Disc driver
Russ Lopez
During the first week or two of the semester, students and faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno and Truckee Meadows Community College might have noticed fliers recruiting athletes to play a sport called “Diamond Discus.” Russ Lopez, a local cabbie and photographer, created the game. For more information, he can be reached at 240-7454. He also has Facebook and YouTube pages dedicated to his new sport.
What is this game?
It's a game that I created. It's a Frisbee game played on a baseball field. I've worked it out. I have a couple of friends who helped me with it, but I have not played the game. I'm trying to look for people who are interested. I'm trying to get the best people possible. I posted [fliers about] my interest in getting some people involved up at UNR and also at TMCC. I haven't got a response yet. The game, like I said, is played on a baseball field utilizing a Frisbee. I've been throwing Frisbees since I was 10 years old.
There’s Ultimate. There’s Frisbee golf. Why do we need another Frisbee game?
I've thrown Frisbees at parks. I've thrown them on the street. But I feel a baseball field is perfect. The dimensions are great for throwing a Frisbee. … It's a noncontact sport, and I felt there are a lot of contact sports out there. Why not? Why couldn't kids use another noncontact sport? This game that I have created can be played in daylight and as a glow-in-the-dark game or indoors, depending on the dimensions. It could be a lot of fun.
Tell me the rules.
The rules are basically really simple: catch and throw. It's similar to baseball. There's a pitcher, and he throws it toward what I call a flinger, who is like the batter in baseball. The flinger throws it out into the field of play. If it's caught, the person's out. If it's not, the person goes to one base only, unless it's a home run play. I don't want to go into that, but basically that's all it is, catch and throw. I feel it could be modified for more experienced players and players who are not as experienced.
Tell me more about you. Where are you from? What do you do?
I'm from California. I moved to Sparks 13 years ago. I have a background in photography and graphics, and that's why I moved here. Currently, I'm working as a taxi cab driver. The reason for that is that even before I moved here I had a back injury. That's one of the reasons I've had a hard time finding people to play this game, because of my back injury. I can still play, but not as good as when I was a little bit younger. I still do photography and a little bit of graphics. … Another thing is that there are baseball fields all over Reno-Sparks, and a lot of them that I see are empty. They're not being used except for certain times. So, why not? There are kids out there who can't play baseball, who can't play soccer or football. Frisbee is just another game. Ultimate, what I know about it, is played on a soccer field or a football field, and you need a lot more players. The way I have this worked out, you don't need as many players.