UPRoar, UP’s womxn’s club frisbee team, has made a name for themselves on the Bluff. In May of 2023 they competed at the Women’s DIII Ultimate Frisbee Nationals, placing third in the nation. This marks the fourth time the team makes it to the competition in the program’s history.
However, UPRoar is much more than their many wins and accolades. To the team members, it is a community of acceptance. Three students, Hana Elawady, Mallori Boddy and Charlie LaPorte, credit UPRoar for drastically changing their experiences at UP.
The Beacon:
“Tell me the story behind you joining the team.”
Elawady:
“My freshman year at the Activities Fair, they had a booth and one of the juniors on the team at the time ran up to me and my roommate and [said], ‘You guys need to sign up for ultimate frisbee. We're actually in a competition with our boys team to see who can get the most signups, and whoever gets the most gets to decide the theme of the party. You just need to sign up, you won't regret it!’ I didn't really know what ultimate frisbee was. We signed up and then they sent an email saying, ‘We're having our first practice a few weeks later,’ and I was like, ‘I don't know if I should go or not.’ But then I ended up going and I really liked it, and I stuck with it. And now I’m here three years later, it's crazy.”
The Beacon:
“How does being a part of the team foster community?”
LaPorte:
“Something I really liked about UPRoar is that they're super inclusive of gender queer people. Within the frisbee community, instead of saying, ‘Oh, that person's on a women's team,’ they say, ‘Oh, that person is a woman-matching frisbee player.’ I'm not the only non-binary person on the team, which is cool, so everyone's super accepting.”
The Beacon:
“How has being on the team changed your experience at UP?”
Elawady:
“I feel like it's one of the main things that's kept me at UP for so long…Oregon's different, I don't hate it but I don't love it either. Frisbee was definitely something that's kept me rooted here and has been my big motivation, even going through harder times. Now I still have this space where I'm accepted, and I have friends that I love and who love me and who support me. That's been a huge part of my sanity honestly here at UP.”
The Beacon:
“What has been your favorite aspect of the team so far?”
Boddy:
“The goofiness or just how silly the team is, while also being hard working. We'll be doing sprints but cracking up at the beginning because someone says some silly joke. Or, we'll be really down on each other, or down on ourselves. Then someone will make a joke and the tension is just gone and we're able to focus again.”
The Beacon:
“What is a core memory for you?”
Elawady:
“Going to nationals this past summer we went to Columbus, Ohio…We all wore business on top, pajamas on the bottom [to the airport]. So we showed up in dress shirts and ties, and then sweatpants on the bottom… Then upon arriving to Columbus, we were just,in the middle of nowhere. We got to our Airbnb and we were like, ‘Oh, the basement isn't built out, this is so interesting. And the one restaurant around us is a Chinese food restaurant, and the food does not look great, but we're in there!’ Then, also getting third in the nation was kind of the cherry on top of that.”
The Beacon:
“Do you think the strength of the team dynamic is what leads the team to success?”
Boddy:
“I think it is probably 70% of where our success comes from. The ability to have that emotional connection and be able to hold each other up, raise each other up when you're struggling or when one person's really not having a good day on the field is something really special. You can just take that moment and be with each other and then get out of that headspace and support each other to see success.”
The Beacon:
“How has UPRoar helped you grow as a person?”
Elawady:
“It's definitely given me that sense of purpose I’ve needed to just have a little bit more confidence in myself as a person, even outside of frizzy [frisbee]. I feel like having a group of people that you can rely on and that you know are there for you, it's like a little bird leaving the nest. It gives you the confidence to fly a little bit, which I know sounds really cliche.”
The Beacon:
“What is something crucial to telling the story of UPRoar?”
Boddy:
“UPRoar is a team of people who maybe didn't have their people before, or kind of felt lost coming into college, or even halfway through, and you find your people here even if you don't think you will. You'll find your best friends and people that want to support you, will never judge you, never compare you to anyone, and really, truly honor and cherish who you are as a person and want to see you succeed.”
Tiffany Marquez Escobar is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at marqueze25@up.edu.
