Mission College counselor Marcelo Sanchez is headed to the National Ultimate Frisbee Championship in San Diego, again, on October 24 to 27. His team, the San Francisco Revolver, is no stranger to the event.
Since he joined the team in 2013, the Revolver have reached Nationals in each of the last six years, reached the finals five times and won a men's title in 2013, 2015 and 2017. The Revolver have won five of the last nine championships dating back to 2010.
"Ultimate Frisbee and the community as a whole has done so much for me as both an athlete and professional. At first, playing at the highest level was never a goal I set out for myself," said Sanchez. "Yet, it became a reality years after just having fun with my friends. Over the years I got help, learned from others, and have given back to the community by coaching. I have been lucky enough to travel all over the world to play ultimate with my friends and family. Regardless of win loss outcomes, just like anything else, I got out what I put into it and enjoy every minute.”
Sanchez has been playing the sport since his sophomore year in high school, 15 years ago.
The championship features 16 teams in three divisions-- men, women and mixed. Nearly 1200 players are expected to descend on the World's Finest City in late October.
The games are usually played on a 70-yard field with seven players per side. Most teams have two dozen players. The winner is the first to 15 points with games usually lasting 90 minutes to two hours. A player is not allowed to travel with the disc and can not hold onto the disc longer than 10 seconds, something the defender counts out as the offensive player is holding the disc.
Players "self officiate." There are no referees at the lower levels, but there will be observers in orange at the championships. They will be arbitrators should a dispute not get resolved.
The Revolver are one of the top two teams in the Southwest Regional, one of eight national regionals that make up the championship field.
This is not your recreational frisbee league. They practice in Walnut Creek and Moraga with organized practice for two, four hour practices on the weekends. Revolver is lead by head coach Molica Anderson and the team has two team chiropractors on staff.