By Dylan Pichnarcik
Editorial Staff
Alexander “Sandy” Hartwiger, professor of English, represented the United States team at the quadrennial Beach World Ultimate Frisbee Championship in Huntington Beach, California on Nov. 1-4, where he and the United States team won a gold medal.
The Beach World Championship is an event sponsored by the World Flying Disk Federation (WFDF) that takes place every four years. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this is the first time the event took place since 2017.
Prior to this event, Hartwiger won a gold medal at the 2017 Beach World Championship in France. He also won two additional gold medals at other international ultimate frisbee events. Additionally, Hartwiger serves as manager and captain of the team.
While students at Framingham State basked in the chill of early November mornings, Hartwiger enjoyed the sunshine of California.
After weeks of diligent training, the United States team was able to call themselves champions.
“I felt relieved,” Hartwiger said. “I was the manager and captain of the team, so I was involved in selecting the team to compete. That's a lot of responsibility because you’re the architect of the team and want to make sure we put together a team that wins gold.”
Hartwiger added he felt immense pride that all of his team's training and dedication finally paid off.
Along with adding another gold medal to his list of accolades, Hartwiger returns to FSU as a world champion, a title he does not take lightly.
He said, “When you’re representing your country, you realize that when you make decisions in game time it doesn't just reflect on you, it doesn't reflect on the group you're playing with, in this case it represents your nation. … That was something our entire team took seriously.”
Hartwiger inspires sportsmanship and excellence for all Ram athletes, on and off the field.