In an outdoorsy town, the Ultimate field provides fertile ground for romance. Andrea Proulx, who is on the board of directors for the Ottawa Carleton Ultimate Association (and is also a beneficiary of some of this intimacy), thinks it’s the underlying hippie-esque atmosphere — the laid-back attitude inherent to the sport — that creates the perfect conditions for romantic liaisons. Team members often become involved, and Ulti marriages are not uncommon. With the world’s largest outdoor Ultimate field and a membership of 2,500, the city is arguably the Ultimate capital of the world. So perhaps it’s only natural that with all those agile, attractive bods reaching for the same disc, someone’s going to get lucky. — Sabrina Doyle
Kindha Gorman &
Alessandro Colantonio
Kindha and Alessandro never actually played together, but they began running into each other about three years ago at Ultimate events. They started out as friends, but teammates soon began noticing that they were always the last to leave the bar — together. They were married this past June. “He loves me even though I can’t throw a hammer, and I love him even though he never looks at the dump. We make a good team,” Kindha says.
Kristen & Tim WilsonKristen and Tim met in the summer of 2002 during tryouts for the local competitive team, Fabulous Flying Flamingoes. At the time, both had other partners, but their friendship grew, and by the end of the summer, Kristen and Tim were a couple. At their wedding three years later, Kristen threw discs instead of a bouquet. Their son is now 10 months old.
Andrea Proulx & Dan ThompsonThough Andrea and Dan met in the summer of 2008, they didn’t become involved until they got to know each other better (wink, wink) at a tournament after-party. At the time, Dan was living in Toronto, but in the summer of 2009, he moved to Ottawa to be with Andrea. In a true Ultimate romantic ending, they were finally able to play on the same co-ed team. Andrea and Dan now live together and are looking at rings. “We plan to have lots of Ultimate babies and enjoy travelling the world playing Ultimate,” Andrea says.
Éloïse Clément & Lukás DrabikÉloïse and Lukáš volunteered at the World Ultimate Championships in Prague this past summer. After meeting at the opening volunteer party and staying up the whole night, the two were inseparable for the rest of the week — which sounds like a happy ending until you learn that Éloïse is from Ottawa and Lukáš lives in Slovakia. Since Éloïse returned to Ottawa, the two have maintained an impressive transatlantic relationship that includes daily phone talks, Skype chats, and surprise visits.
Photography: David Kawai