The ultimate summer
It’s only a Frisbee.
But with the right aerodynamics and skill, a player whips the white disc 70 yards down the field through the still summer evening. The precision is astonishing, as sweat-drenched bodies race to catch it, sometimes diving or sliding their way to a point.
“Go, Stasha, go!” a substitute on the sidelines yells to a teammate.
There’s a vibe of fierce competition tempered with encouragement and sportsmanship as about 65 people gathered recently to play “the ultimate,” a game known to most people as “ultimate Frisbee.” It’s energy galore as doctors, students, attorneys and even a private investigator relieve the day’s stress by chasing after a disc and eluding defenders. When halftime comes, the players jog toward the assortment of water bottles littering the sidelines, breathing hard as they gulp liquid relief.
“It’s fun and sweaty!” said Stasha Hornbeck, 28. “People should come out and watch one or two games.”
It’s the first summer of the Inland Northwest Ultimate Summer League, the brainchild of longtime ultimate enthusiasts Teri Tucker, 34, and Emily Loeb, 28. Tired of traveling around the Northwest to tournaments, they started their own league. About 80 people in six teams have gathered Wednesday nights at Franklin Park at 7 p.m. since June 30.
The last league games of the summer were played Wednesday night, but Saturday is the First Annual Inland Northwest Summer League Tournament/Party at Franklin Park. Games start at 10:30 a.m. Non-league players are welcome with a $5 entry fee.
In ultimate Frisbee, seven people play on each of two opposing teams on a football-like field. Players throw the disc to one another to advance; once a player catches the Frisbee, that player must stop and throw it to another teammate. If the pass is incomplete or the disc is intercepted, goes out of bounds, or is knocked to the ground by a member of the defending team, it’s a turnover.
A team scores one point each time it reaches the end zone. Most games are played until a team reaches 13 or 15 points, though in the Spokane league, they play until it gets too dark.
“You can fit in no matter what your fitness level is,” Hornbeck said. “It’s not like you’re in a marathon or an Ironman competition.”
The players range from first-time amateurs to hard-core veterans.
Kathleen Hyslop, 16, a junior at Lewis and Clark High School this fall, played in a league game for the first time Aug. 11. Hyslop said she was intimidated at first, but enjoyed herself and would like to participate in the league next summer.
“It requires a lot more skill to throw a Frisbee than people realize,” she said. “But they try and let everyone play, and you’re always guarding someone.”
Tucker started building the league at the beginning of the year, though she had thought about starting a summer league since moving to Spokane in 2001.
“Any city I’ve ever lived in they’ve had an ultimate league,” she said. “I was disappointed to find out Spokane didn’t have one.
About 100,000 people around the country play ultimate, estimates the Ultimate Players Association, a Boulder, Colo., group that organizes national tournaments and establishes game rules. The 25-year-old organization has seen its membership explode from just under 6,000 in 1990 to about 17,000 now, said Sandie Hammerly, the organization’s executive director.
Hammerly attributed the sport’s increasing popularity to the low-cost equipment – “all you need is a disc, a couple of cones and a field to play on” – and the good sportsmanship the game encourages, especially since all games are self-refereed.
Ultimate’s popularity has soared especially at the college level, where players often participate in intramural or club teams. Gonzaga University has offered intramural ultimate Frisbee since the 1990s, but interest on campus developed to the point where a club team formed this past spring.
“It’s gotten very popular,” said Anna Gonzales, activities coordinator at the university. “It’s one of the largest clubs on campus that we have right now.”
Jason Peppin, 28, picked up the sport when he was a student at the University of Idaho. Now, he’s part of a Coeur d’Alene team that plays in Spokane every Wednesday.
“I love it,” he said. “It’s good exercise. It’s fun.”
They play until the evening sky turns cerulean blue before heading out for perhaps the best part of the Wednesday night get-togethers.
“We all go out and drink after the games,” Hornbeck said. “Any calories burned are quickly redeposited.”
At the pub, they talk about new jobs, drinking and, of course, ultimate Frisbee.
Besides the friendship benefits, ultimate Frisbee can also lead to some more serious relationships. Loeb said she knows several couples, including Tucker and her husband, Paul Ainsworth, who met while playing the game.
“It can be the hub of the new singles dating scene in Spokane,” Loeb said.