A variety of outdoor uses for that famous flying disc

Written by Duncan Day-Myron

Photo by Chris Hamelin

As you can read more about in our centre spread this week, there are many parks and other green spaces in Guelph to take in the sunshine this summer, big and small. If you’re looking to get outside and have a good time with a group, then the frisbee has a pretty good reputation.

Frisbees have a relatively long history, beginning as a cake pan and ending up nearly a century later part of a more than one legitimate sport, with ultimate and disc golf being the two most common.

The naming conventions of the frisbee are contentious, as it is a brand name, and many enthusiasts refer to it as merely a disc or a flying disc. The word frisbee was removed from both the names of ultimate frisbee and frisbee golf to what we have now. Whatever term you use, the games are the same.

Ultimate is generally a league sport, and if you’re interested in doing it a little more competitively, Guelph has the option.

“We’ve got lots of leagues here in the city from beginners right through to the high-end touring level teams,” said Dave Kelly, the convener of Guelph Ultimate. “We have about 80 teams playing. I also run clinics on how to play the game.”

While these leagues are an option, pick up games of ultimate are also an option. Soccer pitches, parks, Johnston Green, the arboretum: they all have enough open grass for you to split into teams, decide on the endzones and go to town. The rules are easy to locate online, and in any crowd someone probably knows how to play, but there’s always a degree of freedom for any crowd in team size, or how many points you play to.

Another great option for frisbees is disc golf, where players try to get through a course from beginning to end in as few throws as possible. Instead of a hole as in golf, in disc golf you throw the frisbee into a basket.

“Disc golf is great you just go out and play and have some fun with your buddies,” said Kelly, who is also a disc golf tournament director. “It’s free to play any time you want to play.”

Unfortunately with disc golf, you can’t generally go to any park you want and start a game. Fortunately, the University of Guelph’s Arboretum has a disc golf course set up for anyone to use. There are also courses in Cambridge and Waterloo, but the Arboretum has the only one in Guelph.

It isn’t hard to pick up the basics of any disc sport, and anyone can usually pick up a frisbee, no matter how long it has been, and keep up with a game.

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