Barely a few days in and I was walking back to my room from the P’lodge when I saw some guys dressed in purple hanging out near H staircase, cracking jokes and throwing a disc round the circle. As I passed the group, I managed a nervous smile at them.

“Hey you must be a fresher, can you catch?” said one of them, with an impressive beard and Jesus hair. “Sure,” I replied and he lofted the disc at me, which I grabbed at the rim with one hand. “Over here!” exclaimed another guy, waving his arms at me and I threw the plastic disc straight to him.

“Sweet throw man!” he said. I felt ecstatic; I had never really chucked a disc before, let alone that accurately! Even today, it’s a struggle to think of anything as satisfying as throwing the perfect disc.

“Hey wait up,” the guy said with a smile. “We’ll be at the societies fair today, you should drop by. There’s also a throwaround in the Paddock at 3 tomorrow; we’d love you to come along if you’re free.”

This was my introduction to DCU: they seemed a warm, chilled-out group. At this time I had no idea what ultimate was, was it even a real sport? As I stepped into the fair later that day I easily spotted the same guys around a desk adorned in their stash and headed over to them.

“Hey it’s the fresher who can throw! Join our mailing list,” said the guy sat behind the desk. “We’ll keep you updated about our great socials and training sessions. Or if you’re not too serious about playing, you can still join in with our casual throwarounds. Sign up, there’s nothing to lose.”

“Oh I just lost the game” said another.

It was never my intention to take ultimate seriously. I went to the first throwaround because I didn’t have anything better to do after having scoffed my share of secular doughnuts at Keith’s Cafe. Fortunately it was a lot of fun and I got to know a lot of the team. Before long I was at my first training session, playing my first match and hanging out in my first pub social with the others. I quickly learnt that DCU was a close knit bunch of people who shared similar interests.

As the weeks rolled on, more and more freshers started joining DCU and we built a strong group of friends. DCU was a whole new social circle with a lot of friendly faces from every year in college. At the pub I’d enjoy sitting with the 4th year engineers, 3rd year mathmos and 2nd year natscis and indulge in their geeky humour. On Saturday evenings the DCU freshers would sit together for a cheeky serving of Doctor Who. The social scene was really vibrant and we enjoyed various gatherings such as DCU Open Mic, Come Dine With DCU, GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen) Night and DUFFMen: our own light-hearted drinking society. The DCU Annual Dinner was a merry and rowdy affair, but nothing compared to the DCU Tour of Hamburg!

Anyway, back to business: we the DCU freshers had been adequately trained and we felt ready by Easter Term. Some of us had started going to Strange Blue (city/uni team) sessions and by Summer Cuppers we had enough skill and experience to field our own fresher team – Downing Gryphlets – and I was humbled to have been chosen as one of the captains. Seeded 13th initially, we battled our way through the ranks defeating St John’s 2nds and Churchill 2nds to finish 11th; the highest ranked 2nd team in the competition! (Our first team did really well, finishing as the third highest ranked college team, 6th overall) This was a remarkable feat considering we were a team of freshers and the other teams had far more experience. Before the competition we had all agreed that we were in it for the experience and for the fun; winning was relatively unimportant. The camaraderie we built in the team was incredible and we all supported each other throughout. I literally can’t describe the feeling in the English language, but I believe the Dutch have a beautiful word for it: “gezellig”.

And that is what DCU has been for me this past year, truly gezellig. Joining DCU has been by far the best thing I have done in my first year at Downing. I have learnt a new exciting sport to a good level, made a lot of amazing friends but most importantly I have had a lot of fun.

DCU is going through a really exciting phase at the moment. As the other teams in College League lose their older players, we have built our squad on fresh faces and look to build an even stronger team this year. Our focus on recruiting enthusiastic freshers means that we are consistently improving each year, while the other teams fall as rapidly as they rise. Over the next two years we are realistically looking to cement our place as the top college team in Cambridge, but for this we need to keep up the intake of keen enthusiastic freshers. We want you to be a part of it.

FAQs

"How hard is it to pick up ultimate?”

Ultimate is quite easy to get the hang of; all it takes is any kind of hand-eye coordination, fitness and general concept of how team sports work (if you can catch a cold, you can catch a disc). Even if you’ve never done any sport in your life before there’s no need to worry! One of the best things about DCU is that we are welcome to players of all ability. Within our society we have people ranging from beginners, in it for the fun and exercise, to more serious players like the university squad captain himself! Heck, some of the “social players” don’t even play but attend the various social events religiously!

“But I can’t throw, run or exercise!”

Don’t worry, we don’t mind! Most people who are genuinely in this position at the start of the year, through patience and coaching develop into good ultimate players. Also, you’ll get fitter, your confidence will increase and you’ll make a lot of really good friends along the way! If you put in the effort, you’ll be surprised at what you CAN do and we’ll support you all the way. Seriously, a lot of us have been there, done that. Some people learn how to throw in one day, some people learn in one month. However long it takes, you will get there and we will be there to help you progress!

“DCU isn’t for me. I want to do a proper competitive sport at a high level.”

Ultimate is a relatively new sport but is quickly gaining recognition, especially as a university sport. It is now officially recognised by BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport). If you have any doubts about the standard of our game, you should take a look at our more experienced players who play at university and club level! Should you want to take Ultimate further, this option will always be open to you. At DCU we formally train twice a week with matches at the weekend. On top of that we spend countless hours practising throws or indulging in some pickup. If you decide to go to Strange Blue (university/club) training sessions, there are weekly fitness sessions, sprint sessions, training sessions, indoor sessions, throwing sessions and more pickup. Be warned, this can be a massive commitment!

However with DCU you can be flexible. We won't make you get up at 5am to train in the cold. We won't make you play matches you don't sign up for or come to every training session. You choose the level of commitment and the hours you put in. We'll love you all the same :)

Go on, you have nothing to lose but so much to gain!

See you around, freshers! :)

https://www.facebook.com/DowningCollegeUlti