‘It was all worth it:’ Vietnamese Student Association wins ultimate frisbee Turkey Bowl

The Vietnamese Student Association (UPVSA) traveled to Seattle for an annual ultimate frisbee tournament against other VSAs of the Pacific Northwest

This was senior and UPVSA President Anna Truong-Cao’s third time going to the Turkey Bowl, but her first time as club president. For her, the purpose of the Turkey Bowl is for the club to connect outside of general meetings.

“It's mainly for bonding with other members,” Truong-Cao said. “On campus you go to club meetings, general meetings or events and then just go about your day. Whereas with Turkey Bowl, you're able to get to know people on a more intimate level.”

On Nov. 22, the club arrived at Seattle University Park to set up a tent, stretch and organize individual teams. In addition to the 20-something students staying overnight, other UPVSA members had driven up that same morning to play.

The park was soon packed with VSA members in colorful jerseys like a splatter-painted canvas of Pilot purple, Duck green, Beaver orange, Husky purple and gold, Viking blue and other university team colors.

The Turkey Bowl consisted of 18 teams in total. VSAs faced off in a single elimination bracket, playing each other in 30-minute games with the highest-scoring team advancing to the next round.

UPVSA went against the University of Oregon Vietnamese Student Association’s (UOVSA) “B” team in the first round. While they played, club members filled the sidelines to support both their teammates and competitors.

Junior Troy Carpenter noticed the atmosphere was different from other competitions he had been a part of.

“At a competitive tournament, you may see a couple faces you know,” Carpenter said. “But here, folks are recognizing people left and right, like, ‘Oh, hey George!’ and ‘Oh, hey Jay!’ It's really cool to see.”

UP won the match. The club continued to advance through the bracket, defeating other teams such as the University of Washington, Oregon State University and Portland State University. Before they knew it, they were in the finals for the first time ever against the University of Oregon’s “A” team.

The sun was setting, the temperature was dropping and there was a light drizzle as the match began.

UPVSA assembled a sort of dream team — including members from the university’s UPRise ultimate frisbee team — to give the team a fighting chance against the much larger UOVSA. 

“We came up with a strategy of ‘stacking’ and ‘cutting’ for how we wanted to play,” Truong-Cao said. “From there we just trusted each other to communicate well during the game.”

Junior and Internal Vice President Laurent Nguyen recruited help from UPRise for the Division III team’s experience competing at the regional and national level.

“We had a few club guys join to both help us and teach our newer members,” L. Nguyen said. “I wanted at least two frisbee players on each team, just to give guidance while we were playing.”

One of these “club guys” was Carpenter, who has played on UPRise for three years.

Carpenter helped teach UPVSA members about ultimate frisbee strategies such as “forcing” the other team to one side of the field and doing a “hammer throw” to pass the frisbee above a defender.

“We just taught everybody the basics, and we're rolling with that,” Carpenter said.

UP and UO stayed within a point of each other for the first 15 minutes and tied 2-2 at halftime. But as they returned to the field in the second half, UP started to pull away, putting the team up 4-2 with five minutes to go.

Still, L. Nguyen was careful about celebrating too soon — after all, UO did manage to bring the score back to 4-3 as time ran out. But even as UP was only seconds away from victory, he was weary of a potential heartbreak.

“I knew what they were capable of,” L. Nguyen said. “UO is scary with counter attacks. So if we mess up a throw, there's always that chance that they can chuck it and find someone down in the end zone.”

But they didn’t mess up. With a blow of the whistle and the drop of a frisbee, UPVSA had won the Turkey Bowl.

The entire sideline rushed the field, laughing, crying and embracing each other as disbelief settled in.

The organizers brought out the perpetual Turkey Bowl prize: a gold, marble and wood trophy adorned with a plaque of the tournament’s past winners. UPVSA would soon have its name engraved on that plaque for the first time.

Celebrating beside the team were alumni Dustin Nolasco and Steven Tran, who had been part of the UPVSA team that finished third so many times.

“Having them show up and watch it happen made me feel so good,” L. Nguyen said. “They're the reason why I like playing frisbee, why I love Turkey Bowl and why I love being part of this club.”

That night, after showering and changing into suits and dresses, UPVSA attended the Turkey Bowl Banquet. The Thanksgiving-inspired dinner was held at Seattle University’s Campion Ballroom and featured traditional performances such as a lion dance, fan dance and a taiko drum show.

Importantly, funds from the Turkey Bowl and the banquet are donated to the Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped, who assist people with disabilities and disadvantaged children in Vietnam. 

Connie Nguyen, a representative for the NWVSA and UNAVSA, expressed the importance of fundraising as a way for the associations to give back to the community.

“We come from a generation that gave and sacrificed so much for us, and [our] act of giving back sets up the world [for] success in the future,” C. Nguyen said.

Although UPVSA had shone bright this year, L. Nguyen emphasized how teammates have grown from past frisbee mistakes.

The club started preparing for the tournament in late September. In the weeks leading up to the Turkey Bowl, current and past club members met at Pru Pitch every Wednesday and Friday to practice their on-field chemistry.

“We had grown a lot,” L. Nguyen said. “We were more communicative, we would pass to each other more and there was more teamwork.”

This year’s Turkey Bowl is one UPVSA will never forget. And while Truong-Cao can retire from her duties as president having finally won the tournament, she sees the victory as a bittersweet moment.

“This is my last Turkey Bowl,” Truong-Cao said. “I’m going to miss being a part of VSA after graduating. So while I may have complained about the hard work and planning, in the end it was all worth it.”

Brady McCracken is a reporter for The Beacon. He can be reached at mccracke27@up.edu

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