Oh, how I love the start of the semester. There are all kinds of new clubs to join, pressure to participate in the greek system and opportunities to make new friends by partaking in some SAC activities. Then comes my favorite part of the semester-intramural sports. In the fall semester we are afforded the opportunity to play volleyball, flag football and indoor soccer. Later in the year, there are more sports that people can continue to enjoy without being a Baker athlete. However, I know of only one sport that is played year round, rain or shine, night or day. This is the sport of Ultimate Frisbee, and if you haven’t heard of it yet, now is the time to pay attention.
Ultimate Frisbee has been played at Baker for several years, and the following continues to grow. Anyone can play, male or female, and you don’t have to be athletic to be good. The premise of the game is simple. There are two teams, and play is exchanged back and forth until a team reaches a pre-determined amount of points, and wins by at least two. It is akin to mixing football and soccer together, though one cannot run when in possession of the Frisbee. Several schools in the area, including schools in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, have teams that travel and compete with each other. All are club teams, but are generally supported by their respective institutions.
Those of us who play regularly have often joked with Athletic Director Dan Harris that we need Ultimate as the newest addition to the Baker University athletic department. I am no longer joking. I chose to write this article as a simple petition that Baker should sponsor a traveling club Ultimate Frisbee team.
The process of doing this would be very simple. The team would need, at the very minimum, uniforms, several Frisbees, transportation and funding to enter tournaments. I feel that the frisbee players could also raise money to get ourselves off the ground, with support from the university. We could use old soccer uniforms, old basketball shorts and warm-up t-shirts or whatever we find in the Baker storage closet to save the cost of uniforms.
With one faculty sponsor, we could travel to area tournaments in Lawrence, Emporia and Kansas City. The cost of entering tournaments is relatively low,and would be very cheap if the team and Baker split costs. We need the support and endorsement of the university.
So there you have it. This is my warning signal to anyone who is interested in playing, watching or simply supporting the Ultimate Frisbee players of Baker University. We need to rally support and prove to the authorities that we are serious. If you are in any way interested in helping, playing or simply want to see what it’s all about, go by Mabee field any afternoon around 3 p.m. There is always an open spot to play, and I promise you will be amazed at the plays, talent and pure fun of the sport. Ultimate players are a fun, friendly, dedicated group of people that only want to enjoy a good game. Now it’s time we take our show on the road, because I know that in 2006-2007, Baker can win the HAAC conference title in Ultimate Frisbee, and now it is your turn to be a part of a winning team.