A SPORT highly popular for many years in the United States, ultimate Frisbee, has taken off on the Isle of Wight.

The Island’s newly-formed team, the Wight Wild Cards, under the umbrella of Isle of Wight Ultimate, played their first-ever match — a friendly against cross-Solent counterparts, Southampton City.

“Ultimate Frisbee has finally arrived on the Island,” said Isle of Wight Ultimate captain, Nick Belfitt, who formed the club back in February.

The game was lost 8-4, but there is optimism before the start of their first competitive season this autumn.

Ultimate Frisbee is a team sport played on a football pitch-sized area by two teams who attack in-zones to score a point.

During the autumn and winter, the sport is mostly played in sports halls.

The match, played on Southampton Common was a tough challenge for both sides as they battled against constant driving rain and wind, which dictated much of the game’s quality.

Nick continued: “ The conditions were very difficult for both sides. A lot of players had never thrown in rain or wind, so it took a lot of adapting as the game went on.

“I felt both sides played well and we had a great early start keeping the game even, but Southampton showed their experience — pulling away in the middle of the game.

“We showed great spirit at the end to pull back a rally, something we can take into the coming season.”

Scorers for the Wild Cards were Nick, Adrian Draper-Oatley and James Wright, who scored twice.

“For us, this is now the start of the season and we have some big tournaments coming up in Portsmouth and Southampton,” the skipper added.

“We are hoping this will be great preparation for our first regional tournament in November.

“In addition, we are also still looking for more people interested in taking part in this fun, growing sport on the Island.”

If anyone is interested in joining, contact Nick either through the Wight Wild Cards Facebook page or directly by email to: n.belfitt@hotmail.co.uk.