1. What is Kawai’s favorite pre-tourney snack? (Anonymous)
Rohre: “Whatever the person next to her is eating.”
2. If you had three wishes, but they kinda had to be used for evil, what would they be and why? What animal would you turn your opponents into just for fun? Who on your team most resembles a Lion? Giraffe? Tiger? Tigger? Otter? Dolphin? Snake? Puma? (JTS)
Calise: A) Invisibility for bank robbing; super strength for winning sports; and then I’d wish for more wishes. B) Pandas. That would be super cute. C) Lion – Butters; Giraffe – Gwen; Tiger – no tigers; Tigger – Molly; Otter – Andy or Bailey; Dolphin – Mercer; Snake – Jill (she’s very lanky); Puma – Dom or Elle.
3. I coach a high school team in a small town in Wisconsin. We’ve tried, as yet unsuccessfully, to start a women’s team. My question for you extremely talented ladies is what drew you to the sport in the first place and do you have any suggestions on cultivating that passion in younger girls? (FK)
Calise: I grew up playing a lot of different sports – soccer (mostly), baseball, basketball (very poorly and sporadically), track, lacrosse, cross country – and I didn’t start playing ultimate until I was in college. We didn’t have a great team, but the people involved in the sport kept me coming back. So I’d say your best shot at cultivating that passion in young girls is to simply encourage them to play anything. Making ultimate available in a community that supports women’s athletics will mean that the ones who really enjoy the sport will play it for as long as they can.
4. How do you balance the rest of your life with Ultimate? Do you have recreational interests outside of Ultimate or is it too much time to the point where all you can do is focus on your career and frisbee (and maybe family)? (Zach)
O’Malley: I have a huge craving to learn how to play every sport out there since I grew up only playing Ultimate (since I was 11) and I also just love to learn/practice NEW things. In the off season is when I get to feed that, I sign up for basketball (Go Flatballers!), Flag Football, Bouldering/Climbing, Goaltimate, and I did soccer for a few years.. During the season, its all Ultimate, all the time. Oh and some life mixed in there, too.
5. Hi Riot! Thank you so much for this opportunity! A few questions. How do you keep player numbers at practice high? How do you balance insisting coming to practice and allowing your players to take care of themselves (work, university, life stuff, ..)? What do you do to keep everybody in the game even after your opponent scored several points and you’re trailing behind? How do you deal with expectations going into a game against Fury? How do you stay focused in those games? (Anonymous)
Nora: We’re fortunate to have large numbers of women who tryout, and everyone who makes Riot is dedicated and excited to be there, which allows for a trust between teammates. If people have to miss practices/events for any reason, we all trust that person to make the choice for themselves. Since we all have our lives outside of Riot, we understand that things come up or people may need vacation/mental breaks, and at the end of the day, we know that everyone is there to support each other and the team. It helps being friends on and off the field and scheduling fun times (playing ultimate or just hanging out) outside of practice and during the offseason. We focus on the process rather than outcomes, so the score does not effect this method of approaching our play…it is expected that games will be close and we will go up and down in points with other teams; we also spend a lot of time thinking about how to get into our “ZOP” (Zone of Optimal Performance), so we know what we individually need to do to keep focused when there are ups and downs.
6. My friends and I are trying to build up the girls Frisbee community in my city. How do you keep the community going once you graduate and cant physically be in high school to help recruit? I know this isn’t related to club but I thought ya’ll might have some insight. (Jordan)
Fiona: Coach! High school ultimate grows more when there are good dedicated coaches. Also, does your city have a YCC girls team? YCC is a great opportunity to grow leaders who will take their experience back to their high school teams. Also building the women’s community creates more role models for high school players! Women’s clinics! Women’s league!
7. Why is Gwen Ambler, a retired player, answering questions about Riot? (Uncle Craig)
Calise: Because Gwen is one of our most dedicated players on and off the field… and off the team.