2003-2004 Yearbook

ultimate frisbee sports club charters in fall Ultimate Frisbee - to some it was a relaxed pick-up game, for others it was an intense intercollegiate competition. Either way, the spirit of the game prevailea, and a group of Ultimate players at Harding demonstrated that spirit through the Ultimate Frisbee club, which chartered Dec.n. "I like the spirit of the game," junior Ty Gentry said. "The highest authority you answer to are the players on the field, meaning a controversial call is never taken out of the hands of the players. It brings words like honor and integrity back into intercollegiate competition." In Ultimate Frisbee, two teams tried to score by throwing the disc downiield to teammates and getting it into an end zone. If, when passing, a team dropped the disc, the other picked it up at that spot and began advancing toward its opponent's end zone in the opposite direction. "It's a really great sport with a lot of close calls," sophomore Jordan Walters said. "It gets intense. When you push yourself you can see results. It takes a lot of tough cuts out of me." There were no referees, even in intercollegiate Ultimate Players Association-sanctioned tournaments. The self-called fouls allowed the spirit to rule. The players said the spirit of the game was the most important aspect of Ultimate Frisbee. "It's like pick-up basketball, you call your own fouls," junior Luke Dockery said. "You don't argue, you may just contest a foul and the disc goes back to the other team. The rules are set up so the game just continues on." Playing in two tournaments in the fall, the club was off to a winning start. During the first tournament in Jackson, Tenn., the Blue Plate Special, the club came home with a first place win, beating seven teams. "We went up there and destroyed everybody," Gentry said. "We beat the University of Alabama at Huntsville 15-4. We returned home with the first Ultimate Frisbee victory in Harding history." At Itchlest in Nashville, the club place ninth out of 16 teams. "The schools that beat us [at Itchiest] were division one schools," junior Kevin Chastine said. "We weren't prepared to play at that level, so we struggled." Besides the fun and competition the tournaments provided, the tournaments also gave the Harding players opportunities to show Christ to other schools. The team prayed before and after each game, inviting its opponents to join. "It's really good to playa sport with them and show them that we do it for a reason, to glorify God in all that we do," Chastine said. Stretching for the disc, juniors Daniel Tignor, Adam Williams and senior Luke Dockery compete in an Ultimate Frisbee match Nov. 14. "It's more than just a game of Frisbee," sophomore Aaron Miller said. "It's the fun of competition, teamwork and fellowship with our brothers and sisters." (Photo by Curtis Seright) - Staff reports athletics /I 211

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