Chagall Gelfand and Chloe Hakimi Make the U-20 Ultimate Team
Exhausted and cold, ultimate players from across the country were recently put to the test in Seattle as they vied for a spot during this year’s national team tryouts. Running from timed sprints straight into scrimmages, by the end, the players were soaked from the constant downpour.
Yet despite the conditions, two Riders stayed determined and made the national team: freshman Chloe Hakimi and junior Chagall Gelfand.
Hakimi and Gelfand were two of the 100 men and 100 women invited to try out for the under-20 (U20) teams competing on behalf of the USA in the World Junior Ultimate Championships (WJUC). This year, 50 men and 50 women showed their skills at Magnuson Park on March 23-24, where West Coast tryouts took place. Out of the 100 total women participating, only 24 were selected to make the U20 women’s team—two of which were Gelfand and Hakimi.
The pair will be competing internationally from Aug. 6 to 13. Hakimi and Gelfand, along with their 22 other team members, are scheduled to compete in the WJUC in Wroclaw, Poland, the first WJUC in four years, after the event was canceled in 2020 due to COVID. The championship typically happens every two years, with the exception of last year’s cancellation.
Chagall Gelfand and Chloe Hakimi are star RHS Ultimate Players
In a departure from tradition, the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) announced that this year’s WJUC will run under the European Ultimate Federation (EUF) in conjunction with the 2022 European Youth Ultimate Championships.
However, this elite national team is not open to everyone. To apply for the team, Hakimi and Gelfand first filled out an application and were later sent an invitation to try out. Hakimi talks about how Gelfand was one of the reasons why she applied, saying, “Chagall, actually, who’s kind of like a leader on our team was like, ‘oh, you should just try out…’ I wasn’t expecting [to make it]… I thought, ‘oh, I’m probably not gonna get a tryout because it’s really difficult to get a tryout’ but I just applied and I got it.”
For Gelfand, this was her second time applying, the first being during her freshman year for the 2020 team before it was postponed.
As part of the training process, Chagall and Gelfand will attend two weeks of training camps, with the first week taking place in Aurora, Colorado, at the start of June. The second camp is set to occur domestically a week before the championship; its location is still to be decided.
Both Gelfand and Hakimi have been playing ultimate for over seven years, starting in elementary school. Hakimi got into ultimate frisbee after participating in her elementary school team during the 3rd grade, which was started and run by her friend’s father. In the 4th grade, Gelfand joined her school’s ultimate frisbee team, following the footsteps of her brother, who played, and her father, who coached.
Through the years, both players have improved immensely under the supervision of the Girls Varsity Ultimate Head Coach, Khalif El-Salaam. El-Salaam comments on both players’ abilities, stating that “Chloe’s skill and her ability to make impact, especially relative to her age, is something that gave her a huge step forward above the rest. She’s able to contribute on a level that is significantly higher than most freshmen are able to contribute.”
On Gelfand, El-Salaam explains how he is largely impressed with her throwing strength. “Chagall is just like a top tier thrower and handler… being able to be such a strong thrower from a standstill is extremely dangerous in the women’s game,” he says. “I have seen her be able to rip teams apart with just the ability to capture this and throw these inside out flicks that are 50-60 yards from a standstill to people who are running in stride. That definitely separates her, and then you add on her competitiveness and her desire to win.”
El-Salaam is confident in both players’ capabilities and potential to make and add to the team. “Both Chagall and Chloe were definitely a step faster and tier above in terms of their throwing [and] catching ability, their ability to get open and when their mentality and like what they could bring to like the future of the sport.”
Both players found out they made the national team during spring break. Gelfand says, “I found out when I was out to dinner with my great uncle. I was on the East Coast doing a college tour. So it was kind of anticlimactic but it was very exciting.”
Hakimi describes how she received the news, saying, “I was on a hike in Hawaii on the Big Island, and I was really just in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know how I had service, I just got an email and I was like, oh my god, I made the team, and I was freaking out. I was like, `How is this even possible?’”
When asked to share some advice for aspiring ultimate players, Gelfand says to “keep working on your strengths. Utilize that, don’t try and become something completely different than you already are. Get really good at the basics, and then work your way up.”
Hakimi suggests applying and going for bigger opportunities, as well as constantly pushing yourself to train and practice.
In the future, El-Salaam sees bright futures for both Hakimi and Gelfand. “I’m definitely going to be watching and supporting them like the rest of their friends and family,” he says. “But yeah, when they win gold, we’re all going to be excited for them.”
