By John McCarty
Ultimate Frisbee is one of the most popular intramural sports offered by the Department of Recreational Services at the University of Portland. So when rumors of cancelling the spring season began to circulate, complaints began to pour in.
Rather than getting rid of intramural ultimate, the Department of Recreational Services decided to change the format of the competition.
Typically the ultimate frisbee season consists of regularly scheduled games followed by a tournament to determine the league winner.
According to junior Intramural Coordinator Ryan Livingston, the spring semester of ultimate will be in a tournament format.
Whether it is single or double elimination, however, is still up in the air.
"When I heard they were going to completely get rid of it I was angered just like everyone else," sophomore Ultimate Frisbee Club Treasurer Brent Groulik said. "I think everyone was happy for the compromise."
The active Ultimate Frisbee Club and the addition of an ultimate frisbee class last semester testify to the sport's increasing popularity.
Sophomore and team captain of Enthusiastic Toast, Emma Brenner said, "It was annoying that they didn't tell us last semester about possibly cancelling ultimate."
The typical ultimate game consists of two 20 minute halves with a five minute half-time in between. Each game is allotted a full hour of time on the turf.
According to Livingston, Ultimate's popularity requires more games, which in turn takes up more time on the turf field.
Demand for use of the turf field is a particular issue this spring, with the addition of co-recreational flag football.
"Ultimate is very popular, and it is easy to get a pickup game going." Livingston said. "We are trying to make more efficient use of the turf."
The exchange of flag football for ultimate frisbee generated many of the initial complaints.
"There are a lot of teams, and it's a big time commitment," Brenner said. "But people were surprised and slightly upset that ultimate was being replaced with flag football."
Groulik has led his intramural team, The Extinguishers of Hope, to two championships in the past two seasons.
"We lost some players to the study abroad program," Groulik said. "But, that happens to most teams at the semester."
Ultimate frisbee is comparatively new to the sporting world, with origins in the late 60s.
According to Groulik, Ultimate is similar to ball sports like soccer and football in the feel and overall flow of the game.
"Frisbee is not as intense as other sports," Brenner said. "It can definitely get competitive though, it totally depends on the team."
According to Livingston, the specifics of the tournament style will become more definite as the spring season gets closer and an accurate gauge of participation can be made.
"It is possible that there will be a few less teams because of the tournament format," Groulik said. "I think it will still be really competitive and fun."
