This summer, three Gaels Ultimate players took to the world stage representing Canada.
From June 21 to 28, defensive handler Lucas Coster, Sci ’24, Tyler Gunasekera, Kin ’25, and offensive cutter, Dax Miller, ArtSci ’25, travelled to Logroño, Spain, to bring home bronze in the Ultimate Under-24 World Championships with Team Canada Ultimate. This year marks Coster’s first time on Team Canada, as well as Miller’s and Gunasekera’s third time on the team—previously playing for Worlds 2022 in Poland, and England in 2023.
“Honestly, [Worlds] was a weird mix of relief and hunger for more. Gunasekera and I, and even our parents and family, have been through the pain of finishing fourth,” Miller said in a statement to The Journal. “It’s brutal. So finally getting a medal felt like getting over a hill.”
But at the same time, Miller explained how he has been left wanting more. “I started thinking about what it’s going to take to get to the finals,” he said. “Worlds are funny that way. Anything can happen in a game, or a tournament. I’ve lost and won quarters, semis, finals—it’s just about being ready.”
For Gunasekera, putting on the Team Canada jersey this year felt different, with top-level players from across Canada and several dual-nationality athletes—some who could have played for powerhouse teams like the U.S. or France—all fully committed to winning. After back-to-back fourth-place finishes at the Under-20 Worlds in Poland and Under-24s in England, putting on the jersey in Spain came with a sense of unfinished business. “It really felt like this was a streak we were going to break in Spain,” he wrote in a statement to The Journal.
“The most meaningful moment for me was when we scored the final point to finish with a bronze medal. Having lost the third-place game twice before, I was feeling a lot of emotions going into that last game,” Gunasekera said.
He explains that getting over the hump to win bronze and finish off a 10-day, 9-game tournament was nothing short of an amazing feeling. “We had been travelling and training throughout Europe as a group for about 3 weeks leading up to this final tournament, so we were also just exhausted! It was bittersweet that it was all ending, of course,” Gunasekera said.
Miller explains that making Team Canada is always exciting but intense—months of training for one high-stakes week where every game truly matters. Returning for another Under-24 cycle is special for Miller and is already thinking about his last Under-24 run. “I’ve got one more Under-24 run left and I’m already thinking about what’s ahead, training camps, championships, it’s just such a cool team to be a part of,” he said.
While Miller looks ahead to what’s next, Gunasekera reflects on the steep learning curve of adapting to the global stage. Gunasekera explained that adapting to international play was a major challenge. Unlike the physical style common in Canada and the U.S., teams in Europe and Asia play a less contact-heavy game, and international-level rules reflect that. Although they trained under those rules at camp, he says that adjusting in real time was still tough.
Gunasekera explained how each team’s distinct style posed new challenges. “Belgium and Austria throw a lot of deep shots to make big athletic plays, while Japan used quickness and throws a lot of very difficult and small window throws,” he said. Gunasekera added the coaches had built the team to have a variety of players’ skill sets to play against all the styles they would see in Spain, but it was still difficult to change tactics and play against multiple styles in the same day.”
“But we pulled it off. That one meant a lot,” Miller said. “This year helped me come to terms … that you just have to show up and play hard, and trust that your moment will come.”
For Gunasekera, Worlds re-ignited his love for this sport. “I now have a goal to make the senior national team and will continue to do what I have to get there,” he said.
Skill and leadership from the three players have been recognized back home as well, with all three previously holding captain roles on the Queen’s Men’s Ultimate team.
“Coster, Gunasekera, and Miller are fantastic athletes and great representatives of our team and the country,” Queen’s Head Coach for Ultimate Men’s, Pete Galbraith, wrote in a statement to The Journal. “They were in fact our three captains this year and each were leaders and well respected on and off the field.”
He reflected on coaching Dax and Tyler with the Canadian Under-24 Mixed Team in 2023, where they narrowly missed the podium. “It’s so nice to see their efforts rewarded with a bronze this time around,” he added.
As for Coster, Galbraith described him as a longtime anchor of the Gaels ultimate team—an exceptional player whose impact often extends beyond the stat sheet.
“Coster has long been a core piece of our offence and an exceptional contributor in subtler ways that aren’t always visible on the scoresheet,” he said.
This year marked Coster’s first time representing Canada, where he served as a steady, focused presence on both sides of the disc throughout Team Canada’s Mixed campaign, according to Galbraith.
Gunasekera reflects on his time at Queen’s, describing the experience as amazing and is sad to not return for another season. “I know that this success will continue thanks to the unbelievable team culture and world-class coaches this program has,” he said.
This fall, Gunasekera will be moving to Ireland to pursue a Master’s of Physiotherapy at the University College Dublin, and play ultimate with the current champions of Ireland, Dublin Ranelagh.
Miller will be back at the world stage shortly, playing on the Senior Men’s National Team at the World Beach Ultimate Championships in Portugal this November. “That’s the next goal, trying to win gold,” he said.
The Gaels Men’s Ultimate team will begin their season this fall, with Miller as the sole returning player from the previous trio.
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.