Summer Special : Unlimited Flying Objects : Fondness for Fun With Frisbees Has Evolved Into a Serious Sport

The flying disc is getting too old for this.

Thirty-one years old and still a toy.

Since 1957, when Wham-O introduced the Frisbee, a plastic, saucer-shaped disc with aerodynamic grooves and ambiguous instructions--”PLAY CATCH! INVENT GAMES!”--the flying disc has evolved from fad to fixture.

But can it negotiate the next step, from pastime to sport?

With its own fledgling professional tour offering as much as $30,000 in prize money, the flying disc has become popular enough that entire parks are devoted to its various applications: ultimate, disc golf, discathon and others.

Some even dream of it becoming an Olympic sport.

“So many people still think of it as a toy,” said Peter Bowie of Buena Park, who won the world flying disc championship last year. “It’s got an image problem. But I think of it as a sport. To me, it’s as demanding and as exciting as any other sport. It can be so many things.”

Much of the baby-boom generation grew up with a Frisbee or some imitation lying around the garage. Toy manufacturers supplied the hardware, customers invented the fun.

But because of its ambiguous beginnings, the disc has evolved in many different directions. Its popularity as a whole is experiencing a resurgence in Orange County, players say, but no one event stands out. And the effects of the popularity are scattered.

“The great thing about the disc is that it can be many different things to many different people,” said Fullerton College student Sam Ferrans, who holds the world distance record for throwing a Frisbee, 624 feet. “It has such a huge following. There are so many ways to have fun with it.”

Bowie, 24, a native of Christchurch, New Zealand, and Ferrans, 20, are among several serious competitors who regularly work out at La Mirada Park.

This weekend, many of the world’s top disc spinners will gather for the $10,000 La Mirada Open National Championship.

The events included in such tournaments have evolved from games made up through the years on beaches, playgrounds and back yards. These games include: ultimate Frisbee (a group sport akin to soccer), freestyle (tricks choreographed to music), self-caught flight (throwing the disc into the air and catching it), disc golf, discathon, cross country and tennis with a disc.

“You would think there are only so many things you can do,” Bowie said. “But it’s really limitless.”

And with each new event comes a new type of disc. Some are made for maximum distance, some for accuracy in flight, some for throwing only left or right. In disc golf, players carry as many as 10 or more different discs: one for driving, one for chipping, one for putting, etc.

“The discs have evolved to fit what the players asked for,” said La Mirada club pro Dan Mangone. “I started out selling discs part-time out of my car in 1978, and it really took off. The players learned that if you weighted the discs down on the top, it would negate the wind and give them more distance. So I started marketing those, and after I got laid off from my regular job (in manufacturing), I went into it full-time.”

Becoming a flying disc player can be relatively inexpensive. You can buy a basic disc for under $10.

Like tennis or golf, you can take lessons to learn how to become a good flying disc player.

“That’s something that has started just in the last few years,” said Bowie, who said he earns more from giving lessons than from playing in tournaments. Bowie earns about $25,000 a year combining the two aspects of the sport. “Anyone can buy a disc and go out in the yard and toss it around, but you also can be taught the finer points, the tricks of the sport.”

But the disc cannot escape its simple origins.

On the playgrounds, on the beaches, they play. In pairs. With dogs. Between their legs. Under their arms. Bouncing from one person’s chest to his partner’s.

“My mum bought me one when I was 15,” Bowie said. “I started tossing it around and found out I was pretty good. I entered some tournaments, won them and went from there.”

One day recently at La Mirada, Bowie was working on some of his tricks--spinning a disc on one finger, dipping it between his legs, tossing it into the air and catching it, all without stopping the spin. As he did, he talked about the sport.

“A lot of freestyle is finesse and showmanship,” Bowie said. “You start with basic moves and add little tricks.”

A novice’s play usually begins with a challenge: How far can I throw it?

“You’ll get first-timers out here trying to see what they can do,” Bowie said, smiling. “They’ll toss it around a bit and they might throw it 60 feet, which is good. But this guy,” he said, pointing to Ferrans, “threw it the length of two football fields. Can you imagine that.”

“It’s all practice,” Ferrans said. “There are some tricks you learn, but basically, it’s practice, developing the right wrist action and having the right disc.”

Danny Amelong, 9, was only 4 years old when his older brother came home with a knapsack full of discs one day.

“I live right across the street (from La Mirada), so I asked my mom if I could come over and try it out,” Amiel said. “I started playing disc golf and I’ve been doing it pretty steady since then.”

Amiel is so good for his age, Bowie said. “He can beat a lot of adults.”

Bowie looks at his young friend with a kind of envy. As good as Bowie is, he knows he is a pioneer, and pioneers blaze trails for others. Bowie talks with a vision about his pastime-turned-sport. Someday, he believes it can be part of the Olympics.

“I won’t be around to compete, but I hope to see it,” Bowie said. “I’m retiring to teaching next month. My competitive career is almost over. But Danny, maybe Danny. Twenty, 25 years from now, who knows?”

AREA DISC GOLF COURSES

Course Name Address Holes Central Park Golden West and Talbert, Hunt. Beach 18 Deerfield Park 55 Deerfield West, Irvine 18 University Community Park 1 Beech Tree Lane, Irvine 18 Aldrich Park Campus Drive, Irvine 36 Frontier Park Mitchell and Utt, Tustin 9 Twila Reid Park Orange and Western, Anaheim 9 La Mirada Regional Park 13701 S. Adelfa, La Mirada 27