Latest news with #UltimateFrisbee
Wall Street Journal
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Wall Street Journal
A Christian College Wanted to Be Great at Ultimate Frisbee—and Made Everyone Mad
Ultimate Frisbee is not a typical sport. The game, which involves passing the disc down a 70-yard field, is officiated by the players and governed by a doctrine that prioritizes 'the basic joy of play' above winning. When things get too heated, teams sometimes call a 'spirit timeout' to defuse the situation. But something happened a few years ago that shook the sport to its hippy core. A tiny Christian college took over. Oklahoma Christian University, a private school north of Oklahoma City advertising a 'world-class education rooted in Christian values,' has built a Frisbee powerhouse by offering scholarships to lure top players, many of whom already had a college degree. OC's dominance—the Eagles have won two Division III national championships since their first full season in 2021 and are competing for another this weekend—has divided the world of competitive Frisbee. 'Are we going to have Russian oil tycoons owning Frisbee teams and world cups in Saudi Arabia for ultimate Frisbee?' said Micah Arenstein, a college junior who competes on Kenyon College's team. 'Or do we want to keep the smaller but really tightknit and beautiful community that we have?' OC's takeover started in 2019 when the school established a scholarship program to persuade top talent from around the world to relocate to Edmond, Okla. The early recruits included four graduating seniors from the Air Force Academy, a member of the Dutch national Frisbee team and a former star at Texas Tech. College ultimate Frisbee is run by an entity called USA Ultimate, not the NCAA, which restricts Division III schools from offering athletic scholarships. USA Ultimate also grants five years of college eligibility, meaning there is a universe of Division I athletes who graduate with an extra year of Frisbee services to dish. OC pounced, scouring the world for athletes who might want to enroll as graduate students to extend their playing careers. The strategy paid immediate dividends. It won a national title in its first season of postpandemic play and added a second the following year. But it didn't win many friends. 'They take it so seriously,' said 21-year-old Isaiah Curtis, who captains a team of Claremont Colleges students called the Braineaters, named for a 1958 movie some alums planned to watch but couldn't because they had taken psychedelic mushrooms. 'They're varsity athletes—and all the rest of us are not.' Still, Curtis said he supports scholarship programs because they expand access to college and improve the quality of play. At last year's 16-team national championship tournament, OC garnered the lowest spirit score, an aggregation of ratings determined by each team's competitors in categories like 'fair-mindedness' and 'attitude.' OC administrators see the Frisbee scholarship program as a cost-effective way to boost the school's enrollment and profile. Athletic director David Lynn said it's a relatively cheap sport to run and most of its players still cover some tuition and room and board, making the program profitable. 'It's not necessarily an unfair advantage,' said Gabe Cabrera, who designed OC's scholarship program to boost school attendance and innovate the sport. 'It's just indicative of your poor game planning and execution as a competitor.' Cabrera dismissed naysayers as hailing from wealthy and well-endowed liberal-arts colleges, and said he has advised three other schools on developing scholarship programs. Players on this year's roster came from places as far as Kenya, Japan and Luxembourg—regions usually far outside the university's footprint. 'People don't like to lose,' said former OC coach Garrett Taylor. 'If I'd have been in their shoes, I might have been saying the same stuff.' This year, OC is headed to nationals for the fourth time in five years—hoping to cement its legacy as a top Frisbee school. It also hopes to shed its reputation as the evil empire of the sport. Inspired partly by the hit Apple TV show 'Ted Lasso,' Sammy Roberts, a former Connecticut recruit who is now OC's captain and coach, turned his attention to team-building. The school has largely stopped recruiting graduate students. 'We were kind of playing for each other, but we were really just playing to win,' said Roberts. 'And I don't think that was as much fun, if I'm being honest.' But winning nationals will be difficult. Davenport University, a small private college in Grand Rapids, Mich., has ascended to the top of the division largely by employing the same strategy pioneered by OC. It offers varying quantities of athletic scholarships to everyone on its 26-player roster. Last year, its first year of competition, Davenport made an unexpected run at a national title but was edged out by OC in the quarterfinals. The team has lost one match all season, against Division I's Michigan State University. They head into Nationals this weekend as the favorite—at least on the field. Last year, Butler University's team circulated a petition calling for teams with scholarships to be forced to play in Division I—currently only required for schools with an enrollment of more than 7,500 students—after one foundational year at the lower level. That, it argued, would level the playing field. NCAA-sanctioned Division III programs 'aren't allowed to give out scholarships to students to come play and then beat the crap out of a bunch of schools that don't have the same levers for talent acquisition,' said Butler coach Arthur Small. The petition fizzled out. 'I understand that people are upset about the fact that scholarships are a 'hack in the system,'' said Collin Hill, widely regarded as one of the division's best players. Hill transferred to Davenport after finishing his Bachelor's degree at Berry College last year. 'But if Frisbee is going to be considered a legitimate sport, I think this is the way to go about it.' Rivals won't have to worry about Davenport for long. Head coach Mike Zaagman, a self-described 'Frisbee apostle,' said the team will compete in Division I next year. 'We want better competition,' he said. Write to Xavier Martinez at
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
300 kids learn teamwork and fun through Ultimate Frisbee
300 elementary school students learned to play Ultimate Frisbee with some of the best players in Quebec.
