How ultimate frisbee has evolved as a sport in Mumbai; why more needs to be done

You must have seen frisbee players at Juhu beach over the weekends Both men and women clad in jerseys practise the sport on the sands A closer look reveals club names printed on their tees and if you observe further you will see that their throws unlike amateurs are nuancedThese players are gearing up for Mumbai Local an upcoming ultimate frisbee tournament on December 21 and 22 at Western Railway Ground Lower Parel that will see 10 teams including clubs from across the cityUltimate Frisbee often washed down as a pastime activity for kids at the beach is as serious a sport as any Played with flying discs on either sand or grass the noncontact sport is played mixgendered in India This means that a teammdashusually comprising seven playersmdash consists of both men and women Whatrsquos fascinating is that the sport is selfrefereed and teams discuss fouls for 30 seconds before declaring the decision At the end of the 75 or 90minute game this leads to spirit points and either team is also declared the winner for the Spirit of the TournamentA total of 10 teams are participating this year namely Storm Chasers West Coast Rascals School of Ultimate Night Crawlers Down To Earth Sealink Slammers Disc Dominators Rann Raanis Night Crawlers 2 and The FlyweightsldquoThe award for the most spirited team is as important as winning the championship International games have an lsquoobserverrsquo who offers perspective but itrsquos the teamrsquos decision thatrsquos finalrdquo says Samarth Shetty cofounder of School of Ultimate a tournament director and an ultimate player for Team India Shetty says the game teaches respect and conflict resolution and keeps the sportsmanship spirit high ldquoAs it allows different genders to play together they are also pushed to grow as individualsrdquo he addsIn India the sport is popular in niche pockets and has quietly existed for some time There is even a documentary by filmmaker Varsha Yeshwant that showcased the under23 Indian Ultimate Frisbee teamrsquos journey to the 2015 World ChampionshipSamarth Shetty coach School of Ultimate right Manan JainChennairsquos beaches are home to some of the best ultimate frisbee players in the country The city contributed 17 players for Indiarsquos 18member team that won silver at the Asia Oceanic Beach Ultimate Championship 2024 in Japan And itrsquos home to the Ultimate Players Association of India also called the Flying Disc Sports Federation the countryrsquos only official body for the sportBengaluru boasts 18 club teams and institutes like Jain and Azim Premji universities National Law College IIM and IISc among others have teams that play the sport ldquoChennai and Surat have some of the best talent in the country and Delhi and Lucknow are seeing the sport blossom toordquo says Rishabh Kishore community member of Mumbai Ultimate and cofounder of Off Season Ultimate ldquoIn Chennai the beach is free to use and that has seen kids from the neighbourhood and different backgrounds take to the sport Itrsquos why it thrives there The sport is free to play there the sport is growingrdquo he addsThis stands true for Assamrsquos Chirang district which sees armed rebellion and instability The sport promoted by an NGO The Action Northeast Trust has brought together youth from different communities and trained over 4000 players across 100 villagesCloser home Down To Earth DTE a nonprofit in Mumbai that engages with children and youth from humble backgrounds promotes the sport to encourage gender equity and boost confidence among women Jyoti Chauhan now a seasoned player and alumna of DTE first began playing the sport thanks to the organisation Chauhan says that growing up she had always seen men get more opportunities and believed that they were more knowledgeable and skilled That changed with the sport as it gave her a voice ldquoItrsquos selfreferred and itrsquos all based on spirit right If you walk into a slum there will be like 100 words coming out of peoplersquos mouths but none of them will be polite In other sports like football you see aggression too That is something different about ultimate frisbee I have learned a lot from ultimaterdquo she saysChauhan is now working on Project Playquity for Pudiyador an organisation in Chennai that is using ultimate frisbee to train women for leadership roles The threephase model swaps stereotypical gender roles in rural communities in India and gives women first access to resources through a sportbased platform Each phase trains women to ultimately be in charge of teams of young boys whom they have to coach Along the way skill training for leadership roles like problemsolving communication and digital literacy is also offered in the programmeBack at Juhu Beach Mumbai Ultimate a community of ultimate frisbee players in the city is hoping to see more Mumbaikars join in on the action Mumbai Local is their effort to promote the sport in the city through which they hope to find and build talent Itrsquos here that the sport caught Digvijay Salunkhersquos attention As an athlete Salunkhe was looking for a team sport to be a part of and upon enquiry was directed to Storm Chasersmdashone of Mumbairsquos oldest frisbee clubsmdashby a friend at the gym Two months in he says ldquoI always enjoyed throwing a frisbee and used to do it by myself But now I am picking up different skills I also enjoy how itrsquos slightly acrobatic and I have to dive to catch a disc It feels like Irsquom performing a stuntrdquoThat excitement rings true for many ultimate frisbee players who wonder why the sport is not more popular ldquoI think it just needs better marketing like pickleballrdquo jokes Manan Jain a player with West Coast Rascals and an organising team member for the tournamentThe ultimate frisbee scene has existed in the city since 2009 and is sought after by expats as well as those who returned after studying abroad but remains lesser known Jain too encountered it thanks to wordofmouth while looking for a less aggressive sport to playldquoI instantly fell in love with ultimate frisbee because I realised these are a bunch of people who are coming with a very positive attitude towards why we are playing It changed my approach to the game It made me realise that it is possible that you can win without having to be abrasively competitiverdquo adding that the community is a big reason why he has chosen to leave Delhi and live in Mumbai He adds that local tournaments are a good way for players to come together but ldquoThere is a social or an inclusive narrative to it also For instance we have two NGO teams participating at Mumbai Local Itrsquos a way to help kids interact because my circles would never coincide So the sport is a great equaliser which brings people onto the same stage with the intent to get more people to play frisbeerdquoFolks like Kishore and Shetty are making efforts to promote the sport at a grassroots level In 2014 they helped put together Mumbairsquos first frisbee tournament Gheun Tak which witnessed 16 teams from across the country Kishore along with cofounders Tahir Siddiqui and Maksood Choudhary launched Off Season Ultimate in 2021 with the idea to do for frisbee what IPL did for cricket Shetty has participated in ample international championships improved his game and now coaches at the School of Ultimate to improve the pool of talent Shetty says that local tournaments are key to helping the sport grow at the grassroots ldquoMumbai Local is a tournament thatrsquos more accessible It allows those players to participate who may not have the means to travel anywhere elserdquoKishore adds that more states need to play the sport for the Indian Olympic Committee to recognise it ldquoA lot of women in the country are playing a sport because of ultimate frisbee now And they can thrive at it Children who plan to study abroad can pick it up and continue to play it when they move as it will help them inculcate in the communities there This sport has a moral angle and a qualitative aspect to it Itrsquos not just physicalrdquo he says