Player Profile: Nathalie Guimard
by Cindy Stowell
We chose the player featured in this month’s Scoober for many reasons, but one stood out in particular. Although Nathalie Guimard is an outstanding player, has solid throws, enviable endurance, and has been a consistent stalwart on many Austin teams, that is not why she gets our attention. No, Nathalie is here because in addition to all these qualities, she’s just so darn nice. There aren’t too many players whose spirit on and off the field makes as lasting as impression as Nat’s.
Nathalie (often referred to as “Nat”, occasionally “Fatty Natty”, and not frequently enough “Muppet”) started playing a version of ultimate back in high school in Connecticut. During her sophomore year of college, some friends got her interested in ultimate and she started playing for the Princeton women’s team. Afterward, she attended grad school at the University of British Columbia for a year, playing with the Thunderbirds there. In summer of 2002, she transferred to University of Texas and began her Austin ultimate career, playing for Melee, Buttercup, Axis of Evil, Cujo, and currently, Showdown.
Speckled throughout her ultimate career in North America, Nat has had the opportunity to play ultimate abroad. She played for Singapore at Worlds in 2001. Additionally, she’s played ultimate in France and Italy. One of the reasons she likes ultimate so much? “In moving to different cities abroad, you meet a lot of people. [Ultimate] helps you meet people.” Although she can speak French “fluently to the American ear,” playing ultimate was a more efficient way to make friends.
One of the things I find most impressive about Nat is how tough she is. I’ve known her since 2002, and I don’t remember hearing the phrase “Nat’s not playing; she’s injured.” In fact, since she started playing, Nat has only twisted an ankle once, and torn a ligament in her thumb. (She played lefty while rehabbing.) So what’s her secret? Pure will. “Motivation to get back out there and play,” she says. “I get really fired up playing, and it motivates me to play harder when I see high level ultimate.” This drive comes from her love of the game, and there are many things about the sport that she loves.
“I like how it brings a lot of different things together in the same place: the people are a lot of fun, you can play relaxed, or competitively, and the spirit that people bring to the game. It is a multi-faceted sport.” Traveling to tournaments is also a high point. “I usually run into all my old friends from past ultimate teams and experiences. It is a great way to keep connected with those people.”
Ultimate has also been a great source of memories. She met her husband, Allen, playing ultimate and they were actually engaged at the big Poultry Days tournament in Ohio. During a game, Allen caught the disc near the end zone and called a time out. During the time out huddle he asked Tank to cut for him and then took Tank aside privately and told him above all, do not cut! When play resumed, to initiate an iso cut from Nat he called out, “Cut if you will marry me.”
“And then he threw the disc out of bounds,” Nat says. (I am only allowed to mention that part if I make it clear that Nat did cut, their team got the disc back that point, and they scored, so everyone lived happily ever after.)
Currently she is making memories playing with Showdown. When asked about her greatest ultimate moments, she recalled defeating rival Ozone. “Considering how many times they beat Showdown, and after working that long and hard with my teammates… beating them [at Regionals] and beating them again at Nationals [was a highlight].” In addition to beating their long time nemesis, Showdown also earned a berth at the Worlds tournament in Prague, Czech Republic from July 3rd – 10th.
At Nationals, Nat was presented with the Spirit of the Game award for Showdown, a result that surprised her considering how many other spirited players are on that team. “The award was very meaningful. I try to be very spirited, aware of the rules, call fouls correctly, listen to other players, and have a clear head. And the team noticed. And there were a lot of people on the team that deserved it.“ This sort of recognition is especially touching considering that this is Nat’s last season in Texas.
At the end of this summer, Dr. Muppet and (soon to be Dr.) Allen will move to Europe. Right now they are considering either Zurich, Switzerland, or Saarbrücken, Germany. Allen will be taking a post doc position, and Nat hopes to apply her research in gene therapy in an industrial position. “Ultimate is in our future there,” she assures me.
With their move, Austin will be losing two tremendous players and people. On a final note, Nat says, “I really enjoyed my time here, and since my first day in Austin I felt welcomed with open arms. It has been a wonderful experience to watch and be a part of the growth of Austin ultimate. I appreciate the friendships I’ve gained and will miss my friends here lot.” But, don’t worry, she’ll be back to visit, and I suspect you’ll run into her at tournaments in the future.
