Bringing the ‘ultimate’ game to Seacliff Beach

With the improvements to Leamington’s waterfront over the past several years, Seacliff Park has become a destination for families, bathers, sunbathers and athletes alike.

Beach volleyball leagues have been enjoying the courts on the beach, and the new basketball courts have been busy since they were opened. 

Now a new sport is sprouting its wings — simply called Ultimate.

Leamington resident Ken Lasi says that the sport has been growing quickly across the nation and professional leagues are starting to pop up in North America.

“There are professional teams across North America,” he says. “Toronto, Montreal, Detroit, they all have pro teams.”

Normally played on grass or turf, Ultimate is played similar to American football, with a field marked with a distinct endzone, using a flying disc like a Frisbee.

A regulation field is 70 yards long by 40 yards wide, with end zones 20 yards deep.

Each team lines up on their end zone line and launches the disc into the air toward their opponents, who then move their way up the field by catching and throwing the disc. You’re not allowed to run with it and must get it to a teammate within 10 seconds in most games. The goal is to catch a pass inside the endzone, which scores one point.

Lasi says the game has caught on in Windsor where eight teams form ‘Windsor Ultimate’ and play on a soccer field near the WFCU Centre weekly.

He says the fun part about it — beside the obvious physical benefits — is that the game is self-officiated. There are no referees and there is a general code of conduct that everyone agrees to adhere to.

“People who can’t handle that aspect usually don’t last very long,” he said.

On Saturday morning, July 27, about 20 players converged on Seacliff Beach — at Lasi’s invitation — to try playing a game in the sand.

Although it had its challenges — running was difficult — the players enjoyed the backdrop of Lake Erie waves gently lapping along the shoreline while they played their favourite game.