The Best Of The Internet - Www...flying Discs
The Sunday Age
Sunday August 4, 2002
You might have assumed we were looking at the Bermuda Triangle, or Area 51 this week, but flying disc is the generic term for Frisbee. Flying discs have a place away from the backyard and dog-off-leash areas of parks; indeed, they supply some of the best highlights for end-of-year compilations on sports shows around the world.
Ultimate is a disc sport played by two teams in almost the same manner as gridiron, with goals scored when someone catches the disc in the opponent's end-zone. It is a popular variation to throwing a Frisbee, both in Australia and overseas. The Ultimate Players Association web page (www.upa.org) covers all major tournaments in North America, with coverage of the sport in general at the "almost" professional level. On this site there is a link to the World Team Championship tournament (www.hui2002.org), which is being held in Hawaii this weekend. Here you can monitor results and see the best photographs from the weekend action.
The governing body for the sport in Australia is the Australian Flying Disc Association. The association's website (www.afda.com) lists the rules of the sport and tournaments held around the country, and provides an explanation of the main skills needed to play Ultimate, including offensive and defensive tactics and throwing skills. The Victorian association (www.vfda.asn.au) also has a great site, and is the best place for prospective players in this state to get involved and start playing.
The World Flying Disc Association is the governing body for all flying sports. On its site (www.wfdf.org) you can find all the rules of the flying disc sports, links to pages devoted to disc golf and Ultimate, and some great action photographs. The best thing for new players is to download the rulebooks off this site and read through them to get a better understanding of the sport to help you improve your game.
Have you always wanted to know how a flying disc moves through the air? Just look at the article written at the following site (excuse the length of the URL) (www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000155A0-6D59-1C71-9EB7809EC588F2D7) written by Louis A. Bloomfield, the Professor of Physics, University of Virginia. The aerodynamic properties of the disc are explained, with diagrams to help you get your head around it all. Just thinking about it may make your head spin (pardon the pun).
The cool section of flying disc sport is the freestyle community. Headbands, flashy t-shirts and music help to give the freestyle flying disc player the street cred needed to play at the top level. The Freestyle Players Association page (www.freestyledisc.org) has all the information you need for this sport of ice-dancing on grass. Teams of two or three players perform a routine with catching, throwing and athletic moves. Have a look at the site and see some of the best teams in action from the last world championships held in Boston last month.
The part of the sport you usually see on TV at the end of the year is the disc dog competitions. The Disc Dogs Down Under site (www4.tpgi.com.au/users/simatt/discdog.htm) is a great place for Australian fans to find out more about the sport and link to pages from associations around the world. Dogs catching flying discs may be a common occurrence at the local park, but the canine athletes on this site can show up these amateur catchers in a second.
The major newsgroup for flying disc discussion is rec.sport.disc. All disc sports are mentioned, including disc golf and Ultimate, with the upcoming Ultimate world team championships a hot topic. One punter has asked why Ultimate is not part of the NCAA and Olympic program. Maybe someone can tell him that it is because the sport is more of a pastime, than a major Olympic sport.
FAN SITE OF THE WEEK
http://www.sas.it.mtu.edu/~dkwalika/frisbee/
Guts Frisbee is a great fan site that explains the history and rules of the sport, as well as introducing the hall of fame, which is located in Lake Linden, Michigan. Legends such as Ed "Steady Ed" Headrick, Dr Stancil E.D.Johnson and Paul "Sky King" Richardson, will become familiar names once you start poking around this site. Maybe it will inspire you to improve your flying disc technique.
© 2002 The Sunday Age