Thursday, November 04, 2010

Frisbee Foot-sans-ball

pg2bzThis buzz on ultimate doesn't quite go the whole nine ten yards. Each end zone should be +5 yards to 25 yards.

60 teams in Ultimate Frisbee Championships [espn]
You probably have your own impressions of the Ultimate Frisbee Championships, and you wouldn't be completely wrong.

Yes, there are many well-tanned bodies roaming about, with a wide array of eclectic personalities lending to the diverse crowd.

But before you think of Ultimate Frisbee as a puffy foo-foo sport played by non-athletes, consider the constant diving, sliding and highlight-reel catches, from men and women, that would do any NFL wide receiver proud.

The USA Ultimate National Championships at the Sarasota Polo Club on Oct. 28-31 drew 1,500 competitors on 60 teams from around the country that competed in four categories -- open, women, masters and mixed.

Ultimate Frisbee is fast, furious 7-on-7 fun played on a field 75 yards long and 40 yards wide. A 20-yard end zone allows for those perfectly high-arching Frisbee tosses that seem to hover forever until someone comes down from the midair scrum with the disc.

It's football without the concussions. (?)

"People would be surprised if they saw it," said Mat Tsang, who coached the California-based Fury to the women's championship. "Frisbee definitely has a hippie or casual-playing connotation. But if you watched it you would see the same type of athleticism you see in other sports."

On this field, everyone is a receiver, defender and quarterback. And forget about a clock; you better be in shape because the game just keeps going until a team scores 15 times....

No comments: