STANFORD, Calif. (U-WIRE) -- Their A-teams are known as "Superfly" and "Bloodthirsty." They have coaches who have recently competed at the world championships. They are the men and women of Stanford ultimate Frisbee.

Collegiate ultimate teams across the country are known for their quirky names, and the Stanford teams are no exception. In addition to Superfly and Bloodthirsty, the women on the B-team -- and the top B-team in the nation at that -- call themselves the "Wild Rumpus," while B-team men, who went by "Bad Blood" last year, change their name annually.

The sport is based on a simple concept. With 14 players on the field, teammates try to score by catching the Frisbee in their opponents' end zone. However, this is made more challenging by the rule that the player carrying the Frisbee is not allowed to run with it.

Only 12 players will be returning to Superfly this season, but three of them will be out studying abroad in the fall quarter. This means that there will be several spots open for this year’s team.

"Don't be intimidated if you've never thrown a Frisbee before," said former Superfly member and current Wild Rumpus coach Heather Armstrong. "Now is the time to learn, and there are all sorts of awesome players and coaches at Stanford who want to teach you."

Despite the fact that the women's team graduated several strong players last year, spirits remain high for this season.

"Our lack of seasoned veterans doesn't mean that we won't be competitive," said senior Lauren Casey, one of this year's Superfly co-captains.

Her fellow co-captains are senior Enessa Janes and junior Mary Lyn Stein.

Superfly coach Gwen Ambler, who graduated with the Class of 2003 after playing on the team for four years, shares this optimism.

"The core group of returning veterans have all the skills they need to take the team far," Ambler said.

Bloodthirsty faced a similar situation last year, but still made it all the way to the national semifinals. This year, said Bloodthirsty captain Doug Allen, they hope to win it all.

Despite these teams' impressive records, they never forget that club sports are all about having fun. These athletes get no scholarships and have to pay for their own uniforms, so every player on the team is there purely for love of the sport.

"That's one of the great things about ultimate," Armstrong said. "Not only is it a challenging, competitive sport, but we have a ton of fun, too."

One of the annual highlights for the men's team is the President's Day weekend tournament in Hawaii. Team members sleep in tents on the beach, wake up for a swim in the ocean, have fruit and smoothies for breakfast and then spend the day playing ultimate against top players from across the nation.

After the tournament, they usually spend a week on the island relaxing, surfing and hiking.

"It's definitely the most fun trip I've ever taken, and probably ever will," Allen said.

This year, Superfly hopes to travel to Hawaii as well. But first, they will start the season alongside Bloodthirsty in a co-ed tournament the weekend of Oct. 16 and 17.

The two B-teams will first compete the following weekend.

Both the men's and women's teams practice on Roble Field. You can catch the men's teams practicing every Tuesday and Friday starting Oct. 1 and follow the women's teams practice Mondays and Thursdays.

As with many club sports at Stanford, no experience is required to try out for ultimate. They even encourage players to come for just part of practice if they have a class intersecting at that time.

Ultimate provides an opportunity for former athletes to stay active in a form of competition.

"I was a three-sport athlete in high school and really missed the team and athletic competition part of my life," Armstrong said of her time at Stanford. "Ultimate Frisbee perfectly filled that void."

(C) 2004 The Stanford Daily via U-WIRE.