Frisbee may be just a game you play in the park with your dog occasionally, but when you add the word "ultimate" it becomes something much, much bigger.
For some college students Ultimate Frisbee is not only a serious and competitive pastime, but also a fast-growing sport that offers a unique sense of sportsmanship and community to those involved.
Commonly referred to simply as "Ultimate," the sport was created in 1968 by a group of high school students in Maplewood, N.J. Ultimate is played by two teams, and the objective is to score by catching the Frisbee or flying disc in the other team's end zone.
The sport is played in more than 42 countries, according to USA Ultimate, the sport's national governing body. The organization's most recent statistics show that college Ultimate memberships increased from 9,951 in 2004 to 16,058 in 2011.
"The sport has grown exponentially. You see new teams springing up all over the place," says Emma Kahle, a senior at Columbia University who is also the captain of the school's women's Ultimate team. "It's worldwide, too."
Kahle, 20, who has been playing Ultimate since the sixth grade, attended a tournament last March in Italy.
"It doesn't matter what language anyone speaks on the field and off the field. It's part of a really great community and you feel that connection," she says. "I know that wherever I travel in the world and however long I play the sport I'm going to have that community."
Her team, NYPD — the Neon Yellow Panda Dragons — usually attends three to five tournaments a semester in the New England region.
"Each tournament you go to and how well you do at that tournament gets you points toward your team ranking," Kahle says. "Then the rankings feed into the championship season, which is sectionals, regionals and nationals."
The Neon Yellow Panda dragons placed ninth at the last regionals.
"This year we're aiming much higher," she says.
Kahle says her favorite part of Ultimate is the community she found when moving to a new city for college.
"There's a concept in Frisbee of the 'Spirit of the Game,'" Kahle says. "It's an overriding attitude. We don't have referees so it's all players calling their own fouls, and that's a really cool system. Everyone respects each other, they respect their opponents and they respect the game."
Derek Tinker, a senior at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, agrees that the concept truly does make Ultimate a sport for anyone looking for a community.
"That's really what defines Ultimate. You go into tournaments and you're friends with all the other teams," Tinker says. "You'll never run into more genuinely nice people than when you're on the field."
Tinker, 21, has been playing with his team, the Trinity Turbulence, since his freshman year. He believes the sport is still young and still growing, pointing out that professional leagues aren't even three years old yet.
"Ultimate has been named one of the fastest-growing sports in the country," Tinker says. "It's not well-known to the outside community, but it's only growing faster and faster."
His team practices three days a week and is ranked 10th in the nation going into regionals.
Bryan Applin, a junior at Western Michigan University and the captain of the men's Ultimate team, Dark Horse, says his team goes to around 10 tournaments throughout the school year.
Applin, 20, says he understands the appeal of the game.
"Ultimate Frisbee is very, very attractive to a lot of people because a lot of people who played for us weren't athletes in high school," he says. "Ultimate is like a new beginning."
And at some schools, Ultimate is even something the entire school can bond over.
Claire Leichter, a junior at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., who has been playing Frisbee for three years, goes to a school where Ultimate Frisbee is renowned and has a special meaning for all students.
Carleton has four serious Ultimate teams, and two more for anyone who wants to play for fun or improve his or her skills. Leichter, 21, is a captain of Eclipse, one of the teams.
"Every freshman is given a disc that says Carleton College and whatever year their class is," Leichter says, which she says is like an initiation at the school.
They're given to students during the yearly New Student Week Frisbee Toss.
"It's a tradition," she says. "Frisbee is pretty special at Carleton and it's something that can unite everyone."
