By Barbara Young —
Ultimate Frisbee is the name of the game, and here at the University of Wisconsin–Stout, the game has an abominable twist. Yeti Ultimate is Stout’s very own team of ultimate Frisbee players, lead and organized by students.
Unlike university-sanctioned sports, club sports are run entirely by students, and this, according to Joey Abraham, president of Yeti Ultimate, is what makes it interesting.
“The school-sanctioned teams are very competitive while the student based teams are competitive, but like to focus on having fun alongside competing,” said Abraham.
Ultimate Frisbee is a less popular sport, lending itself well as a club sport. The university does not have to put money toward hiring faculty for the program, but students can still take part in a fun, competitive game.
“Ultimate has been around, but it’s always been considered a hippie sport because it’s just people throwing a Frisbee around, but there are World Tournaments,” said Abraham. “It’s a well-recognized sport.”
The sport, for those unfamiliar, is competitive and requires teams of seven. The main goal is to score points by throwing discs to your teammates. When you have the Frisbee in your hands you cannot move. If the disc is dropped or fumbled during a pass, it gets turned over to the other team. Standard games go up to 15 points.
The game is seemingly simplistic, but allows for strategy as well as athleticism.
The Yetis play games mainly through tournaments, which are set up by students for student teams.
“A school or a sponsor will host a tournament, and then teams can sign up for different groups with teams of the same skill level,” Abraham said.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Abraham. “One thing people should know is there is a giant social aspect with ultimate. If you meet someone from another school that plays, you will become friends just because you both play this awesome sport.”
Tournaments and practices are held year all year long. When there is snow on the ground, the team simply moves indoors. The size of the team frequently varies, as it is a club sport and practice can’t be required. However, the co-ed sport is always looking for new players.
Anyone interested in joining the team can do so at any point in the year. Simply show up to a practice currently held in the multi purpose room of the Health and Fitness Center Sunday and Monday nights from 10 p.m. to midnight. A little paperwork will be required.