Ultimate frisbee lands in Northants

An ultimate frisbee group is starting up in Northampton, enabling people across the area to try out a fun and fast-paced sport that is gaining popularity across the globe.

Northants Ultimate Frisbee began taking shape in November, founded by two recreational frisbee players Matt Bates and Lee Sinfield. In December, the club staged its first session, and aims to bring together current and former players with people who have never picked up a frisbee before.

Ultimate frisbee is a mixed gender, non-contact sport that is played both indoors and outdoors. The aim of the game is to pass the disc among your team, like netball, and score points against an opposing team by eventually catching the disc in an end-zone, like American football.

The sport dates back to the late 1960s, pioneered by a group of university students in New Jersey, USA, that included Joel Silver who went on to produce films such as Die Hard, Predator, Lethal Weapon, and The Matrix. It continues to quickly spread around the globe and is recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

Bates, aged 24, said: “Bringing ultimate frisbee to our home county has been an ambition ever since I finished playing at university. There are several other clubs across the midlands and it always felt like there was an opportunity being missed here.

“We put the message out to the UK frisbee community and a few players who live in the area have joined the group, and we have some complete beginners interested as well. It’s a great sport for anyone who wants to improve fitness while having fun.

“Whether we have 10 members, or 100 members, the bottom-line goal is to raise awareness of ultimate frisbee in Northamptonshire, create a little bit of buzz, and provide an opportunity for people to try out this unique and inclusive sport.”

Sinfield, aged 29, said: “Ultimate frisbee is a very friendly sport that I fell in love with the first time I played. I’ve met a lot of my friends through different teams and continue to make new ones whenever I head to tournaments.

“I have a football background and I like that ultimate frisbee is non-contact, yet still very competitive, and I’m really excited to help kickstart Northants Ultimate so myself and people in the area have more local opportunities to play.”

If you are interested in learning more about ultimate frisbee, or joining the group for a session, please email [email protected] or follow and message @northantsultimate on Instagram.