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Hot off the Press

From time to time, the sport of Ultimate and Safari gets some press. Read on for a couple of great stories...

Taking it to the Ultimate
The Women of Safari are masters at Ultimate Frisbee--and they do it just for the love of the sport

By Kathi Diamant, San Diego Union-Tribune
June 26, 1997

With the Belmont Park roller coaster in the background, the women line up seven strong in the end zone. They spread out across the 40-year-wide field, awaiting a signal.

Seventy yards up the field, another seven women break from their huddle and space themselves across the opposite end zone. A woman on the far team raises a slender but powerful arm high in the air. The signal is returned. Suddenly, the two lines break as the women rush forward, running headlong toward each other.

A Frisbee soars overhead--the game is on.

The game in Ultimate Frisbee, or simply, Ultimate. It's fast-paced, requiring spedd, endurance and agility. It mixes elements of soccer, basketball and football--where everybody is the quarterback and everyone a receiver.

The women are members of Safari, one of Sano Diego's seven Ultimate Frisbee teams and one of the best women's teams in the United States (ranked seventh nationally). Safari qualified for the World Untlimate Tournament in Vancouver, British Columbia, this summer by competing in local, regional, and national tournaments throughout the fall of 1996.

A non-contact sport, Ultimate began in 1968 with a group of New Jersey high school students. As the students graduated, the game spread to the college level. The first intercollegiate game was played four years later, in November 1972.

Today, Ultimate is played competively by 25,000 athletes in more than 35 countries. Mentally and physically challenging, the sport combines running, catching, and throwing, with strategic offensive and defensive plays. The sport is goverend by the Ultimate Players Assocation (UPA) and the eventual goal is recognition as an Olympic event.

Sportsmanship and fair play are key to the game. There are no referees. Players are responsible for their own fouls and line calls and resolve their own disputes. According to the UPA rules, "Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules and the basic joy of play."

Safari's team captain, Chris Jewel, 38, started playing Ultimate on the grassy field of Bonita Cove in Mission Bay in 1983 and took over team management when the club officially formed in '86. The two other women's teams in San Diego are Discosoarus, an older, more casual club team, and the UCSD women's collegiate team, Psycughtit.

Of San Diego's four men's teams, the San Diego Open Team has participated in three national championships. Although the men and women are supportive of each other, and sometimes play on teams together for practice and fun, there are difference in style and attitude.

"The women are more spritual about the game," says Mike Boisvert of the San Diego Open Team. "They are a close-knit team, definitely a sisterhood."

"Jewel has led Safari to four national championships in 14 years. With several original team members on the 20-woman roster, "we have the perfect combination of veterans with experience and skill, and fresh, young players with speed and energy."

Ranging in age from 23 to 38, team members hold a variety of day jobs. Safari's professionals include a biologist, civil engineer, research scientist, ophthalmologist, math teacher, and several child-care program specilists.

Many of the women sport ankle and knee braces. One of them, 29-year-old Shar Stuht, continues to play despite five knee surgeries. It's the social aspect of the sport she loves: "It's a good way to meet people."

The women are practicing three days a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 6 p.m. until dark), preparing for the world championships in Vancouver July 27 to August 2. There, they will compete against teams from Finland, Canada, Sweden, Japan, Germany, and New Zealand, as well as seven other U.S. teams.

The team is not sponsored and the women pay their own expenses for travel, uniforms, equipment, and player fees. To help defray costs, Safari is hosting a men and women's "fund-raiser" Ultimate Frisbee Tournament Saturday from 10am to 3pm at Bonita Cove (just each of the Belmont Park roller coaster).

"We do it for the love of the sport," Jewel says. "Sometimes we win a trophy, but mostly we do it for the health and fitness, the camaraderie and friendship, and for the competition and fun."

Team Set to Soar

By Dave Thomas, La Jolla Light
July 11, 1997

Safari, one of San Diego's women's ultimate frisbee teams, and currently the 7th-ranked women's ultimate team in the US, has qualified for the World Championship Ultimate Tournament, in Vancouver, Canada. The tournament will be held at the University of British Columbia, July 27-Aug 2. Caliremont residents include Annie Coppock, Kara Ferguson, and Pattie Montgomery.

More and 100 men's and women's teams, totaling some 1,500 players from around the world, will vie for the number one spot at this invitation-only event. Safari qualified for the event by being among the top teams at regional and national tournaments throughout the 1996 fall season.

Safari was formed in 1984, and has several original players remaining on the team. This year, the squad has 20 women on its roster, with an average playing career of nine years.

The team's captain, Chris Jewell, has played for 14 years, helping lead the team to victory at several tournaments over the years. "I am really excited about our team this year," said Jewell. "We have the perfect combination of veterans who have the skill and knowledge and new players who have the speed and agility to take us to the top."

At this year's tourney, Safari will compete against women's teams from Finland, Canada, Sweden, Japan, Canada, Sweden, Japan, Germany, New Zealand, and Australia, as well as seven other US teams. The pool game phase of the tournament lasts for six days, with the quarters, semis, and finals on the seventh day.

According to Coppock, the team has been practicing hard to prepare for the event. "We've really been practicing intensely," Coppock said. "We just want to go up there and play as hard as we can. If we do that, I think we'll come back here feeling good about ourselves."

The 1997 season has already started off strong for Safari, with the team winning two major tournaments--the San Diego Spring Fling and the Santa Barbara Classic. Both tournaments attracted seven competing women's teams from the western United States. "I am so proud of our playing this past year,: said Jewell. "We have worked hard to incorporate complex plays into our strategy, and it's paying off."

The fast-paced game of Ultimate combines elements of soccer, football, and basketball, played with a Discraft disc (heavier that the common Whamo frisbee), where everyone is a quarterback and everyone is a receiver.

A non-contact sport that requires agility, speed and quickness to play, is as mentally challenging as it is physically. The game combines running, catching, and throwing, with strategic, and complex offensive and defensive plays.

Each team has seven players on the field, working together to cross the defending team's end zone line. A non-contact game, the disc can only be advanced by throwing.

Ultimate is played competivitely by over 25,000 athletes in over 35 countries, as well as countless casual players. As are most teams, Safari is self sponsored--that is, each player pays for her own uniform, equipment, yearly UPA membership fees, tournament registration fees, and travel costs.