by Ridhima Vakkalagadda (’24) | October 7, 2022

The Saint Francis Ultimate Frisbee club may be one of many clubs on campus, but it is a unique and awesome group for all to join. This club is not considered an official Saint Francis sport, but Ultimate Frisbee is a real sport, with competitions and awards; however, the best part about this club is that anyone can join and have fun, no matter their athletic ability. 

But first, what is Ultimate Frisbee? According to board member Vishwa Prakash (’24), “Ultimate Frisbee is a competitive sport involving throwing a disc to your teammates to score touchdowns. Players can’t walk with the frisbee in their hands, and they can’t hold the frisbee for more than 10 seconds.” Throwing a frisbee around is a great way to exercise and have fun, but Ultimate Frisbee makes the game more competitive and interesting for everyone. There are several different leagues and tournaments for players to join throughout the year. 

During the meetings, the students are given the opportunity to be a part of a team and work together to win. Although there are certain rules they have to follow, the students and moderators try to make the games lighthearted to maximize enjoyment. The game requires a lot of physical effort, but the players give it their best effort, no matter how athletic they are or how well they play. When asked what the goal of the club was, Prakash said, “Our target is to conjoin the terms ‘working out’ and ‘having fun’ because a lot of people nowadays don’t really seem to appreciate that connection. We want to break that mindset.” 

The game also requires a certain level of responsibility to referee; since there is no official referee, the students and moderators must referee themselves and make fair calls. Prakash also talked about what he loves the most about the club: “The amiable nature of all the people there makes this club one of my all-time favorites…everyone is just so willing to be there, minds focused on the game regardless of their skill level.” The players love to be on the field and get to play a game they find interesting. Even if they had no idea what Ultimate Frisbee was before, many of them end up loving the game, like Prakash, who became a board member because of the dedication and interest of others who played with him. 

The club is also considering expanding to different disc-based games, such as disc golf. “It’s essentially golf, except you throw discs into a basket. It’s typically played in heavily wooded areas with many obstacles, forcing you to throw deadly accurate throws to navigate your way to the basket,” Prakash said. These games, like disc-throwing, allow for players to learn different versions of disc-based sports.