DANVILLE— A major ultimate frisbee competition is making its way to East Central Illinois for the first time.
A 2025 USA Ultimate Sectional Championship tournament is being held September 6 and 7 at the Danville Area Soccer Complex on the city’s north end. Over 600 players and hundreds of other visitors are expected to attend.
Patrick Halloran, director of Sports for the Danville Area Soccer Association, said the tournament is part of an effort to attract more athletic events to the region. He mentioned one of the soccer fields at the facility is currently under construction for improvements.
“We hope to keep bringing folks back time and time again, just to kind of get a sense of who we are as a community, and how welcoming we are and how accommodating we are to have folks from all around come enjoy our great amenities here.”
Ultimate frisbee is a team sport similar to American football or soccer that uses a frisbee instead of a ball.
In a statement, Jacob Nuxoll, Director of operations for Illinois Ultimate, said the organization helped choose the site for the tournament.
“When I saw where Danville was on the map, I realized it would be a great central location for Illinois Ultimate to host this annual event,” he said. “Given the great support I’ve been getting from the Danville side of things, I am anticipating an excellent event that will have teams eager to come back in the years to come.”
Ultimate frisbee teams that compete in Danville next month will have the chance to move on to the regional and national competitions
Halloran said the tournament will also bring extra support to local businesses.
“We hope that it’ll be great for our local economy, with regard not only to hotels, but people shopping in our shops and going to our local eateries, and they can just explore a little bit of what what Danville has to offer,” he said.