Ultimate Frisbee Soars Again

The Ozone Pilots catch a great group of rookies

By Art Jahnke. Video by Alan Wong

In the video above, it’s Pilot to co-Pilot.

Nearly 100 freshmen showed up on a warm September night two weeks ago to see if their speed, agility, and throwing skills could earn them a spot on the starting lineup of the BU men’s Ultimate Frisbee club, otherwise knows as the Ozone Pilots.

The club, with a women’s lineup known as the Lady Pilots, just missed a spot in the regional playoffs last year. This year, fall and spring seasons will take them to 10 weekend-long tournaments, each involving 6 to 10 games. Most of the tournaments will be played on New England fields, but the Pilots cover serious ground off the playing field as well as on. In the last three years, they have competed in the Trouble in Vegas tourney in Las Vegas, the Huck of the Irish in Salisbury, Md., Presidents Day in San Diego, and Terminus in Atlanta.

“Ultimate is a sport that’s really growing these days,” says team coach Jeff “Venga” Elliott (COM’09). “It’s a great sport for the type of person who maybe isn’t quite a varsity athlete, but who still wants to compete. And it gets you in really good shape.”

The influx of newbies is already paying off. Last weekend, 12 rookies and 14 veterans captured second place in the division two club sectionals in Lancaster, Mass., winning six games and losing only one. It was the team’s best premiere performance in at least four years.

Art Jahnke can be reached at jahnke@bu.edu. Alan Wong can be reached at alanwong@bu.edu.

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