By now readers will know I like many sports that are not well hockey and baseball.
Getting off the beaten path of popularity is a good thing in my mind.
So when I discovered professional ultimate games at www.YouTube.com I was intrigued.
A couple of game views, and I was hooked.
Not sure what ultimate is; Wikipedia provides a basic description.
“Ultimate, originally known as ultimate frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a flying disc. Points are scored by passing the disc to a teammate in the opposing end zone. Other basic rules are that players must not take steps while holding the disc, and interceptions, incomplete passes, and passes out of bounds are turnovers …
“In 2012 there were 5.1 million ultimate players in the United States. Ultimate is played across the world in pickup games and by recreational, school, club, professional, and national teams at various age levels and with open, women’s, and mixed divisions.”
And that brings me to the professional game, and today more specifically MLU.
“Major League Ultimate (MLU) was formed in 2013 after the Philadelphia Spinners and their owner Jeff Snader left the AUDL due to differences in how the league should be structured. The MLU is centrally organized which provides consistent quality and branding among its eight teams. The league has four teams in each division split between both the East and West coast. The MLU has broadcast weekly games on YouTube and in 2016 will create cross-divisional match-ups for the first time during the regular season.”
Which brings me to the Vancouver Nighthawks, and veteran player Erik Hunter, who was good enough to agree to an interview on the sport, MLU, and his own career.
“I was introduced to Ultimate by my science teacher, Mr. Leeson, in high school. A couple of my friends joined the team and I saw it as a great way to cross train for hockey in the summer months,” said Hunter when asked about his own start in the sport.
“I got hooked on ultimate because of the level I knew I could compete at it. It was very accessible and the people in it made me want to stay. It was more of a community than the large group of mostly strangers who I played hockey with.
“I am a competitive person and to have an outlet like ultimate where I can get to compete every week is something very appealing to me. When it comes to the pro leagues it just seemed like the smart choice. It is ultimate that doesn’t cost me anything, it is competitive, and I play a game almost every week for a few months. The format of practicing something during the week and then playing a game to test it, has also been one of the best ways for me as a player to get better.”
So what skills make a good ultimate player?
“Physically I would say to be an ultimate player you need speed, endurance, good hops and accuracy,” offers Hunter.
“Mentally I would say that you need competitiveness, fortitude, a sense of community and honour. We value what the community refers to as ‘spirit of the game’ very much. Most of the time our sport is self-officiated. And even when it isn’t (there are officials in MLU), there are systems in place for us to keep it fair if we feel something was missed or unfairly served. But to me when it comes down to it this is honour.”
While many locally may not be aware of ultimate as a pro sport, MLU is one of two professional leagues, and the one Hunter chose to play in.
“I signed with the MLU this year (Vancouver), because I wanted to compete,” he said.
“I think the strength of this league is that it knows what it is and it still strives to be more. I am always very impressed at how well things are working, even four years into the leagues existence.”
While only eight teams in the MLU at present, Hunter said that could change.
“I could definitely see the MLU expanding and I think that when the league is ready it definitely should do so,” he said.
“As for cities in Canada, there are some geographical issues there. The most logical choice would be Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Lots of players and easy to get to but they all already have AUDL (America Ultimate Disc League) teams in them.
“The market that is yet untapped would be Winnipeg. Perennially a high competitor at Canadian Ultimate Championships, this city has a wealth of talent but no team. They are not in the easiest place to get to however so it would mean a flight every game. So cost would be a large factor.”
So how close to mainstream sport channel exposure is the MLU?
“I think for Ultimate to become popular enough to be considered on those levels ever you need to have two things,” he said; “exposure at the highest level and player involvement at the lowest level.
“If the sport can get into the Olympics it would be a huge stepping stone to being seen as a more legitimate sport and would garner more attention.
“If, as players, we involve ourselves in showing the game to younger people we will grow the sport as well. I feel a kid growing up playing and liking ultimate is more likely to play and watch it as an adult.”
In terms of Hunter’s own career, he has been a Nighthawk from day one.
“I have played pro ultimate for three seasons and am going into my fourth,” he related. “I have always played in Vancouver and it makes sense as I live here and there are two teams, so why go elsewhere to play. It is a great city to play ultimate in. You can train year round and the community is very strong.
“I started playing in my first season with the Vancouver Nighthawks in their inaugural season. It was a great experience. I remember being nervous at the first game, even though I had played in front of crowds before somehow this was different. By the end of the season I was finding a great stride however. I had come to love how functional it was to practice a skill and then apply it to a strong opponent that very week.
“And to be able to look back at the game and analyze your play is invaluable. I am really excited for this year as our team is going to be fairly young. There will be a lot of opportunity for those guys to step up in big game scenarios and show what they have.”
And the step to pro ultimate was a big one, but enjoyable as well, said Hunter.
“Like I said I was really nervous about my first game. I liked the experience and it seemed like playing hockey in the sense that there wasn’t any self-officiating anymore,” he said. “Sometime the ref would get a call wrong or miss one but that is the nature of an officiated game. It was very freeing to not have to worry about making a call or count stalls but to just play. I remember how short it felt as well. We usually play two or three day tournaments with four games a day usually. So to travel to Seattle and only play one game felt odd.”
As for a career highlight Hunter said, it was “with the Nighthawks would have to be a game we played against the San Francisco Dogfish. I got a couple defensive blocks and one of them was what ultimate players call “double happiness” which means I got a block and then proceeded to also score in the same point.”
The 2016 MLU season kicks off April 9, and the Nighthawks will start on the road in San Francisco.
Hunter said it will be an interesting season for Vancouver, a team with some newer faces.
“As I said before we are going to be a young team this year,” he said. “I think this makes us very strong and almost impossible to predict early in the season. Fans are going to get to see some very athletic plays out of this group. The speed of the game will definitely be something to see.”
Of course divisional wins are a must.
“There are only three other teams in our division,” said Hunter. “So realistically we have to have a good record against them all to finish at the top. But I would say that the team to beat at this point would be the Portland Stags. They are a formidable team with most of the club team Rhino playing for them, they went 9 - 1 last season.
“Now like I said there are other teams and the Seattle Rainmakers beat them in the playoffs so that is something to think about.
“And San Francisco is an ultimate hot bed with some of the best teams coming out of it for years. So they will always be a force.
“Basically I’m going to be watching a lot of game tape.”
Ultimately the key will be desire, said Hunter.
“I think the key for us to be at the top of the division will be hard work and a desire to win,” he said. “I don’t think any of these teams are unbeatable, they are very good however and we will not be able to sit back and get a win off of talent alone. If we play our game and focus on the little things I think that we have a shot for sure.”
If you are a fan of excitement make sure to check out www.mlultimate.com, and more specifically www.vancouver.nighthawks.mlultimate.com or search them on Facebook.
