PVSS ultimate frisbee team at BCs
It was a first for Pleasant Valley Secondary School as their first year ultimate frisbee team took part in the B.C. School Sports provincial championships on May 25-26 in Surrey!
PVSS athletic director Jon Koch explains the team finished in 16th at the tournament, which considering the team forfeited one game due to travel, just formed this year, and were the only team in their zone so they didn’t have the opportunity for any league play, was quite an achievement! Instead the PVSS squad honed its skills in tournaments and when it came to the Okanagan Valley playoffs, PVSS managed to claim second spot and a berth to the provincials!
The team at PVSS came about because a couple of Grade 12 students at the school who really wanted to compete in ultimate frisbee. “It is a co-ed sport with seven players from each team on the field at a time,” explains Koch. “Each team alternates their composition of their seven players between having three females and four males on, and then four females and three males.” He commented there was a lot of recruiting to get enough girls involved. “We only ever had five girls, and at times four girls needed to be on the field so the girls worked really hard and hardly even – and sometimes never – had any subs.”
The group managed to get a community coach, Jeff Samuel of Vernon, who has traveled and played in international ultimate frisbee tournaments. “He is heavily involved in the Okanagan Ultimate scene, and helps promote and get a lot of leagues, clubs, and tournament events going.”
“The coach describes them as great kids, and super coachable. With ultimate there is a whole aspect about spirit of the game, largely based on fun and sportsmanship, and our team was often commended for how great they were.”
Koch says PVSS became the team that others didn’t want to face (at tournaments they were often beating some AAA schools that have had programs for years). He added Kelowna Ultimate took notice and he thinks that five of the PVSS players are now playing in an adult recreational league.
The season is now wrapped up and players are looking forward to next year!