Venus ultimate frisbee team enters new season in the 'spirit of the game'

A noticeable increase in popularity is propelling Venus, Penn’s 35-year-old all-women ultimate frisbee team, into a new competitive season.

At nearly 11 p.m. on Thursday, members of Venus made their way down to Penn Park for their second practice of the week. Coached by Penn alums, 2005 Wharton graduate Patrick Sherlock and 2012 dental school and 2008 College graduate Raha Sherlock, a group of roughly 30 women, many of whom are freshmen, committed themselves to a two-hour grueling workout. College seniors Alison “Truck” Elliott and Camille “Camjam” Jwo are the team’s co-captains.

The women’s dedication is indicative of not only the growing popularity of ultimate frisbee at Penn, but that of the sport in general at national and international levels.

Ultimate was invented in the 1960s and first arrived at Penn in 1976 with the birth of the team Void, which was then co-ed but is now all male. With the growing demand for a women’s team, 1984 College graduate Roberta Shields founded Venus (first named Zephyr) as a sophomore in the fall of 1981. The team’s success began early with its advancement to nationals in 1985. Such achievements have continued to the present day, the most recent being in 2013, when the team placed first at sectionals.

Clearly, the team has a strong competitive streak, as indicated by the success of its players in and outside of Venus. For example, fitness co-captain and College sophomore Anna Thompson plays club ultimate with a top-ranked local team, Green Means Go, with which she has advanced to club nationals.

Sherlock, a former player on Venus, went to the ultimate world championships this year.

However, despite the team’s success, Venus stands out from other competitive and club sports at Penn in that the captains and coaches do not cut anyone from the team, although in recent years, the women have noticed a spike in the number of freshmen with high school ultimate experience.

Coach Patrick Sherlock echoed this sentiment, describing the team as “very inclusive.”

Elliott, one of the co-captains, referred to the “spirit of the game,” a phrase referring to the value that ultimate places on sportsmanship. She added that community is a “huge thing in ultimate.”

College junior Emman Raja, an exchange student from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and a new member of Venus, described the team as a “melting pot.”

This sense of inclusion and community encouraged graduate student Monica Donegan to stay on for five years and College freshman Aubrey Luk to be “95 percent sure” she will continue with Venus until she graduates.

College sophomore and social co-captain, Sophia Simon summed up the team’s mission statement, saying “This is a great sport we want you to be involved in, want to teach you how to play, want you to love it.”

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