Ultimate - Free Spirits : A Quick Introduction

Ultimate Essentials :

Ultimate Frisbee, a disc sport, is the latest trend in recreational sport in India. It’s a mixed gender sport that provides men and women an equal platform to express their skills, love for physical activity and the sport itself.

It’s usually played with a ratio of 5:2 or 4:3, with women filling in the smaller quota, and it’s usually played on the beach or grass. Ultimate is a self refereed sport and places the importance in sportsmanship and morality AKA ‘Spirit of the Game’ more than winning.

What’s the current scene?

There are currently around 200 women who play ultimate in India, the numbers are continuing to multiply significantly. Chennai and Bangalore are hotspots for ultimate, and have more women who play ultimate compared to other cities.

‘Free Spirits’ is an initiative that began in Chennai as a local league that preceded a National Women’s tournament to increase the skill level that of Women’s Ultimate by giving the ladies more playing time and opportunities that might not come by easily while playing a mixed game. This year, Free Spirits is into it’s 3rd year, and is all set to be conducted by the Women of Bangalore Ultimate Frisbee as an effort to create, recruit and train more women.

While the growth is humongous and in need of appreciation, women’s ultimate in India has a long way to go in order to match up to the international standards set by our counterparts. It needs more exposure in the competitive arena, and more focus on the role of women as equal play-makers/game changers than quota fillers.

What some women have to say about ultimate

“The first time I was in a spirit circle, it really blew me away.” - Liz, Airborne.

There are women who have been spectators for months, introduced through mutual friends, or watched people play at the beach/park before picking up the sport. However long the initial introduction may take, ultimate has a gripping hold once they’ve dipped their feet.

The trust that is shared between the teammates and fellow opponents seems to be a big ‘pull’ factor for women across all teams. Women seem to love sharing the space and spirit with their teammates, it pushes them raise their game.

Tournament DetailsWhen : 7th and 8th December, 2013Where: Loyola School Grounds, Bannerghatta Road.Sponsors: This time around we have been sponsored by playgroundonline.com, India’s largest online sports store.

Whom to contact:Sneha Patil – [email protected]Sushmita Azad – [email protected]