Sophomore journalism major
At the Frisbie Pie Company in Bridgeport, Conn., in the late 1800s, some people started throwing around empty pie tins. And so the Frisbee was born.
Since then, the Frisbee has become more high-tech, and the fun game of catch that we are all familiar with has evolved into a sport of epic proportions — ultimate Frisbee. Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of participating in my first ultimate Frisbee tournament with this university’s amazing women’s ultimate club team, Helpful Corn.
In this daylong event, the wonderful ladies of Helpful Corn competed against ultimate teams from five other schools around the area. After a day of playing, I realized why ultimate Frisbee is undoubtedly the greatest sport on earth.
Ultimate Frisbee is certainly not the most popular sport, and a majority of schools, including this university, don’t offer it at the varsity level. Many people don’t even know what it is, and those who don’t know much about it often joke that it’s “not a real sport.” But it is absolutely a real sport, and one with worldwide influence.
Ultimate was invented by a group of students at Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J., in the politically-charged atmosphere of 1968. The growing counterculture of the time made it popular, and has since spread around the world. It recently gained popularity in India, especially in poorer regions, because it requires little equipment, can be played anywhere there is space and promotes cooperation and conflict resolution.
What makes ultimate such a unique and wonderful sport is that the players completely control the games — and having a good spirit is just as important as having good skills. There are no referees, and the responsibility for fair play lies with the players themselves. Every call is discussed and resolved diplomatically on the field. The goal is not to gain an advantage or cheat the other team out of a point, but to play the game with utmost fairness. This requires an amazing level of sportsmanship, respect and honesty — qualities that are standard among ultimate players.
Ultimate is played seven-versus-seven on a field, with two end zones. The purpose is to score by getting the disc into the opposing team’s end zone, not unlike a touchdown in football. Players cannot run with the disc and must move down the field by passing it off to teammates. Players must be ready to shift quickly from offense to defense, and turnovers occur every time there is a dropped pass or interception, a throw goes out of bounds or the player in possession of the disc holds on to it for more than 10 seconds. It is fast-paced, involves many different techniques and requires quick thinking.
The best part of ultimate is the spirit of the game. It can certainly be a very competitive sport played by serious athletes, but in ultimate, competitiveness does not get in the way of character. It isn’t about the score of the game, but the fun time all the players have. Some describe it as a mix of elements of various sports like soccer, basketball and football. To me, it is a mix of what’s important in life. It brings the values of respect, camaraderie, good humor and love together to create the ultimate sport.
Madeleine List is a sophomore journalism major. She can be reached at list@umdbk.com.
