World Masters Ultimate Championships 2024 | Michael Noblett

Michael Noblett, currently based in San Diego, is playing with the GB open team at WMUC this year. And with the event taking place just up the road in Irvine, California, he won’t exactly have to travel far. Michael studied at Edinburgh University between 2008-2013, during which time he played with Ro Sham, Fusion and Black Eagles, going to WUCC with the two latter teams. Currently, Michael plays with California Burrito, a mixed team based in San Diego.

When and why did you first start playing ultimate?

I started playing ultimate in 2008 in my first year at the University of Edinburgh. I chose to study at Edinburgh in part due to them having a very good orienteering program. But between choosing to study there and starting, I thought it would be a good time to try something new and gave ultimate a chance. I liked that most people came into the sport as novices around the same age, so I wasn’t starting at a big disadvantage. It was also a nice change to play a team sport after years of orienteering competitions which consisted of me running around hills and forests on my own.

Do you have any particularly memorable moments with Scottish teams?

My first memorable big tournament was with the Fusion/EMO combined team at the World Ultimate Club Championships in Prague 2010. I can’t remember the exact qualifying situation, but I think a team had dropped out relatively last minute and a UK team was next in line for the spot. It came down to a Fusion vs EMO game at the end of a tour event and they beat us to get the spot, but they couldn’t send a full squad. If Fusion had won, then we would have been in the same situation.

So, we decided to send a combined team. We started the tournament going 1-0 up on Sockeye and it went downhill from there. It was my first experience playing club teams outside the UK and I was a bit in awe at some of the teams we played against. I also learned a lot from the experienced players on our team, so it was a great learning experience overall.

Another memorable tournament from my early club days was with Fusion at the European Club Championships in 2010. Most of those memories are related to things outside of the actual games though. I think we finished 8^th.

Playing with Black Eagles between 2017-2018 has lots of great memories. Prior to 2017 the team was more casual with no proper trainings. But then the captains wanted to make a serious go of it and managed to pull together a great team with a lot of potential. Dominating the UK in 2017 was very gratifying especially after falling just short the previous couple of years with the more casual Black Eagles teams. I would have liked to bring our best to Europe but unfortunately that didn’t quite happen. WUCC 2018 was the culmination of 2 years of hard work by everyone on the team and we did about as well as could be expected of us given the luck of the draw.

The UK Nationals 2018 win was another enjoyable tournament. Most of the team hadn’t done anything between Worlds and Nationals. We were missing a good chunk of the team and had decided to shuffle up the lines for the fun of it. It was a bit bumpy but we turned it on when needed and earned back-to-back Nationals wins.

Who had the biggest influence on you when playing in Scotland?

We had a really strong team when I started university so I had a lot of role models to aim towards and compete with. Gordon Kerr and James Glover moving to Edinburgh in my second year helped get me playing more club ultimate, first with Fusion then with Black Eagles. Glover complimented my play style more than anyone else I’ve played with. Gordon was a master motivator and selfless player who was always there to remind me it’s just frisbee and to not let the tough times keep you down for long.

There were also player rivalries from other universities that pushed me to improve. The Dundee team were our main competitors for most of my time there and we usually found ourselves playing them in the regional’s finals and quite often at nationals too. I think we usually got the better of them outdoors but they were definitely better indoors.

I should also give an honourable mention to the Webb’s as well [Phil and Shaun]. Their professionalism at Fusion trainings and tournaments really stood out. They also helped push me to take on bigger roles in the team and attend European and World competitions.

What’s your ultimate career been like since leaving Scotland?

I moved to London for work after graduating in 2013. I took a bit of a break in 2014 and didn’t play much, except from a couple of tournaments with Black Eagles. During 2015-2016 I played GB. Then Black Eagles again in 2017-2018.

I took a year off in 2019 to recover from the shoulder injury picked up at WUCC. Then moved to San Diego in 2020 right before everything shut down. I got married to Black Eagles superfan, Diana and we had our first daughter, Amelia in 2021. It’s been tough to balance family commitments with the desire to compete at the level I used to be at. But I’ve almost accepted that it’s ok to never be at that level again. I’ve reframed my goals to focus on being the best player I currently can be. My main focus over the last couple of years have been masters tournaments. I use the club season as a way of staying in reasonable shape, hanging out with friends and try view each tournament I can play in as a nice bonus.

How does playing in the US compare to playing in the UK?

The US Nationals calibre teams are full of very high quality players. The most surprising thing for me was that there’s a level below with so many clubs that would compete at the top end of European tournaments. They might only have a couple of names that a casual observer would recognise, but almost everyone on the team is a solid player or coming in with lots of potential. My current team falls into the level below category. There are also lots of poorer teams that get beaten routinely by the teams mentioned above.

Weather in southern California is the opposite of the UK. It’s typically ideal weather for throwing so you can’t rely on turnovers due to poor conditions. It can be difficult to earn the disc as players on the good teams are consistently doing the basics well.

Apart from making this GB squad, what would you say is your biggest ultimate achievement?

It has to be winning the Marylebone Wednesday night 5-a-side football league and cup with the Prosecco Bois. The team was full of legends of Scottish ultimate like Richard McKay, Gordon Kerr, Niall Wilkinson, Tim Kelman and Doug Olley. Our ultimate background, strong defensive discipline and superior fitness gave us the edge over some mediocre competition.

