Since the beginning of time athletes have been looking for ways to step up the sports that other people invented. Vince McMahon tried gaining viewers with his XFL, a tougher, rougher football and recently the new sport of trampoline basketball has started to gain popularity.
Now, the old hobby of throwing around the frisbee on the beach or in the backyard has been taken a step further.
In ultimate frisbee, the offensive team has possession of the frisbee and tries to complete passes. With every completed pass the offense moves down the field and has ten seconds to make another pass. Any time the offense drops a pass, or if they do not release the frisbee in ten seconds, then the disk is turned over to the other team. The defense can also intercept the disk and gain possession.
The object of the game is to catch a pass in the team’s respective end zone. This will score one point for the team. The defense can earn a point for their team by intercepting the disk in the end zone.
“Players must be able to play offense as well as defense if they are on the field,” said Dan Miller, member of the LSU men’s ultimate frisbee team. “Substitutions are only allowed after a point is scored.”
According to Miller there are three basic throws in ultimate frisbee. Players use a backhand, forehand, also known as a flick, and a hammer, an overhead throw, to advance the team down the field.
College ultimate frisbee teams play their season in the spring. However, LSU’s ultimate frisbee men’s and women’s teams spend the fall playing games and tournaments to prepare for their season.
“In the fall, we try to get new players exposed to tournaments so they can see it’s a real sport and highly competitive,” Miller said.
The LSU men’s ultimate frisbee team recently competed in a tournament at Vanderbilt University. The men went 5-1 beating such schools as Tulane, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Alabama. They eventually lost 13-6 to Purdue.
LSU will play their next tournament on Nov. 9 and 10 in Austin, Texas.
Both the men’s and women’s teams are still accepting new players.
Last year the women’s team competed in tournaments at Austin, Texas, Little Rock, Ark., and New Haven, Conn.
Anyone interested in information on the men’s or women’s ultimate frisbee teams can email Dan Miller at [email protected].