By Alejandra Sanchez
Jesus Valdez, who prefers his nickname “Peanut,” decided to bring the sport of Ultimate Frisbee to East Los Angeles College after he played for four years in summer leagues with his friend in USC.
The first year of Ultimate Frisbee at ELAC. Valdez started the club at ELAC that was perfect to play because his friends could play as well. He started the club on Oct. 26 after getting his idea approved by the Associated Students Union.
“Frisbee is a combination of football, soccer and basketball,” Valdez said. It is compared to football because there are two end zones for each opponent, which are about 75 yards.
It is like soccer because of all the endurance needed. This sport involves non-stop running throughout each game. It is also compared to basketball because of its rules with “travels,” “out of bounds” and “blocks”.
Ultimate Frisbee or commonly known as “Ultimate” is a professional sport in the East coast. Although it is not as popular here, it is beginning to gain recognition.
“Not many people can hang because most people competing are from sports like football, soccer and cross country,” said Valdez. “Some people get surprised that they get tired out before the first few goals,” he said.
This club is coed so both men and women can play. This sport consists of seven players on each team.
There are two positions in the sport. The “handlers” are the people who control the plays throughout the game and decide who to pass the disc to.
Then there are the “receivers” who receive the disc and run into the end zone to score.
Every goal is worth one point. The game is not timed. There is, however, a halftime as soon as either team scores seven points.
The game ends when a team scores 13 points.
However there must be at least two point a difference, meaning, that even if the score is 13-12 the game must go on.
There are no ties; because everything depends on points and not timing. Ultimate Frisbee is a year-round sport.
The club won their opening game against a team from Northridge ending in a 17-15 overtime win.
There are many tournaments for this sport. One important tournament will be held in Las Vegas on March 2013 and will last three days with championship games for every division.
This club plays in Division III. Usually, the location for the championship game is decided among the teams.
“It’s always fun. You find ways to get better at it, and it’s a good cardio workout,” said Valdez. Practices are on Wednesdays at Cerritos from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sundays in Alhambra from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Their first home game will be on Monday Dec. 3 against Northridge in Weingart Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
