The Ultimate sport comes to PSU

It’s a mixture of football and soccer with a bit of basketball thrown in, but there’s not a ball in sight. Ultimate Frisbee has recently come to PSU and it’s a sport that is becoming increasingly popular, especially at the college level.

Graduate student and head coach Ted Hart played for four years at Oregon State and was a little surprised when he came to PSU that a team wasn’t already established, but last fall, the club took off after a previous disorganized effort.

“It seemed so obvious with the [Stott] Field, the amount of students here and how popular the sport is here in Portland,” Hart said.

Due to the trademarked brand name of Frisbee, the game is officially called Ultimate, and the Ultimate Players Association is the governing body for the game in the U.S. Gameplay is very fast-paced, and far from boring.

Seven players on each team pass the disc from one player to the next. The player holding the disc is not allowed to move, except to pivot, until he has thrown it to the next player within 10 seconds of receiving it. Movement continues until the disc passes the end zone with a complete pass and scores the goal.

If the disc is held for more than 10 seconds, is intercepted, blocked, dropped, not caught or goes out-of-bounds without returning back in-bounds, possession transfers to the opposing team. Play continues until either team reaches 15 points, with a two-point margin of victory required over the opponent.

What really makes this game unique is it is self-officiated. That’s right, not a referee in sight. Fouls are given for physical contact and can be contested or accepted, which is dependent on whether the player admits fault for the contact. According the UPA website, “Ultimate relies upon a spirit of sportsmanship that places the responsibility for fair play on the player.” Sportsmanship and honesty are key components to this game.

The popularity of the sport in the Northwest has created some of the best players in the world. The Seattle Sockeye Club is headed to the Czech Republic for the World Flying Disc Federation Ultimate Club Championships on July 3–10. According to graduate student Steven “Trigz” Murshel, a current player for the team, “U.S. or Canada usually wins, but the sport is becoming more and more competitive.”

The National College Championships will be held May 28–31 in Madison, Wis., where the University of Oregon will be competing.

Since this is the first official year for Ultimate at PSU, club members have concentrated their efforts on recruiting and organizing, and Hart is excited about how things are progressing.

“We’re planning a lot of good stuff for next year and we’ll have two big events and a clinic per quarter for the students who are interested in playing,” Hart said.

The club’s website will be finished this summer and a calendar will let students plan ahead for these events. The team will hold a Hat Tournament on May 28 from 3:30–7:30 p.m. at Stott Field where names are drawn from a hat to form the teams.

Hat tournaments help to form new connections for the team and bring about awareness for the sport. All levels of experience are encouraged to come and either participate or observe the game, and the team is always recruiting.

PSU Ultimate Frisbee Club

(current site)
www.pdx.edu/recreation/ultimate
(future site)
www.ultimate.groups.pdx.edu