By Christopher Pimentel, April 14, 2026
A sport that is always looking to welcome new members, Cow Ultimate is one of Cal Poly Pomona’s club sports that offers a unique experience due to the community driven atmosphere and distinct style of play.
Ultimate frisbee, as described by many of the players in its simplest form, is a fast-paced sport that mixes in elements from soccer, football and basketball. There are seven players from each team on the field at any given time, and the goal is to throw the disc down the field into the end zone.
After a player catches the disc, the players are only allowed to pivot when throwing, and there is a 10 second stall counter for how long they can hold the disc. Though there are some exceptions when a player has too much momentum whether that be from running too fast, diving or jumping in the air.
The way the season works is that they spend the fall semester preparing and practicing as the official season does not start until the spring semester. This year’s season started Jan. 31 with the Presidents’ Day Qualifiers. Along with that tournament, the team plays a total of nine other tournaments around the SoCal area, according to team captain and construction engineering and management student Robert “Verse” Rommelfanger.
“So far we have played in five tournaments and out of all of those the team has placed pretty well,” Rommelfanger said. “We work hard and practice three days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and we are looking forward to the next tournaments.” Rommelfanger also mentioned the team’s success, despite having an inconsistent number of players since 2020. Instead of focusing on the number of players on the team, he said he focuses on the vibes and bringing the group together like family.
“I have been playing ultimate frisbee since high school,” rookie and mechanical engineering student Kajsa “Ember” Kalmbach said. “That is when I really fell in love with the sport but when got here and saw that there was an ultimate frisbee team I immediately joined.”
Each new player is assigned a name by the team’s captains before the season begins, but the rookies don’t know the meaning or why they were given the name until the end of year banquet. According to Rommelfanger, this brings the team closer together and adds another element of fun.
“If there is one thing that I want to leave behind or I want to say I did was bring the team together and make it fun for everyone,” Rommelfanger said.
He also mentioned that he couldn’t give away all the club’s secrets, as he wants to make sure each new player has the same experience as the last.
“Everyone’s name originates from a rabbit hole’s idea of thinking and connecting the dots,” Rommelfanger said. “Our other team captain Sox got his name because his last name is Anderson, and someone on the White Sox has the same last name and got knocked out the same year he joined. It is just fun going down the rabbit hole of coming up with a name and you can just get so creative with it.”
These nicknames are special to the players because whenever they show up to practice or a game, they are always going to be recognized by their nickname. Unlike other sports too, the names on the back of their jerseyalso recognize their given nickname.
Another creative aspect is each year the team designs a whole new kit for the season. Unlike soccer, these kits are made to standout and represent the culture of the team and CPP as a whole.
This year they have cow print shorts with two different shirts one with CPP’s iconic green and gold colorway, and the other is white with a muscular cow holding a frisbee in its mouth.
According to returning player and computer science student Alexander “Fleek” Lewis, the team’s name is Cow Ultimate because they were not allowed to use Bronco because it was an intramural sport and not an official sport tied with the school’s athletic department. He also mentioned all the other universities also have different names from their school mascot, such as Phantom Ultimate at Cal State Fullerton.
There is currently one co-ed team that everyone plays for as there are not enough players for the women’s team, but Rommelfanger believes having one team brings everyone closer together.
“We don’t have any tryouts and welcome any skill level,” Rommelfanger. “Most of the people that join is just a lot of friends that are invited out. If people stick around for long enough, then we have them sign up for the sport club through ASI.”
Every semester when club rush comes around Cow Ultimate is one of the first clubs there and one of the last clubs out. Always willing to stick around long enough so people can learn more about the sport and about the team. If anyone wants to join, they hold their practices at the auxiliary field across from the tennis courts from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and welcome any new people.
Feature image courtesy of Christopher Pimentel
