Day One Recap
The 2024 World Junior Ultimate Championships got underway this afternoon, with glorious West Midlands sunshine bathing Moor Lane to welcome everybody to Birmingham. After the opening ceremony, with the players proudly parading around the showcase field, it was time to get into the real action.
Great Britain’s Women made it consecutive opening game victories with a hard-fought 15-12 victory over a tough Germany side, backing up their triumph in the JJUC opener two years ago. While GB Open had a groundswell of home support behind them, USA proved too much for them with a 15-6 win, much to the delight of their large travelling contingent. USA Women showed their title credentials with a 15-1 victory over a spirited Aussie Terra. There were some surprises to be found in the Mixed division, with both of the finalists two years ago sliding to defeats - Switzerland stumbled against the Netherlands, who prevailed 15-12, while Hungary succumbed to Singapore by a 12-7 scoreline. Italy and Canada both begin their Mixed campaigns with victories, 15-7 over Panama and 15-5 over China respectively.
Two of the potential Women’s title contenders went head-to-head in the second game slot, and France showed why they are hotly tipped for a strong finish with a classy 15-4 win over Japan. Elsewhere in the division New Zealand and Canada started very strongly, with Ireland going down 15-2 to the former, and Singapore 15-1 to the latter. The other two Mixed pools played their first games as well, with Colombia downing Mexico 15-10, Poland beating Hong Kong, China 15-3, and USA triumphing over Latvia 15-1, but the headline result was Austria’s 15-11 upset over France, giving them a likely path to the top Power Pools.
A Colombia Mixed player stretches for an aerial block against Mexico. Photo by Tom Kiddle.
The bulk of the Open teams began play in the last round of the day. In one of the tightest fixtures so far, Switzerland grabbed a late break to seal an entertaining encounter with Colombia 15-13. Italy raced to a 6-1 over Japan, and converted that into a 15-11 victory to get their week off to a flying start. Canada recorded a 15-6 victory over a high-flying Belgium, and Germany’s strength in depth showed as they pulled away in the second half to notch a 15-8 success against China. New Zealand Open emulated their Women’s team by also beating Ireland 15-2, and there was another repeat scoreline with USA Open banking another 15-6 victory, this time over Australia. In the one Women’s game in the final round, hosts Great Britain were unable to overcome an Italian side with their own medal hopes as the Azzurri finished 15-11 victors.
With every team having at least one game in the books, the athletes can begin to settle into a rhythm of multiple games a day from Monday onwards, as the initial pools conclude in the Mixed division, but continue in the Open and Women’s divisions.
Link photo by Carl Mardell.
WJUC Photographers: Carl Mardell, Graham Shellswell, Likkan Chung, Tom Kiddle