Oneonta man is part of world champion disc team
Jul. 23—Oneonta's Jonathan Dono, systems manager in Hartwick College's Technology Services department, traveled to Limerick, Ireland, this summer and came home a world champion.
According to a Hartwick College media release, Dono recently competed in the World Flying Disk Federation's World Masters Ultimate Club Championships at the University of Limerick.
Also known as ultimate Frisbee, the sport is similar to a non-contact style of American football, and combines agility, dexterity, speed, and an ability to anticipate teammates' movements.
Competing for the Surly GM team of Minnesota, Dono helped his team go 10-0 during the eight-day tournament and take the Grand Master Open division, the release said. A defensive specialist, he was one of 28 players on the winning squad.
A few days after returning to campus, he said he started "officially" playing ultimate until 1995 when he joined the Syracuse University club team. He played in the Westchester Summer League in the late 1990s and early 2000s and was invited to participate in the Club Championship series which starts every fall with sectionals, regionals and nationals championship tournaments."
Dono said he joined the team from Twin Cities, Minnesota in 2021 at the USA Ultimate Masters Club Championships, where the team won silver and qualified to participate this year in Limerick.
"To be honest, I was considering hanging up my cleats in 2021 but since my wife, Mary Ellen Hoffman, was playing at the Nationals Championships with a women's team, I decided to reach out to a few select friends and see if they might be interested in playing together for old time's sake," Dono said in the release. "I had a team from the Boston area that had a spot for me so I thought if I could bring some friends on board with me, it would be worth the effort it takes to train and travel and all that."
He said he plays predominantly on defense, covering downfield offensive players sort of like a cornerback in football. "On offense, for Surly at least, I am generally playing a handler position, which means I'm responsible for getting the disc a lot, and making important throws to get us closer to the end zone," he said. "That's honestly a bit of a change for me since most of my career I've been more of a downfield cutter catching discs in open space and scoring goals. Again, compared to football, this is more like a wide receiver role."
Dono said the best part of the World Championship experience was that he was able to take his whole family. "My wife has seen me compete before and competed at the highest level herself, but my kids have only seen me play with them at local pickup games and the like," he said.
He said the Utica Frisbee Club and the Ilion Frisbee Club hold weekly pickup games, which he attended a lot in the spring to keep in practice, and that conditioning is an ongoing routine.
While Hartwick College does not have a ultimate club, Dono said, Assistant Professor of English Tessa Yang and Professor of Economics Kristin Jones have arranged a few pickup games at local parks. "I've been to a few with my kids and they're lots of fun," he said.
"Next up, Surly is preparing for next year's National Championship, he said, explaining that there are actually two different World Championship tournaments — referred to as "big worlds" and "small worlds."
This year's was a "big worlds," event, he said, meaning that each country's governing body could submit multiple bids for teams to attend. In the case of the USA, there were four teams. "Small Worlds" will be held in 2024 and each country only gets to send one team.
"So, the goal is for Surly to win the 2023 National Championship and earn the right to represent the country as Team USA at Worlds in 2024," Dono said.