The Star
09-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Get some fun and exercise by revisiting childhood games
Pickleball is the current sports rage, not only in Malaysia, but all over the world. A cross between tennis, badminton and ping pong, the game was invented in 1965 in a backyard by three dads from Bainbridge Island, Washington, United States, after they returned home from a golf game and found their families sitting around with nothing to do. Their original purpose was to provide a game that the whole family could play together, but 60 years later, pickleball has now morphed into the fastest-growing sport in the US. I've yet to try the game so I can't comment much except that it looks like a lot of fun. My octogenarian former student tried playing – coaxed by her grandsons – and was raving about it, although she only lasted 15 minutes on court. To have some fun in any team sport, just revisit some of the games you used to play as a child. You don't have to be good, but it'll surely elicit a giggle or two – and perhaps, you might experience a bit of (good) soreness the next day. Not only do they test your agility, coordination and balance, but these sports can also boost your physical and mental health while increasing your social interactions. Here are a few team sports and games you can consider playing once a month to spice up your fitness routine. Playing basketball involves constant movement – running, jumping and quick direction changes – making it an excellent aerobic exercise. It also develops speed, agility and endurance, enhancing your physical fitness. Plus it helps develop essential motor skills and hand-eye coordination. So, find a basketball court and a ball with air in it. First, try a few ball drills, alternating hands each time, then pass the ball to your teammates and shoot hoops. As newbies, limit your play to half a court so that you don't run out of gas too quickly. Due to the fast-paced nature of the sport, playing Ultimate Frisbee can help your cardiovascular fitness in a big way. Many of us have thrown a Frisbee before, although wind aside, it may not have gone in the direction we wanted! Ultimate Frisbee is a fast-paced, non-contact team sport that combines elements of soccer and basketball. The objective is simple: pass and catch the disc down the field to score points in the opposing team's end zone while avoiding turnovers. Players cannot run while holding the disc and they must establish a pivot foot before passing it on to teammates. It's not always easy to throw the disc in the right direction (hence you'll end up laughing), but it must be caught before it hits the ground and possession changes to the other team. To play casually, you don't need a large field, just find an open space in the nearest neighbourhood park. Bet you've never heard of this version of football before, but it's a low-impact variation of the 'beautiful game' that doesn't strain your joints, making it ideal for older people. It's a variation of the real thing, with no running allowed. If you run, the whistle blows and the opposite team gets the ball. There are absolutely no tackles and the ball needs to be kept below head height. And instead of throw-ins when the ball goes out of play, you have kick-ins. The ball is smaller and less bouncy than the standard football. Depending on the speed of your walk, you can still get a good workout. Additionally, by kicking and passing the ball during the game, you maintain your ability to produce power, which tends to decrease as we age. > Hopscotch or 'teng teng' This is my favourite childhood game! There are many versions of hopscotch, but in the classic game, you draw a grid of nine squares and a half circle with a chalk. You throw a marker on the first square and jump over it until you reach the end, then turn around and do the same thing. However, on the return journey, you have to pick up the marker without falling over. If you do, then it's your opponent's turn. The 10th spot, i.e. half circle, is often considered a free space or a rest point. You can usually set both feet down and turn around without worrying about stepping out of bounds. Aiming the marker to land on the correct square, jumping on all the right squares using a single foot or double feet, picking up the marker, etc all work on balance and coordination. Pickleball was designed to be played by people of all ages, and has been spreading fast in Malaysia. If you're around my old age and studied in a Malaysian primary school, you'd surely remember playing 'catching' in school. Similarly, in 'fire and ice', you have to try dodging the catcher (ice), But if he or she touches you, you have to 'freeze' in the exact position you're in at the time, which could mean standing on one foot or another awkward position. You can only start moving again once someone else (fire) taps you to 'melt'. This fun game can go on and on, especially in a vast area and if you're a good runner. The game ends when the catcher has 'frozen' everyone. As adults, we might find the game tiring, although it provides a good cardiovascular (and perhaps balancing) workout. Revathi Murugappan is a certified fitness trainer who tries to battle gravity and continues to dance to express herself artistically and nourish her soul. For more information, email starhealth@ The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
