Georgia Magazine - July 2022 - 29

professional sports, such as baseball and football, and
teams do not relocate to other cities.
" The Savannah Derby Devils will always be the
Savannah Derby Devils, " Edenfield says. " The
community can count on us. "
Ultimate (flying disc)
When John Boezi helped found the Atlanta Hustle in
2015, he drew on his own experience playing Ultimate in
college when it came to recruiting.
" I have a rule that everyone on the team has to be better
than me, " he jokes.
The Hustle, whose home field is Silverbacks Park in Atlanta,
is one of 25 professional flying-disc teams in the American
Ultimate Disc League (AUDL). Professional Ultimate, which has
its roots in youth and college sports as well as pickup games,
is played in 12-minute quarters, with teams alternating disc
throw-offs at the start of each period. Players pass the disc to
teammates as they advance to score by making a catch in the
end zone.
Like basketball players, Ultimate players can't " travel " with
the disc and often make staggeringly high vertical jumps to nail
tricky catches. And like soccer players, they are
constantly in motion on the field, running
about 5 miles in an average match. While
college Ultimate games are selfofficiated,
AUDL games are not,
which tempers the intensity and
fosters an atmosphere of respect.
AUDL games are a big hit
with fans, who can throw flying
discs on the field at halftime and
More cheering
opportunities
Many high schools,
colleges and amateur clubs have
rugby and lacrosse teams-in
addition to baseball, basketball,
football, soccer and many other
sports-throughout the state. Check for
nonprofessional events in your area and
root, root, root for the home teams!
mingle with their favorite players on the sidelines after a game.
The connection with fans is important to players like Matt
Smith, who joined the Hustle after playing club Ultimate at
Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and with the AUDL Rhode
Island Rampage. Smith also serves at the team's director of
player relations and youth engagement, running multiple
outreach efforts, clinics and camps for young people.
" I wish someone had told me how to throw when I was a
kid, " he says. " Ultimate is one of the most fun sports. "
Rugby
Football fans will find a lot to like in Atlanta's professional
rugby teams. The Atlanta Rhinos, which was founded in 2014 as
an expansion club for the USA Rugby League (USARL), this year
became part of the North American Rugby League (NARL).
The other pro team, Rugby ATL, plays rugby union, the other
variation of the sport, and is part of Major League Rugby (MLR).
" Rugby is a fast, hard-hitting game " that is growing
exponentially in the United States, says Amanda Windsor
White, president of Rugby ATL, the only MLR franchise in the
Southeast. " The U.S. was just awarded the men's Rugby World
Cup [competition] in 2031 and the women's World Cup in 2033,
so the U.S. is a great market. "
There are a few differences between the
league and union variations of rugby, says
Nick Newlin, Rhinos president. For
example, scoring values are different,
and league rugby has 13 players per
side, while union rugby has
15 per side.
Both, however, play a game
consisting of two 40-minute
Inset: The Atlanta Rhinos beat
the New York Knights, 32-18, to
win the 2017 USA Rugby League
championship at Life University
in Atlanta. Below: The Atlanta
Rhinos play their home games
at Silverbacks Park in Atlanta.
www.georgiamagazine.org
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COURTESY ATLANTA RHINOS
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Georgia Magazine - July 2022

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