World Ultimate Championships 2024 | Ellie Taylor

If you watch a streamed game of ultimate, and Ellie is on the pitch, you’re almost guaranteed to hear her receive compliments from the commentators. And it’s no surprise, because her skills are hard to ignore. Ellie has played at almost every level of ultimate with Great Britain, from under-20s all the way to the World Games, being the highest level of ultimate one can play. Ellie is 28, living in Huntingdon where she works as a doctor, and for the past several years she’s played with Iceni. She gives us an insight into the big influences in her ultimate career and gives some advice to young athletes.

(Featured photo by Showgame)

When and where did you first start playing ultimate?

I started playing for fun in my final term at school at Dollar [Academy]. But then I started playing for real in my first year at Aberdeen Uni when I was 18.

What Scottish teams did you play for in Scotland?

I played at Aberdeen for all 6 years that I was at uni. I also played for Swift for several seasons and then Black Eagles after that. Plus one season with SCRAM before moving to England. One of my favorite memories of uni fris was winning Div 2 indoor nationals on hard court with AUU. I also absolutely loved my time playing with Swift, I got to meet, play with and learn from so many great people and it really shaped my ultimate career from there on. When playing with Swift I was also introduced to Hayley, and I now cannot imagine my life without her! Playing at WUCC with Eagles was also a huge highlight. It was one of the most fun and special teams I have ever been a part of.

Do you have a favourite Scottish fris venue?

ASV [Aberdeen Sports Village], I spent so many hours training there; in the gym, on the track and even managed to have several regional events there!

Back when you first started playing, was there another player that had a big influence on you?

I was incredibly lucky in my first year at uni to have both Hannah and Catie (then Newton) also living in Aberdeen. They were leading Swift at that point and gave me so many early opportunities to play outside of just the uni team. Hannah encouraged me to trial for and play GB U20s in 2014, and I think that also really kickstarted everything from there!

When else have you repped GB?

I have previously played U20s, U24s, GBX in 2019 and 2023 at EUC and GB at World Games in 2022.

What about playing for GB do you enjoy the most, and what makes you keep going back?

I think I love the competition the most; the challenge of going up against the best players in the world and giving everything to try to win. I’m incredibly competitive and it really motivates me to work hard in and out of team trainings to try to come out on top. I also have made so many great friends playing on GB teams, and I love the chance to get to play with old and new friends.

Do you remember the first time you decided to trial for a senior GB team?

I first trialled for GBX in 2018 to play at EUC in 2019 when I was 23. I’d been encouraged by Gordon, Glover and Lucy Barnes (who I was playing Black Eagles with) to trial and I’m so glad that I did. I had the most amazing time and came away with a gold medal. (It’s also how I met my partner, Rollo).

How do you adjust to playing for your GB team after playing for your club team? Do you struggle to build on-pitch chemistry with your GB teammates?

I’m really lucky to be playing GBX with lots of teammates I have played with on other teams before. We have lots of returning players after playing EUC in Ireland last year, but I also have 5 teammates from Iceni on GBX. I also played Eagles with Camy and Dickers.

How do you prevent burning out despite playing club and GB ultimate?

Weekends have definitely become very full from April to the end of the season. I’m really lucky that I don’t work Friday’s, so that’s a huge help to have a day at home not working and not training. Iceni also train during the week, so I do miss the odd session to ensure I have enough energy/brain space to do everything else I need to.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering making the push to represent GB in future years?

My main advice would be to just go for it! The trial process itself can be a really fun experience and you can learn a lot from the coaches/other players there. It can be logistically difficult from Scotland, because trials and trainings are often held down south, but don’t let that put you off. Getting a group together and coordinating the driving definitely helps. Our car journeys to U24s were always good fun, but I won’t deny they were long…

What’s the future looking like for you?

I honestly have no idea yet, just taking each step as it comes. I definitely want to continue playing, but I can see myself taking on less in the next few years to focus on other hobbies as well. That being said, I have 100% said that in the past and it hasn’t happened yet…

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Thanks Ellie! Good luck in Australia! We can’t wait to see what you get up to in the future. Our final interview is with Andrew Warnock – look out for it tomorrow!