We love sports. Something about the competition, the challenge and the thrill of victory is embedded in our culture.
However, some sports don’t get the attention they deserve.
Ultimate is a game played with a flying disc, or the trademarked Frisbee, and has been around since 1968.
It is played all around the world at local, national and international levels, but it still isn’t taken seriously as a real sport.
When someone mentions ultimate or Frisbee, you might think of the ?college guys who are always throwing a disc around Wright quad or Dunn Meadow.
What you probably don’t picture is a physically and mentally demanding sport on par with the big games we all watch.
Ultimate combines the speed and endurance of soccer with the passing and end-zone scoring of ?American football.
Both take athletic ability and strategy to complete. Athletes train extensively to perfect their throws along with their catches. They’re just as dedicated as members of any other sports team.
Despite all of the things that make ultimate qualified to be called a sport, it is still listed under “games” on ESPN3.
It’s pushed to the side in favor of more ?mainstream spectacles.
I don’t see this sport being stuck in limbo forever.
In the past 10 years, ultimate has become one of the ?fastest growing sports.
The athletes have gotten faster, their throws have gotten longer and the plays have gotten much more ?intense.
Here at IU, HoosierMama? and the Calamity Janes are our male and female ultimate teams, respectively. They travel to compete in tournaments against other college-level teams.
During their games, it is common to see someone dive through the air to catch a disc that is just out of reach.
Or you could see a player jump to shoulder height to snag the disc before their opponent.
These athletic plays show just how physically demanding the sport of ultimate is.
It would be nice someday to be able to tell people that I play ultimate without them responding, “Is that the thing where you throw a Frisbee into the basket?”
And although, currently, ultimate is considered a “game” by ESPN and isn’t in the Olympics, its rapid growth can’t be ignored.
