Volume CXXXI, Number 23 April 26, 2002 f

Women's Ultimate up and running
ANJALI DOTSON
STAFF WRITER

Emily Howe '04, foreground, in a practice with Stoned Clown yesterday (before the snow). (Henry Coppola, Bowdoin Orient)

If you walked across the Quad between the hours of 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. last week, you might have seen what appeared to be a group of girls running around in circles aimlessly leaping and diving.

Upon closer examination, one would have detected the focus of their movements and efforts-a Frisbee. These romping episodes mark the rebirth of the Bowdoin Women's Ultimate Team.

Ultimate Frisbee has enjoyed a huge increase in popularity on college campuses all over the country of late, and Bowdoin seems to be no exception. On hiatus for the past few years, the Bowdoin team is just starting up again in response to increased interest in the sport on campus.

Consistent with the spirit of the game, women are coming out with no experience and learning as they play. The spring semester is a building period for the yet-to-be-named team, although practices are already well attended and lively.

"We've found a group of crazy fun girls to come out and toss the disc," junior co-captain Caroline Budney said. "The attitude of this new team is the best. Everyone's out to have fun, play some Frisbee, and enjoy each other."

Since moving out to the fields at Farley, the women have been focusing more on strategy and technique. However, Budney indicated that the friendly, comfortable nature of the team has remained.

"The key to this team is a lighthearted and fun atmosphere. I feel that the more relaxed we are, and the more fun we have, the better we play," she said. "We will gradually introduce more tactics and nuances of the game, but we're also enjoying just tossing the disc and having a good time."

The new women's Ultimate squad will team up with Stoned Clown, the men's team, to play in Kind Bud Bowl (KBB) on Sunday. The KBB is a coed tournament hosted by Bowdoin at Farley Field House.

The women plan to start playing in all-female tournaments next semester.
Despite the fact that more than 75 percent of the team had never played an organized game of Ultimate before, the women are catching on and improving every day. A high level of interest and enthusiasm among the newest members lends a promising outlook for the future of the group.

Furthermore, since the team consists of mostly sophomores and first years, the women will have plenty of time to build up the program and hand it over to new leadership in a few years.

"Ultimate is a fun, easy-to-learn game with a low intimidation factor if you're just starting out," sophomore Marya Washburn said. "You don't have to be amazing at Frisbee, you just have to love to play."