Tag: ultimate frisbee

Let there be light, and a good place to sit

WCSA approved a 44,000 dollar project request to supply and install lights and bleachers to the practice fields across from Meek Aquatic Center.

The initiative, put forth by club sports captains as well as members of marching band, highlighted concerns faced due to lack of lighting on the practice fields as well as a safe place to sit while viewing the games. It also pointed out the greater benefits it would provide to club sports as well as the greater Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) community.

Lighting the fields and placing bleachers there will not only make it a more welcoming space for OWU’s club and intramural sports, but it also opens up the space to be used for night programming by other clubs, campus groups, or even off-campus organizations.

“Without lights, we start losing a lot of rehearsal time as the sun starts to set earlier and earlier. While we currently have a temporary fix that’s getting us through to the end of the year, we are looking forward to having lighting that produces the kind of visibility needed for a marching band rehearsal.” said marching band director Mary Kate McNally.

There have been instances in the past where both men’s and women’s rugby, as well as ultimate frisbee, have had to cancel practice or move it to a later time due to varsity sports using the field.

Regardless of whether frisbee or rugby have reserved the field in advance, varsity sports take precedence.

There is constant competition for field space and grass areas that are suited for sports such as ultimate frisbee and rugby. The limited outdoor space has varsity, club and intramural teams volleying for places to practice on.

Lighting has begun to become an issue as the days are getting shorter and it starts getting darker earlier. As we enter the colder months, weather starts to become an issue as well.

Captain of the women’s ultimate frisbee team Karli Bigler voiced that, “Having bleachers and lights on the fields will allow our team to hold tournaments at OWU, to have late night practices, to have more spectators, and to have pick up games throughout the year.”

WCSA met the request with enthusiasm and approved the 44,000 dollars requested, come to find, the quotes that were received from buildings and grounds were two thirds less than what was needed in order to complete the project.

In order to move forward a capital project request was submitted to attain the rest of the money needed to complete the project.

Vice President for Finance and Administration Lauri Strimkovsky explained that WCSA had approved the 44,000 without taking a look at all that would need to be done before the project could move forward.

“We’re going to have to do some backtracking, usually you do all that work before you approve a project and it came to us without any of that being done,” said Strimkovsky, “If you light a field and don’t do so properly and somebody gets hurts, it can be a liability issue. We don’t have any problem doing the project we just have to make sure to do it right.”

 

Ultimate frisbee wins first place in the High Tide tournament

By Aleksei Pavloff, Sports Editor

The ultimate frisbee club at Ohio Wesleyan University traveled to South Carolina to compete in the High Tide tournament and walked away with first place in their bracket over spring break.

The ultimate frisbee club entered the High Tide tournament that went from March 14-16 and stayed in Little River, SC just north of Myrtle Beach. According to hightideultimate.com, it is one of the biggest ultimate tournaments and was founded in 1996.

“We managed to get a house right on the beach which was nice,” said sophomore Espen Stalder who is a captain for the team. “There were around 120 teams overall, and about 40 within our division. Most of those were D-III schools but there were a few larger ones like Syracuse.”

The team had eight wins and one loss in their mixed bracket which included clubs as well as  Division-I teams. The term “mixed” means that both men and women participate on the same team. The team’s attitude seemed calm even during the matches.

“It was very relaxed, even at the tournament,” said Stalder. “It’s not a sanctioned tournament meaning it doesn’t count for official ranking, so winning isn’t as important so much as just hanging out. If you wanted to make stupid plays for fun you absolutely could.”

Before heading to High Tide, the club struggled to organize practices before the tournament began but seemed to come together nicely once tournament play began.

“The main challenge was people unable to come to practice,” said Stalder. “We only had one mixed practice a week, and oftentimes half the team wouldn’t be able to come. I had class most of the time so I went into the tournament not knowing most of the girls. Not knowing the playing styles of half the team is definitely a challenge, but we figured it out pretty fast.”

Stalder said that the team tries to practice three times a week during the school year but mixed practices are limited to once a week.

The team would eventually make it to the finals of their bracket where they would play Syracuse University. They beat the Division-I school and showed that they are able to compete amongst the other clubs and teams.

“It feels great, most of the people on the team have never won a tournament outright before,” said Stalder. “There’s a sense of pride that comes from beating Division-I teams like Syracuse as a small, relatively unknown Division-III school.”

Stalder went on to say that their main goal was just to “have fun” and that this was their first time competing in a mixed bracket. Looking ahead, the club’s members will maintain their positive approach after learning a valuable lesson about themselves.

“It’s a milestone for the club as this is the first time anyone on the team has won high tide,” said Stalder. “It also shows that we can in fact function mixed better than when we’re separate.”