by Ketan Dhawan
Daily Lobo
You may not know it, but you have seen the Ultimate Frisbee Team.
Maybe you've seen them on Johnson Field, many women and men throwing the disc around on a sunny afternoon. Maybe you've been to their kiosk in the SUB. You may even know some of the team members, a varied group of students who share a love of Frisbee. These 15 or so dedicated individuals, who are out there four days a week, make up UNM's Ultimate Frisbee Team.
"It's very inviting," team member Jonah Levine said. "It's a great alternative sport that's open to anybody."
Ultimate Frisbee is an intense, exciting team sport. For the average layperson, Ultimate basically blends the best parts of soccer, football, basketball and team handball into a fascinating and extremely demanding game.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The game is played on a football field-sized pitch, with end zones on both sides. There are seven players on each side. Players cannot move with the disc. Upon catching the frisbee, players have a short time limit in which they must pass the disc. If it's intercepted or dropped, possession changes to the other team. A team scores when a player catches the Frisbee in the appropriate end zone.
Levine said an emphasis is put on the fact that the sport is non-contact.
One of the most important aspects of Ultimate is the attitude, which stresses sportsmanship and fair play. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, or adherence to the rules. The UNM team is no exception.
The club's relaxed outlook is very clear, and Levine said there are no tryouts for the team. He said anyone who believes they have the dedication can play.
Levine also said Ultimate is no easy sport. The team practices two hours a day, four days a week, rain or shine.
UNM provides the club with a van for all away games. The team has traveled only once so far this year, to Tempe, Ariz.
However, Levine said the team will pack up the van and head to Fort Collins, Colo., the last weekend in March.
They will also make the long trip to Santa Barbara, Calif., for regionals near the end of the season.
UNM will play host to a tournament the first week of spring break, March 13-14. Many regional teams including Colorado State and Arizona State will be making the trip to Albuquerque to play on Johnson Field. Other teams in the Southwest Region include Colorado State, Arizona State, Northern Arizona, New Mexico State and Arizona.
