TALK with the Ultimate Frisbee Club

"It's basically just fun."

They've become a fun-loving fixture on the central quad. On Thursdays and Sundays, you can see them running, leaping and throwing the round disk in the late afternoon sun. Some nights, they're chasing down a glow-in-the dark disk. Even cold weather doesn't stop them: only high winds or hard-crust snow will keep the fast-paced ultimate Frisbee players indoors.

To Garrett Michaud '07:

How did Ultimate Frisbee get started here?

Kris Kimball '05 and I used to throw the Frisbee around for hours when I was a sophomore. People would see us and join in. Devon Brooks '07 took up Kris' role after Kris graduated.

How do you play?

There are two end zones. To score, you have to pass it into the end zone. You can do a long bomb or a sequence of moves. If the Frisbee is intercepted or knocked down, or if there's an incomplete pass, it results in a turnover.

How do you know where the end zones are?

A line (imaginary) going from the flag pole over and then another line (also imaginary) from the end of the fence over there up to the path.

How many people on a side?

We try to play 4 on 4. We have had as many as 16 players ... but it fluctuates. An official scrimmage is 7 on 7.

Are the rules pretty loose?

The defense is pretty involved, the way we play it. We'd probably get penalties if we were in a league. A few people are pretty competitive and it can get heated. Sometimes we go way beyond the boundary to catch it. We're supposed to give the person 5 feet of space when they're passing it, but it's all on the honor system.

To the entire group:

How did you all meet?

We all pretty much met through Frisbee. Yeah, and now there's a suite of Frisbee kids in the dorm.

Is there any special Frisbee vocabulary?

When you dive for it, that's called "laying out." And when you take a hard fall, that's called a "digger."

Why do you do it?

It's basically just fun. And it's great stress relief. Though sometimes the game causes stress! (everyone laughs.)

Any women on the team?

We have several.

Can anyone play?

Yeah. People walk by on their way to dinner, and if someone acts interested, we're always like, "you want to throw it around?"