Inside the disc-shaped world of Frisbee
For a small club in New Plymouth, the humble Frisbee is something more than just a flying toy that gets stuck on the roof at gatherings or chased down by the family dog.
Instead, it’s central to a quick-paced, strategic sport named Ultimate – a fusion of netball and American football.
While the sport may be new to many Kiwis, it has been around since 1968 and has more than 5 million players in the United States where it originated.
One of the young stars of Taranaki’s Ultimate scene is Joseph Powick, 18, of the Taranaki Thunder.
Powick was named the overall tournament male MVP at the recent Mixed Nationals Division 2 Tournament in which the Taranaki Thunder team he is part of placed third.
The Frisbee-throwing prodigy picked up the sport in 2018 after being introduced to it by his brother who had been playing at university.
‘‘It requires a lot of fitness – there’s a lot of running involved. Because usually when you play it’s man-to-man defence, so you have to get away from your mark to get the disc, basically.
‘‘So lots of running, lots of sprinting, and then being able to throw a Frisbee is really useful.’’
While the discs used generally have specific dimensions and weights, Powick said they’re similar to most Frisbees people have thrown around before.
The game is played with seven players on each team, with the goal being to catch the disc when it reaches an ‘‘end zone’’ on the end of the field.
The sport is also popular in New Zealand universities.
With a single club in New Plymouth, the only time the city club plays competition games is in tournaments, Powick said.
‘‘They have the mixed season from September through to November. In that time we’ll be training maybe twice a week in the lead-up to that tournament.
‘‘I really enjoy the people that play. The tournament experience for any sport is always a good time, but everyone that plays around here is so lovely. Honestly, the friendliest people that I’ve ever met.’’
Powick has also played other sports such as hockey and volleyball but said Ultimate was his ‘‘main sport at the moment’’.
‘‘It’s a pretty small sport – not many people know about it. But I consider it just as much a sport as any of the popular ones.’’
The Taranaki Ultimate club plays socially on a Monday all year round from 5.30pm at Vogeltown Park, with beginners welcome.