Should Chapman create an ultimate frisbee team?

Some members of the ultimate frisbee class at Chapman think the university should create a club team for the sport. Unsplash

Most people have thrown a frisbee at some point in their lives, whether it be at the beach with friends or playing catch in the park with family. But to many people, throwing a frisbee isn’t just a recreational activity. It’s a sport. 

In fact, it’s a sport that seems to be uncommon but is emerging in popularity. 

There has been debate among students of creating a club ultimate frisbee team rather than solely offering the sport as a class. Sports such as ice hockey and men’s lacrosse are associated with Chapman but are their own separate club teams. 

Ultimate frisbee is important to many individuals on campus and students who have a love for the unique sport also have strong emotions toward sharing that love through an organized team.

The sport starts with two teams facing off against each other. Similar to football, there are defensive and offensive components. On offense, the objective is to get down to the end zone and score a point. On defense, the goal is to stop the disk from reaching the end zone and force a turnover so the offense has a chance to score. At the end of the game, whoever has the most points is declared the winner. 

Sydney Chancey, a sophomore graphic design major, took the ultimate frisbee course back in fall of 2021 and found it a fun and beneficial way to stay active.

“If you’re like me, you played a sport in high school but no longer play a sport now,” Chancey said. “I really missed the exercise I got from playing a sport, so this class was my way of getting some kind of physical activity during the week.” 

Travis Deane, a junior theater performance major, also took the ultimate frisbee class and enjoys the competition.

“You could train in the gym to be faster, jump higher and have a longer endurance, but I feel that the spirit of the game comes through teamwork and having fun; win or lose,” Deane said. “Some of my favorite parts of the game are watching others throw great passes or catch an uncatchable pass. I can always admire good teamwork.”

Deane said the sport is inclusive of students of all experience levels and promotes a sense of belonging within Chapman campus and an outlet for other former high school athletes.

“Someone out there could be tired of football and soccer and ultimate frisbee could be right up their alley,” Deane said. “For that reason, I think having a variety of sports available is important for any institution like Chapman University. Schools should be a place of opportunity, and there are many opportunities in sports even if they are as simple as learning something new about yourself.”

Passionate students such as Deane and Chancey are motivated to take action and voice their opinions about creating a club team. A team would bring people together who share a common interest and therefore build bonds and seek a way for students to be involved within the Chapman community.

“By opening it up as a club you allow the possibility of more students joining that may not have joined if it started as an official team,” Deane said. ”There actually have been ultimate frisbee teams on campus before. Before COVID there was a team, and then it got disbanded during the pandemic. I think that we could definitely start a club or a team, and be successful but we need to hear interest about it to get it started.”

Chancey has a similar position to Deane and agrees that forming a club team would be nothing but beneficial.

“I think it would be great if Chapman funded an ultimate frisbee club. Realistically, however, I do not think that it would happen because of how small the sport is,” Chancey said. “There are definitely a lot of people who love to play ultimate frisbee and would join the club, but there are other sports ahead of ultimate frisbee that would be funded first.” 

There are quite a few universities in California that have ultimate frisbee teams, such as the University of Redlands, Occidental College and the Claremont Colleges, all of which are in Chapman’s Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Conference. 

With a plethora of colleges in California having their own ultimate frisbee teams, Chapman has the chance to give students a desired opportunity to pursue the sport they love and compete in friendly matches.

“I would be interested in starting a team on campus, but it is hard to find people who have the time and are interested, as well as an opposing team to play against,” Deane said. “If we were funded by and ran through the school then they could help us find games with neighboring schools which would promote growth of the team and the sport.”

As of right now, Chapman only has an ultimate frisbee course offered, but with many determined students on campus, there has been a push to create a club team and to have competitive games against other California schools. With the willingness to include all students, the creation of an ultimate frisbee team would bring nothing but more ways for students to be engaged with the school.

“I think that diversity of people within sports is incredibly important,” Deanne said. “Chapman is not a diverse population. It is trying, but it lacks many perspectives that can be found throughout the United States. I feel that perspective in life is important.”