Heather Schneider

For more than a year, 15 students have combined their agility, stamina and speed to play one of the hottest sports to hit the college intramural sports scene, ultimate Frisbee. The combination of football, soccer and basketball makes it a fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping and overall irresistible sport to play.

Ultimate Frisbee has graced college campuses everywhere since the early 1960s. Thanks to junior Alex Hasek’s efforts, ultimate Frisbee has finally arrived at SDSU.

After four months of countless meetings with intramural sports authorities and trouble finding appropriate funding for the new sport, Hasek was finally able to get ultimate Frisbee designated as an official student club. The club received Students’ Association approval last spring.

Before the ultimate Frisbee club was an official team, the team would still go out and play.

“We would just enter tournaments as a team from Brookings, nothing official,” said junior team member Nick Haltvick.

Although the boys have come a long way getting their club formed, they still have many obstacles to overcome. One is funding.

Unfortunately, everything is privately funded, meaning all of the team’s funding comes out of the members’ own pockets.

Frisbee is not cheap either. One Frisbee can cost as much as $20, and entering a tournament can range from $250 to $300, depending on the tournament. In addition, the team has to pay for travel expenses.

The team is working with the HPER department to get funding for next year, so they will have money to put toward traveling and tournaments, equipment and perhaps even jerseys someday.

To help offset the out-of-pocket costs, the boys are using their first ever fundraiser, “Adopt a Frisbee Player.” For only $1, people can purchase adoption certificates with their favorite player’s picture, biography and more. For $5, people can purchase the whole team.

The ultimate Frisbee team is looking for new people to join them. For those looking for something fun to do in their spare time, ultimate Frisbee might be the way to go.

“We take it seriously, but by no means are we a varsity sport,” Haltvick said.

#1.884077:228271006.jpg:frisbee01.jpg:Brandon Haynes, left, and Alex Hasek, right, of the ultimate Frisbee club play on Thursday, Oct. 5, at the intramural field, where they practice a few nights a week. :