Ultimate Frisbee
Club: Ultimate Frisbee
Sponsor: Simon Gustafson
Location: Baseball Field
Time: Fridays 3 - 4:15
Activity:
They arrive in droves, ditching bags on dusty metal bleachers, donning navy and white team uniforms and neon cleats. They practice on the baseball field, out the back where the low drone of cars on the motorway blends with the constant chirping of the birds in the trees surrounding the field. The wind is strong, ripping across the turf in waves of warmth, pushing the clouds overhead at a steady pace. The sun is high as the coach gathers them together with a blast of his whistle- they are preparing for a game on Monday. They run drills in two separate lines, white frisbees soaring on the updrafts. They begin scrimmaging after about 20 minutes, by which time I’ve had five separate offers to join in. They are fierce competitors, yelling openings and positions at each other in the heat of the game, sprinting clear across the field in pursuit of a frisbee. The coaches stroll around the edges of the
field, calling out suggestions and planning plays. One of the team is injured, and his teammates ask after his health time and time again as they rotate out from gameplay to the sidelines. A player runs to catch the frisbee, misses. He yells in frustration. “Don’t worry,” his teammates tell him. “Don’t worry.” Water bottles litter the field, picked up and flung down again by panting, satisfied frisbee players. Their coach calls them in, and frisbees thud against the chain link fence. As they leave, they encourage each other- “Did you see how good your form got?” “You’re doing significantly better.”
Recommendation:
Students join this club because they love frisbee, have enjoyed playing it with their families, want to be more athletic, or because many of their friends were in the same club. They find Ultimate frisbee to be a fun way to get their heart rates up, without doing a workout program. In addition, the frisbee community in general is laid-back and stress-free, which fosters a welcoming community of kind-hearted people. While the game itself is competitive, the players are friendly and encouraging of one another. The members’ favourite part of Ultimate Frisbee is getting to spend time with their small community of frisbee players, who have grown to be a tight-knit group through working and playing together.