Clippers capture Canadian ultimate frisbee crown

The Kelvin Clippers are the class of Canadian high school ultimate frisbee once again.

The Clippers co-ed team outclassed Etobicoke Collegiate 13-5 in Sunday’s championship game of the Ultimate Canada high school invitational in Toronto.

It’s the third time the program has reached the top of the mountain, and the first since 2019.

“We won on my birthday, which is the best birthday gift ever,” said Ella Boyda, a Grade 12 student and co-captain. “It was super surreal. I cried. They were happy tears, though, it was pretty cool.”

Westwood Collegiate, Sturgeon Heights and St. John’s-Ravenscourt also attended, but the Clippers were ranked the highest at No. 4 following a fourth-place finish a year ago.

They were perfect this time around, going 3-0 in round-robin play on Saturday before running the playoff table.

The team comprises 22 players ranging from grades 9-12. Head coach Heidi Howes said it took every player to get the win.

“This group of kids, frisbee-wise, is quite talented,” said an emotional Howes. “We’ve improved a lot since last year and we were very good last year, as well.

“These kids adore one another. I think there is a lot of trust and belief. We used all of our players, we went deep into our bench. It’s something really special — we had it last year but it was even better and different this year.

“It’s just an extraordinary group of athletes and humans, and I think that combination is killer.”

Kelvin’s ultimate team has long been one of the premier programs in the province. The Clippers have won five provincial championships and medalled four times at nationals since its inception in 2003.

Several players tour with Team Manitoba during the summer, and two — Kale Peterson and Daniel Mann — play for Team Canada. Peterson and Mann, who are also co-captains for the Clippers, will represent Canada at the U20 World Junior Ultimate Championships in Birmingham, England, in July.

Peterson said it’s been special following a path set by his older brothers at Kelvin.

“I have three older brothers and they’ve all played through this program… so I’ve known how good (the Clippers) program is for many years and it’s really been dream of mine to win a national championship like they did,” said Peterson, who was recognized as the tournament MVP in Toronto.

“It was a great experience. Everyone on the roster played in every single game and it really did take all 22 players to win the championship.”

The Clippers still have some business to attend to — the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s provincial championship, set for May 25-26.

“It’ll be the last tournament we ever play together,” added Peterson. “It’ll be a really nice send-off for all the seniors.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam