Adrenaline is pumping, hearts are racing and team members are cheering as the frisbee is caught in the end zone for a goal: all in an average day’s work for members of the UW La-Crosse Men’s Ultimate Frisbee Club.  Ultimate Frisbee is a sport that is continuing to grow in popularity throughout the Midwest, with teams and tournaments being formed on most weekends.  The real trick to this sport comes not from its competitive draw that drives teams to want to win, but by its laid back nature that individual players enjoy.
On campus, this sport has recently become more active in the last five years, with membership growing from 20 to roughly 30 members coming out to play on any given weekend for tournaments or scrimmages.  Jake Kretschmer, a co-captain of the team, is in his third year participating in the sport,  and said that “it is a commitment to join the team, this is what many people don’t realize until later since they believe it is just another intermural.”  This is true, as the team practices for six hours a week on the football field.
The game itself is played on a point based system, typically being scored up to a total of 13 points.  This contributes to the length of games as there is no set time limit until the total point value is made.  A goal is made when a player successfully passes the Frisbee to another player in the end zone. The trick is, however, if a player has the Frisbee, they cannot move their feet, so they rely completely on their teammates to be where they need to be.  A game is played with seven players on each team and on a 70-yard field with a 20-yard end zone.  The benefit of only allowing seven members on the field at a time is that it allows for multiple people to sub in at any time, allowing for everyone to get some playtime in and with little pressure, as there isn’t as much of a competitive drive like there is with other sports.
The sport itself is designed to draw friends in to play and to create interest with as many people as possible.  One great example of this is Brett Anderson, a first year graduate student who has been a team member for years.
Anderson said, “It started out as a hobby, but after I played I was invited to scrimmage with the team and I had a great time that made me want to come back.”  This is the draw of the game, and this same strategy is being applied to local high schools around the area with kids wanting to form their own teams and leagues.
Ultimate Frisbee is a sport that is continuing to draw attention from college students, and the team hopes to continue drawing in support in the hopes of creating more of a demand for the sport.  The team welcomes anyone to join them for scrimmages and practices to see if they are interested.  Anyone is welcome to come, and bringing a friend is encouraged.  The team also stresses to not be dissuaded by skill level, as everyone starts somewhere and to be driven to improve will only make the team stronger.