Hi, I’m Natasha and I’m currently in my 4th year of the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours). When I started uni I knew I wanted to be involved in campus life, and there were so many clubs to choose from! Ultimate Frisbee wasn’t what I expected to play, in fact I hadn’t heard of it until my first orientation week at Flinders. Looking back now, it is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and is something that will stick with me.
What’s Ultimate Frisbee you ask? It’s a 7-a-side non-contact sport played on a field. Yes, it’s a real sport! Players from Flinders have represented the state at Nationals, and represented Australia at Worlds! The aim of the sport is to catch the disc in the other team’s endzone, much like scoring a try in rugby. The biggest thing people notice when they start playing is that there are no umpires. It’s completely self-regulated by players.
I have always loved playing team sports; I also play for the university hockey club. I had some friends from high school who were playing Ultimate Frisbee and needed an extra player for the Southern University Games. As a result, I joined and went to my first tournament. From then on I was hooked, and my week was quickly taken over by social league, state league, and UniGames training. It sounds so cliché, but I really found people that I clicked with. They had similar interests to me and we all had the same goal – to send a team to the Australian University Games. We struggled to send a team in the first year, barely reaching the minimum squad size, but I soon went on to play at the Australian University Games with the team. This has been a highlight of my time at university, who wouldn’t want to spend a week away with your friends, playing the sport you love? The following year we sent 2 squads to the Southern University Games and even had selections for the Australian University Games. The club is really social and is happy to teach anyone who wants to learn.
My advice to anyone starting university is to find a club that interests you, and join it! Sure, you meet people in class, but you don’t spend as much social time with them. All of the clubs I have been a part of are so welcoming and eager to get to know new people. Your club experiences at uni will stay with you for life!
All the best,
Natasha.