Many Hamilton students take advantage of their junior year to spend a semester studying overseas. Affiliated programs with Hamilton provide myriad opportunities in every corner of the globe, so students have the freedom to choose a study abroad program specifically catered to their interests. For Gabe Hage ’12, a semester at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia, was a perfect fit—Hage is an Ultimate Frisbee fanatic and is dividing his time in Sydney between his studies, travel and his favorite sport.
Hage, a philosophy major, is an active member of Hamilton’s Ultimate Frisbee club team when he is on campus. The team, nicknamed the Hamilton Hot Saucers, is a highly competitive club team that travels multiple times each semester to play in games and tournaments at locations as far away as Georgia.
In addition to playing with the University of Sydney’s Ultimate Frisbee team, Hage is involved with an Australian club team called Umlaut. Ultimate Frisbee is a sport that is growing in popularity around the world, and competitive club teams have emerged in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and Japan. Many independent club teams, including Umlaut, compete at such a high level that potential players have to try out before they can join the squad in competitive play. Hage tried out and was selected to join the team of 20, of which he is the youngest. Hage travels around Australia with Umlaut to play other competitive club teams and spent time in New Zealand to compete in the New Zealand Ultimate Frisbee Nationals.
Hage loves Ultimate Frisbee and plans on playing competitively for as long as he can. “It’s a fantastic sport,” he says, “and I wish it was a professional sport because it requires so much athleticism and it’s so much fun.”
