The Rice Memorial High School Ultimate Frisbee team has started this spring season strong. The team has long been a sport offered at Rice Memorial High School. It started as a club but gained status as a varsity team in 2018 when Coach Darren Clas was appointed advisor. He now coaches with Coach Kevin Giron and Coach Owen Wood ’16.

This change did not come easily. Clas rushed to get the team on the official VPA schedule for the 2018 to 2019 season.

“We had to kind of raise money and get approval and go into the VPA to try to get a schedule,” Clas said. They raised money that went to acquiring their uniforms, something other sports teams don’t often have to deal with.

The team had to get past even more roadblocks, including only being able to play away games. Even after gaining official status as a Varsity sports team, the Rice Memorial website did not update this status until recently. This caused the student body to be unaware that the team was no longer a club.

Ultimate was also considered a male only sport for a while until senior Sydney Adreon joined the team. Clas as well as the players on the team considered it to be a co-ed team, meaning that male and female players could be on the same team. Since Adreon joined, other female students like Sydney Donovan, Tela Haskell, and Anney Black have also joined. Efforts have been made to attempt to create a female-only team but for now, the team will remain open or co-ed.

Numbers have risen, even from when Clas first started coaching. This year, cuts were made due to a large number of students interested in playing. Coach Clas was hesitant to make these cuts because he wanted to let everyone play.

Adreon has been captain of the Rice Memorial High School team for two years and started playing in middle school before becoming more serious because she enjoys the environment and the sport itself. She plays on a club team and has been able to travel and meet people from various parts of the state. Adreon shared that the environment of the group is positive and uplifting.

“I think my favorite part is the team camaraderie,” Adreon said, “It’s just like getting to hang out with a group of people I normally wouldn’t hang out with in the normal school day.” Playing on the team has allowed her to connect with people from other grades.

The team has a highly positive environment despite large expansions in numbers. They are setting their sights on winning the championship. Their next game is at home against St. Johnsbury on Wednesday, May 3 at 4 o’clock.