SINGAPORE – Fourteen years ago, Lance Dubos made his international debut at the World Ultimate Club Championship, where he competed with his ultimate frisbee club at the tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Then a young man of 40, Dubos remembers getting “crushed” by the clubs from powerhouse nations such as United States and Japan.

Regarded as one of the founders of the sport here, the New Orleans native continued to be actively involved in the sport as a player, advocate and administrator - he formed the Ultimate Players Association (Singapore) (UPAS) in 2000 with a group of players.

Now 54, Dubos is set for a return to the world stage over a decade after his last appearance, as he makes his debut in the men’s masters event at the World Ultimate and Guts Championships in London from June 18 to 25. The biennial tournament – which alternates between a club and world championship every two years – will also see a number of firsts for Team Singapore. The Republic is fielding its largest-ever contingent of 94 players across four categories (men’s and women’s, mixed, men’s masters), with the men’s masters team of 23 players aged between 33 to 58 years old set to compete in the tournament for the first time. At the last world championships in 2012, the men’s and women’s teams finished 17th and 10th respectively.

“This year there was an opportunity for a masters team so I decided to get back as a player,” said Dubos, who is a Singapore permanent resident. “The sport has grown enough that we now have people (old enough) to be in the masters.

“We got pretty crushed then (in 2002) and the scores were like 17-3, but we understood that it would happen as we were still fairly new. We have gotten so much better, and the level of play has improved drastically.

“I had a fabulous experience in 2002 and one of the best things is getting to watch the best players and teams in action, and to see their strategy, how they set up their offence, and defence.”

Women’s team captain Rachel Boey and her 22-strong squad have been hard at work preparing for the world tourney held at the University of London sports ground. With Singapore’s ultimate frisbee community more focused on the mixed divisions, the women have had to step up their game during training sessions and competitions.

“The guys usually take control of the game as they tend to be more dominant in team sports,” said Boey, 26. “The girls have had to step out of their comfort zone and handle the disc more. It was tough initially but it’s become easier (with more training). We’re really excited as about half the team hasn’t been to world championships before.”

The UPAS is applying to Sport Singapore to become a National Sports Association, and is targeting for ultimate frisbee to feature at the 2017 SEA Games as an exhibition sport, before getting on the official sports programme in 2019.

Currently ranked third in Asia behind Japan and the Philippines, the men’s, women’s and mixed teams are jointly ranked 19th in the world. The players are aiming to better their world ranking at this year’s world championships, and men’s team captain Timothy Teo has targeted a top 15 finish for his team. Thirty-one teams will compete in the men’s division, with defending champion United States, Great Britain and Canada expected to be strong contenders for the title in London. The Singapore men can expect to face bigger and taller opponents on the field, but Teo insisted that the players will not be cowed by the challenge.

“Other teams will be taller, bigger and more experienced than us, especially the Europeans…even the women are taller than us,” said the 26-year-old former rugby player. “Us Asian players, we have quick feet and agility, and we will use our strengths to our advantage. We want to improve on our seeding and finish in the top three in Asia.”