Dawson Archer is all about growing the sport of ultimate frisbee in Mississippi, and this weekend he’s hosting an event he hopes will be the start of something special in a state he calls a “frisbee desert.” It’s why this year he turned Golden Triangle Ultimate from a frisbee club into an organization that seeks to grow the sport in the Magnolia State through tournaments and partnerships with other clubs.
Golden Triangle Ultimate and Archer, its founder and president of its board of directors, are set to debut the Magnolia Classic, a women’s-only ultimate frisbee tournament, on Saturday and Sunday at the Roger Short Soccer Complex. The tournament will feature all women’s teams from five different colleges in the Southeast region. Action on Saturday runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and finishes up on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Attendance is free for spectators.
To Archer, it’s all about opportunity. In a state where ultimate frisbee doesn’t get a lot of attention, women in the sport have even less chances to play, he said.
“I’ve created so much opportunity in the men’s space, both at the collegiate and at the summer-club level, that I wanted to be able to create an opportunity for women’s collegiate clubs that exist here that are pretty underserved,” Archer said. “Providing opportunities to all of our competing teams is really important to me, so it’s been really exciting to see on their end that we have other teams that are excited about getting involved in this space as well.”
Berry College of Georgia, Jacksonville State University and UAB of Alabama, Union University of Tennessee and Mississippi State University are all competing in the event. Teams are playing for “bragging rights” but will also all be sent home with some gear and treats from event sponsors.
“We pride ourselves on creating tournament experiences,” he said. “Working with Visit Columbus and Lowndes County Recreation, me stepping into this role has really made it more seamless to be able to support our players.”
Spectators will need to bring their own food, drinks and lawn chairs, but the effort is worth it, he said, because the sport is entertaining to watch.
“It really is incredible to watch the athletes compete together,” Archer said. “One of the most unique parts about ultimate frisbee is there are no officials, there are no referees. It is all self-officiated, so the spirit of the game is such an important aspect that just watching the competitors compete and give their all – if there’s ever a foul it’s handled very respectfully.”
Archer said his organization is eyeing another tournament in the spring that will have a much larger prize, but right now it’s about just laying the foundation of something he hopes will become a great starting point for future tournaments.
“This has just kind of been a passion project of mine, so I’ve been hoping that this is successful and I’m really looking forward to seeing how this goes so that we can use this as a jump pad to make our spring event phenomenal and be able to have that big grand prize that we’re hoping for.
“We’re just really thrilled that we’re able to get these five teams coming from their respective places, I mean all but Mississippi State (are) coming here from out of state to compete here, to come visit our great city. So, we’re really thrilled to be able to offer not only the (Roger Short Soccer) Complex, but also the ‘Friendly City’ and really live up to that and provide a tournament experience that really isn’t being done anywhere else.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
