Ultimate Frisbee soars into Sault Ste. Marie

(The following story was submitted to SooToday.com Sports by Pete Vere.)

Ultimate Frisbee is starting up again in Sault Ste. Marie. Players meet at East View Public School on Sundays at 3:00 pm and Wednesdays at 6:30 pm.

The league is organized by the Sault Ultimate Players Association (SUPA), which is currently accepting new players. The cost of registration is $20 a player for the summer.

"The game is played seven-on-seven, however, it can also be played six-on-six or five-on-five," said Masa Higuchi, an experienced player who also coaches beginners. "Players pass around a frisbee. The object is to get the frisbee to the end of the field."

Higuchi explained that players are prohibited from running with the frisbee. Once a player catches the frisbee, he or she must stop. The player then has ten seconds to pass the frisbee to a team-mate. "Games generally play up to thirteen points," Higuchi added. "Although sometimes they are played for a set time."

Stephanie Moss is a grade 12 student at Korah Collegiate. She was participating in the Ultimate Frisbee Beginner's Clinic put on by Higuchi. This was her first time playing.

"One of my friends told me about it and I thought it would be interesting," Moss shared. "I'm finding this a lot of fun. It's also a lot of exercise; I feel quite tired."

Gerry Kirk is the co-chair of SUPA. "What is unique about this sport is the camaraderie it fosters among the players," Kirk said. "It's infectious. Our best advertising is word of mouth. This sport attracts both highly competitive athletes and casual players who are more concerned with fitness and comraderie than competition."

Kirk invites people interested in playing to register online at www.saultultimate.ca or at one of the clinics. For more information, please call 941-5080 or email sooultimate@gmail.com.