09.07 Ultimate Frisbee Frenzy!

By Rachel Shuster

Frisbees aren’t just for family cookout entertainment anymore. The Worcester area ~ in particular the Worcester colleges ~ have taken notice and brought the game of Frisbee to the “ultimate” level: Ultimate Frisbee, a fast-paced, highly athletic sport, is rapidly gaining popularity on campuses, in parks, and all over the world. Teams play all year round, even though the sport is considered a summer-based. As the fall season approaches, teams practice to compete in Open, Mixed (co-ed), Women’s and Master’s divisions for Nationals in Sarasota, Florida.

Dating back to the late 1960s/early 1970s, the game was born when students at Columbia High School in New Jersey devised a game involving a “flying disc.” The homegrown fun soon evolved into what is known today as “Ultimate Frisbee,” or simply “Ultimate” (Quick fun fact: Joel Silver, a successful Hollywood producer, was among these students). They developed the rules and the game’s words to live by, “Spirit of the Game.” This motto means that good sportsmanship and fair play is most important; although there is competition, it should never come to the point where respect among players, obedience to the rules and fun of the game are overlooked.

Right now in Worcester, WPI, Clark University, Holy Cross and Assumption College all have active teams that practice for and compete in tournaments. The teams from WPI, Clark and Holy Cross have been active for many years, while Assumption’s formed only last year. WPI’s team started in the late 1970s and has gotten a lot of attention over the past decade, especially when they came in 13th out of 26 teams in a past tournament.

So what’s so fascinating about throwing a Frisbee around? Darren Mace, the coach of the WPI teams A and B, explains how it is so much more than just that. Director of IT at a small internet company in Newton by day, Darren Mace has been playing since 1984 and joined the WPI team in 1997. He explains the distinctiveness of the game by saying, “It’s up to the players to call fouls [and that] puts the players at a higher level. They have the ability to make the game better and allow a good game to be played.” David Hibbet, faculty supervisor of Clark’s team, echoes Mace’s thoughts on the game being player-centric: “The club runs itself,” Hibbett says, adding that Ultimate focuses on the players, their hard work, and their passion for the game.

Despite the drills, hours long practices and scrimmages multiple times a week, the close-knit Ultimate community all share the same mentality about playing. Teams may compete intensely, but, according to Mace, “Other than a trophy, it’s for the love of the game,” (and maybe some bragging rights).

Although Ultimate Frisbee can be a serious sport, anyone can play, a fact that has helped make it so popular. So the next time you are actually at a family cookout, round up the whole family and bring the simple game of Frisbee to the “Ultimate” level.

The rules of Ultimate, the same since the game’s inception, are as follows:

To begin play, both teams, comprised of twenty with seven players on the field, line up on the front of their own end zone line. The defense throws, or “pulls” the disc to the offense.

The disc may be advanced in any direction by completing a pass to a teammate. Players are not allowed to run with the disc. The person with the disc, or “thrower” has ten seconds to throw it. The defender guarding the thrower, or “marker” counts out the stall count. When a pass is not completed, for example, the disc is dropped, out of bounds, intercepted, etc, the defense instantly takes possession of the disc and becomes the offense.

Each time the offense completes a pass in the defense’s end zone, the offense scores a point. Play is begun after each score.

Players not active in the game may substitute active players after a score or during an injury timeout.

No physical contact is allowed between players. If there is, a foul is called. Players are responsible for their own foul and line calls. If there is a disagreement, the players resolve it themselves.

When a foul interrupts possession of the disc, the play resumes as if the possession was maintained. If the player making the foul disagrees with the call, the play is redone.

Finally and most importantly, abiding by the “Spirit of the Game.”

For information on Ultimate Frisbee at Worcester colleges, check out these websites:

Assumption: www.assumption.edu/stulife/stuact/Clubs/clubpage.htm
Clark University: call the office of Student Leadership and Programming at (508) 793-7549
Holy Cross: college.holycross.edu/studentorgs/frisbee/index.html
WPI – users.wpi.edu/~ultimate

For information on Ultimate Frisbee in general, check out these websites: