1978
Inaugural Class of 2004
Suzanne Fields
Suzanne Fields
Hometown: Haiku, Hawaii
Born: 1953 (Age 70)
Career Information
Club
1978-1980
1981
1983-1984
1983
1986-1989
U.S. National Championships
1x U.S. Club Champion (1981)
3x U.S. Club Runner Up (1980, 1983, 1988)
World Championships
2x World Champion (1983, 1990)
1x World Runner Up (1989)
Awards
Cited in the Guiness Book of World Records from early 1980’s until early 1990’s as world record holder in indoor distance throwing with a disc at 239 plus feet.
From 1979 to 1989, competed in the World Championship Series for individual events, as well as the World Championships/Rose Bowl at UC Irvine and at Santa Cruz. Consistent top competitor in distance, golf, accuracy, discathon, Maximum Time Aloft (MTA), and Throw, Run and Catch (TRC).
Held various world records and tournament records in distance over the years. Consistently won the New England Events Championships throughout the 1980s.
In 2005, Suzanne "came out of retirement" and participated in the Worlds Masters tournament in San Diego and competed in distance, golf, MTA/TRC, freestyle , DDC, and discathon.
In 2009, Suzanne competed with Kapakahi, a team from Hawaii at the UPA Grand Masters & Women's Masters event in Denver.
Since 1996, Suzanne has competed with various teams at the Kaimana Klassik and finally was on a winning team in 2020 with a Hawaii and Atlanta combination team called Hana Hou Y'all.
Suzanne “Suz” Fields was one of the driving forces behind the establishment of a separate women’s division for Ultimate and the first Women’s Director of the UPA beginning in 1981. A classic thrower who held the women’s distance record at 239 feet for over a decade, she began her Ultimate career at UMass-Amherst in 1977 playing with men’s teams and went to the 1980 Nationals with Boston Aerodisc. Suz, together with Michelle Pezzoli and Louie Cohn, successfully proposed the initiation of an all-women’s division of play at the UPA Club Championships in 1981. Her team, Boston Ladies Ultimate (BLU), won that first women’s title. Suz organized the USA women’s team, Melting Pot, which won the first World Ultimate Championship in Sweden in 1983, played with various national caliber teams throughout the 1980s, and was a part of the first Masters Division World Championship team in 1990. A tireless promoter of Ultimate, she was responsible for Ultimate being included in the Massachusetts Bay State Games in 1987. Suz plays in a local league in Hawaii and continues to be involved in Ultimate affairs today.
Contributions & Service
- 1980: Flying disc League of Women (FLOW) – Coordinator for Ultimate for the first (and only) organization dedicated to promoting women and disc sports. Served through 1980 until the formation of the Women’s Division of the UPA.
- 1981: Organized Women’s Division of UPA.
- 1981-1984: Women’s National Director of the UPA. Worked to establish the division and organized first ever and subsequent National Championships. Helped growth of women’s division from 50 to more than 80 teams.
- 2004: Kathy Pufahl Spirit of the Game Award. As a member of the "Friends of Kathy," worked with a committee of Kathy’s friends and former teammates to craft a proposal to the UPA Executive Board to establish the Kathy Pufahl Cande Spirit of the Game Award, which was inaugurated at the 2004 UPA Series Championships.
- 2004-Present: UPA 25 Alumni Celebration at the 2004 UPA Club Championships. Crafted a proposal to present to the UPA executive committee to fund and support the UPA 25th Anniversary Celebrations at the 2004 UPA Series Championships. Served as Alumni Director and Chair of 2008, 2013, and 2018 Alumni Reunion Committee/Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and celebration. Currently, Hall of Fame Board member, Administrator for the Hall of Fame, and Chair, Vetting Committee.
- In the early years of being Women’s National Director, she had many opportunities to be a spokesperson both for ultimate and for women’s ultimate and was quoted in Women’s Sports and Fitness magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Newsday, and other magazines and newspapers.
- As a Governor-appointed member of the Massachusetts Governor’s Committee for Physical Fitness and Sports from 1980 to 1987, Fields was involved in helping to establish the Bay State Games and proposed the successful inclusion of Ultimate Frisbee in the team sports.
- Worked with staff at the Learning Center for Deaf Children in Framingham, Mass., to teach the middle school children how to play ultimate.
Championship Tournaments
U.S. National Championships
| Year | Team | Placement |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Boston Aerodisc Club Men | 2nd |
| 1981 | B.L.U. Club Women | 1st |
| 1983 | Spinsters Club Women | 2nd |
| 1986 | Smithereens Club Women | Semifinals |
| 1988 | Smithereens Club Women | 2nd |
| 1989 | Smithereens Club Women | Semifinals |
| 1991 | Ten Years After Masters Women | Quarterfinals |
| 2009 | Kapakahi Masters Women | Pool Play |
| 2023 | PerSisters Great Grand Masters Women's division | 2nd |
World Championships
| Year | Tournament | Team | Placement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | WUGC Gothenburg, Sweden | Melting Pot Club Women | 1st |
| 1989 | WUCC Cologne, Germany | Smithereens Club Women | 2nd |
| 1990 | WUGC Oslo, Norway | U.S. National Team (Masters Mixed) Masters Mixed | 1st |