Los Angeles Times
17-02-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep talk: Loyola goalie becomes hero after injury from playing Ultimate Frisbee
It's the soccer season of redemption for Loyola High senior goalie Chris Stillwell. A year ago, right before Loyola's first preseason game, he broke his wrist in the most improbable way — playing Ultimate Frisbee. 'There was a pass to the end zone, I went up to catch it and got my legs taken from under me and I fell on the track,' he said. The injury kept him out for most of the season. 'He was very upset,' Stillwell said of the reaction by coach Chris Walter. Finally healthy, Stillwell has started every game this season for 18-0-4 Loyola. On Saturday, wearing his blue and pink goalie shirt, he came up with the key save on a penalty kick and then sophomore Cash Morrow scored for a 6-5 win in penalty kicks over last year's Southern Section Division 1 champion Mater Dei. It sends the Cubs into the Open Division semifinals on Wednesday at home against Mira Costa or Hart, who play Monday. 'I was very excited,' Stillwell said after Morrow's winning penalty kick. 'I ran after him to celebrate.' It's the best Loyola season since the Cubs went 30-0-6 in 2014 and won section and regional championships. Fans watching on a livestream missed the drama when the camera went out in the middle of the penalty kicks. 'I think the battery went out,' Walter said. As for lessons learned from last season, Stillwell said, 'I need to be more careful.' … Here's the updated schedule for Southern Section girls basketball playoffs. ... Here's the updated schedule for Southern Section boys basketball playoffs. This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email
New York Times
15-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The Parking Lot Frisbee Game That Started in 1968 Is Still Going Strong
On hallowed ground in Maplewood, N.J., a small group of impassioned athletes braved the January cold to fling a disc. Some had gray hair beneath wool caps. Some were in street clothes. One wore shorts and a beard to rival Father Time's. They can be found there most Thursday nights, even in the bleakest midwinter, their sneakers slapping out a staccato beat that echoes the invention of their sport, almost 60 years ago, on the same spot: the parking lot of Columbia High School. As the players warmed up, a group of high school students wandered by. They noted the camera flash from a news photographer and, as they surveyed the curious scene, wondered what was up. 'Oh,' one of them said, with a teenager's almost audible eye roll. 'The stupid Frisbee rock.' In a corner of that nondescript parking lot sits a stone the size of a backyard grill, with a small plaque commemorating the birthplace of Ultimate Frisbee in 1968, and the three students credited with inventing it. The teenagers did not know it, but two of the guys in the game that night have a direct connection to the players mentioned on the plaque, the founders of Ultimate Frisbee as we know it. Joe Barbanel, 70, and his good friend Ed Summers, 71, both grandfathers, have been playing the sport in this parking lot for more than half a century. But history is not what compels these Frisbee folks. 'Like Peter Pan, I don't have to grow up,' said Mr. Barbanel, who has matured enough to be a part owner of a chemical manufacturing company in Short Hills, N.J. 'I did it with my friends way back then, and I'm doing it with my friends now.' Mr. Barbanel and Mr. Summers do not claim to have been present at the actual founding of Ultimate, which is essentially football with a Frisbee and no tackling. Credit for that generally goes to three older chaps in the Columbia High School class of 1970: Joel Silver, who later became a Hollywood film producer; Jonny Hines; and Bernard Hellring Jr., known as Buzzy, who died in a car crash in 1971. But it's unlikely that anyone has played more Frisbee in this parking lot than Mr. Barbanel and Mr. Summers (class of '72). They were the younger disciples who helped spread the game far beyond its initial home turf of Maplewood, and they still play most weeks. 'We definitely had a religious fervor about it back then,' said Mr. Summers, a retired AT&T project manager and board member of the online Ultimate Hall of Fame. 'And still do,' he added. 