Calgarian Rob McLeod won two gold medals at the WFDF World Overall Flying Disc Championships last week in Basingstoke, UK. He won Self Caught Flight and Distance. This is Rob’s 4th World SCF title in a row and his first World Distance title.
McLeod also set a new Canadian Record in Throw, Run & Catch when he threw a disc and caught it 89.6 metres. This is less than 5 metres short of the world record and more than 10 metres further than the previous Canadian Record. Combined with his Maximum Time Aloft (MTA) throw of 12.62 seconds, his SCF score of 159.01 is the 3rd best of all time, just 7 points shy of the World Record.
The WFDF World Overall Flying Disc Championships take place every two years and is comprised of seven events (just like a Heptathlon in track and field). Competitors are awarded points based on how they finish with medals being awarded for each event along with the overall champion for the competitor who has the highest points total at the completion of the championships. The first World Frisbee Championship was in 1975 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
The seven events are: Double Disc Court (DDC), Distance, Disc Golf, Self Caught Flight (SCF), Discathon, Freestyle and Accuracy.
Self-Caught Flight (SCF) includes two events with the intention of throwing the disc in a high boomerang flight allowing the thrower to then catch it — with one hand. In Maximum Time Aloft (MTA), a player aims to accumulate a maximum number of seconds between the throw and catch; in Throw, Run and Catch (TRC), the object is to accumulate a maximum number of meters between the throw and catch. To get good results, players must be adept at gauging the wind, “reading” the flight of a disc and employing good catching techniques. The SCF score is the combination of MTA * 5.5 + TRC.
McLeod won the SCF event with an MTA score of 9.72 seconds and a TRC score of 51 metres for a total SCF score of 104.46.
In Distance, players throw as far as they can from behind a line. The distance from the throwing line to where the disc first hits the ground is measured. Players get five attempts per round and up to three rounds per day to try and get their longest throw. Measuring is done with a laser rangefinder to ensure accuracy and consistency.
McLeod won the Distance event with a throw of 167 metres (547.9 feet) in the final round to win by 3 metres over the defending World Distance Champion Anton Lindh from Sweden.
Rob’s personal mantra is “Let the Wind Guide You” and in the final, that was his secret to winning. “I noticed that the other competitors were throwing too much straight into the wind during TRC so I knew if I got a catch, I would win the event. They weren’t listening to the wind enough so it’s not that I threw better than they did, I just read the wind better.”
Rob was the only Canadian competing at the World Championships. This is the 4th Self Caught Flight World Championship in a row for Rob.
“The weather was horrible so I didn’t throw any practice throws,” said Rob. “My goal was to stay dry and warm and try to stretch enough so that I was loose enough throw. Based on my numbers in the first two rounds, I knew that if I could get one good MTA and one good TRC, I would be hard to beat.”