Ultimate Frisbee: Peterborough's Hidden Environmental Gem...

Frisbees are most commonly associated with college kids, hippies and beachgoers. That a sport, ultimate frisbee, could be built around the flying disc might baffle some. I am often laughed at by friends in the hockey, football crowd when they try to picture it.

But when chatting with a fellow environmentalist last night over a few beers, he was equally astonished when I told them that Peterborough's ultimate frisbee league is the most environmentally-focused social network I've come across in all of Peterborough. Having been involved for a few years I had never really tried to organize my thoughts and figure out why. So here it goes.

Ultimate frisbee, by its very nature, encourages social cooperation. The game is not refereed and is instead officiated through a complex honour system. The level of obnoxious competitiveness synonymous with many other sports is non-existent as the game lives by something called the Spirit of the Game, summed up by the Ultimate Players Association:


Ultimate has traditionally relied upon a spirit of sportsmanship which places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed upon rules of the game, or the basic joy of play. Protection of these vital elements serves to eliminate adverse conduct from the Ultimate field. Such actions as taunting of opposing players, dangerous aggression, intentional fouling, or other 'win-at-all-costs' behavior are contrary to the spirit of the game and must be avoided by all players.

These 'rules' reflect something of a social contract in which the greater good is prioritized over any individuals. Such an approach is similar to that of the socially progressive and social justice movements, which have traditionally had a strong tie to environmentalism.

Driving is discouraged through a variety of league policies that encourage carpooling, walking or taking bikes, most notably the Carbon Flip, where the beginning disc flip -- similar to a coin toss in other sports -- is not 50/50, but determined by the number of non drivers on each team. Those that enter the league without a hint of environmentalist cares are almost forced to adopt a certain approach to the world during an ultimate frisbee game. This may have as much to do with the type of people playing ultimate in Peterborough as the game itself.

The makeup of Peterborough's players is extremely diverse. It is neither limited to a bunch of hippies nor is it an exclusive club for the rich and famous. I was astonished when I joined my first team to find out it was full of doctors, professors and engineers. Yet any social class system built entirely on household income is non-existent in the Peterborough Ultimate League. The people are generally adults under 40 -- with some exceptions --, an age bracket that seems to be more environmentally conscious that its elders. Many people I've played with are teachers, professors at Trent and Fleming -- two very eco-conscious schools, -- civil servants at the Ministry of Natural Resources, NGO folks and local business owners with green companies.

So you want to find the real movers and shakers in the 'green' world of Peterborough? Just look for a frisbee.

Photo: Tourne Disc