UCLA has more than 45 club sports with over 1,500 participants. These range from martial arts to rowing and ultimate Frisbee.

Bruin Ladies Ultimate is one of UCLA’s two women’s ultimate Frisbee club teams. BLU began in 2003 when some men from the men’s ultimate team, Smaug, began recruiting women to form a club team. Since then, team has continued to grow with seven rookies joining this year. Since their beginnings, the team has done very well and they will be competing in nationals in Mason, Ohio over Memorial Day weekend.

I have never seen the sport played before and I had to be schooled on the basic rules by sophomore Kristen ‘Vendetta’ Pojunis. According to Pojunis, Ultimate is played seven on seven on a field with two end zones. The offensive team attempts to pass the disc downfield until they score. Turnover occurs whenever the disc touches the ground or is intercepted by the other team. The most interesting part about Ultimate is that it is self- officiated. There are no referees and the players on the field make all the calls. They have an honor code know as “spirit of the game” in which everyone believes that everyone else makes the calls as they really see them. Second year, Margot ‘Radar’ Stert says, "this helps foster a sense of community among all ultimate players.”

In order to better understand the BLU experience, I talked to some of the girls on the team and asked them about their experience in BLU. The girls all got involved in ultimate Frisbee for different reasons. Kristen played Ultimate, recreationally, her freshman year. This year, she went to check out a BLU practice and immediately fell in love with the sport. 

She said, “Watching the veteran players sprint down the field and launch themselves into the air to catch an impossibly high, yet perfectly placed disc was absolutely incredible to watch and something I wanted to learn how to do.” 

Captain Ellen ‘Jade’ Smith first became interested in Ultimate because her parents played in college. 

She said, “I went to the first few practices and was blown away by how close-knit the community was and how encouraging the players were.“

All of the girls I talked to said their favorite part of BLU was being with their teammates.  

Captain Katie ‘Boots’ Swinnerton said her favorite part about BLU is “that we are really a family. I have met my roommates and my best friends through BLU and my entire college experience would be completely different without all the amazing people I've met through Ultimate.” 

When speaking about the relationships between her teammates Pojunis said, “The bond formed by playing Ultimate extends far beyond BLU. Ultimate Frisbee, as a whole, is an amazing community. There is such a sense of belonging among nearly all the players. For instance, BLU went to Seattle over spring break for the Northwest Challenge hosted by University of Washington Element. We were scheduled to play UW that weekend and one of the player’s parents offered to host the 24 players and three coaches so we wouldn’t have to stay in a hotel.”

BLU has had a very successful season this year. They had some mid-season challenges while playing in the rain at Stanford and University of Washington’s tournament, but they have managed to come back strong. They played very well in the playoffs, finishing third at Southwest Regionals and earning a bid to nationals.

BLU's record is 30-16, so far this year, and they are hoping to do well at nationals this upcoming weekend. They are looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish while playing among the 20 best teams in the country.

Everyone here at The Odyssey wishes BLU the best of luck at nationals this weekend. Go Bruins!

Caption: Northwest Challenge 2014