You’ve played for GB several times before. How were those experiences and what does it mean to you to represent GB?

I was on GB mixed at the World Under 23’s in Florence 2010. I’d been playing just over a year when I went to the trial so I was happy just to make the team. I was on the mixed team with Ali Brown and Gill Spy plus a few others from Scotland. There were around 10 of us at Edinburgh University playing across the three teams.

We had a couple of practices before the tournament to figure out lines and playing style. I got to be the 1 in the 1-2-3-1 play which was our go to offence. Fortunately, I don’t think there was a lot of mid-game coaching from the other teams to stop being scored on by the same play multiple times a game. We won the tournament in a night game against Belgium and had some Tenants Super to celebrate.

I played GB Mixed Seniors in the 2015-2016 cycle. It was the most rigorous and demanding team I had been a part of in terms of training intensity. It was also my first time as an experienced player playing on a full sized squad. Prior to then, it was either a small squad or I was getting above average game time. So the reduced playing time and feeling like a smaller cog in the machine was a difficult adjustment for me. I also struggled with hamstring problems in 2015 and the team took a while to gel, which didn’t help with either of my concerns above. We did end up winning the European Championships in 2015 which was great, but still a tough season for me mentally overall.

For the 2016 season we were working towards the World Championships in London. We mostly played OK with only 2 defeats in the week, one of which was a 1-4 seeding game against Canada after winning our power pool. The quarter final loss to France was the big disappointment. The weather was awful and included a long delay due to lightning. Too many simple but understandable errors given the weather hurt us. France was able to keep possession much better and got the win. It was frustrating to lose like that, but we finished the tournament strong by getting 5^th.

I was also on GB Masters open last year for the European Championships. It didn’t feel fair on the other teams for us to have so many current Clapham and Chevron players on a masters team. It was also nice to play with some old Scottish teammates again for the first time in 5 or more years like Gordon Kerr and Phil Webb.

I am proud that I’ve been able to play for GB. I maybe took it for granted when living in the UK. But, having played three years in the US now, I’m appreciative that I had the opportunities to represent my country and play at these international events. There are so many good players in the US that have never played in a US national championships or at an international tournament. On the flip side, I’ve pointed out that having the opportunity to consistently play with and against a larger number of good quality players has made them better players than they might have otherwise been.  

What motivated you to trial for GB masters, especially considering you’re currently based in San Diego?

I became master’s eligible in 2022 and really wanted to play at the WMUCC (World Masters Club Championships) in Ireland as I was in my masters prime. Magic Toast (organised primarily by Matt Beavan who I played with on GB Mixed 2015-2016) were trying to get a team together and were a bit short on players. So I got onto that team no problem. We finished a respectable 7^th , given we didn’t have enough players for two whole lines for half of the tournament.

Afterwards, Beavan said he was applying to be GB captain for EMUC in 2023 and asked if I’d be interested. I said yes.

How has this GB experience been so far?

Most of the team have been playing club for the best UK teams in either the open or mixed division and some were also playing GB seniors at WUC. So there haven’t been that many GB masters trainings. I’ve still missed the small number that we’ve had.

It would have been nice to develop some chemistry with the team. I’ve played with most of the team either at Euros last year or with Magic Toast in 2022, so I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s a week-long tournament, so it gives us plenty of time to bond and redevelop the chemistry for the key games towards the end of the week.

I’m currently showing my value to the team by helping get discounted tickets to a Lakers game through my work benefits.

How have you been prepping for the tournament?

My wife and I are expecting our second daughter any day now (technically due tomorrow at the time of writing this 23/10). I’ve tried to frontload my preparation and will maintain what I can through a couple of sleep deprived weeks before the tournament starts. I’ve just finished playing a club season but also had to manage attendance with family commitments. Overall, it’s not ideal preparation. But I try to stay positive about it and remember that its masters and this is part of the challenge.

How do you feel about WMUC being in California?

For me, personally, it’s great being close. I told the captains I was in as soon as I knew the location. But I was nervous initially as I wasn’t sure what other people were thinking. It’s a long way to travel from the UK and because WUC was in Australia this year, I was worried a lot of the WUC players might choose not to do WMUC too. Fortunately, most of the EMUC team could play and we’ve got some good new additions, so I’m excited.

Having a newborn baby a couple of weeks before the tournament didn’t factor into my original thinking. But my wife has been very supportive of me playing still. And at least it’s just a quick drive back home in case of any emergency.

Have you thought much beyond the tournament, and if so, what’s it looking like in terms of ultimate?

Having a second child is going to mean another step back from ultimate. I still enjoy playing and it’s an important part of my life, so I don’t plan on stopping completely anytime soon. My current club team now has critical mass for a masters club team next year so that’s what I’m most excited about. I’m also thinking ahead for WMUCC in 2026.

If you could give any advice to anyone considering playing Masters, what would it be?

I’d love to see a more developed UK masters scene. Masters is the perfect next step for older players feeling a little bit burned out from club level ultimate. There are lots of good players and the level can still be high, but everything is a bit more relaxed and enjoyable.

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Featured photo credit to Showgame.

The World Masters Ultimate Championships 2024 are taking place from 10th to 16th November 2024 in Irvine, California. Follow along with the event here.