NE holds laid-back ultimate Frisbee competition

By Matt Fulkerson/sports editor

Students compete in ultimate Frisbee April 16 on NE Campus. Some players were new to the game while others have been practicing together for about two years.  Photo by Georgia Phillips/The Collegian
Students compete in ultimate Frisbee April 16 on NE Campus. Some players were new to the game while others have been practicing together for about two years. Photo by Georgia Phillips/The Collegian

The fierce winds weren’t enough to ground the players during NE Campus’ ultimate Frisbee intramural competition April 16.

The event included players across various skill levels as they competed in a first-to-seven game.

Similar to football, the objective of the ultimate is to move the disc down the field and into the end zone for a touchdown. Once a player catches the disc, that player can’t take any steps until that person has made a pass to a teammate, NE student Aamer Quresh said.

“The field is about the same size as a football field,” he said. “It’s a lot of running, but almost anybody can play this.”

While several players were new to the game, a group of students who play ultimate every Sunday afternoon at Hurst Community Park participated.

“The group’s been together for about two years now,” said NE student Freddie Christen. “About half of them go to TCC.”

Christen said that what draws him to the game is the relaxed competition and the camaraderie of the players on the field.

“We’re usually out there, rain or shine,” he said.

NE student Ian Woolsey said the relaxed nature is a big reason he enjoys the game so much.

“You don’t have to have years of training to be exceptionally good at it,” he said. “People don’t take it as intensely as football, you know, so it’s just a fun, laid-back sport.”

Lucas Price said he’s only played ultimate a few times but appreciated the change of pace it offered.

“They offered it in class as kind of the cardio workout, so I thought, ‘Hey, it’s something different, right?’” he said. “I’m not that great of a player.”

The ability to jump into ultimate with no experience is a major draw for NE student Bonnie Mills.

“When I started, I was horrible,” she said. “But I keep on practicing at it, and I feel like I’m getting better.”

Ryan Buckingham is one of the more experienced members of the group that meets on Sundays and enjoys the timing and skill required to play ultimate.

“The Frisbee floats in the air, it stalls and it just seems like it’s in its own little world,” Buckingham said. “It takes a lot of timing and skill. I really like it.”