Whitewater warfare: frisbee is epic with addition of kayaks
Alan Fearns/Sun Star Reporter
September 4, 2012
Aboard the North Pole waters, a group of silhouettes float into a line and raise their paddles high for another night of Epic Frisbee. Anthony Mustered, founder of Epic Frisbee, has put together a sport combining kayaking and ultimate frisbee that gives fans of either sport a chance to experience a familiar game with a new twist.
“There is a technique that you have to get used to, throwing while you’re sitting next to the water, and that is tough sometimes, but it’s something you get the hang of and it’s different,” Mustered said.
The combination of sports opens possibilities to new techniques such a swatting a pass down with a paddle or turning opponents around right before they catch the frisbee.
Players utilize the remainder of Alaska’s sun to play Epic, in the pond at Lakloey Drive. August 28. 2012. Alan Fearns/ Sun Star.
Rules have been modified to accommodate the use of kayaks, such as allowing players to retrieve passes after landing on the water and a two second stalled tag that triggers a turnover. Safety is heavily enforced. A life vest must be worn at all times and ramming boats is prohibited.
The playing field is on 500 x 200 feet pond outside of Mustered’s home and uses two anchored 55 gallon barrels as goals. Games are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at the corner of Lakloey Drive and Spades Court. All are welcome to play and equipment is provided free of charge.
“It became a really fun sport,” Mustered said.
Mustered owns Alaska Dream Adventures, a business that plans and guides whitewater trips. Through the business, Mustered is able to provide players with a wide variety of kayaks suitable for all different body types.Items likepersonal flotation devices, spray skirts and straight and angled paddles are also provided. He has built outside changing rooms for the players and is currently prepping an area for canoe storage once winter comes.
“I had some people last week that were here from Minnesota and they’re all ultimate players and all kayakers but had never combined it and went, ‘Why haven’t we heard of this? This is so amazing.’ And the reason they haven’t heard of it and because it originated here,” Mustered said.
The word about Epic Frisbee has been slowly been spreading with visits from students from Kentucky and Tennessee taking the game home with them, and a new group being organized in Texas. The increasing popularity in Epic Frisbee brings the question of what potentials lie down the road.
“I want it to go everywhere. My family is in Colorado Springs where they have the Olympic Training Facility and if I can get them to start using it as cardiovascular activities maybe it could take off crazy that way.” Mustered said.
There are currently no plans for making Epic Frisbee available during the winter months.
“The problem with a swimming pool is its too small. Until I can find an athletic philanthropist with a good 15 million dollars to put aside for a water arena, probably not going to happen. It’d take a long time to recover your investment, but if you started making it popular, it could definitely be something worthwhile,” Mustered said.
If you need something to top off your summer of 2012, Epic Frisbee is an excellent way to squeeze out the last bit of excitement before it’s too late.
Posted by Alan Fearns
on Sep 4 2012. Filed under Features, Media.
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This was a very interesting piece on a water sport. Sounds really fun, we woiuld love to try it some time. thank you for good information. We love reading this story.