Holly Schwartz made this catch at UCLA—2007
I met Gerry Lynas 35 years ago, and have always respected his creativity. But I never appreciated until now how much he contributed to the sport, games, tournaments and graphics involving the flying disc…which most of us call a Frisbee. So here is the last of a three part series (in Gerry’s own words) about his significant influence to this sport and recreation for millions of us. You can also see his video and two by others at this earlier post .
At 70 years of age, I play two or three times a week when possible in Central Park. Even though my arthritic body pays a painful price on the days after even modest jamming, I am still addicted to the many joys of freestyle and other disc games. I especially enjoy teaching young people who need instruction, small groups of neophytes, and kids in school, so I can spread the joy of this sport as widely as possible.
I have also fallen in love with the Aerobee, a flying ring that has been thrown 1,335 feet. This is too long a distance for the Sheep Meadow or the Great Lawn in Central Park, so I have to limit my throws to under 1,000 feet.
Gerry Lynas also creates disc sculpture
I once went political-environmental when I designed anti-nuclear stickers for discs that expressed my personal aversion to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, but I did not have the opportunity to use it very often. I did like the word play with “Let the Nuclear Freeze be”.
In addition to playing disc sports or creating disc graphics at every opportunity, I also love making disc photographs and sculptures.
Over these 54 years, the disc has built a family of close friends, an international community, and, for me, enabled countless encounters with friendly strangers from all over the world.
Gerry uses his disc to make short-lived sand sculpture that the tide washes away
In 1978, Krae Van Sickle and I were invited to a local beach to pose for the cover of Games Magazine. I couldn’t believe the editors chose a shot of me over one of Krae (probably the greatest player in the world). I even missed the catch as I was jumping from a tall boardwalk in order to have all sky in the background.
The beach is freestyle heaven for me because I can jam solo for hours with a wet body that allows for multiple body rolls and flying leaps into the surf. MTA (Maximum Time Aloft) throws are huge and so beautiful as they float back in on the constant ocean breezes. And, did I mention that the disc also happens to be the most amazing and versatile sand-sculpting tool ever invented?
“Circus”
Copyright, all text © 2010 by G. Lynas, NY, NY