All Hail Ultimate Frisbee!

As anyone who lives in California knows, this has been the wettest March in a century We've had so much rain it's made national news (e.g., Northern California sees record rain (Associated Press via USA Today)). And this has inspired me to document one adventure I had playing pick-up ultimate frisbee on a day at the beginning of March.

Our regular fields were closed due to sogginess, so we met at the Stanford oval to play (which never officially closes). It was overcast and bit chilly (upper 40s) and the forecast said rain was likely. But since water wasn't falling from the sky at the moment, we started playing.

And then it began to drizzle. But we were already playing, and a little rain never troubles anyone.

And then it started raining a bit harder. But we were already wet, so a little more water isn't going to disrupt play more.

Then someone said he thought it was hailing. I laughed. "It's just bigger, heavier raindrops," I said. But then I looked at my arm. And I saw little pellets occasionally bouncing off. And I apologized.

But we were already soaked and cold, so the hardened ultimate veterans that we were, we didn't see a need to stop now.

Soon enough, it switched back to rain. And then back to sporadic hail. And then rain. And the continuum in between. And we kept playing. Playing despite frozen hands making it difficult to throw a disc. (Amazingly, some people kept throwing fairly well during this. But I was not "some people." :> )

At around this point I realized I left my regular shoes not in the car but uncovered on the sidelines. I checked on them and found I had a nice pair of puddles, flipped them over, covered them with a spare shirt, and continued playing.

Sometime it started hailing harder. At this point I decided I should've brought goggles. It hurt looking in a particular direction. Luckily, it went back to regular mild hail soon enough.

We called a game to five a bit earlier than usual and ended our pickup 75 minutes after starting, quite a bit earlier than usual. It was a good time to stop. My hands were cold. Really cold. When I made it back to my car, I couldn't bend my fingers with enough force to start it. (Instead I put the key between my palms and rotated my hands.) The car thermostat said it was still upper 40s outside. I took my shoes and put them beneath the floor heating vent, which I turned on full. Within the twenty minutes it took me to get where I was going -I drove in my socks-, they were dry. Meanwhile, the towel I kept in my trunk (Hitchhiker's Guide advice) happily dried me off well.

The bottom line? Playing ultimate frisbee in the hail isn't so bad, so long as it sneaks up gradually on you. And the camaraderie you get with fellow players is great. And it makes a good story. And if you have appropriate clothing like a synthetic waterproof long-sleeve shirt (as I did) and similar pants (as I didn't, but I did have shorts), the core of your body doesn't get cold.