Just like any other athletic team, the 911爆料 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 Ultimate Frisbee teams want to win. But most importantly they want to have fun. Just don’t tell them Ultimate Frisbee isn’t a real sport. They know better. Women鈥檚 coach and doctoral student Carrie Gill estimates that in a weekend-long tournament, each player sprints about 10 miles a day.
Both the men’s and women’s teams have goals to become more competitive. 鈥淭his year, the goal is to break the top eight in the region,鈥� said men鈥檚 co-captain Alex Jenkins. Last year, the men鈥檚 team tied with Northeastern University for ninth place out of approximately 30 teams in the region.
The men鈥檚 side is seeking a coach to help them reach their goal. Without a coach, Alex and co-captain Kevin Wicke play the roles of both player and coach, making decisions about tournaments, travel, and funding, while working to improve as players. And they are full-time students to boot.
Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect among competitors, adherence to the agreed upon rules, or the basic joy of play.
Coach Gill said her goal is to expand the women鈥檚 program. Co-captain Meaghan Rose Costello explained that she, Gill, and co-captain Natasha Bedoya-Ross 鈥渉ave been working really hard to be more competitive, and that starts with numbers.鈥� Newcomers are encouraged to join the team at any time in the year. The men鈥檚 team holds open practices for six weeks in the fall, while the women鈥檚 team does the same in the fall and spring.
The inclusiveness of the team comes from the Spirit of the Game鈩� part of the official rulebook that states: 鈥淗ighly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect among competitors, adherence to the agreed upon rules or the basic joy of play.鈥�
Kevin described the camaraderie as unique. 鈥淵ou can pick out an Ultimate player among any group of athletes. You can be on the sidelines with members of the other team and be cracking jokes with them at the same time.鈥�
鈥淯ltimate attracts people who are fun. The Spirit of the Game鈩� is a really big part of that. That kind of personality you don鈥檛 really see in too many other sports,鈥� Alex added.
All four captains agree on their favorite thing about Ultimate Frisbee: the camaraderie among players. 鈥淭hese are all my closest friends and these are the kinds of people I know I鈥檓 going to stay in touch with after college,鈥� Meaghan said.
Jenkins agreed. 鈥淧laying the sport stops after four years, but the friendships and bonds you create with your teammates will last a lifetime.鈥