SushiLog

(Photo from the Drache Dive Tournament 2010 with Ah Oh Puc)

When I first came to Paris in 2009, I had a hard time finding places to play Ultimate Frisbee, especially since I didn’t speak a word of French (now I speak about hundred). While it looks like there are more resources available online these days, I wanted to create an easy guide for anyone looking to play Ultimate Frisbee in Paris. Note that this information is rather time sensitive, so things may have changed since the time of writing (January 2011).

Pickup Ultimate In Paris (PUIP)

There is a group of us that play pickup ultimate frisbee on most weekends at Cité Universitaire in the 14th arrondissement (RER B or Tram 3: Cité Universitaire). In the spring, summer, and fall, the games are held almost weekly while they are a little bit more sparse in the winter and holiday times.

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The field we play on (map above) is right behind the main building in Cité Universitaire. Take RER B or Tram 3 to Cité Universitaire and go through the main building to get to the field.

The games are organized by e-mail / google group on a weekly basis and do not follow a regular schedule. Check on the google group to see if there is pickup that weekend and when or join the group and propose a time. Most likely few members (including myself) will respond within the first few hours with their availability or alternate suggestions. If there are enough people available, pickup will happen that week.

The field is nice, especially for Paris, but slightly small so the games tend to be five-on-five or six-on-six. The level is very casual and beginners are welcome as well as cleat-wearing seasoned veterans. Water is available on the field but bring your frisbee if you have one.

The group includes both French and International players and very English friendly. The organization e-mail may be in French but no one will complain if you respond in English (as I do).

Teams

There are a lot of Ultimate Frisbee teams in France and especially in the Paris area. FFindr has a good list of clubs in France.

I play (when I’m not injured, which is now) with the largest team in Paris called Ah Ouh Puc which practices at Stade Charléty (on the side field, not the stadium) on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings (depending on your level) around 20h30. They have multiple teams for players of different levels as well as women’s and coed teams. Players are mostly French and the operating language is French but they are welcoming of foreigners and non-French speakers as well (they do have an English section on their website, although it’s mostly broken). The season runs from fall to spring as the summer is reserved mostly for holidays and the Summer Love (more below).

If you’re interested in joining, show up to couple practice sessions to get a feel for the team or contact the organizers via the website. Note that if you do want to officially join the team, there is a fee (~165 euros for the year) which covers the practice field fees but not tournament fees or uniforms and a pretty involved registration process which requires a doctor’s note to prove that you are fit to play (which is normal in France, but seemingly bureaucratic for other cultures).

Summer Love

Summer Love is a Hat tournament in Paris starting in July and ending in early September. The games are played on a weekly basis, mostly on Wednesdays and sign-up is done through the FFindr website (I don’t know when the registration opens). You have to register early as there are limited spots and they do fill up. There is no fee for participating in the Summer Love. The details from last year’s tournament is available here. The level of play is not intense but not novice either, so absolute beginners may have a hard time keeping up. I played last year and had an awesome time as the weather is fantastic during the summer in Paris and the games were a lot of fun.

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