12 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 7, 2000
Premium disc chuckers travel to Michigan"
to determine frisbee golf royalty at the. D jsc
C 2000 world championshipsD

By Dan Williams
Daily Spants Editor
DEXTER - Lurking deep within
tie tall rush grass, Ken Clito
ecomes a sniper.
His anmmunition- a colorful lae
isighted Innova frisee disc.
1-is arsenal- a perfectly calirated
,liht arm that torques and flexes with
nechanical consistency as e deliers a
frisbee to a sighted destination.
His target --A metal asket, approx-
imately two feet in diameter, suspended
in the air y a center pole extending
through its ase As Climo zooms in hisi
scoping eyes further, he identifies a cir-
cle of chains, hangig just aoe the
is,swhich will cusion tlhe impact of
his flying, spining disks and allows
them o fall safely into the basket.
Clinso is the worlds disc golf pe
nom. He had been crowned world
chanmpion nine times prior to the start
If lassseek's championships, held jst
outside Ansn Aror, in Dexter
So Climo stood in those oergron
weeds seiing as rough, staring down
the fital twenty feet of the renosned
18th hole at Hudson Mill Parks
Monster course, hoping to cotmplete a
decade's wors of titles
As he prepared to attempt a make-
able pus, he planted his right foot firm-
ly as his left raised slightly oi the
ground behind him, almost like a balle-
rina. His alance was maintained, and
his eyes remained focsed on the soon-
to-e-sictimized asket
Clniso shipped his right arm, Iis
rifle, across his body atd released te
disc, sending it floating on a near-per-
fectly straight path.
"Cling
The beloed noise of a Successful
frisbee golfer - te rattle of disc hit-
ting can.
The Event
Bly cry plate and y Wnnebago
te810 est frisee golfers froms all S0
staes, a well as countries such as
Japan, Ness Zeaad and Sweden
descended upon southeast Miciani
last sek for she six-day swolcichampi-
onships.
I The toriament has existed sic
1982, hiss 2000 narked the first eas
that bohsthle amateur and professioal
brckets competecd in the sase cit.
Thistmads, head titransut ditrectsr
iStecelPeck ansd his stiff le yuie pi T
ins as epesrit i eet orh esratioss
is, grisup hailto an aeeihI t \i
sionisoI pitsss al isaneitis insi Ia
tuseonasix corss the iferIIencat
[5Isthai ti h
dnt c id Is', i 5 5 isc of
sleep"sa55iPeck. "I cn'twItfurleeels
peoce sitrast details

On Saurdy a Ip-m,o he cnte o0
the frisbeh gf-'wordws anISyear,
old -EboyfromOhionamed' kMike
Somamerfel-,iwo hd cse t -a
snsurimountablfve-sho ead inh
advanced amateurdivion
Sommerfeld seped otote e-
off area of the irs hl R udo
Mill's Originual cus - us ie hle
separating. hekid ithtelace
blond haifom hetie. S irerfi, -
was competly focuse a mode
HuLLthescee srrudg n-
resemibleda0rteu Dadcn4 r
rathser tanaspotng evt-th
crowd was ikeoegin ci rp
Many spcttos lpotete-yed4t
shirts, oftnticovr tipa'jttngber
hell. And hse gutscotie4epa-
sonw\ ith may fn'dr ig hl
sthey watche4 th golf. -
There wasnoshorage f iag
dogs, scraggygoatees orCamel ights-
Itwvasascenecompletely uiqueto
disc golf utmho f e h arm fth
sport lies In his-d back, emisve
atmsosphere it encmpase -
'It'stnoreforteblue cola gu8i
tie-dye andriped up jas, aidtour,'
nament directrAt , -ma
Andfrisbeegolf'sasoiation ,w
tnarianais ilt deniable,
On a regularda at a Course, it woud
he uinsurprisinsg to see players toking to,
"enahance" a routnd.
"Yeah, we have drug testing,' chided
one tournamssent competitor. "If-you're
nto positive, you catn't play"'
Hiss no onerightttup through the tour-
natisent officials, is apologizing fotr thes
cotnterCtultrCdiaC golf hats spurtled -
Thesaesygfsoitg attituce of the sporti
llows it to c foss ethn~ic:?ractil, -ad
socioeconppitc'lines.
"Onse thing Itlthik'disc golf hast h It
stick golf dlesn'it is the caimaraderie of'
Eeissg part of something nev:, adiassetid
aat~sesr and Attno Arhor residenst t
Crpesnter said.
lise frisbee gotlfisng communsity cuss-
sideesste sport's lisberality a positive, a
refreshsinig chsage frostsmore uiptighst
sporets.
The Experts
I'o th leIfiest ftoir days, playees cosms-
pletedel ieseoensir taually titittalest-
edl bsy sftcelsii io
pt Iis ci l s site fist, cI te o
I ts,, ;gitse i s .fi essl e
usual ste 5 ''tlit s th s.as tios ae
tilts, 5 5 isporte sit iteOaer-i
},et. slt i ,S ittle osi te i
slete5 e ely'esSIts iteentd,al
stile set stle tbt I ashs loisIs ~
larte Iproesfessionasl asci's finailstie
nussiseref si hadusswsc elledi so apprtoxi-

Bitt ChIissoshosseci to
signs of irritatsuinas he i
trekked towasds his disc,
sells a swsaggeso Iis step and a smsirk
asts Iisfice.
Thse frisbee sassassiss played solid all
iseek, asnd sent fronm approaching te
leader hosed, so sopping it, so domissat-
sty it.
Ross Russell, Wiho wonth le cosmpeti-
5teot its I999li tswartisngCi'issefiort
to swseeps te 901s --tiws sissysissce ot
of teessassissy.
Th ftcntiptes hig rest ci sssfsesiisos
ftok ht-5Iis Issistnal tt stee itsas esese
ci tittef. issef slespi ' hIsis ililttlsesssi st
fintish sacte s.issiess ;Iesi°se l-ssdccl,
Ruisethe lie si t is 1she sisf is
Set Iis tesith eli!ssT!011Aisltp v it -
slls~~ st a a iI ji l5:itekt tilrusl i as
hse pait edIitsssis ssi isk fsor s e
scoeeeof 04 issles pie essightsht t ere
thas sesisf lstlse.
lTis is pretty specsil, it es.goode
to asn isit hsack"( tisisatid. IHcetesslift-
eat ihs s is al ip teIsoarcds of'fais
solicitinigIis atgisrsiphsoss a shsirt ora
frisee sandsiexclaimieak,-"Tess, baby?" -

makes crisnee curve rigt
fur a righty.
3. Backhand roller -
Frisbee is released perpen-
dicular to the ground so that

arounct ubstacies.
5. Tomahawk - Frisbee i
thrown baseball style, caus-
in' it to turn over twice and
sail. Some believe it to be
hard on the arm tendons.

Colorado's Jay Rohrer, an amateur, winds up fur a standard backhand hyzer
threw, which causes the frisbee to curve to the left fur right-handed players.