The Geneseo Ultimate Frisbee teamis a club that offers an entertaining, yet competitive atmosphere to meet new people. Due to recent popularity, the team has split into a men’s team and a women’s team—both of which compete in various tournaments throughout the year.
“Our goal is to promote and teach the game of Ultimate Frisbee,” men’s team president, junior Paul Oleyourryk said. “We have a lot of practices where we aim to teach the fundamentals to anyone who wants to learn.”
The captains and the veterans of the sport are always willing to teach people, and they play a crucial role in practices.
“There are a lot of things we do collectively as a team to make us closer on the field,” Oleyourryk said.
A unique aspect of Ultimate Frisbee is their commitment to being an inclusive social club.
“We always welcome people, even up to our house to play video games or watch movies,” senior captain Kevin Burke said.
Both Oleyourryk and Burke played Frisbee casually before attending Geneseo, but they learned how to perfect the throws and how to understand the strategies and rules of the game once they joined the team.
Neither one, however, knew quite the level of competition here. For example, Geneseo tied for third at the 2015 Division III College Championships for ultimate frisbee.
The team plays year-round, but spring is the competitive season. The returning players went to a tournament at Clarkson University Sept. 16-17, and both the men’s and women’s teams will bring players to a tournament in Buffalo to help the newcomers adjust to tournament competitions, according to Burke. This fall the team will focus on teaching new players the fundamentals of the sport to apply during spring competitions.
The team usually plays at two tournaments and travels on a co-ed spring break trip, where both the men and women play in Myrtle Beach, S.C. March marks the beginning of the College Series, which serves as a post-season for collegiate Ultimate Frisbee.
“We do all the Student Association related events for club sports as one co-ed organization,” Burke said. “Our e-board is co-ed and the positions can be occupied by a person of any gender.”
For the most part, however, the teams practice separately because the majority of the teams they compete against have a men’s and women’s division. The Geneseo team has grown so much that a men’s and women’s team can each sustain enough players.
Despite often being separated, the teams are one big family. They both travel to many of the same tournaments because they are both high performing. This gives each team a chance to watch their peers and friends play. The close-knit nature allows for the teams to bounce off each other’s success.
“Last year, we both actually took first place in the same tournament, so coming home and getting to hang out and celebrate was really fun,” Burke said.
While the men do strive to win in the tournaments, they get just as much pride by cheering on their female counterparts.
“We were the sideline—we got to root for them and it helped them perform better,” Burke said.u
The Geneseo men’s Ultimate Frisbee club works hard with three practices a week, while also maintaining a friendly club sport environment. The men play in various competitions throughout the year, primarily in the spring. (Troy Hallahan/Advertising Manager)