ISLAND Pacific School is an independent grade 69 middle school that is located on Bowen Island.
The school's signature sport is ultimate Frisbee, a cross between soccer and basketball that is played on a field with a regulation 175-gram disc.
In an ultimate game there are no referees, players call their own fouls, and a distinguishing feature is something called "spirit of the game," an understood ethic that does not countenance cheap shots and bogus fouls, but instead encourages participants to play with a sense of class.
IPS students practise ultimate after school and participate in a North Shore league. They also regularly attend the largest middle school tournament in North America.
IPS has chosen ultimate as a defining part of its overall program because the central tenets of the game (fair play, personal responsibility, and a shared celebration of excellence) so closely reflect and embody the school's own core values.
The school's distinctive approach to organized sport seems to be resonating with many, as more than 30 per cent of their student population now comes from the North Shore.
For more information, consult the IPS website at islandpacific. org.
