Ultimate international competition in Oulu.
Day before yesterday, I took the grandkids to a friend's pizzeria. When coming out I saw a shop selling Frisbees.
It had obviously just opened a couple of months ago as I have lived in this locality for 27 odd years and never noticed this shop before.
Grandson Samu told me he was playing a game in his school called Ultimate Frisbee. His school was one of 7 in England which was taking this "sport" seriously!
I promised to buy him one, more about curiosity about the plastic that was being used to make the Frisbees.
Yesterday we went to the shop and I was amazed to see the range of Frisbees available for all sorts of Frisbee related sports, the two most distinguished ones being Frisbee Golf and Ultimate Frisbee!
I asked the shopkeeper about Ultimate Frisbee and its popularity in Finland. He told me it was extremely popular and the National Championships were being held in Oulu this weekend!
When we got home I looked up what information was available about the Frisbee.
I realised that this was one part of my knowledge about a plastic commodity which was woefully lacking!
Samu explained the game to me. It is one which is extremely energetic and also of great skill. It is likely to become an Olympic Sport very soon!
I learnt a lot yesterday about the
origin and technology of Frisbees, and also how it has developed from a cookie tin into a highly scientifically oriented plastic product. The designs these days involves testing the prototypes in wind tunnels. The ordinary plastic disc is an amazing piece of aerodynamic engineering.
In a way I was relieved that as I was retired and do not have to wake up every morning genned up about all that is going on in Plastics. I felt a little naked that since 1984, when I moved to Finland and the field of Microelectronics, I had lost some of my deepest educational roots.
I told Samu that way back in the mid sixties I knew the Chairman of the most famous manufacturer of teets for babies feeding bottles called "Griptight". He had told me then that if I ever invented a new type of ball, he and I would be multibillionaires.
I now realised that I never looked out of the box, as the Frisbee is just one of that "new type of ball"!
How I wish I was back in my
in my "thirties" as this experience has got my development taste buds raring to go again!
Samu and I will watch some of the Finnish National Frisbee Championship in Oulu this weekend with different objectives. Him to develop his game skill, me to fill a large void in my professional life!
