How
wrong I was. Ultimate Frisbee is apparently, "a cross between American football,
netball and basketball." That's according to the Ultimate Frisbee Society's
website, anyway.  | | Alexander
Adderley shows us how to do it |
I'm
not sure I'd agree with that description though. First of all, there's no ball.
Just a Frisbee. Secondly,
there are no men with helmets and shoulder pads. And thirdly… well, to be
honest, it's just nothing like those sports. To me, it was just Frisbee, with
rules and stuff.
That's not to say that it wasn't fun, though. I amazed my non-Frisbee loving self
by actually enjoying the experience.  | | Get
a good swing |
I
even discovered I wasn't quite as bad at throwing and catching as I'd originally
thought. Although I did keep screaming like a girl and ducking out of the way
every time the Frisbee was thrown in my direction. "It's
a bit more relaxed and a nice alternative to something like football," says
Alexander Adderley, the society's organiser. He's the guy who had the unenviable
job of trying to teach me how to play.
 | | Move
fluidly... |
Apparently
Ultimate Frisbee is a game of technique. There are lots of different throws and
moves, all of which went pretty much over my head. Quite literally.
There's no actual league set up in the UK, but several universities have societies
that meet up regularly for matches. It seems to be as much of a social event as
it is a competitive sport.
Alexander told me there are serious leagues in the U.S and that many universities
take it so seriously they have more than one team.  | | ...and
release |
"It's
pretty massive over there, and you can make professional money out of it. But
over here, we've still not caught up."
So, Ultimate Frisbee is pretty ultimate. It's definitely no laughing matter for
the members of the University of Lincoln's Ultimate Frisbee Society. They're serious
about its credibility, and rightly so. Alexander also hinted that he thinks it
should be an Olympic sport one day. | Some
of the different types of throws: | 1. | Normal
backhand - like you'd do on the beach. | 2. | Forehand
- like skimming a stone. | 3. | The
Hammer - throw it over-arm. | 4. | The
Knife - it stays vertical through the air. |
I
think it's just the name though; Ultimate Frisbee? The two words just don't seem
to go together somehow…
| 
