U of C’s ultimate frisbee team is debuting in fall 2022
By Nazeefa Ahmed, August 22 2022—
A team of University of Calgary students are looking forward to starting an ultimate frisbee team, the first of its kind on campus. Calgary has a well-known ultimate community, with national and international players such as Pete Atkinson, Robin Bauer and Aaron Dobson. It is time that the sport gets the recognition it deserves on campus, bringing on a new generation of players to the mix.
In an interview with the Gauntlet, Adrian Chan, one of the students running the new club, spoke of how it came to be.
“One of the captains of Calgary’s mixed ultimate team is Owen Paetkau who is a PhD student at the University of Calgary. He approached us to make this team happen on campus,” Chan said. “I thought it would be amazing to play [ultimate frisbee] at a university level. I was happy to take it on, and now, we have a lot of interest.”
Chan described the open-ended philosophy of the club for its first year.
“The goal isn’t to make the sport something incredibly exclusive,” Chan said. “We want it to be as inclusive as possible. We know that there are going to be people that do not want to go the competitive route and just want to play and practice. Tryouts are going to depend on how many people are interested in joining, but also how many people want to play competitively. As of now, if people want to get into the sport, we will take them in, teach them, provide them a space to learn with resources to get into the league within Calgary.”
Chan hopes that practices and tournaments are in the club’s future for those interested in competitive play.
“We are looking at two practices a week just so that we can practice together for those who want to go to tournaments.” said Chan. “We are also looking at putting in teams for the fall rec league and attending the Pre Fall Brawl Tournament in Edmonton.”
Calgary’s ultimate community, according to Chan, is of an older generation, and the club hopes to interest young players in the sport to keep the community growing in the city.
“I think the Calgary Ultimate Association is really lacking the representation of university-aged students from 19 to 30, where there are not as many people playing,” Chan said. “There are a lot of players who are 35 and up, which is great, but it is not how you keep a sport going in the city. We need the younger generation to carry it forward, and that is one of our main goals with the campus club.”
Chan described how ultimate has a strong community of athletes who care deeply about their craft.
“I think the ultimate community in Calgary is just phenomenal,” said Chan. “Everyone is incredibly welcoming, and they are playing the sport because they love it as well. I also think the sport is really easy to get into. If you are just starting out, I think there are some sports where there is a lot you have to know right from the beginning. For frisbee, if someone explains it, people can take it up pretty quickly.”
A google form has been set up on the club’s Instagram page for those interested in joining the club in the fall. Players will be contacted to join pickup games in the city, as well as being informed about the practice schedule for the school year.