'I love the arc of the disc. I love catching, throwing and making a quick cut to evade a defender.' Flying disc toys are said to have been around since the 1930s, and campground games have been played up and down the East Coast since the 1940s, according to Tony Leonardo, the author of 'Ultimate: The Greatest Sport Ever Invented by Man.' Mr. Leonardo, who founded the Notre Dame team in 1991 (Ultimate is generally a club sport at colleges, though it is taken very seriously), is also making a documentary about the Maplewood parking lot, which he said is underrecognized, even by many of the estimated seven million Ultimate players around the world. 'The fact that our entire sport can be traced to this crummy rock with this small plaque at a parking lot is a little bit of an insult,' he said. 'It's insufficient.' According to the legend, Mr. Silver went to a summer camp in Massachusetts in 1968 and learned a similar game from a counselor who played it at Amherst College. Mr. Silver brought it back to Columbia High School, tweaked it and, according to Mr. Leonardo, pushed it on the student council, almost as a gag or a fun form of cheeky performance art. The first game was played between the student council and the student newspaper staff. 'He did a lot of it as a shtick,' Mr. Leonardo said. The parking lot became the early arena because of its lights, but otherwise, the sport is a field game. Winter pickup games in Maplewood are still played in the lot for the same reason as many decades ago — it is well lit. One of the players in last month's game was Michael Brenner, a Maplewood native who went on to win consecutive national Ultimate championships for the University of Pittsburgh in 2012 and 2013. Later, he had offers to play in a professional league with referees. But he prefers the traditional game, where disputed calls are hashed out by players, overseen by 'observers.' One of the key moments in the initial branding of Ultimate Frisbee was when the trio of founders recorded all the rules in a booklet, printed in 1970. In addition to establishing the run of play — a foul may be a physical action 'sufficient to arouse the ire' of an opponent — the first rule book also included a section on referees, with the key words 'honor system,' thereby codifying the essential spirit of sportsmanship and honesty. Ultimate largely rejects commercialism, and though it embraces competition and athleticism, an encouraging word to an opponent is far more common than ill-tempered invective. But it's no hippie sport. 'We are engineers, intellectuals, with athletes mixed in,' Mr. Leonardo, the Ultimate historian, said. 'A little alternative, liberal, freethinking, very smart-alecky. Collegiate.' So, instead of doing it for money, Mr. Brenner plays pickup in street clothes on winter nights in a parking lot in suburban New Jersey. 'There is something pure about it,' he said. 'It's the coolest thing in the world to still play here.' If Ultimate was a shtick for the inventors, for Mr. Barbanel, Mr. Summers and their cohort it was sport, and maybe a way of life. They contacted other local high school students, told them about the game and handed out rule books. They even started a league — the New Jersey Frisbee Conference — and made a pact to start teams at their future colleges. 'It was always practice, practice, practice,' Mr. Summers said. 'And now, 50 years later, I'm still practicing.' Sometimes in the winter it can be hard to find enough players, and once or twice Mr. Barbanel was left alone to run laps and do solo throwing drills in the cold. But during the pickup game last month, there were enough for a spirited three-on-three. The roster also included Mr. Summers; Andrew Warner, 40, another Columbia alumnus, who plays in shorts regardless of the temperature; Joe Crobak, who played at Lafayette College; and Mark Dowd, a marketing executive. They played for about two hours, pausing several times to hunt for a stick long enough to retrieve the disc from the east branch of the frigid Rahway River after an errant throw. The players also stopped to wave in unison at the New Jersey Transit trains that passed by every quarter-hour or so. They have been doing that without fail since the first games in the parking lot decades ago. 'Sometimes the conductors blow the horn,' Mr. Warner said. As the players tossed precision hammer throws, made deft cuts and always complimented an opponent on a good play, Steve Campione, an executive for an agricultural firm, walked his dog across the street. He said he had seen the game most Thursday nights lately, even the week before, when it was 20 degrees. Asked if it seemed a bit crazy to brave freezing temperatures to play Frisbee at night, Mr. Campione, who has adult children, said no, assuming the players were students. He was then informed that they were all at least 30 and there were two grandfathers in the game. 'Oh, now, that's a little crazy,' he said with a laugh. Then he reconsidered. 'Once you fall in love with a sport, you want to keep playing. They're still out there having fun.'
