GUNX Ultimate Frisbee Club Fosters Community

In the current age of competitive college sports, where stakes are high and victories are essential, the importance of winning sometimes overshadows the fun of playing. Standing in the face of this mentality is GUNX Ultimate, SUNY New Paltz’s long-running ultimate frisbee club team, who successfully balances the demands of winning with the importance of simply having a good time. 

“It’s the most inclusive, down-to-earth community that I’ve ever seen, especially when it comes to sports,” said third-year graphic design major and team captain Ethan Gravel. 

GUNX Ultimate, SUNY New Paltz’s only ultimate frisbee team, is best defined by its sense of community. Openly proud of their inclusivity, the team is available to join for all SUNY New Paltz affiliates, from undergraduate and graduate students to professors. Prior frisbee experience is also not needed, just the desire to learn.

Beyond their weekly practices and games, team members will frequently spend time together off the field by studying, throwing parties or simply hanging out. They even have an annual end of the fall season celebration called Gunxgiving, where everyone gathers for a friendly game, receives achievement awards and celebrates the season as a whole. 

“Every one of the people on the team, these are all my friends,” Gravel said. “It’s just such a nice, cute little family.”

But GUNX is about more than just good vibes; they also always come to win. Despite technically losing both major tournaments they participated in during the fall, GUNX was never defeated. 

In their first tournament in Westfield, MA, the team never lost but didn’t win overall due to another team having a larger total point differential for their wins, which was how the tournament was scored.

In their second tournament at Vassar College, GUNX stayed undefeated, making it to the final game. However, an unexpected injury to the team’s spirit captain, Jamie Drury, led to the game being canceled. 

“I ran into the end zone to get into the open space, and I think there was just kind of a miscommunication. One of our other teammates was on the other side of the end zone, and when I was running, he and his defender collided, and then he ended up on the ground. In order to not step on his head, I kind of tripped over him, and I tried to catch myself, and then I dislocated my elbow,” said Drury, a fourth-year psychology major. 

By the time paramedics arrived on the scene and Drury was safely taken away, enough time had passed that the game needed to be called off.

Showing how much of a tight-knit community GUNX is, the whole team has been around to help Drury through her healing process.

“After I hurt myself, I had like 20 people reaching out to me, being like, ‘If there’s anything you need, [ask],’ and they’ve been following through on that,” Drury said. “I can’t drive right now, so people have been driving me to Poughkeepsie for doctor’s appointments.” 

For anyone interested in joining the team in time for the spring season, GUNX can be reached out to through their Instagram @npultimate. “You can be unathletic. We don’t care at all. The more, the merrier, truly,” Gravel said.