May 13, 2023 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with comments
The 2024 WFDF World Ultimate Championships will be held on the Gold Coast of Australia from August 31st to September 7th, the world governing body announced today.
The tournament will be held primarily at the Runaway Bay Sport Precinct in Gold Coast, just south of Brisbane on Australia’s east coast. “Athlete accommodations will be adjacent to the beach at Surfers Paradise,” per WFDF.
“These Championships being hosted in Australia in 2024 will mark the return of National teams to WFDF World Championships for the first time since 2016 on account of the WUGC being canceled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic,” said WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch in a statement. “WUGC 2016 was hosted in London and it is great to host this event in the Asian-Oceanic region to give all participants an opportunity to travel to parts of the world they might not otherwise have the opportunity to visit. Australia and the Gold Coast will offer a unique immersion in the cultural aspects of Australian sporting events.
“The LOC has put considerable efforts into developing a detailed plan and building a relationship with the host city since before the pandemic and it was able to pick up and continue with those plans to deliver a fantastic experience for athletes, supporters, and spectators.”
The World Guts Championships will be held concurrently with the WUC. The events have been split apart from their original WUGC combined event.
Australia has hosted past World Championship events, most recently the 2019 Under-24 World Championships. The country was set to host the World Masters Ultimate Club Championships in 2020 and then 2021, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded the privilege of hosting the WFDF 2024 WUC and WGC events,” said AFDA Chairman of the Board Simon Farrow in a statement. “This achievement is the result of an immense amount of effort put forth by TD Mat Ryan, who embarked on this dream back in 2018. Mat’s dedication can be traced through his participation in various World Ultimate events, his organization of numerous local Australian tournaments (at both the state and national levels), and his invaluable contributions as a key volunteer at the 2018 World U24 Ultimate Championships. As someone who has had the privilege of volunteering in diverse capacities for the WFDF 2018 WU24 in Germany and the 2018 and 2022 WUCC events in the USA, I am personally excited to contribute to the delivery of an exceptional experience for athletes, volunteers, and spectators from all corners of the globe. I am confident that all of the Australian Ultimate community will be excited to be hosting this event on our shores.”
