SPOTLIGHT ON CLINIC

Eileen Murray started playing ultimate in Tucson, AZ in 1993. After moving to Atlanta, GA in 1996, Eileen first made the Ozone roster in 1998 and played her first nationals in Sarasota, FL that year. Eileen played with Ozone until 2006 and competed in nine national and 3 world championship tournaments. After retiring from the women’s division, she continued to play in the mixed, masters and grandmasters divisions. Her most recent playing accomplishment was winning bronze with the Atlantiques in PAUC 2015. Eileen started coaching in 2001 for a high school boys team and has coached in the college, club and professional divisions (MLU, AUDL, and PUL) and was the head coach of two national teams (U19 women 2008 and WCBU Mixed 2017).

Coach Anthony Nuñez will join us in leading the clinic.  Coach Nuñez has a rich coaching background in ultimate frisbee, starting as a coach at Columbia High School from 1999 to 2011, where he once played (1994-1998) and contributed to 14 state championships, one YCC Championship, and one UPA High School Championship. He led Rutgers as Head Coach from 2012 to 2014, served as Assistant Coach for the Philadelphia Phantom/Patrol from 2016 to 2021, and has been the Head Coach for New York Empire since 2021. Additionally, Nuñez has been the DEVYL U-20 Coach since 2007 and boasts two AUDL/UFA Championship titles.

Marques Brownlee, known widely as MKBHD in the tech world, and who is also an accomplished ultimate frisbee player, will also join is for Founder’s Day. Marques has played for the New York Empire in the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL), where he’s known for his athleticism, strategic plays, and dedication to the sport. Brownlee began playing ultimate at Columbia high school and continued at Stevens Institute of Technology, eventually reaching a professional level.  This year he traveled to Australia for the Ultimate world championships, taking home the gold in the mixed division. Balancing his tech career with his passion for ultimate, Marques brings a high level of sportsmanship to the field, and we are thrilled to have him join coach Nuñez for the Ultimate Founder’s Day.

A History of Ultimate

Ultimate Frisbee, or “Ultimate,” began in 1968 at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, when Joel Silver introduced his idea to the student council. The following year, the first game was played using a Wham-O Master disc, with only the goal lines marked by piles of coats or nearby telephone poles. By 1970, CHS had a dedicated team, and Silver, alongside Buzzy Hellring and Jon Hines, established the first official rules. Columbia High School soon faced off against Millburn High School in the first interscholastic Ultimate game, winning 43-10.

Ultimate’s popularity quickly spread, leading to the first college game in 1972, when Rutgers defeated Princeton in a match echoing the site and outcome of the first intercollegiate American football game exactly 103 years prior. The game continued to gain traction, with the first organized tournament held in 1975 at Yale University, where Rutgers claimed victory. Ultimate was also introduced that year to the World Frisbee Championships in California, contributing to its growth on the West Coast.

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the sport expanded internationally. In 1979, the Ultimate Players Association (UPA) was established as the sport’s governing body in the U.S., organizing national tournaments. The first European Championship followed in 1980, and the World Flying Disc Federation was founded in 1984. Ultimate has since evolved into a globally celebrated sport with World Championships and appearances in the World Games. Today, 100+ member countries with over 10 million players worldwide, Ultimate continues to thrive, grounded in its founding principles of sportsmanship and community.

Source: World Flying disc Federation (WFDF)

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