Frisbee is a Sport

The IUP Innuendo after a fall 2007 tournament

Frisbee is a Sport

Huck.
Bid.

Hammer.
Cut.

Flick.

Stall.

Together, these words have no meaning unless you are standing on the sideline of an ultimate Frisbee game.

Shouts of

“no huck, no huck!”

or

“cut break side!”

fill your ears as you try to keep up with the intense, fast-paced sport.

Real ultimate Frisbee players don’t hesitate to “lay out” in the mud or jump over four defenders to reach the disc, and there are many moments when the co-ed ultimate Frisbee team of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) sacrifices their bodies. They make these exciting plays not to please the crowd (because there usually isn’t one), but to give it their all each and every point.

Many students on campus only know the ultimate Frisbee team as “those kids that throw Frisbees in the Oak Grove,” but little do they know IUP Innuendo is a fast-growing team that plays several tournaments each semester against other schools. Innuendo is split into an ‘A’ squad and a ‘B’ squad and usually practice separately to get a feel for their teammate’s abilities on the field.

Daniel Esten, junior and member of the ‘A’ squad since fall 2005, gives the rules of the game in a nutshell:

1. “The game must be played seven-on-seven.


2. The defense pulls the disc (a kick-off) to the opposing team.


3. The receiving team must pass the disc between players until they reach the end zone.


4. Once a player has the disc, he/she cannot take any steps, and a pivot foot must be planted.


5. Ultimate is a non-contact support, but contact between players is sometimes inevitable.


6. Players call their own fowls and practice ‘the spirit of the game,’ having mutual respect between teams.”
   

There are no coaches, but rather, captains, usually a male and a female for each the ‘A’ team and ‘B’ team. And no, ultimate players don’t prance around barefooted, because in order to make hard cuts and sprints, cleats are essential.

IUP Innuendo, formerly known as The Fighting Squirrels, was established in 2003. Since then, the team has been steadily growing and has proved to be a team to be reckoned with. On April 19-20, Innuendo hosted a home tournament in which the ‘A’ squad won first place over eight other teams, and the ‘B’ squad ranked fifth, a great success for a team that has not played together very much this semester.

“It was good to play teams that we've played before and have had good spirit with. I don't know any of them too well since I'm a freshman, but I'm looking forward to playing them in more seasons,” says John Churan, member of the ‘A’ squad since fall 2007 who played for the ‘B’ team during the home tournament. “I think our ‘B’ team played well for not having too many people and not having much practice together as a unit. Getting 5th was the best that ‘B’ team has done all year in a tournament, and of course ‘A’ team did really well and won it all.”

Innuendo, like any other club recognized by the university, has an executive board made up of a president, vice president, treasurer, historian and secretary. The team holds meetings a few times each semester to discuss dues, tournaments, social events and other important matters.
The members of Innuendo are both teammates on the field and friends off the field.

“They are an easy group to get along with. It made it easy to be myself in a new school,”

says Erin Killoy, freshman and member of the ‘A’ squad since fall 2007.

The team is so close that a “Frisbee House” was established on Philadelphia Street in Indiana, Pa., in the fall of 2006 which has housed five rotating members of the team each subsequent semester. The “Frisbee House” is also the site for meetings and parties to celebrate the team’s successes after tournaments.

Innuendo also gets together for a Frisbee Formal at the end of each semester, held at the College Lodge in which Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Semester and Most Spirited awards are given to a guy and a girl on each team. Everyone gets their own special award as well, which are usually silly and humorous.

“My freshman year, I received the 'Most Likely to be Mistaken for a Mexican' award; it was a great honor!” says Zack Wiley, junior and current ‘B’ team captain.

Innuendo practices every Tuesday and Thursday night and every Sunday afternoon if it is not a tournament weekend, on the field behind Miller Stadium.

So next time you see a group of Innuendos throwing around Frisbees in the Oak Grove, don’t just think of them as barefooted bums, give them the title that they truly deserve: athletes.

For more information on IUP Innuendo, visit the official website: http://www.iupultimate.com/.