The Spring season marks the season of ultimate frisbee. As this sport continues to grow and evolve at Fairview, it will be great to see what the 2019 season brings for our frisbee players.  

“We have all grade levels, from Freshmen to Seniors, and we [also] have some Seniors that are playing for the first time this year,” said ultimate frisbee sponsor John Rundell.

Ultimate frisbee has increased in popularity since it was originally created. According to USA Ultimate, the game was founded by American high school students in 1968. Since then, it has been recognized by the International Olympic committee and is played on a local, national, and international level.

The sport of ultimate frisbee strongly emphasizes the “Spirit of the Game,” the idea that players maintain fair play, respect, and other qualities of good sportsmanship. Ultimate frisbee is unique in that it has no ref, but rather relies on the players to use “Spirit of the Game.” Therefore, the team dynamic is particularly important.

“[Ultimate is] self-reffed, so if we’re playing and you foul me, I call a foul and you can contest that or you can say ‘I didn’t foul you.’ And I think for that reason, it’s a game that has really good spirit, because both teams have respect for each other,” said Rundell.

Players pass the frisbee down the field, running when they aren’t in possession of the frisbee. In case of an interception, dropped pass, or another wrong move, the other team takes possession of the frisbee. When an individual manages to catch the frisbee in the opposing team’s endzone, they score a point.  

“I think my favorite thing about ultimate frisbee is the sportsmanship between players of your own team but also the teams you’re playing against, like everyone’s just so friendly,” said Senior Talia Frost-Belansky.

One interesting aspect about ultimate frisbee is the emphasized respect for the other team. At the end of each game, the teams will circle up and talk about the game.

“It shows the community of ultimate because we all stand together as like kind of one community at the end,” said Frost-Belansky.

For whoever is interested in joining the team next year, ultimate may be a great addition to your extracurriculars.

“It’s a game that you can learn quickly and with some practice you can learn the skills that you need […] and you become a smarter and smarter player quickly,” said Rundell.