UCL Club Spotlight: Ultimate Frisbee

Image credit: Sabrina Xuan

With the January blues fast approaching, I am reminded of my own experience last year when, down and disheartened, I signed up for a ‘Refresher’ event to play Ultimate Frisbee. Maybe it was a desire to get some exercise in, maybe it was simply a reason to leave the house. Whatever the case, I soon found myself hooked playing a sport, the likes of which I had never played before. 

With the vast array of university sports on offer at UCL, it is little wonder that some smaller clubs fly under the radar. UCL’s Ultimate Frisbee team is one such club, and deserves far greater recognition than it receives.

Invented in America, Ultimate Frisbee (sometimes simply called ‘Ultimate’) is a high intensity sport, where two teams compete to throw and move a frisbee down the pitch, aiming to catch it in the endzone. Like netball, players cannot move whilst holding the frisbee, but the speed and distance at which the disc can be thrown means that the sport takes place on a much larger pitch.

Due to the sport’s relative obscurity, the club is heavily reliant on inexperienced players picking up a disc for the first time. The team is very welcoming to new players, providing coaching options for both casual and aspiring competitive players. Although the learning curve is steep, there are plenty of experienced players to help new players progress and the sport is available to both female and male players.

However, for those with a more competitive streak, the Silverbacks are just as capable. Usually fielding two teams for each gender, UCL’s teams regularly qualify among the top 3 teams in the region. In particular, this season has been highly successful. Both the men’s and women’s teams qualified for the national competitions, with the men’s winning the regional tournament. Combined with their status as reigning Varsity champions, UCL are comfortably the strongest University team in London, and are hoping to place in the top 5 University teams across the UK.

The club is looking at sending teams to various international tournaments, such as the Siege of Limerick in Ireland, and Paganello in Italy, both of which will offer an opportunity for beginners and experienced players alike to play, develop their skills, and represent UCL on a bigger stage. At the very least, it is a chance to travel and play against teams that other more oversubscribed sports simply wouldn’t offer the chance to play against.

One of the clubs main strengths is its diversity. The Silverbacks are one of the UCL teams that fully leverages the international nature of the university. The team features international level players from several countries, and the culture of the club is reflected in this, although there is a distinctly British nature in the post-tournament victory Wetherspoons trip. 

Available for players regardless of ability, there is little reason for someone to not give Ultimate Frisbee a try. Even if, like I was, you are simply looking for a chance to exercise, there is no more welcoming and enjoyable club at UCL. I cannot recommend it more highly.