The Ultimate Synopsis
- Sara James
Ultimate Frisbee is no longer a game played only on the coasts, nor is it only a game only played by men.
When most students see the flying discs on the quad or on the C-Hall fields and don’t think anything of it, except for maybe Frisbee golf. However, for those who live, breath and endure pain for ultimate, those discs are a sign of unexplainable amounts of exhilaration.
Not everyone can just go and play ultimate frisbee. It takes time and practice if you want to play at tournaments. A lot of practice. Truman has two teams - JujiTSU for the men and TSUnami for the women.
As a member of TSUnami I am very aware of the commitment necessary to prepare for tournaments. Most of us work out three to five mornings a week to keep up endurance and strength. Then we have practice at night, everyday for two hours. By 9 p.m. you are exhausted, but it is worth it. Anyone who has played sports can understand the sacrifice given for the love of the game.
For those of you who have no idea what is involved with ultimate I will provide a quick synopsis. You have a field (regulation size is 70 yards by 40 yards, with end zones 25 yards deep), seven players at each end (one for offense and one for defense), and a disc. The defense pulls the disc from their endzone towards the offense to initatite play.
Once received by the offense, the disc is thrown up the field by a series of passes (a person is stationary when holding the disc) and the goal is to catch it in the endzone for a score. It is constant give and go, sprinting and running, and switing from offense to defense - like soccer and basketball.
Ultimate - a non-contact sport - is self officiating and prides itself on the idea of spirit-of-the-game. There are many other rules and terms, but to explain them would require you to attend a game, but if you would like to read the complete set of rules go to upa.org.
What most people do not realize is that when an ultimate player says that he or she is going to a tournament, they mean that they will be playing ultimate for a minimum of eight hours that weekend. Games usually begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings and teams are normally done playing by 4 p.m. Then on Sunday morning games start between 9 and 10 a.m. and depending on whether or not it is single-elimination or double-elimination, teams normally play past noon, and sometimes they play until 3 or 4 p.m.
It’s not like playing a single or double header; you play solid for hours at a time. Then of course at night you can’t lay around and sleep to prepare for day two of the events; you have to go dance off your sore muscles and stretch them out until the morning hours. This normally seperates the true ultimate players from the mediocre ones.
If you haven’t figured out yet why we return from weekends sore, bruised, cut, sunburned and limping, allow me to elaborate. When a player is on the field, the disc is all that matters, not your body. It is a non-contact sport, but when you are diving in mid-air, side-by-side with another person, attempting to either catch or defend the disc, you tend to get tangled up. Of course, the ground is never as fluffy as a feather bed either. Laying out - when you are parallel to the ground to grab the disc - hurts a lot. You get the air knocked out of you, covered in mud, and sometimes, you get cleated or run into.
When you are in a game though, it’s imperative to catch that disc, and you’re running on so much adrenaline that you have no idea that what you’re about to do will hurt. Well not right away, usually the next day is when it takes it’s toll on your body.
Ultimate is constantly criticised as not being a real sport or a real game (remember, curling is considered a sport), but I dare you to come to a tournament, or practice for a week (you’re definitely invited), and see what it takes to play.
Ultimate Frisbee is no longer a game played only on the coasts, nor is it only a game only played by men.
When most students see the flying discs on the quad or on the C-Hall fields and don’t think anything of it, except for maybe Frisbee golf. However, for those who live, breath and endure pain for ultimate, those discs are a sign of unexplainable amounts of exhilaration.
Not everyone can just go and play ultimate frisbee. It takes time and practice if you want to play at tournaments. A lot of practice. Truman has two teams - JujiTSU for the men and TSUnami for the women.
As a member of TSUnami I am very aware of the commitment necessary to prepare for tournaments. Most of us work out three to five mornings a week to keep up endurance and strength. Then we have practice at night, everyday for two hours. By 9 p.m. you are exhausted, but it is worth it. Anyone who has played sports can understand the sacrifice given for the love of the game.
For those of you who have no idea what is involved with ultimate I will provide a quick synopsis. You have a field (regulation size is 70 yards by 40 yards, with end zones 25 yards deep), seven players at each end (one for offense and one for defense), and a disc. The defense pulls the disc from their endzone towards the offense to initatite play.
Once received by the offense, the disc is thrown up the field by a series of passes (a person is stationary when holding the disc) and the goal is to catch it in the endzone for a score. It is constant give and go, sprinting and running, and switing from offense to defense - like soccer and basketball.
Ultimate - a non-contact sport - is self officiating and prides itself on the idea of spirit-of-the-game. There are many other rules and terms, but to explain them would require you to attend a game, but if you would like to read the complete set of rules go to upa.org.
What most people do not realize is that when an ultimate player says that he or she is going to a tournament, they mean that they will be playing ultimate for a minimum of eight hours that weekend. Games usually begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings and teams are normally done playing by 4 p.m. Then on Sunday morning games start between 9 and 10 a.m. and depending on whether or not it is single-elimination or double-elimination, teams normally play past noon, and sometimes they play until 3 or 4 p.m.
It’s not like playing a single or double header; you play solid for hours at a time. Then of course at night you can’t lay around and sleep to prepare for day two of the events; you have to go dance off your sore muscles and stretch them out until the morning hours. This normally seperates the true ultimate players from the mediocre ones.
If you haven’t figured out yet why we return from weekends sore, bruised, cut, sunburned and limping, allow me to elaborate. When a player is on the field, the disc is all that matters, not your body. It is a non-contact sport, but when you are diving in mid-air, side-by-side with another person, attempting to either catch or defend the disc, you tend to get tangled up. Of course, the ground is never as fluffy as a feather bed either. Laying out - when you are parallel to the ground to grab the disc - hurts a lot. You get the air knocked out of you, covered in mud, and sometimes, you get cleated or run into.
When you are in a game though, it’s imperative to catch that disc, and you’re running on so much adrenaline that you have no idea that what you’re about to do will hurt. Well not right away, usually the next day is when it takes it’s toll on your body.
Ultimate is constantly criticised as not being a real sport or a real game (remember, curling is considered a sport), but I dare you to come to a tournament, or practice for a week (you’re definitely invited), and see what it takes to play.
posted by Anonymous at Wednesday, March 29, 2006
1 Comments:
Here here! Amen! Hooray! I heart Ultimate Frisbee and all the bruises and pains that result from it!!! My U.F. club plays all summer but only 2x a week...it's SO fun! I love it! The best SPORT ever!!!!
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