The chilly air bit into Elizabeth Weng’s (10) cheeks as she made her way onto the grassy field next to Westview’s theatre. Her friend, Marley Telfer (10), from the ultimate frisbee club walked by her side as they took their positions. Taking her stance, she wound her arm back to throw a forehand and watched the disc fly out of her hands, whizzing through the air. The chill of the wind disappeared as Elizabeth waited for the return of the frisbee. Weng found herself more and more entranced by the game, each throw sucking her deeper into it until all that was left was herself, Telfer, and the disc. Just like that, the game had begun.

This simple game is one that Elizabeth Weng has been playing for four years, and now, she’s ready to share her love for it.

Early this school year, Weng got together 8xc with other ultimate frisbee players to create a club to introduce others to the game. Tate Shean (9) began playing in eighth grade, joining the Mesa Verde ultimate frisbee club and then the Westview one.

 Westview’s club is still in its infancy, meeting around once a month in D117.

Weng submitted the application for the club in September and had it approved by early March, in time to participate in the club rush shortly after. Their first introductory meeting was before Spring Break. 

“We were going over the rules of the game and how to play,” Weng said. “It was just an intro meeting and a fun Kahoot. Then, we told them about new events, activities, some opportunities to play, or these things we do called PQ pickups, which is basically frisbee around the Peñasquitos area.”

While Shean started playing recently, Weng began learning ultimate frisbee after the pandemic when a friend in middle school invited her to a PQ pickup.

“I was really nervous at first since I hadn’t played many sports before and I didn’t really consider myself the athletic type,” Weng said. “But the community was super-welcoming and supportive, and so I was so happy to be a part of it. Learning the different strategies and types of throws was also interesting since it helped me apply concepts I’d learned in the classroom, like projectile motion and physics stuff.”

Westview’s club goes against many different ultimate frisbee clubs from other schools in PQ pickups. Weng said ultimate frisbee gives her many opportunities to befriend teammates and opponents alike.

“In frisbee especially, I feel like you get to know the other players because we do this thing called spirit circle after the game,” Weng said. “Both teams come together to discuss good strategies used during the game and compliment people who did really well. Also, during the game, you guard one person on the opposite team, and you really get to know them because you’re with them most of the entire game.”

In terms of sportsmanship, Weng said, ultimate frisbee is very different from most sports.

“One thing that really sets this sport apart from others, in my opinion, is the concept of the spirit of the game and good sportsmanship,” Weng said. “Although it may feel important to win sometimes and the competitive spirit pushes us to do better, at the end of the day, I feel like sports are also about learning the importance of collaboration and community, like getting people together to cheer for their favorite team or even befriending or learning from players on the opposing teams.”

Ultimate frisbee is especially different since it doesn’t have a referee, requiring a lot of trust between players.

“There are no referees, so you have to settle things by yourself, but everyone you meet is always really nice,” Shean said. “So, if I think a foul was committed, I have to say ‘I think there’s a foul,’ and then the person that I think fouled would [say] ‘I don’t think I fouled,’ or ‘I think I fouled.’”

Other than Westview’s ultimate frisbee club, Mesa Verde has one as well. The newly established club at Westview provides the incoming freshmen a place to continue playing.

“Besides the Westview club, there’s also a club at Mesa Verde,” Weng said. “A lot of the eighth-graders there also play frisbee, and next year when they come over, they can join [our club]. They also go to the PQ pickups a lot, and so do a lot of schools from around our area.”

Since the club is just getting started, Weng said she plans on prioritizing enjoyment and participation before continuing on to bigger plans. So far, they have 10-15 members.

“We’re probably going to start as a club where we just have a lot of small practices and PQ pickups where people can try to learn how to throw frisbee or hang out with friends while playing,” Weng said. “Later on, when we have more interest and people from Mesa Verde who’ve been playing for a while and are a little more experienced, we’re also hoping to join the high school ultimate frisbee league. It’s not a CIF sport, but it is sort of like the CIF League, where a lot of different high schools come together and play.”

After the members learn the basics, Weng plans on teaching them different moves.

“Later on, we do want to teach more skills like different types of throws that we can do,” Weng said. “Since our classroom is around the PE area, [we could] possibly practice a little bit after school too.”

While Weng plans on teaching club members more skills, they work well together to get the job done.

“I feel like all the players on the team would feel this thrill,” Weng said. “Once in a while, if our thrower and catcher are both really good, they can make it from one end zone to another, and it becomes really exciting because it’s like finishing the game in one throw. It’s a whole team effort.”