UNM's Ultimate Frisbee Club is one of many athletic-related student organizations that thrive despite existing in relative anonymity.
"Some of the guys were just saying this past weekend that we bust our asses at practice during the week and we bust our asses at competitions during the weekend, but no one even knows we exist," said Derek Samaras, president of the club.
Samaras said that people shouldn't look down on the group just because Frisbees are involved.
"People don't think it's a tough sport, but there's lots of running and it takes a lot of athletic ability," he said. "I have never worked this hard before at any sport."
Samaras was a former quarterback at a high school in Chicago and wanted to find a more relaxed sport to play that still pushed him to work out.
"It's great because I'm the closest thing to a coach we have, so you don't have anyone breathing down your neck," he said. "We still work hard and practice really intensely, but it's not like there's a lot of pressure on us to do it. We choose it."
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The rules of ultimate Frisbee are similar to football in that you score one point by catching the Frisbee in the end zone. Games are played to 15 and defense is played by either forcing the other team to drop the Frisbee or intercepting it. Players cannot run with the Frisbee, so they have to work with the six other teammates on the field.
Samaras founded the club three years ago with his roommate because they were hooked on the sport after having played in a city league.
"It was just a lot of fun, and we decided that it would be great to start a club here," he said. "We now have 18 members and have played in places like Austin, Texas, Kansas, Arizona and Colorado. We practice two days a week, three during the spring when the season starts and compete on weekends."
The Ultimate Frisbee Club recruits men and women, but the group only fields a men's competitive team.
The group is open to new members, who can contact Samaras for more information at 925-1274.
Other competitive clubs sports on campus include the men's and women's rugby teams, the rodeo association, the Icewolves hockey team and the Lobo cycling team, each of which have attained attention because they are successful programs. The cycling and men's rugby teams consistently are nationally ranked.
Other lesser-known groups, such as the Cricket Club, Water Polo club, UNM Bowling Team and the Chinese Student Soccer Club offer unique athletic opportunities for students.
The Chinese Soccer Club's states in the student organiation guide that its purpose is to make the soccer game popular in the United States, organize matches between Chinese students and other sport organizations, organize Chinese students to play soccer games or get some training regularly and provide entertainment for Chinese students.
While many of the athletic-oriented sports emphasize competition, others such as the Ski and Snowboard Club and the Hike 'n' Yoga club are geared toward appreciating the outdoors.
Monica Dawson, secretary of the Hike 'n' Yoga club, recently joined the club because she said her friends encouraged her to get involved.
"It sounded like a fun thing to do, so I decided to join," Dawson said. "When they had the secretary opening, I said I'd do that."
Dawson said the group is organizing a trip to Utah during fall break and just offers students a relaxing release from school. She said the group hikes together, then talks when they get to the end of their climb and do yoga.
"It's really just an organization that allows students to get together and go out and view nature," she said. "We always welcome more people to join us in that experience."
