by Raley Parker
posted April 6, 2003
"Carpe Discum, Seize the Disc," says Carl Keifer. Carl, as well as many other local residents will be 'seizing' the Ultimate Frisbee fields of Chattanooga this summer.
There may be some readers out there, such as yourself, who wonder, "What is this Ultimate Frisbee you speak of?" To you all, I urge you to read further and take a moment to see what this fast growing sport is all about. I was able to find a few new players who have signed up for this summer's league, and I wanted to know why they decided to play ultimate this summer. One of them, Emily Strother, of Cleveland said, "Since I'm not in school anymore, I can't be on a sports team or play intramurals so I thought it'd be a fun way to be involved with a team sport again. I was never really good at the ball sports (as she smiled) but I loved being on a team. (she ran track and cross country) I tried ultimate a couple of years ago and I learned a little and had lots of fun!"
The average age of an ultimate player in Chattanooga is around 30 years old. If you find that number surprising, I'll tell you why it is so. Many athletes grow up playing sports like baseball, football, basketball, volleyball, tennis . . . you know, your 'normal' sports. They play on their high school teams, recreation league teams, and some even go on to play at the collegiate level. But what is there to do after college or after high school sports? If you want to play on a team, there's not as much out there to really challenge you. And what I've found here in Chattanooga, is that these athletes discover a new sport and become addicted. Phil Mantel, a local 'Nooga' player said, "Once you start playing you get addicted for a long time. Some people have been playing 15 years and still come out to practice three times a week."
If you didn't notice earlier in the story, Emily will be a new player here in the league this summer, meaning that Ultimate Frisbee is a co-ed sport. Each team fields five men and two women on the field at all times. There are some women who play in the league who've had experience playing prior to moving to Chattanooga, while others find their way to ultimate in a different fashion. Krista Kaspar was recruited to play, and she said "I was hanging out with a bunch of friends and they said I could handle it, now I've been playing a year and a half." Liane Cooper started playing when she was a student at Auburn University. "I have been playing here a year now. I'm looking forward to my 3rd league here. It's more fun as I've gotten to know people." Indeed!, I will say to Liane as ultimate is a small community of people within the community of Chattanooga.
So are you still wondering what Ultimate Frisbee is? It is kind of hard to explain; you use a Frisbee (often called a disc), and the objective is to move the disc up and down the field, getting into the end zone to score. The team with the most points at the end of the time wins! I think you should just come out, watch and see! "All you need is cleats and the will to fly," jokingly says Steve Cobble, one of the senior members of the league here in Chattanooga.
Now that you know there is Ultimate Frisbee is happening on Tuesday nights here in Chattanooga this summer, and that you don't have to have any experience to play (you'll be taught as you go, and there are lots of opportunities to learn), what else could you find to do on those beautiful Tuesday nights? Grab a friend, neighbor, boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife, and take some time away from those summer jobs and the work around the house, to exercise, have fun, and make some new friends.
Check out www.playultimate.net for more information on the league and perhaps these Chattanooga ultimate players will see you out on the fields soon!
Other Sports
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