There are many competitive athletes who love to play ultimate Frisbee.

The Iowa State Ultimate Club members are required to be able to catch the Frisbee, have running endurance and have fun. Three-year club member Jeremiah Sheedy said there is more to playing than just running and catching.

“You have to be coordinated to catch, run and pay attention to what is happening on the field,” said Sheedy, junior in mechanical engineering.

“It’s a lot of the same skills of some soccer-type skills. I played soccer in high school and a lot of what transferred over is just being aware of where your teammates are.”

Rachel Sheldahl, senior in mechancial engineering, is a captain on the women’s ultimate club and said that running is the key to playing ultimate Frisbee. She also said that it can be physically demanding.

“You run so much when you only sub in on a point, and some of the points can last for awhile,” Sheldahl said. “You have to be strong to keep going, so it ends up being the last runner who has the drive to get the disc. You have to beat your girl and want it more than they do.”

The Iowa State Ultimate Club has been competing now for almost 10 years, and the women’s club has only been around for three years.

The women’s team was founded by Rachel Derscheid, who played on the men’s squad for two and a half years.

“It was really hard getting it together. I put up fliers and talked to everybody I knew,” said Derscheid, sophomore in veterinary medicine.

“We had few numbers at first. We had seven girls at sectionals with no subs. But now we have more people returning and about 12 to 15 women and 20 men competing in competitions.”

Taiwo Anjonrin-Ohu, vice president of the ISU women’s ultimate club, said Derscheid has been an invaluable member of both teams. Anjonrin-Ohu said the way the game is played is priceless.

“I had a wonderful time, mostly due to the ‘spirit of the game.’ Most other sports are extremely focused on winning, but ultimate is more focused on why we play. Of course we want to win, but everyone tries to play fair,” Anjonrin-Ohu said.

“The people are expected to conduct themselves with dignity.”

Ultimate Frisbee has its own flavor and has great sportsmanship, Derscheid said.

“You get to be friends with people from the other teams. I know girls from all over the country,” Derscheid said.

“I really like the feeling of it. Ultimate Frisbee has a lot of camaraderie, especially with the women.”

Sheldahl said she can tell when people like the friendly sport.

“I can tell when a new girl is hooked by the sport, just playing it and loving it,” Sheldahl laughingly said. “It is a really unique game, and the competitors are friendly.”

The ultimate clubs plan to keep busy this summer.

This weekend, both clubs will head down to Baton Rouge, La. to compete in the Mardi Gras Tournament. Men’s club president John Staron said the tournament will be difficult.

“It’s a huge tournament put on by Louisiana State University,” Staron said. “There are about 70 teams that will be down there from all over the country, teams we usually don’t get to play. It will be a really great experience. I think the winning team gets around $2,000.”

From Iowa and Missouri all the way to the South, the summer competitions will be all over the United States. On Spring Break they will head to Savannah, Ga., to participate in three to four games a day in a weeklong tournament.