The Oregon men’s Ultimate Frisbee Club may be one of the best teams in the country, but it still has to pay for plane tickets. Members of the club participated in a throwing marathon that lasted more than four days last week to offset outstanding debt to the Club Sports program.
The No. 5 Ducks, as ranked by the National Ultimate Media Panel, will put fundraising efforts on hold next weekend when they travel to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the Northwest regional tournament April 29-30. If the club finishes in the top two, it will advance to the Ultimate Players Association College Championships tournament to be held in Columbus, Ohio, May 26-28.
Oregon racked up some frequent flyer miles this season, traveling to tournaments in Las Vegas and Austin, Tex. As a result, the club incurred a debt of approximately $3,000. To help remedy the situation, club members decided to hold a throw-a-thon. The team paired up and, starting at noon on Monday, threw a Frisbee in shifts for 100 consecutive hours.
“The idea of a throw-a-thon had been kicked around before, but we realized that it would have to be for a good length of time if we were going to make any money,” team co-captain David Berney-Needleman said.
Each individual signed up for 10 shifts of 45-minutes each, for a total of seven and a half hours on duty.
“We had tables set up and sent people around with jars asking for money,” club coordinator Dusty Becker said. “Everyone had a great time.”
The club came away from its efforts with approximately $800, leaving a debt of more than $2,000 yet to be paid. To that end, the club members are taking part in a letter-writing campaign and selling old equipment to raise more funds.
“I was pleasantly surprised how generous people at the University were,” Berney-Needleman said.
Oregon will be spending some of that hard-earned cash this weekend at the Vancouver tournament.
Sixteen teams will compete for two berths to the College Championships. In addition to the Ducks, the Northwest region features two other squads ranked in the top 10 nationally, No. 6 Stanford and No. 7 British Columbia.
Oregon split the two previous meetings with British Columbia this year, and lost its only match against Stanford, but the club is coming off a perfect showing at the Oregon and Northern California sectional tournament April 8 in Chico, Calif.
“I think we’re playing awesome,” Becker said. “We’ve worked harder this year than we ever had. It’s been a goal all year to make it to nationals.”
That goal took shape during the fall practice season, when the roster was divided into two full squads, a 24-member “A” team and a 20-member “B” team. Oregon’s play has steadily improved as the year has progressed, winning 13 of the last 15 matches.
“The only thing that matters now is to win big matches,” Berney-Needleman said. “There’s no time for learning or building. We all think we’re the best team in the country. No one can beat us but ourselves.”
The Ducks will find out whether all of their hard work will pay off, and then return to the other important task of paying off their debt.
“Thanks to everyone who supported us this week,” Berney-Needleman said. “It made a huge difference to our team.”