The sports of summer are in full swing

Illustration by Emily Hsu

With summer here, favorite summer sports are starting again by Bellevue College students. There are a wide variety of summer sports to play.

Ultimate frisbee, swimming, whiffle ball and rugby are just some of the many sports played outside in the sun.

“Ultimate frisbee is a game that was made to be played during the summer,” upcoming freshman Carson Wilson said. For those who don’t exactly know what ultimate Frisbee is “…you play it almost like a soccer game and a football game combined,” Wilson said.

A player can only take two steps with the Frisbee before they have to throw it to another teammate. If the other team hits it down then it’s their frisbee and they are on offense.

The way to score is by throwing it to a teammate who catches it in the end zone.

“It’s such a high-paced game if played right, and it’s a good workout, especially playing in the sun,” Wilson said. Swimming is another sport that many people enjoy during the hot days of summer at the beach, at the lake, in a pool, etc.

“I like it because it’s refreshing when it’s hot out while also providing good exercise,” said sophomore Tasha Hartwig. Mat Luebbers, an About.com guide, even said that if you do a bunch of different strokes, swimming practically works every muscle in your body.

Sophomore Katrina Cranford also agreed, saying that it is really refreshing because swimming cools you off when it’s hot.

Another sport that is “…perfect for summer is whiffle ball,” incoming freshman Matt Eichler said. Whiffle ball is a hybrid game of baseball; players use a lighter ball that has holes in it and a longer, skinner bat that is also very light.

“The reason why I love playing whiffle ball in the summer is because when the summer breeze starts to pick up the pitcher can throw some nasty stuff,” Eichler said.

Eichler explained that he and his friends will go as far as setting up a fence so that they could have legitimate home runs; heal so said that they would have bases and actual base paths. “We sometimes will even play late into thenight; I’m talking like one or two in the morning.

We setup three flood lights to light up the field and it works really well and it’s a lot of fun,” Eichler said.

Another sport that people enjoy outside in the summer weather is golf. Incoming freshman Sean Ballsmith said, “the best summer sport to play is golf. The weather is great and it’s something to do with friends on a boring afternoon.”

While Western Washington is filled with courses that are high quality and demanding, Western Washington also has a lot to offer.

“It’s great to kick back and just relax and enjoy yourself and the people around you,” Ballsmith said.

Tino Paophavihanh, a sophomore at Bellevue, said he likes to play rugby sevens. “It’s a different form of rugby. Instead of 15 players on a team, there are seven,” Paophavihanh said.

With only seven players it becomes a lot faster and the field gets a lot bigger. “I play it with my best friends who come back from college. It’s my favorite sport to play in the summer because it’s nice out; it’s a very fun game.” Paophavihanh added that if someone doesn’t want to play an intense game of rugby then they can always just toss the football around.

With only a few short months left in the summer, get outside and enjoy these and other great outdoor sports.