According to the History Channel, the Frisbee story started in 1871 when William Frisbie opened the Frisbie Pie Company. University students were soon throwing the tin pie plate to each other, yelling “Frisbie!” as they did so. In 1958, Wham-O (the company responsible for the Hula-Hoop, Super Ball and Water Wiggle) changed its name to the Frisbee disc (with two “ee”s at the end). By aggressively marketing Frisbee-playing as a new sport, Wham-O sold over 100 million discs by 1977. In 2023, while neither frisbee golf nor Ultimate frisbee have yet to become Olympic sports, both games are popular across the world, including in Asia, where our guest today will shed some light on the two sports, the itinerant character of many game players, and how you can make playing frisbee in Asia a part of your trip to the region.

Scott and Trevor’s experience playing frisbee in Asia and abroad.

Trevor: We played ultimate in gym class as I child, so I knew how to throw. The aerobe, invented in 1984, was a cool invention too. After high-school, I played some casual disc golf in Hawaii and New Zealand but not on a real course with putters and baskets. 

Scott: I always had a frisbee growing up. We threw them all the time. I had always heard they were introduced at the 1967 Montreal Olympics and were a Canadian invention, but based on your intro I guess I was wrong. What I also know about them is that they need to be heavy to be good to use and play with. Light ones don’t cut it. I often have one when I go to a beach/island as they are really fun to throw on the beach. You can waste countless hours away with them.

Ultimate players in Siem Reap (Photo Courtesy of Sokhun Hean)

Trevor: Maybe my best experience was playing Ultimate in Australia. I played with the National Team in a beach tournament (which we won), and then a Hat tournament in Melbourne. Simply put, a hat tournament is when you draw teams out of a hat and players wear funny hats. When I moved to Bangkok, I joined a league but it was so serious that I couldn’t handle it.

Scott: I’ve threatened to play Ultimate but for some reason never tried. Looks like a fun but very challenging and tiring spot. Now that I think of it, I took a frisbee to Switzerland and we played in parks there. I also used to take them to hill tribe villages in northern thailand in my tour days and it would always be a fun thing to start doing with guests and villagers. We actually gave away 25 of them to villagers in northern Thailand about a decade back. They are a very good social connector.

Trevor: After moving to Cambodia, our friend Ruben introduced me to Jared, our guest today. I’ve played some ultimate pick-up and I was in the Khmer Cup disc golf tournament last year: an awesome course btw. Otherwise, it’s a real traveler game: especially when there’s a Hat, which is usually an annual event. People travel from far and wide to participate in Hat tournaments. Jared one of them…

PATREON – thanks to our newest patron Harry Vandborg, who recently watched a video of Trevor’s Cambodian New Year Celebrations in Siem Reap and of Scott visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ayutthaya north of Bangkok. 

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Disc golf players in Siem Reap (Photo courtesy of Jacob Sur)

TODAY’S GUEST: Jared Cahners background in Anthropology and Southeast Asian studies led to a life in Asia where he is currently working as the city manager of Siem Reap food tours. In his free time, he is an avid flying disc enthusiast, which is the topic we’ll discuss with Jared today. Welcome to the show Jared. 

Listen to Episode 175: Frisbee in Asia to hear Jared’s answers to the following questions:

  • Where are you originally from?
  • When and where did you first move to Asia?
  • Explain both games/sports to us?
  • When and where did you first play either/both Ultimate and Disc Golf?
  • Tell us about the disc, are these your typical frisbee that we all know?
  • Where have you traveled in Asia to play Ultimate and Golf?
  • How do the experiences differ across nations?
  • What countries in Asia have the most vibrant disc communities?
  • Are players in Asia mostly expat or local?
  • What are the best disc golf courses and why? 
  • What are the best Asian “hat” tournament and why?
  • What are the differences if any in disc culture across the region?
  • If someone wants to play while they are in Asia, what should they do first?
  • How can people learn about courses, disc societies and or tournaments in Asia? Website?
The ultimate podcast guest: Jared Cahners

PATREON – thanks to our newest patron, Harry Vandborg, who recently watched a video of Trevor’s Cambodian New Year Celebrations in Siem Reap and of Scott visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ayutthaya north of Bangkok. 

LINKS:

Learn more about Scott and Trevor:

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