOTGDay) on Sunday, May 10, we are organising a series of webinars discussing the topic of “#SpiritBeyondSports: How has SOTG made YOU a better person?” with athletes and organisers of the various disc sports. You can join these webinars live on the WFDF YouTube Channel. Add them to your calendar using this event invite (.ics). All sessions will be recorded and made available for VOD access.

Webinar: 09:00–10:30 UTC/GMT and YouTube – calendar invite (.ics)

  1. Luisa Bartholome: PDGA Asia Ambassador, National Director of the Disc Golf Association of the Philippines, and member of the WFDF Disc Golf Committee focusing on the grassroot development programs.
  2. Sue Summers: Member of the WFDF Disc Golf Committee and member of the Mundaring Sporting Club Disc Golf Committee in Australia. Co-directed the WFDF World Team Disc Golf Championship at Mundaring in 2024 and officiated at the World Games in 2025. Played Ultimate for 5 years and has been playing Disc Golf for 11 years.
  3. Yukie Yamaguchi: Ultimate player, coach and interpreter at multiple international top-level tournaments, originally from Japan and now in Australia. Part of the WFDF SOTG and GEDI Commissions. Working on how we can overcome language and cultural diversity challenges.
Webinar: 15:00–16:30 UTC/GMT on YouTube – calendar invite (.ics)

  1. Adriana Withers: Retired player, founder and CEO of VC Ultimate (and Lookfly) since 1998. Values-first leader working to keep Ultimate community-focused, with a long-term commitment to grassroots growth, equitable access, and making ultimate and all disc sports more inclusive, safe, and welcoming for every athlete.
  2. Konstantin “Kostya” Basos: Ultimate frisbee player since 2010. Won the Russian National Championships, led as Spirit Captain at multiple Worlds and other international tournaments. Discovered Disc Golf during COVID and won the Russian National Championships. Now in Portugal, he continues his passion for Ultimate and Disc Golf as athlete and captain/coach in his new home.
  3. Sandra Jordaan: RSA (Cape Town) based player & coach. Formerly Spirit Captain for the National women’s team, and for the last decade coaching at a National level in the Mixed and (more recently) Open divisions. Previously part of the Cape Town Flying Disc Association (CTFDA) and the South African Flying Disc Association (SAFDA) executives.
  4. Sangeetha “Sangee” Manoharan: Indian national team athlete since 2015, and current President of the Flying Disc Sports Federation of India.
  5. Stanislaus “Stani” Amann: Playing Disc Golf since 2016, and started a club and local course in St. Pölten, Austria, in 2019. Won the Central European Championships and became the first Austrian to win a EuroTour in the Open Division at the Dutch Open in 2019. Elementary school teacher with Disc Golf asa  lifestyle, aiming to play tournaments in as many different countries as possible.

Webinar: 18:00–19:30 UTC/GMT on YouTube – calendar invite (.ics)

  1. Christian “Buddha” Schneider: Long-time Ultimate player, coaching all levels of teams and part of the first SOTG Committee headed by Patrick van der Valk that created the SOTG Scoring System. SOTG in all its forms and shapes inside and outside Ultimate has been a passion of mine for a long time.
  2. Edwin Ferney Acuña Lopez: Colombian Game Advisor, Observer and Referee. Working as a Game Advisor trainer in different countries, part of the Officiating Committee and Head GA, FECODV. Spirit Director at international events and Rules/SOTG workshops for club teams and National Teams.
  3. Gabriele “Gabi” Sani: Italian Ultimate player living in London, working on development, communication, and inclusion for the EUF Board since 2014 and recently the WFDF Commission. Played in 22 countries and won Spirit at 2 world tournaments.
  4. Sofia Pereira: General Manager of BULA based in Portugal, a long-term WFDF partner in Beach Ultimate development and currently organising Beach Ultimate Club Championships.
  5. Travis “Nep” Smith: Spirit Director for more players and more ultimate tournaments than anyone else in the world. Member of USAU SOTG Working Group since 2020. Previously: chair of the WFDF SOTG Commission, member of Ultimate Canada SOTG committee, president of the Vancouver Ultimate League (world’s largest rec league), mid player his whole life.

Discussions focus on how SOTG impacts competition, relationships, and everyday life, and how it can extend beyond sport.

“Spirit of the Game is a core value across all Flying Disc sports and in a wide range of contexts beyond them and we are excited to be able to showcase our commitment through this celebration,” stated WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch. “These three webinars bring together some of the most noted champions of spirit across the world and our various disciplines. Beyond the discussion in the formal webinars, we look forward to seeing manifestations of Spirit of the Game shared across our global community .”  

Spirit of the Game Commission Chair Wolfgang Maehr added, “We believe that Spirit is not just central to flying disc sports, but a shared aspiration to compete safely, fairly and in a way that protects the basic joy of play for all that can be applied in all sports and life beyond. It teaches agency and gives responsibility and power to co-create our lives.”

WFDF’s Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commission (GEDI) is also joining the celebration with Chair Esther Omuseni sharing: “Spirit of the Game is strongest when every athlete feels seen, respected, included, and trusted. Inclusion is not separate from SOTG, it is what makes fundamental joy of play possible in a global sport shaped by diverse cultures, voices, gender and experiences.”

Inclusion and Spirit of the Game are deeply interconnected. By promoting respectful, open and non-judgmental communication, athletes and teams can strengthen both the quality of competition and the sense of belonging within the community.

We also encourage the various members, partners, communities, teams and practitioners to reflect and share how flying disc sports and SOTG has affected their lives beyond the competition. The week on and after iSOTGDay is also a great week to organise clinics, workshops and other events to celebrate and invite new people to discover our sport.

For more ideas, take a look at our iSOTGDay Planning Sheet. No matter how you end up celebrating, share SOTG through word-of-mouth, social media (#iSOTGDay, #SpiritBeyondSports, and mention us via @wfdf_sotg_comm) or other traditional media channels.

Beyond this, we have updated the SOTG Scoring Sheet and SOTG Scoring Examples for Ultimate. You can find these, as well as other resources and translations in the Spirit of the Game Hub on the WFDF Academy.

We wish all a great Spirit of the Game Day celebration and much joy in your flying disc sports and other endeavours, and leave you with Nelson Mandela’s inspirational words: “Sport has the power to change the world… It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.”