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It all started with
a group of student in one of Colombia High School’s parking lots. Following the
lead of Colombia’s Joel Silver, students worked to create a game that put a spin
on the classic rules of Frisbee. A correlation of the school’s student council
and newspaper staff worked on creating the game, deciding it should include
important aspects of many sports. Elements of traditional Frisbee, soccer, and
basketball were combined to create their game. In 1968, the game of Ultimate
made its debut.
The game’s popularity has
continued to climb since its creation, moving past the black top in Maplewood,
New Jersey where it was first played. It expanded to college campuses in the
early seventies, where it grew from pick-up games to official university
matches. The first recognized college game was played between Rutgers and
Princeton, and inspired many other schools to get together teams of their own.
Played in over forty countries and by more than an estimated 100,000 people, the
students at West didn’t waste any time getting in on the game.
Normal West got its first taste
of Ultimate in 2004. A group of students approached Mr. Lehr, wanting to play
Ultimate Frisbee. The idea caught on, and a league of faculty and student teams
was soon formed. The league has grown since that point, with many students and
teachers new to game deciding to give it a try.
This year the tradition
continues. The 18 team limit was quickly filled by eager players, all with
hopes that their team will take the gold. To sign up captains were required to
gather players and chose a name for their team. As in previous years, many of
the 2008 teams picked crazy names as a way to separate their team from the
others. The UFL team names are as follows: D.V. Dub, Captain Geech & the Shrimp
Shack Shooters, Los Bandigos, The Tropics, Kukumbas, Silence of the Slams,
Absentminded Students, Disk Jockies, Captain Crunch & The Cereal Killers,
Cowtippers, Shananaganz, Most Known Unknowns, Nambla, Animosity, The
Ghostbusters, The No Names, and Team Name Blank. The faculty team completes the
roster, and can always be counted on to cause a few good upsets in the
tournament. The faculty team consists of Mr. Weber, Mr. Beirbaum, Mr. Matthews,
Mr. Phelps, Mr. Stephens, Mr. Tingley, Ms. Mayer, Ms. Schermann, Ms. Rehn, and
Ms. Douglass.
Mr. Webber and Mr. Lehr are in
charge of the league now.
The full list of rosters and schedules can be found
on Mr. Webber’s teacher website,
http://www.unit5.org/weberd/links.html.
Also, check out the new Normal West UFL
Website, created by senior Alex Griffin!
http://www.unit5.org/ncwhs/ufl/home2.htm
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