Close games keep
fans entertained as
Free Agents take title
Carlos E. Gonzalez / Reporter
After a three-week basketball tournament held in the gym of the kinesiology building, intramurals director Ryan Murphy thought it would be a great idea to continue the action but switch up the sport. So Murphy introduced Ultimate Frisbee, which could be compared to football or rugby, but not as physical.
“We just try to have a variety of different sports, a little bit of a mix of both the traditional sports like volleyball, basketball, and throwing in some nontraditional like pickle ball in the beginning of the semester,” Murphy said.
Traditional or nontraditional, if there is a competition, there will be a tournament. Six teams signed up, but only one would be called champs — ironically, the team named The Champs was close but not victorious.
The game is called “Ultimate” because originally there were to be no referees, requiring players to have “Ultimate Honor.” Players called out one another’s fouls, even if the foul was on them, and did not dispute fouls called by opponents.
Players are not to run with the disc, but like basketball, keep a pivot with their foot while holding the disc. This helps build teamwork and creative strategies for players to change up the pace and keep their opponents guessing.
According to USA Ultimate, the game starts off with both teams at opposite end zones and each team tries to advance the disc to the other end zone. Just like football, the game starts with one team receiving the disc and the other throwing off to them, called the “pull.” The pull puts the disc into play, and once in play the players can only pass the disc. If the team is successful and gets the disc into the end zone, both teams swap directions and pull the disc to the opposing team.
Getting to the end zone is not always easy. Once the disc is passed, the opposing team has a chance to intercept the catch and gain possession. Catches are usually incomplete given the disc is either swatted out of the air or caught by a player who is out of bounds.
Once players have the disc in their hand, they have about five to ten seconds to pass it off. This is referred to as a stall count, and the player with the disc is the “thrower.” A defensive player, called the “marker,” must remain at arm’s length from the thrower and can call the stall count out loud.
Ultimate Frisbee is usually played on a regulation field of 120 yards, but Murphy decided to hold games on the basketball court gym in the kinesiology building.
Once the games began, the surface of the court didn’t stop players from diving for the disc. Each game was seven minutes instead of the regulation 10 minutes. The first team to reach 20 points won.
Each game was close, which had everyone on their toes. In the end, Free Agents were crowned champs. Even though their team was formed at the last minute, they played the game with good defense and a tricky offense.
