They seem to be everywhere. Students carry around mysterious white discs through the halls and the same students are never seen without one. What started out as a game just played in PE has become a team sport and extremely popular club at Neuqua Valley. With around one hundred players who came out for the team this year, only their second year as an official club, the Ultimate Frisbee club has become one of Neuqua’s fastest growing and most exciting clubs for having formed by now Senior Ben Rehmann and science teacher Mr. Arnousch Javaherian just last year.
Ultimate Frisbee is not just taking Neuqua by storm, but also college campuses with the formation of their very own leagues. Neuqua’s team also participates in tournaments and leagues. They placed second in a tournament in late May last year. This sport is also becoming increasing popular due to the modest requirements for the game. There is no padding required, helmets, special discs, or a specific playing ground. All that is required is a disc, a wide field, and the best sportsmanship an athlete can manage to have.
Where other sports rely heavily on the referees managing the gameplay for outside calls and an overall fairness between teams, Ultimate does not and this is ultimately, no pun intended, what makes the sport so popular. “Since this sport has no refs, it relies completely on sportsmanship for the game to run properly,” said Rehmann. If a discrepancy occurs between players while on the field, the players will stop to talk it over and ask other players around them on their input in order to meet a fair conclusion. This aspect of the game is one of the most important when it comes to the game flowing smoothly and it is also what makes the game much more enjoyable. Ultimate challenges all of the players on the teams to display their best sportsmanship and spirit for their own team without resorting to being rude or offensive towards the opposing team in the heat of the game. It is this spirit, or “Spirit of the Game” as it is affectionately referred to, that unites and brings the team closer together.
This sport is also not limited to just one gender or separated into different gender teams. Although the attendance in girls versus that of the attendance in guys on the team is not as much, girls enjoy the game just with as much excitement and intensity and they can play just as well as the guys do. “I’ve been playing for two years now,” said Senior Emily Kaindl, “I started playing pick-up games at Knoch Knolls last fall and have gotten more involved with every opportunity.”
Ultimate Frisbee is not a sport reserved simply for just star athletes. With pick-up games frequently held by students from various schools held frequently at places such as Knoch Knolls, it is quickly becoming a favorite sport and pastime of many people. No one is turned away from a game and everyone is welcomed no matter the experience level or what school they come from. With more and more people catching on to this recent craze, Ultimate Frisbee is soon to become a long-lasting activity at Neuqua for many years to come.
By Hong-Ah Do, staff writer
