The U’s Ultimate Frisbee Club is looking as if it could have its best season to date.
Entering its fifth year as a club sport at the U, the team8212;known as Zion Curtain8212;is seeing increasing attention and dedication from its players. With fall practices and games already under way to prepare for next spring’s tournaments, team captain Trevor Harper said he sees a solid group in place that is only going to get better.
“We have a solid core group of players that are able to compete on any level, college or national,” Harper said. “We like to have fun though and keep it open. We’re not at the point yet where we can practice five times a week like some programs.”
Despite most of the major tournaments being a few months away, Harper points out that Zion Curtain will still be preparing for and participating in several important tournaments and games this fall.
The team is open to players of any skill level and Harper praised coaches Ed Tyner and Chris Watkins for keeping the team competitive, but still open and affordable to newcomers.
“They keep it so that anyone coming in for their first time would feel comfortable there,” Harper said.
Even though ultimate Frisbee is sometimes seen as a leisurely sport, anyone coming to play with Zion Curtain will see a big difference between playing with friends and playing competitively.
“People hear you say ultimate Frisbee and they tend to think of playing barefoot with friends in the park,” Harper said. “At a competitive level, it’s totally different. We’re in cleats running hard; it’s like a mix of football, basketball and soccer.”
Oct. 3 and 4, the Ultimate Players Association will bring the 2009 Northwest Regional Mixed Ultimate Championships, giving Zion Curtain the chance to compete against 15 of the top teams from Northern California, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho and Utah. Utah will face off against rivals BYU and Utah State.
The top teams from the tournament will be the Northwest region’s representatives at the 2009 Ultimate Players Association National Championships to be held in Sarasota, Fla., Oct. 29 to Nov. 1.
Zion Curtain and other fall ultimate league games are played Monday evenings, beginning at 6 p.m., with each team typically playing two games per night. Games are played at the Sunnyside Park softball fields, at 840 s. 1600 East.