Action and competition are hallmarks of this popular sport
By Dannielle Lowe
Ultimate Frisbee is a competitive sport that combines athleticism, strategy and the spirit of sportsmanship. UP's program is young but strong.
Three years ago, students collaborated to found UP's Ultimate Frisbee Club. Since then, the club has grown from essentially two interwoven teams into two competitive club programs. There is a men's and a women's Ultimate club, and both are recognized by ASUP.
This season marks the beginning of a new era for the Ultimate clubs. This will be the first year the two teams play and do everything separately. Over the past three years, the programs were heavily integrated and practiced and scrimmaged together, leading outsiders to perceive the club as one big club instead of the two separate entities.
But now the program is under new leadership, and it's making positive changes, according to players.
Senior Andrew Crane stepped up to the plate to take on the position as president of the men's club as well as captain of the men's team. Senior Alice Rossignol is president of the women's club and co-captain of the women's team, sharing her roll with juniors Holly Gallinger and Jenny Tibbals.
All four captains established goals for the season. Their main hope is to continue to get students to turn out for the team.
"We're trying to make it a sustainable program," Crane said.
So far, the plan seems to be working. The club's membership is about 45 students. According to Rossignol, the numbers are excellent, considering each team can play only seven people at a time.
Currently, there are about 25 students on the men's team and roughly 14 on the women's. The numbers tend to fluctuate depending on how busy students are in any given week, Rossignol said.
On Oct. 4, the men experienced what it's like to play under the lights. At 7 p.m., in the crisp night air, the guys battled it out against Lewis and Clark College on the new turf practice field. The turnout for the game was strong, and about 20 players showed up.
According to Crane, the goal of the game was to get each player in for a couple of plays.
"Thursday's game was to get anybody who hasn't played before a chance to play," Crane said. "We just wanted to get the guys a chance to see how the game is played, how points are scored, so they could get some experience."
The game opened with UP scoring the first point. But shortly afterward Lewis and Clark went on a scoring run. Lewis and Clark scored six consecutive points, forcing UP to call a time out. After the time out, the men began to match Lewis and Clark point for point.
But it was too little, too late. The final score was 15-8, with Lewis and Clark taking home the victory.
Despite the score, Crane said the game was successful for UP.
"I'd say as a team, we're at where we are supposed to be," he said.
The women played in a scheduled scrimmage against Reed University on Sept. 23. According to Rossignol, the game went well because the teams are both new programs and were evenly matched.
"It was a good crowd, good weather, and we won 15-9, which was pretty sweet," Rossingnol said.
Playing in the women's scrimmage were five returning players and nine rookies. Overall, it provided the team a great opportunity to play together and gain some experience, Rossignol said.
Both teams will play in tournaments this fall. The men's first tournament, hosted by the University of Washington, takes place the weekend of Nov. 10 in Burlington, Wash. The men will also play the following weekend, Nov. 17, in Eugene at a tournament hosted by the University of Oregon.
The women are scheduled to play in one tournament this fall; the date has yet to be decided.
The Ultimate Club's budget covers the majority of tournament and travel expenses. The men's tournament fees have already been approved by ASUP. Players do have some out-of-pocket costs for things such as food and transportation.
The women's tournament expenses have yet to be approved, but the team captains are currently working on a new proposal and are confident it will be approved.
In the meantime, both teams prepare for tournament play, practicing three times a week and fitting in scrimmages as often as possible. Practices consist of a number of drills and throwing exercises.
According to Rossignol, the hardest thing about Ultimate is throwing.
"Players should practice throwing the Frisbee," Rossignol said. "If a player can throw, everything else is a lot easier."
Even so, Ultimate is about more than throwing a disc around. The beauty of Ultimate comes from the culture of the sport and the spirit of the game, according to Crane.
"It's an actual sport. It's not just a field game, and it's fun," Rossignol said. "It's fast paced and exciting and laid back. It's the spirit of the game that makes Ultimate different from other sports."
