‘Laying Out’ Ultimate This Year: Interviews with Peter Garbus and Kyle Bissell

With the weather warming up and ultimate season less than a month away, I was feeling fidgety. We’ve all been cooped up in the house for a year now, many of us without a reliable or organized source of exercise. So, on March 1st, when I saw that spring ultimate signups had begun, I knew this was my chance to finally reclaim a fraction of what was once my normal life. However, reading through the Google Form, I found very few details about how ultimate would actually be run this year. So, I wanted to get more information. After interviews with Mr. Garbus and Mr. Bissell, I present you with everything that I know about the upcoming ultimate season.

At this moment, there are no scheduled games against other schools. This does not mean the school will have no games this year, but only that Four Rivers has currently not coordinated any games or tournaments with other schools. According to Kyle Bissell, Four Rivers’ athletic director, “there is a strong likelihood that, sometime after April vacation, we will align with other schools in RVAL [River Valley Athletic League] and begin having games. There are currently only 4 RVAL schools, FRCPS being one of them, that are willing to play games this spring…” Additionally, there are two other RVAL schools that have expressed interest, but not confirmed their availability to play. There is a state tournament currently in the works, which will have modified rules of play and guidelines for players on the sidelines. Four Rivers’ participation in this event will be dependent on how COVID-19 trends continue to progress.

In order to mitigate risk of virus transmission, ultimate this year will utilize modified rules of play in addition to standard social distancing guidelines. Naturally, ultimate this year will comply with CDC social distancing guidelines, but there will be some additional changes to the way we play. One such change coming to ultimate this spring is that stall counts will now be yelled from the sidelines. Relatively minor changes to the way we play such as this should prove easy to adjust to.

It is yet to be seen how teams will be divided this ultimate season. However, as it stands, it is likely that “the middle and high school leagues and tournaments... [will continue to be] run by gender.” With this unfortunate news comes an opportunity for action. In the words of Kyle Bissell, “I want every student to feel welcome, safe, included, and challenged by our athletic programs, period. If we are doing something in athletics that does not yield those results, it needs to be examined deeply.” During our interview, Bissell expressed a willingness to support students in a movement to replace the school’s binary sports teams with gender inclusive ones. “We certainly could, as a school, choose to make a stand and not support tournaments that require gendered teams (State Championships). We could petition USAU [USA Ultimate]; we could only play other schools that were willing to play mixed gender teams; students could write articles to be published in USAU and local ultimate newsletters and publications; we could organize meetings with coaches and athletic directors from other schools to discuss this topic… I would love to hear from the students on this…” Bissell also understands the difficult position that having gendered sports teams puts on Four Rivers’ genderqueer student body. “If we choose to have teams that comply with the antiquated binary model, I welcome all… [genderqueer] athletes to choose the team where they feel most welcome and supported as a person, and challenged as an athlete.”

Four Rivers will be having its usual week-long summer ultimate program this year, but the dates are yet to be determined. Additionally, Four Rivers will not be looking for a new disc design this year. Availability of Four Rivers discs for those hoping to purchase one are currently being checked on. It is my understanding that the school will not be ordering new discs for sale to students this year.

Finally, a reminder to sign up! At time of writing, there are about three weeks until the ultimate season starts. Those interested who have not yet signed up should do so as soon as possible. The base fee for ultimate this year is $120, but you may be eligible for reduced prices if you qualify for reduced or free school lunches. The sooner everyone signs up, the better! This will give the school more time to plan teams, as well as choose coaches.