Taking a Long Spin on a Short Course : Canoga Park 14-Year-Old Tries to Cap Quick Start in Frisbee With Title

Wendy Dushman is ready for her first big fling. Her passion isn’t as obvious as it might appear. It’s a toy--not a boy.

Dushman, 14, a freshman at Canoga Park High, is one of 17 qualifiers for the 17th annual World Junior Frisbee Championships at Magic Mountain today and Saturday. The junior division is for contestants under 15. When competition began, there were more than 1 million junior entries. The Canadian boys titlist is the only qualifier from outside the United States.

“When I first started throwing in competition, I thought that if I ever made it into the finals, I wouldn’t believe it,” Dushman said. “Well, I believe it a lot more now.”

Dushman is in her first season of competitive Frisbee. She was introduced to the sport by her soon-to-be stepbrother, Aaron Litwin, who narrowly missed qualifying for the world championships this year.

The pair train together for about two hours a day under Bob Litwin, who will become Wendy’s father when he marries her mother, Sharon, in a couple of months.

When it comes to Frisbee throwing, Wendy and Aaron think alike. They even have T-shirts to prove it.

“His says ‘Frisbee Freak,’ ” Dushman said. “Mine says ‘Frisbee Freakette.’ ”

There was nothing freaky about Dushman’s route to the world championship. She advanced through the community and sectional qualifying rounds by surpassing the required minimum point totals.

Her big test came in regional competition, where only the first-place finisher advance to the world championship. It wasn’t close.

“There weren’t many girls left in the competition by then,” Dushman said.

And there aren’t many left for the world championship, either. Dushman is one of eight girls competing for the title. The winner receives a $1,000 savings bond from sponsor Nature Valley Granola Bars, according to championships spokesman Goldy Norton.

There are five events in the competition: accuracy (throwing a Frisbee from up to 60 feet away through a five-foot hoop), distance (Dushman’s best: 62 yards), maximum time aloft (Dushman’s best: six seconds), disc golf and freestyle (tricks and artistic expression).

Dushman rates freestyle as her strength and disc golf as her biggest concern. “I played for the first time last week,” she said. “There aren’t any courses around here, so I had to go to La Mirada. It will be interesting.”

Dushman wants the world title this year, but says she’ll be back next year to try again regardless of her finish. After that, Dushman, who aspires to be either an astronaut or doctor, would have to move up to the adult division.

“The adult division would require about eight hours a day in training,” Dushman said. “And if I want to be a doctor, I’m not sure I’ll have the time for Frisbee.”

But this weekend, the time--and opportunity--is right for Dushman’s first big fling.