SUA Has an Ultimate Frisbee Team?
You know about St. Ursula volleyball and soccer, but did you know that St. Ursula also has an Ultimate Frisbee Team? The UXA Ultimate Team is a co-ed ultimate frisbee team made up of three Ursula girls, three Ursuline girls, and roughly 30 St. X boys. They practice three times a week at St. X and play against other high schools in the Cincinnati area. There are two seasons of the sport, fall, and spring. You may be asking yourself “what even is Ultimate frisbee? Isn’t that just that frisbee golf thing?” Actually, no.
Ultimate frisbee can be described as a hybrid of a bunch of sports. There are endzones, like in football, and you can’t walk with the disk in your hand, like in basketball. Ultimate is very different from most sports though, in that it does not include referees.
The foundation of Ultimate is something called “The Spirit of the Game”. There are even designated captains on teams called spirit captains, whose job is to uphold “the spirit of the game”. Carter O’Daniel, a sophomore, and one UXA ’s spirit captains described “the spirit of the game” as “the idea that ‘winning-at-all-costs’ is not that important. Being competitive is encouraged, but never at the cost of respect of competitors. It is most important that every player is upholding good sportsmanship while still having fun.” The spirit of the game is tested in how Ultimate does not involve referees. Do you think someone fouled you? You call it, and it’s a foul. This requires that all players are honest and respectful of everyone on the field.
Everybody on the team loves it for different reasons. Michael Rohs, a St. X. junior said, “I have tried playing pretty much every sport, and there has never been anything I have enjoyed more than ultimate frisbee. I love how it is less of a commitment than other sports, but I still get to be active. I love being able to meet so many amazing new people and be part of a supportive team. The team has become a family. We are always having a good time during practice or games, or even on the sidelines. Practices are themed most days so we always are just having a [good] time.”
Addie Kern, a sophomore at Ursuline, team captain, and a qualifier for the U20 national team described her experience with ultimate as “something that I have always loved. I started playing in 8th grade and I have loved it ever since. I have made so many friends through the team . . . I love seeing new people who have never played come onto the team and quickly pick up the sport. It is such an easy sport that anyone who wants to can play”.
The UXA ultimate frisbee team is always accepting new players, no matter the time in a season. The team is actively looking for new girls to join the team, so if you are interested in joining the team you can contact Rebecca Reichert, 21 (rreich21@saintutsula.org), or coach Zak Weaver (zaweaver917@gmail.com). The team is even hosting a frisbee pizza mixer for anyone interested in playing, before every St. X home football game, to introduce new people to the sport. The mixers are from 4-5:30 and are welcome to anyone, even if you aren’t planning on joining the team. You can contact Katie Boscher (katie@boscher.com) if you are interested in attending.
After an amazing season, with many wins, the team is now looking forward to participating in the Ultimate frisbee state tournament later this month.