Frisbees: Not just for holding pies!

I live for Frisbee. Sound strange? Maybe, but would you agree that participation in sports can be rewarding and fun? Well, who says you need to use a ball?!


No hand-thrown non-power assisted widget can be better controlled or manipulated than a good disc. This lends to wonderfully complex and challenging sports. The one that is starting to take off around the world is Ultimate Frisbee.

There are a slew of great Ultimate sites around the web. Here's a few:

• Ultimate Players Association - The official non-profit organization to promote ultimate
• The WPI Bullets - Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Ultimate team of surprisingly athletic geeks
• Ottawa-Carleton Ultimate Association - Largest Ultimate league in the world!
• Boston Ultimate Disc Alliance - If you are Boston area, find pickup games and tourneys at BUDA
• Philadelphia Area Disc Alliance - For those in the Philly area, PADA is the place for pickup game and tournament information
• Jot's Ultimate Guide to Ultimate Frisbee - Excellent resource for all aspects of the game

Disc Golf There are very serious competitors in Disc Golf. Specialized companies manufacture dozens and dozens of special Discs to be used as distance drivers, approach discs, and putters. There are even thousands of Disc Golf Courses around the world. The goal in each of these is a numbered pole with a little chain cage and basket attached to it. That said, I can't tell you how many people have given me strange looks as I throw a frisbee at a tree in the middle of campus and jump for joy as I hit it from 50 yards. If you ask me, Frisbee golf is the ancient art of chuckin discs at targets! All that is needed is a group of people, all with their own discs, and an expansive area with lots of potential targets. It really is just like real golf. Each hole you play has a par: you try to hit the target in a certain number of throws. Less throws means you're doing better than your opponents. After engaging in this countless times over the last four years here on the WPI campus, some of my disc buddies and I spawned an idea for an offshoot of Disc Golf. In standard Disc Golf, a player can do well by excelling at any aspect of throwing. In our variation, mid-range precision is more often rewarded, and strategy is widely expanded. No longer do you simply head toward the goal in as short a path as possible. Each throw includes a sub-target on the way to the goal in which you can be penalized or even try to penalize your opponents. Check it out!