When Kone Huang and Sisley Wang founded an ultimate frisbee club, Apex Athletics, in Richmond earlier this summer, they didn’t expect it to attract more than 300 members in such a short time.
“I fell in love with this sport at first and started playing with friends. Then we posted about it on social media and to our surprise, many people had the need and joined us,” said Huang.
Ultimate frisbee, also known as ultimate, is a non-contact team sport played with a disc flung by hand. Two teams throw the disc to each other until one team member receives it in its “end zone” and scores.
Now every Wednesday and Friday evening, if you walk pass MacNeill Sports Field, you will likely see a group of 30 to 50 people running, jumping, throwing and catching a plastic disc, accompanied by cheers and laughter.
“A big advantage of the sport, compared to many others, is the low barrier to entry – men or women, adults or children, beginners or experienced players, they can all play it together, although it still requires practice to play at an advanced level,” said Huang.
“It’s a competitive but not a confrontational sport, a great way to get involved in a team event and get some exercise. People get the fun of the sport, introduce their friends and the happiness spread quickly.”
Although frisbee has been played in North America for decades, it has become popular in China in the last two years. The craze in China has also fueled the popularity of the sport in Richmond.
“Many international students or newcomers joined us and told us they were in a frisbee club in China and wanted to continue the sport through our platform and make new friends,” said Wang.
“We have made so many friends and met many interesting people from this club.”
Richmond resident Rannie Zhang was introduced to the club by her friend – knowing nothing about frisbee before, she now attends both sessions every week.
“At first, I thought it was strange – what’s fun about playing frisbee? And my friend asked me to go to take a look,” said Zhang.
“Then I found it’s actually a very pleasant, interactive game – a great way to get exercise and release the tiredness and stress after a day of work,” she said.
In fact, the exercise required for two hours of the frisbee game feels like four hours at the gym, she added.
“And it’s on an outdoor field, which is nice, and only a couple of minutes’ drive, so I can just go after work. People chat between sessions and it’s easy to find friends you can hang out with after. There is a sense of community.”
