Tye Richmond
Sports Reporter
Have you ever thought about a sport that can combine three sports all into one. A sport where you can run routes and make catches like you an NFL wide receiver. A sport where you could be a point guard and cut across the field like you’re cutting to the basket to get open in basketball. A sport where you are celebrating with your whole team after a goal or point scored like a soccer team.
The University of Delaware has a club Ultimate Frisbee/Disc teams include all three sports. Also it could be up there as the most exciting sport in at the University. The group of people that I’m talking about is the Women’s Ultimate Disc/Frisbee Team and their name is The Sideshow.
You may ask yourself what is Ultimate Disc. Ultimate has a national body of rules that governs the competition. “Ultimate is played between two teams of seven players on a large rectangular pitch. A line drawn across the pitch at either end creates two “end zones” (like in American Football). These are the goal-scoring areas. A goal is scored when a team completes a pass to a player standing (or more likely running) in the end zone they are attacking.”
“Players cannot run with the disc. When you get the disc you must come to a stop and try to throw it to another player. By passing from player to player, the offence attempts to work the disc up the pitch towards the end zone they are attacking. If the disc hits the ground or is intercepted or knocked down by the other team, then the opposition takes possession (a change of possession is called a “turnover”, like American Football). Possession also changes if a receiver is outside the playing area when he or she catches it.”
“The defending team attempts to stop the team with the disc from making progress upfield by marking them (as in soccer or basketball). The theory is that the offence won’t want to pass to a player who is being marked closely, as it’s likely to result in an interception. So it boils down to the offensive players trying to get free of their markers to receive a pass, while the defense makes every effort to stay with them in the hope of forcing a turnover.”
It doesn’t take that long to understand Ultimate Disc. It took me only a couple of minutes from watching the girls practice to understand how the game works.
On offensive you have the handlers (point guards in basketball) move the disc in short range, keeping the stall count low and looking for downfield throws. Then the Cutters (wide receivers in football) try to get open for yardage-gaining catches.
But the thing that sets Ultimate from other sports is that there are no referees. The games are refereed by the players themselves and follow a code of conduct called “Spirit of the Game”. The team shows the Spirit of the Game, with their joy of life and the love they have for the sport shows the second you meet them. According to USA Ultimate “Ultimate stresses sportsmanship and fair play. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy of play.”
It was a joy watching and talking to the Women’s Ultimate Disc team during their practice. At first it was a little awkward with me being there. Then we started to open up more and just crack jokes about the random topics and you could see their personalities come out. But when it’s time to get serious the ladies switch it into another gear and become locked in.
You can follow and track the team on their instagram account @sideshowwomensultimate
