Discs and Dumps: The Ultimate Face-Off

Bluray Disc Players pull out win against Big Dumps in Tuesday’s game

By Sanjana Sharma, Staff Writer & Sam Mathers, Editor-in-Chief

On Tuesday, November 19th, the Bluray Disc Players and the Big Dumps faced off in a game of Ultimate Frisbee at the Hangar, with the Bluray Discs scoring their second win of the season.

The Big Dumps started with the first pull, and the game looked intense within the first five minutes. The first portion of the game was largely characterized by turnovers, with both teams playing solid defence, but struggling to secure their catches in the endzone. 

The first point of the game was scored by Kelsey Jaggard of the Bluray Disc Players, who proved to be a tough competitor in the first half of the game. 

The BluRay Discs were able to maintain their lead, making impressive cuts across the field and scoring a tight point with the Big Dumps at the defence-line. 

The Big Dumps then took the pull and almost scored a win, but missed the throw in the endzone.  They caught a break with a huge pass downfield, caught in the endzone by Martha Moon. The Big Dumps made an attempt at a hard throw again but didn’t quite make it through as they went out-of-bounds this time.

Shooting every shot to beat their opponent’s score, the Big Dumps managed another point with BluRay Discs on full defence.

Big Dumps player, Imran Bagha, told The Argus that the Bluray Discs’ defensive strategy was the biggest challenge they posed throughout the game. He said: “We were constantly trying to force them to one side of the field, but they kept forcing us to the other side of the field, which means there were no defenders on the other side of the field.”

After a quick pass into the endzone, Hannah Gaudet scored the 8th point for the Bluray Discs. It is Gaudet’s first season playing Ultimate, and she told The Argus she has been working on positioning to improve her game: “it’s kind of a funny game with random rules that I’ve just been learning recently, so trying to know where to be on the field has been tricky.”

Moon quickly became known for making big catches -- Big Dumps player Joshua Schultz made an extremely long toss downfield, ahead of Moon, who in an impressive hustle nearly dropped the disc but managed to catch it in the endzone, scoring a point for the Dumps.

By halftime, the score was 9-6 for the Bluray Discs, whose team chant, “One, two, three, no DVDs!” could be heard throughout the Hangar.  

The Bluray Discs scored the first point of the second half when their team captain, Connor Graham, made a long and somewhat awkward lob downfield, but Tyler White managed to catch it in the endzone. Graham then intercepted a long throw downfield from the Big Dumps, nearly breaking his glasses in the process. 

The Big Dumps seemed to have improved in the second half of the game to defend better and attack more. Player Kate Rookes told The Argus that her strategy in the second half was to “slow down, pay attention, [and] make sure people are able to get in a good position [to] get a good throw.” 

Despite a nice force by the Big Dumps, the Bluray Discs still managed to score a point, caught in an impressive dive and roll by Robert Haynes. 

Moon caught yet another impressively long pass, this time just outside the endzone. She attempted a quick pass for the point, but the disc was intercepted by Bluray Discs player, Tyler White.

The score was tight with both teams cheering on and the Big Dumps heading for the opponent’s endzone. They went out-of-bounds just past the center but managed to score another point with a hard throw across the field, making the score 12-09 for the Bluray Discs. It was clear that the Big Dumps should not be counted out yet.

Big Dumps player, Conway Brown, made an impressive cut for the disc, but Graham knocked it down before he could pass it off. Brown was quickly redeemed, making a catch in the endzone and scoring a point for the Big Dumps. 

Completely self-refereed, Ultimate Frisbee is a sport characterized by integrity and a sense of fair play. In true ‘Spirit of the Game,’ a foul was called by the Bluray Discs at the suggestion of Moon, who accidentally touched Olivia Davis’ hand while she had the disc.

Erin Kielt of the Bluray Discs made a swift cut, catch, and pass downfield to Paul Whipp, who made a quick toss to Gaudet in the endzone for the Bluray Discs’ 16thpoint. Trevor Green made a nice catch downfield, scoring the 13thpoint for the Dumps

With five minutes left in the game, the score was 17-13 for the Bluray Discs. 

Big Dumps player, Alex Bissel, made a quick cut, catching the disc and making a nice pass to Schultz, which resulted in a near goal, but the disc was knocked down by Whipp. After a turnover near the endzone, Bissel scored the 14th and final point for the Big Dumps.

The Blurays were short players this game, with only one sub for the women in the second half and two subs for the men. Despite being largely outnumbered by the Big Dumps, they played extremely hard, kept their stamina up and stayed ahead for the whole game. 

The final score was 19-14 for the Blurays, who made impressive cuts and had great movement throughout the game. This is their second win of the season. According to player Erin Kielt, the win was “hard-earned.” She told The Argus: “at the beginning of the season we played all the hardest teams first that were all vets and stuff, so it feels really good to get the win in there.” 

The game was followed by the awarding of “Spirit Prizes,” a tradition in Ultimate where each team recognizes two players on the opposing team. The first Spirit Prize was given to Olivia Davis of the Bluray Disc Players for cutting hard and being positive and courteous on the field. Davis seemed surprised to be receiving the award, but it was well deserved. 

Spirit Prizes were also given to team captain Connor Graham of the Blurays, as well as Trevor Green and Alex Bissel of the Big Dumps for their excellent play. Graham told The Argus that he feels good about receiving the prize, but likes seeing new players get the recognition: “I’ve been playing for a while, so it’s nice when other people who are newer to the game get it because I always try to recognize with Spirit Prizes, people who are actively trying and learning the game.” 

You can catch Ultimate Frisbee at the Hangar on Tuesdays and Thursdays.