Author: Leanne Zabala
Ultimate Frisbee has been a club sport at Oxy for over 30 years and remains one of the most popular sports on college campuses.
“I think it’s a popular sport on campus because it’s a popular sport everywhere,” says co-captain of Men’s Ultimate Andrew Blythe (senior). “It takes athleticism, commitment, and is generally fun. What’s not to like?”
The game of Ultimate has become so popular that it is played internationally in over 42 countries, including Japan, Norway and Sweden. The Ultimate Players Association (UPA), and the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), are working together to advance the reputation of Ultimate. Their first breakthrough occurred in 2001, when Ultimate was included in the World Games for the first time as a full medal sport. If Ultimate continues to increase in its popularity on an international level, it could possibly become an Olympic sport.
Despite such international advancement, Ultimate is still often referred to as a “hippie sport,” and does not get the same respect as mainstream contact sports such as football.
“The one thing I’d like to point out about Ultimate that people don’t seem to know is that we are a hardcore-running sport. We have already started conditioning for the year, but lots of people have this misconception about it being some lazy, toss the disc, smoke some weed ordeal,” Blythe said.
Though many people who are unfamiliar with the sport think that Ultimate is just a fun way to pass time, there is a lot of training involved.
“We just finished getting our sports physicals, and have started learning the basics of offense and defense at practice. We have also begun physical conditioning which includes sets of sprints, hill running, stadiums and plyos,” said Blythe.
Ultimate is best described as a mix of the athletic endurance of soccer, the swift turnovers of basketball and the passing skills of football. A distinguishing feature of the sport is that there are no referees and the players agree on the rules of the game. This concept is known as the “Spirit of the Game,” which emphasizes sportsmanship and fair play.
“The thing about our team is that it requires a lot of trust and field awareness, so we become a very close-knit group. It’s a great way to get to know people, and certainly a great way to get in shape. We always encourage new people to come out,” Blythe said. There is also a Women’s Ultimate that participates in co-ed leagues with Men’s Ultimate.
Ultimate Frisbee has become a trend both in the U.S. and internationally, with leagues in middle schools, high schools and colleges.
“I’ve seen kids in youth leagues who can outplay me,” Blythe said. “It’s taking off as a sport, and it is going to get extremely competitive in the next few years.”
Men’s Ultimate usually plays three tournaments per semester that are hosted by So Cal teams such as Long Beach, USC, UCSD and UCLA. There is also a nation-wide tournament in Las Vegas and the college tournament series in the spring.
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