Flick that Frisbee like a pro
For a growing number of athletes this is the ultimate sport
Ultimate is one of the most popular and fastest growing team sports in America — especially on college campuses — and Pittsburgh is no exception.
“There’s a lot of explosive cutting like in football, a lot of jumping like in basketball, a lot of endurance like in soccer,” said Rob Dulabon, who opened the city’s first indoor gym in Larimer on March 1 to train Ultimate players, including the city’s new professional team, The Thunderbirds.
That’s Ultimate as in Ultimate Frisbee — yes the plastic disc you tossed around in the backyard or at the beach. More than 5 million Americans play the team game, according to USA Ultimate, the governing body for the sport. More than 700 colleges have teams.
“Ultimate Frisbee is a very exciting sport,” said Christie Lawry, executive director of Pittsburgh Ultimate, which sponsors leagues for local residents ages 7 and up. “Jumping and diving and making big plays — events that may only come along once in a while in other sports — happen much more frequently in Ultimate Frisbee.”
En Sabah Nur, the University of
Pittsburgh Ultimate team, has won 2012 and 2013 backto-back national titles, and is ranked No. 1 in the country. En Sabah Nur, whose name comes from a Marvel Comics villain also known as “The First One,” was formed in 1998. A women’s team, Danger, was founded in 2005. It’s one of the top three teams in the Ohio Valley Region.
Ultimate is the third fastest growing team sport, after rugby and lacrosse, according to a 2012 survey by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. More people play Ultimate than play rugby and lacrosse combined.
Played on a regulation field that is 70 yards by 40 yards with end zones 25 yards deep, Ultimate draws upon a range of quick-movement skills and agility.
At Mr. Dulabon’s 11,000square-foot RODU Training facility on Hamilton Avenue, programs focus on speed, explosive power, strength, conditioning, flexibility, injury reduction and nutrition education. As in football, “the key is getting that first 10 yards explosively,” he said.
It includes 3,000 square feet of indoor turf for warm-ups, agility and plyometric training, speed drill and sleds.
Mr. Dulabon, 30, is certified as a Crossfit trainer and as a strength and conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
He conducts training sessions there on weeknights for all ages and levels of competition after he’s completed his day job as an engineer for Philips Respironics medical device firm.
For Ultimate, there are seven players on a team in regulation play. Teams score points by passing the Frisbee to a teammate in the opposing team’s end zone.
A player may not run with the Frisbee; he or she must throw it to a teammate within 10 seconds, but the player may pass the Frisbee in any direction.
Possession of the Frisbee changes whenever a pass is incomplete or intercepted. A point is scored for each pass completed in the opposing end zone. A typical game is played to 15 points and takes about an hour and a half to play.
The first Ultimate Frisbee game was played at a high school in Maplewood, N.J., in 1968. It spread from there to colleges in the Northeast. The first college tournament was held in 1975. The Ultimate Players Association was formed in 1979, was renamed USA Ultimate in 2010 and now has more than 35,000 members.
A professional league, the American Ultimate Disc League, was formed in 2012. Beginning with eight teams, it now has 26 in four divisions in the U.S. and Canada. The Pittsburgh Thunderbirds are among 10 new teams joining the league this year.
A second professional league, Major League Ultimate, was formed in 2013. It has eight teams.
Ultimate Frisbee pros make a fraction of what professional football, baseball or soccer players bring in. But having the cost of uniforms, transportation, food, lodging, etc., picked up makes it possible for many to continue playing at a high level the game they love after they leave college.
Mr. Dulabon ran crosscountry and played football and tennis at McDowell High School in Erie. When he came to Pitt in 2003 to study bioengineering, he wanted to continue to compete athletically.
“I found Ultimate Frisbee at the activities fair the first weekend at school,” he said. “It allows me to play a sport at the top level.”
He has played Ultimate professionally ever since the American league was formed — the first year in Buffalo, the next two in Washington, D.C. He’s playing for the Thunderbirds this year.
The new team is off to an auspicious start. In its first game April 11, the Thunderbirds defeated the Indianapolis AlleyCats — a playoff team every year since the AUDL was formed — 28-20.
The Thunderbirds’ home opener is 7 tonight against the Cincinnati Revolution at George R. Cupples Stadium, 930 E. Carson St., South Side. A single game ticket costs $8. A season ticket for all seven home games costs $45.
The AUDL has a 14-game season from April through August, with playoffs to follow.
For information about the Thunderbirds, its schedule and ticket information: http://pghthunderbirds.com