The Ultimate Goal: Fast-Paced Frisbee Fun
In how many sports might you find yourself playing alongside a member of the Hall of Fame? Hard to imagine, outside of having the beaucoup bucks (and the horsemanship) to sponsor a team at the Santa Barbara Polo Club – and even then HOFers aren’t likely to be on the field – or maybe by joining a sports fantasy camp somewhere around the country where the former stars might still show up.
But in ultimate frisbee and its even faster-paced cousin Goaltimate, you might find yourself sharing the sand or a grassy field with legendary players who have been inducted. That’s partly because Santa Barbara has a storied history of ultimate frisbee, with several of its longstanding club and college teams, both men’s and women’s, having scored multiple national and world championships, including the Santa Barbara Condors, UCSB’s Burning Skirts (women’s) and Black Tide (men’s).
What’s more, some of those celebrated players occasionally show up at the weekly (mostly) co-ed pickup games that have been taking place for almost 20 years, played on the sand at East Beach right in front of the pavilion.
“Pick-up games are part of the nature of the sport,” said Luke Tursick, a late-30s player who comes down regularly.
But while it may look easy to just toss a frisbee to a teammate, march down the field and score a goal, don’t mistake the walk-on nature of Ultimate or Goaltimate for a casual backyard flick-the-frisbee affair.
Points in Ultimate are scored by catching a pass in the opponent’s end zone. But there’s a catch: players cannot run with the disc. The disc moves only by completed passes, and a turnover occurs anytime the disc isn’t caught, or if it’s intercepted. The action can be fast and furious, if good-natured.
“It’s a high intensity and highly skilled sport,” said Tursick who, unlike typical players, actually took up the game after college but won a national championship with the Condors two years ago. “It takes a long time to learn how to throw the frisbee properly and to learn how to move well on a field, whether that’s grass or sand. It’s very skilled and it’s really good exercise.”
While Ultimate was all the rage through the late 2010s, the pickup game has leaned toward Goaltimate ever since COVID. That’s partly because it’s played on a much smaller area more akin to half-court basketball game, and the disc has to travel through an 11-foot high arching goal on the final pass to the endzone. While four per side is the norm, it only takes three to get a game going, which was a big advantage as people only slowly returned to playing after the pandemic restrictions were lifted.
“Everybody liked it so much that it evolved into being the primary game,”Tursick said. “Plus, the nature of frisbee players is that they’ll almost always show up late. With Goaltimate, you can start a game when the first six people arrive, just set up the hoop and go.”
Adding to Goaltimate’s popularity is its being faster-paced because there’s no stopping to switch goals between points, he said.
“It’s very dynamic because the game never stops. You can leave if you’re tired, but the action keeps going.”
Stamina aside, in keeping with the frisbee culture of pickup games, anybody is welcome, world champion or newbie. Players range in age from teenagers to guys in their 70s.
“We’re a hundred percent welcoming,” Tursick said. “Even if you’re not skilled at all but are curious and interested to try, we would accept you on a team immediately. You could just walk up and say, ‘Hey, can I play?’ and we would welcome you.”
Perhaps not this Saturday, though, as the group is having one of its semi or annual (they use the term “semi-quasi-biannual”) special endurance matchups called a Century game.
“We play ultimate frisbee games to 100, from 10 am until about 3 pm,” said Tursick, who plans to be there for as long as his family obligations allow. “That’s when you’ll probably see some of the current students on college teams and a lot of alumni. It’s great.”
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