With the last few weeks of warm weather quickly flying by, Gustavus students are doing everything they can to spend as much time outside as possible. Few people do this more often than the Ultimate Frisbee team. From tossing a frisbee around in front of the C. Charles Jackson Campus Center in between classes to attending afternoon practices, the Ultimate team members take full advantage of the sunshine while they can.
The sport of Ultimate Frisbee is a combination of soccer, basketball and football. Teams of seven compete to score in the opponent’s endzone by completing a pass to a player on their team.
A game of Ultimate begins with one team initiating a “pull” in a kickoff fashion to the other team. As the game continues, the offense immediately becomes the defense if they drop the disk. This turnover process also occurs if the defense ever intercepts the disc.
Each member of the team on the field has a designated position as either a handler or a cutter. Because the players are not allowed to run with the disc, the cutters spend most of their time running up field to catch the disc and move it closer to the endzone. The handlers then are the players who have posession of the disc most of the time.
“To say the least, there’s a fair amount of sprinting involved [in Ultimate]. When I joined the team, I didn’t have a clue that Ultimate would take all the energy and athleticism I could muster,” Women’s Ultimate Captain and Junior Bonnie Hilmoe said.
Most games that the Gustavus Ultimate team competes in take place on weekends. They compete in four games on Saturday and three more on Sunday. With each game playing to 13 or 15 points, the entire Ultimate team proves their athleticism time after time.
“I started playing club Ultimate as a first-year. I’d played pickup Ultimate with my friends, so I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. I was wrong, of course. Ultimate was way better than I thought it was going to be,” Women’s Ultimate Captain and Junior Amy Loreen said.
In addition traveling to tournaments, the Ultimate team also hosts Thrill on the Hill at Gustavus each spring. This event is open to the entire campus to participate in, as well as many teams from across the U.S. and parts of Canada. The event includes a weekend Ultimate Frisbee tournament as well as a free concert for both the teams and the campus as a whole.
“Thrill on the Hill is a fun way to wrap up the season, as well as a great way to send off the seniors who graduate,” Junior Political Science Major Clark Kampfe said.
As the Ultimate team continues to grow, the teamwork and relationships have only become stronger. The team’s countless hours of hard work and practice have allowed players to step up their game and begin to make a name for themselves.
“The Women’s team at Gustavus used to be close to nonexistant. Now we have a solid team that is a force to be reckoned with,” Hilmoe said
The relationships within the teams also extend beyond the game field. With so many hours spent together practicing and competing, the Ultimate players have developed some close-knit and unique bonds with one another.
“Because I’m from out of state, I didn’t know anyone when I first got here. The Ultimate team became my new family. Almost all of my best friends are on the team, and there’s nothing I would rather do with my free time than play [Ultimate]. It’s really intense, but it’s also just really satisfying to play your heart out with your teammates,” Loreen said.
“While [playing Ultimate], I have had the time of my life getting to know older students on campus and making lifelong friends. We play most of our games at tournaments where we play teams from all over the country. It is a blast,” Men’s Ultimate Captain and Senior Physics Major Erik Huemiller said.
If you are interested in joining the Men’s or Women’s Ultimate teams, you can swing by the Intramural Fields on Monday, Wednesday or Friday during practices beginning at 4:45 p.m. To learn more about the team and how to join, e-mail ehuemill@gustavus.edu or bhilmoe@gustavus.edu.