Let’s face it – Canada has a Spirit problem.
Not the kind you bottle up and toast. The kind that’s supposed to guide how we play ultimate. Spirit of the Game. The big idea. The beating heart. The thing that supposedly sets ultimate apart from every other sport on the planet.
But if you’ve watched Canadian teams on the world stage, you’ve seen the cracks. The most glaring example? Canada vs Japan at WUGC 2012. It’s become the cautionary tale – the YouTube relic that refuses to die. That game was a masterclass in how not to play with Spirit: physicality turned to hostility, calls became currency, and the game turned into a chess match of egos and escalations.
And it’s not just that game. Canada has consistently struggled with Spirit scores at international events.
At the WUC 2024, Canada Mixed was near the bottom.
At WMUC 2024, Master Women’s, Master Mixed, and Grandmaster Men’s were all near the bottom.
At WUCC 2022, Mixed and Women’s were near the bottom.
At WUCC 2018, Battleship (Canada Mixed) were near the bottom.
So what’s going on?
1. Canada Is Divided – And It Shows
We like to think of Canada as one united front. But politically, culturally, and even linguistically, we’re a fragmented country. East vs West. French vs English. Rural vs Urban. Progressive vs Conservative. This isn’t just a national identity issue – it’s a team dynamic issue. There’s a national election going on and we’re seeing the real-time results of this. Families and relationships breaking up over differences of opinion.
When we assemble national teams, we’re not building chemistry – we’re stitching together cliques. Spirit of the Game is rooted in cohesion, trust, and empathy. If your team doesn’t have that internally, you can’t fake it on the field.
2. Ultimate Isn’t That Special
Let’s burst the bubble: Spirit of the Game is not unique to ultimate.
Every pickup sport – soccer, basketball, shinny hockey – relies on the same foundational principle: no refs, just players figuring it out. Disagreeing. Talking it through. Moving on.
I recently watched four teenage boys play 2v2 soccer. No adults. No whistles. They argued over fouls. Debated in/out calls. Voices got raised. But then they sorted it out. They kept playing. That is Spirit. Raw, unpolished, human.
So when ultimate players act like we’re guardians of some sacred moral code because we self-officiate – it rings hollow. Especially when our Spirit scores say otherwise.
We’re not special because we have Spirit. We’re just another sport that has to practice Spirit.
3. We’ve Built a Culture of Ego, Not Empathy
Somewhere along the way, Canadian ultimate started glorifying the wrong things.
We talk about community, but we prioritize performance.
We preach inclusivity, but operate as an exclusive club – especially at elite levels.
We reward intensity, but neglect humility.
High-performance training? Absolutely. But where’s the training on emotional regulation? On de-escalation? On actually listening during a conflict instead of posturing?
When the game gets tight, ego often wins. Spirit becomes a performance, not a principle.
4. Thinking Ultimate Will Change the World Is Dangerous
There’s a myth in ultimate that we’re going to revolutionize sport. That our Spirit-driven model will reshape how kids compete, how adults resolve conflict, and how nations build peace.
That’s a beautiful dream – but let’s not get carried away.
The reality? Ultimate needs to stop acting like it’s above sport and start acting like it belongs in sport. We need to stop preaching to the choir and start working with the other musicians.
That means learning from other sports. Collaborating with them. Humbling ourselves enough to admit we don’t have it all figured out. Because we don’t.
So…Why Does Canada Have Poor Spirit?
Because we’ve mistaken self-officiation for self-righteousness.
We’ve mistaken community for cliques.
We’ve mistaken uniqueness for superiority.
And we’ve mistaken Spirit for something you “have” instead of something you do – every game, every conflict, every call.
It’s time to recalibrate.
Let’s build national teams that value trust as much as tactics. Let’s create cultures that reward respect as much as results. Let’s stop pretending we’re the moral compass of sport and start acting like participants in something bigger than ourselves.
Because if we can rediscover real Spirit – the messy, hard, human kind – then maybe, just maybe, Canada can lead not with arrogance, but with integrity.
Want to help build a better Spirit culture from the ground up?
That’s what I do through my school visits, frisbee programs, and community leadership. Whether it’s teaching kids how to manage conflict through play or guiding coaches on how to model respect under pressure, this work isn’t just about sport – it’s about life.