Frisbee club to host annual Big Sky warmup tournament
Frisbees are going to be sailing across campus.
The Utah State ultimate Frisbee club is hosting the Big Sky warmup Saturday and Sunday. It is the team’s first tournament of the year, and the biggest tournament to ever come to Logan, said Eric Tobler, one of the team’s captains.
A total of 15 teams from Utah and surrounding states will be in attendance. BYU and the University of Utah are sending teams, as well as the University of Colorado, a team ranked No. 6 nationally last season.
The tournament will consist of pool play Saturday, followed by single elimination Sunday. Play will begin at 10 a.m. each day and games will take place on the HPER and Tower Fields, and on the Quad.
The top four teams from pool play will have a bye in the first round of Sunday’s single elimination format.
In pool play, each team will play four matches and have one bye. Tobler said the Aggies will play all their matches, taking about six hours, and then have a bye at the end.
Tobler said he thinks the Aggies have a chance to do well in the tournament.
“We have lots of experienced players sticking around and a lot of good new players,” he said.
Team member Isaac Westfield said the tournament will give the new players a good introduction to what competition is like.
“[Tournament play] is 10 times as fast and more intense than practice,” Westfield said.
Scott Ward, a newcomer to the team, said he hasn’t had too hard of a time adjusting to the team, and is excited to play.
“Everyone’s super friendly and easy to get a long with,” he said. “This is real, and it’s going to be tiring.”
With all of the regional teams in the tournament, Tobler said there are some rivalries – one of the biggest being between USU and Idaho State University.
He said USU came close to beating ISU twice last year, but lost both games in overtime.
The key for the Aggies in the tournament, though, will be to get a good start, Westfield said.
“We generally start slow,” he said. “We need to start on the right foot. If we get going, we generally do well the rest of the day.”
Following play Saturday, Tobler said the team is hosting a party in the Fieldhouse. The party begins at 8 p.m., is open to all students, and will feature live music from the bands Hoodooh and the Gabriel Wilcoxen Ensemble. The cost is $3.
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