Frisbee industry shifting towards specialization after initial boom in popularity

Newcomer zero-growth Frisbee movement “cooling down”?

Industry insiders: The number of participants in competitive Frisbee industry is increasing and the industry is developing towards specialization

A disc with a diameter of 27 cm and a weight of 175 grams is a green field the size of a football field. The disc is thrown and caught again. When the catch is good, there will be cheers on the field. In the summer of 2022, Frisbee suddenly broke into the public’s field of vision and swept social platforms, but before the arrival of this summer, the popularity of Frisbee seems to have been much lower than before. Is the development of Frisbee a flash in the pan?

Recently, a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily learned from some practitioners and enthusiasts in the Frisbee industry that the Frisbee sport is now developing towards specialization after experiencing a boom last year.

When the club exploded, there were 200 people a day, and now there is “zero” growth in newcomers

Frisbee is an outdoor sport without physical contact. The game is divided into two teams with a total of 14 people participating. The competition content is Frisbee passing. It has the characteristics of quick hands-on, weak confrontation and strong interaction. It will become the most popular in the summer of 2022. one of the sports. During that time, flying discs frequently appeared in photos posted by netizens on major social platforms, and became the first choice for team building in many companies, and even became one of the choices for offline blind date activities.

Lu Jia, a Frisbee teacher at Hebei Medical University and coach of the Frisbee team, is the initiator of Hebei’s first Frisbee team and the manager of the Hebei ISU Frisbee Club. He told Beiqing Daily that frisbee sports were really popular last year. From Monday to Sunday, there were activities every night. At the peak, an activity could attract 60-80 people, and each activity could be fully registered. “We launched six groups last year, with a total of nearly 3,000 people. Now only one or two hundred people are playing.”

The sudden explosion of Frisbee sports in the summer of 2022 has left many Frisbee enthusiasts and practitioners a little confused. Wang Xing, one of the initiators of Beijing D-Fly Club, which is famous in the “frisbee circle”, told Beiqing Daily that he has been playing frisbee for ten years, and he also feels strange about the popularity of frisbee last year, I can’t figure out why the fire happened.” He said that when Frisbee was the hottest, the number of people training in the same session could reach 60 or 70, and 70 or 80 people are also very common.

Mr. Wang, the organizer of a Frisbee club in Foshan, also told Beiqing Daily that at the peak in 2022, there will be 200 people playing Frisbee in one night. “But the downward trend is clear now, at least with us. It’s basically ‘zero (growth)’ now, no new players joining, the rest are us old players, or newly joined in the previous year And those who persist in playing.”

The “disc age” is only one year, and the women’s frisbee team dominates the field

On June 5, 2022, the Hangzhou FAYE Women’s Frisbee Team was officially established. FAYE (faye) means “fun” in Hangzhou dialect. The smile is like a flower. The original intention of the team is to hope that all girls can enjoy the fun of Frisbee. The smile is as beautiful as a flower. Wei led the team, both as a coach and as a captain.

FAYE’s players come from all walks of life, from all over the world, and most of them are no more than one year old. The average age is 25 years old. It is a very young team. At the beginning of April this year, the Women’s Frisbee Competition started in Ningbo. Liu Wei led FAYE to a good second place in this competition. She said that behind this, it was all sweat and tears.

Half a month before the start of the competition, Liu Wei decided to temporarily add a training session, even if there were not enough players. “It’s good to play more games and practice. But the players played really badly!” On the way home at that time, she questioned her decision, “Doing this (playing games) is really good. Does it make sense?”

At 11 o’clock that night, five FAYE players knocked on the door of Liu Wei’s house. “Do you want to play competitive Frisbee or play casually? If you just want to play casually, this team can be disbanded directly. I still have my own job.” Liu Wei said very straightforwardly. The five players looked at Liu Wei and said in unison, “We want to play competitively.” That night, Liu Wei and the team members finally opened their hearts. Because the team members can encourage and comfort each other, everyone has never “retired” because of this, but they have taken training more seriously.

The industry has entered a cooling-off period and began to develop in the direction of specialization

Frisbee, which became popular last year, actually joined the World Games as an official event as early as 2001. Last year’s explosion led more people to join the recreational Frisbee sport, but as time went by, people who really love Frisbee gradually moved closer to competitive Frisbee.

Competitive Frisbee has very high requirements on all aspects of physical fitness, including bounce, speed, endurance, reaction, and hand-eye coordination. It takes time to practice basic skills. The main venues for competitive Frisbee are no longer just the downstairs activity area, grassland, and green field. The types of competitions are also clearly classified, such as: accurate throw, double Frisbee catch, courage, team Frisbee, etc.

Ms. Liu, a Frisbee enthusiast from Chongqing, told Beiqing Daily that it has been a year since she first came into contact with Frisbee. Regarding the topic of Frisbee’s “coldness”, Ms. Liu said: “From the perspective of the number of newcomers, last year’s growth must have been relatively fast, and this year is indeed slower. But the overall development of Frisbee is not bad. Compared with last year, everyone’s level has improved. Yes, many frisbee clubs in Chongqing are developing in the direction of competition.”

Mr. Huang, a Frisbee enthusiast who is in charge of the liaison work of the China Frisbee League Beijing Station, also told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that before the official start of the China Frisbee League Beijing Station, a qualifier had already been held, and the registration situation for the qualifier was very low. Well, the 100 places were sold out within two hours as soon as they opened.

“In general, there are more professional teams now, and more people will stay to play sports.” Mr. Huang also agrees that the overall level of Chinese Frisbee is now improving. “Now the competitions at various stations, such as Beijing Station and Hangzhou Station, their level is becoming more and more professional.” Mr. Huang said that the technical movements of these domestic leagues are getting closer and closer to the international level. Professional moves can also be seen on the field.

Lu Jia has been in contact with Frisbee for more than ten years. Recalling the development of flying disc in the past ten years, he said that there were some Frisbee competitions in China before, and they were basically college students’ competitions. “The real increase in competitions actually started this year. Now the competitions from April to May are full, and basically there will be competitions every weekend.”

Regarding the “hotness” and “coldness” of Frisbee within a year, Liu Wei also said that she has been in contact with Frisbee sports for more than ten years. At present, Frisbee is not actually “cold”, but is in a transition period. “There is a difference between mass sports and competitive sports. Last year, the participation of the public was very high, which made frisbee a rapid development as a mass sport. However, with the accumulation of time, this year’s frisbee industry is moving towards specialization.” Liu Wei Frankly, this change is actually a good thing for professional Frisbee practitioners like her, “The development of mass sports has allowed more people to participate in Frisbee, and the development of competitive Frisbee will help those who really like to play Frisbee. “

Text/Reporter Dai Youqing Intern Yang Tongyu

Photo courtesy/Organization by Liu Wei/Jiang Shuo

[Responsible editor: Xiao Mengyin]