Coldsmoke Ultimate glides towards inclusivity

Picture this: “HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan blasts over the campus turf near Yellowstone Hall as an excited team booty-bumps each other during their final practice huddle. This is the MSU women’s Ultimate club team, Coldsmoke.

Ultimate is a non-contact team sport where players pass a disc in an attempt to get the disc into their endzone. Coldsmoke practices their game on the Dobbie Lambert Intramural Fields and aims to cultivate a positive atmosphere during every practice by building a sense of comradery that keeps the women coming back for more.

According to Allyson Bomber, a senior on the team, Coldsmoke's goals center around maintaining an atmosphere of inclusivity.

"In Ultimate there's a thing called spirit of the game, which means that you respect others and yourself. I think my biggest goal is for everyone to always be supporting each other and also be supportive of the other team. We are all just here to play, have fun and to win too," Bomber said.

Club President Jade Westrum, also a senior, said the passion and dedication of the team is driven by their sense of comradery. "The only reason I stayed with frisbee is because I love the team. We all love each other so much. It's like a giant family," she said.

Team members look forward to practice due to the energy of their teammates. "Everyone is just so happy to be here, so happy to just run around. Everyone is always uplifting each other so if I've had a bad day it is like an easy boost of my day," Bomber said.

Coldsmoke’s first tournament is on Sept. 28, and the team has begun their hard work at home. According to Westrum, the team is currently focused on helping the new members learn the game. Their coaches help run practices while the captains come up with practice schedules and drills.

On Sept. 11, practice consisted of a warmup that included varying cone drills focused on agility, power and speed.

Skill-based drills came next, with an emphasis on maneuvering around opponents, backhand and flick passes — which add a variety of movement for the disc to get around opponents — as well as trying to figure out the best border. A border is the framework of all the positions that the players stand in to pass the disc down the field. The last 20 minutes of practice were spent doing a five-on-five scrimmage.

The team's atmosphere keeps members returning to the sport, but they all had different experiences that influenced their decision to join the team. For example, Westrum joined the team during her freshman year at MSU.

"My roommate made me join freshman year. I stayed with it and now I'm president," Westrum said.

Similarly, Bomber also joined her freshman year and continued playing throughout her four years at MSU. However, her entry into the sport was a little different. "I got into Ultimate because I played it a little bit in high school. Then I saw it at Catapalooza and was like, this would be fun," Bomber said.

Ryan Connolly is a sophomore this year. Her parents introduced her to the sport when she was in middle school. "I just love this sport. The team atmosphere is really amazing. We just got a bunch of new players which is really exciting," Connolly said.

The team means a lot to its players. "Just the idea of running and frisbee might seem weird to some people, but it is really fun," Connolly said.

Coldsmoke can be found on Instagram under the tag @coldsmokeulti.