The Ultimate Frisbee club officially became a club sport this year.

The team started as the Desert Monks from the mid-2000s to 2015. After the members graduated, the team ceased to exist for two years.

“We’re just trying to bring it back, getting it to be more than pickup games,” said Bao Catteau, sophomore biochemistry major from Denison.

In the spring of 2017, Nicholas Winn, senior youth and family ministry major from Nashville started the ultimate frisbee club. Though Winn had no experience with ultimate frisbee, he said he recruited a few students who did. 

The team hosted one local tournament and invited three schools to compete. Winn said the tournament gave them a chance to test their capabilities before deciding twelve members was not enough against teams like Texas Tech.

In January, the team joined USA Ultimate, the NCAA of Ultimate Frisbee.

Last fall, the team had their first tryouts, increasing the number of members to 21. They then competed in three fall tournaments and three in the spring.

Winn said the increase in members presented the opportunity for an officer team.

The team hosted tryouts for this year’s team on Saturday and Sunday. 15 students showed up to try out, and about two-thirds will be chosen to be a part of the team. The goal is to have twenty-five members on the team, and they already have twenty-one confirmed members.

“I’m super excited to compete because a lot of our team is returning from last year, so we will be able to really hone in on our skills and hopefully win a conference championship this year,” Winn said.