Rising High: Journey of USC Frisbee Association 'Panic'

USC Frisbee association, Panic, wrote a piece about their journey the last couple of years. If you're curious to know more about this fun association, keep on reading!

Join a practice

''Frisbee as a sport?'' I answered in a condescending tone as my friend suggested that I joined one of their training sessions.

''I'll join one of your silly practices''. As I already had a few years of weightlifting and 16 years of football under my belt it seemed unlikely that frisbee could pose any challenge. I was wrong.

The sport involved more running than football, and there was a surprising amount of skill expression in throwing and catching. Just after 2 practices I had to get my own frisbee. I was hooked…

First competition day

We lost the first game, the second and the last. This was not how I envisioned this day to go. Muddled by the losses I asked my captain what level we were playing at.

''This is the lowest level, the 6th division''. Shocked by this information, my competitive spirit could only react in accordance. ''You mean that we are the worst team in the Netherlands?'' She looked at me dismissively. ''You could see it like that, yeah, but I wouldn't''.

The meeting

Panic, just like any other club, has these meetings where they discuss plans for the upcoming year. ''We need a selection for a competitive team, or else we'll never go up'' I said in desperation for a more competitive environment. ''It might scare people if we become too competitive'' a board member mentioned. ''But that is also true for those that wish to be more competitive''.

The meeting went on like that for a while, but luckily it ended in approving the creation of a competitive team in Panic.

The rising

Only wins…. Every competition day that season we only won. In ultimate frisbee during those days you could climb divisions every competition day, and so we did. We rose from 6th to 3rd division in one season unbeaten. Every next season we climbed a little more, and have been grounded in the first division for a few years now. Our last season we peaked again, when we took 3rd place in the Netherlands. It is only a matter of time until we take the title.

Will you be part of this conquest? You can. But first we start at the beginning: join a practice.