The Ultimate Spin

Members of Girgitle at the Bangalore Ultimate Open - 2015.
Members of Girgitle at the Bangalore Ultimate Open – 2015.

Girgitle — City’s first Ultimate team, talks about the sport, the spirit and its soul after their fiery performance at the recently concluded Bangalore Ultimate Open.

by Kedar Koushik

Frisbee is not native to India. It is neither steeped in the culture like Kabbadi nor is it an obsession like cricket. But over the last couple of years, Frisbee has become a sport that has garnered active participation from the young and is becoming as popular a game as in any other country. With more than 30 teams nationwide, India is following the footsteps of the United States, Europe and Japan.

Frisbee or Ultimate, as it is popularly known, is a sport that conveniently mixes the features of basketball, rugby and football. Seven players pass the Frisbee by slinging it to each other as they make their way up the field. When a player catches the disk, he or she cannot move. A point is scored when a player catches it in the scoring zone behind the baseline.

Several Ultimate-teams have sprung up across the country. While most of the teams are concentrated in the metro cities, the rest of them are not far away. Mysuru has now woken up from its slumber to this unique and exciting new game. For the past few months a group of young enthusiasts of the game has formed the first official Ultimate team of Mysuru — Girgitle.

Girgitle participated in its first official Ultimate tournament — The Bangalore Ultimate Open 2015 at Jain International Residential School on Kanakapura Road, Bengaluru, held between June 26 and 28.

After topping Group F that had teams like Blitz Legacy, Slip Disc, Disc Qualified and Teen Guna Lagaan, Girgitle finished 4th in the bronze pool after losing against Chakra in a relegation match. Girgitle are now seeded at 20 out of the 31 teams that took part in the tournament. For a team participating for the first time in an official tournament, Girgitle’s performance is both an achievement, an encouragement and a proud moment for Mysuru.

SOM spoke to a few players in the team about what makes them play the game, how they managed to form a team in a town that is quite new to the game and about the future that beckons the game.

The initial days: At a time when Ultimate was gaining popularity in metropolitan cities like Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai, it was still a game that was unheard of here in Mysuru. There were people playing the Frisbee, but only as a time-pass.

Prajwal, a student of Mechanical Engineering at NIE College and a tri-athlete, was riding his cycle with a few of his friends. It was a regular affair for Prajwal and his friends to unwind by playing the Frisbee during their rides. He says, “It was in one of these rides that we decided to have a team of our own – the first one in Mysuru. Santosh, who is part of Bengaluru’s Ultimate team Disc-O-Dewane encouraged us to form a team and told us that he and his team would help them with the required training. Incidentally, Disc-O-Dewane has a lot of people who studied at NIE, so they were also excited about having an Ultimate team from Mysuru. With Santosh as our mentor, we were ready to have our own team.”

When asked about the name of the team – “Girgitle,” Pragna, Prajwal’s younger sister studying II PU at Sadvidya, who is also a part of the team, said, “The name was very accidental. We were looking for a name that would be unique and different and yet have that ‘Mysuru touch’ to it and Sandeep, our team mate suggested ‘Girgitle’ and we all agreed to it instantly.”

The “Spirit” of the game: With its roots in the psychedelic 60s, Ultimate stands apart with its emphasis on the ‘Spirit of the game.’

Prajwal says, “It is both difficult and easy to explain what the spirit is. Anybody who understands the game understands the spirit that encompasses the game.

“What makes Ultimate different from other games is that it is a collective-game that depends entirely on the conscience of the players. There are no referees or umpires in this game,” says Prajwal, “if a player commits a foul, s/he accepts the mistake and in case s/he doesn’t, then the team comes to a collective decision and the game moves on.”

Prajwal also added that most of the Ultimate tournaments have special prizes awarded to the Most Spirited Player and for the Most Spirited Team. At the World Championships of Beach Ultimate 2015, held in Dubai, the Indian team won the ‘Most Spirited Team award,’ and this for Prajwal and many sophomores like him, is a push that they just can’t resist.

Genders unite: Another factor that makes Ultimate, a game of and for the spirit is the fact that the game is played by both the genders. Pragna, the captain of the team Girgitle, says that this perhaps is the main reason for the sport to grow among the young.

“Being a non-contact sport, Ultimate, through its rules — though limited, treats each player with respect without discriminating on the basis of gender,” says Pragna, adding, “Usually, an Ultimate team will be having 3 girls to every 4 guys. Yes! It is difficult to get girls to play the game and the reasons are quite archaic and well known.”

Talking about the participation of girls in the games, Pragna says, “Conservative parents think that the game is rough and ‘dangerous’ but it is not. According to the rules of the game, body-contact is considered a foul, you are supposed to block the disc only when it is released from the hands of the opponent.”

An addiction: For those who have imbibed the spirit of the game of Ultimate, it is an addiction. For Krishna, who started playing Ultimate as a “casual player,” was so hooked to the game that he is now a part of the team Girgitle. “One throw and I was hooked,” says Krishna, a stock broker by profession.

“Once when I started playing the game, I couldn’t just stop touching the disc,” he says adding that as he progressed he wanted to get everything right.

Adding to Krishna’s views, Pragna says, “Anyone can join the team, or have their own teams. The only skill that is required is the love for the game and the spirit to hold the motivation.”

source:  http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Monday – June 29th, 2015

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