By Amber Wiliams amber@dmcityview.com
.jpg)
New non-profit grows the sport of Ultimate Frisbee
It’s more than a backyard game played between Dad and the kids
at picnics and barbecues. Frisbee has gone ultimate.
Although Ultimate Frisbee has been around for years, it has gone
relatively unnoticed by many Iowans. Most think of Frisbee Golf
when considering the sport of disc-throwing, but this game is quite
different.
Iowa Ultimate Inc., which was started in January by president Nathan
Wiemers and a board of five members, was established with the goal
to grow the sport and give Ultimate Frisbee players a home where
skills are honed and competitions are fierce.
“There are a lot of people that play Ultimate in Iowa; it’s just
not really organized,” Wiemers said.
Wiemers said the participation levels in Iowa are in the hundreds,
but most of the players belong to Ultimate Frisbee clubs rather
than official leagues. He’d like to see that change.
“We want to make it more competitive,” Wiemers said. “Iowa is a
little behind compared to other states. We’d like to get everyone
under the same organization working together in growing the sport.”
He asserts the sport is rapidly growing across the nation. And so
far in Iowa, he said 15 high schools have already “expressed sincere
interest,” in joining an official league of teams, including West
Des Moines, Valley, Urbandale, Ames, Marshalltown, Allamakee, Council
Bluffs and Iowa City.
“The more high school teams that are a part of the league, the more
fun the students or players will have, and the more serious they
will take it,” he said.
Wiemers hopes that with enough public awareness, the sport will
inevitably become more competitive and participation will increase
enough to make the upcoming high school tournament an event that
has the support of a new network of athletes, coaches, parents and
spectators.
“There are some leagues, and Iowa Ultimate will support them. But,
eventually hopefully everything will go through Iowa Ultimate, which
is built to be the top organizing body for Iowa,” Wiemers said.
“Along with many other projects in the works, this spring, starting
the first week in April, will be the first ever competitive high
school Ultimate Frisbee league and state tournament in Iowa.”
The tournament is slated for June 11-12, with the championship game
at the West Des Moines Valley stadium. The league has three divisions:
the Open division, which includes a nonspecific number of boys and
girls mixed; the Mixed division involves a fixed number of boys
and girls on each team; and also an All-Girls team.
Other projects that are in the works at Iowa Ultimate Inc. include
training camps and clinics for all levels, a 2011 summer league
for the Des Moines metro area and a hat tournament in which players
sign up individually and names are drawn for teams, which is scheduled
for August. Wiemers said there are also a variety of weekly and
monthly games scheduled across the state in which local players
and teams may compete.
Like soccer, Ultimate Frisbee is played on a field, and requires
passing and teamwork, and the Frisbee must reach the goal for a
team to score. However, unlike soccer, the player cannot move when
in possession of the Frisbee. Instead, he or she must pass it to
a teammate while trying to avoid an interception from a defending
player.
Ultimate Frisbee is not a sport of physical contact. In fact, such
contact constitutes a foul, according to the rules. However, sportsmanship
and good conduct are drafted into the rules under the “self-officiating”
clause. That means each player calls his or her own fouls.
“I would say the spirit of the game and/or self-officiating are
the most significant rules for the sport,” Wiemers said.
“Spirit of the Game” stresses sportsmanship and fair play. Competitive
play is encouraged, but never at the expense of player respect,
the rules and the basic joy of play, Wiemers said.
Check out www.usaultimate.org or www.IowaUltimate.org online to
learn more. CV
Caption: Ryan White, from the Valley Ducks (now called Legion) throws a disc, while Chad Kobal, from Urbandale Ultimate, defends during last year’s Skyed Invite 2010.
CV
