Once the sun comes out, you can find multiple teams and clubs playing, practicing and overall enjoying their sports on the outside fields. One club you will definitely find on the quads is the Keene State Ultimate Frisbee Club. However, this past week the club traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to compete in the High Tide Ultimate Frisbee Tournament.
Ultimate Frisbee (often shortened to Ultimate) is a touchdown-based game heavily reliant on teamwork. Teams focus on throwing and passing the disc down the field, until one player catches the disc in the boundaries of their respective end-zone.
The main challenge is that the player holding the disc (the ‘handler’) cannot move, they can only pivot in place while being covered or marked by an opponent. The handler has 10 seconds to release the disc, or else position is given to the opposing team.
With no referees, Ultimate relies on the spirit of the game and honesty of the players to follow the rules.
contributed photos / tim smith
The KSC Ultimate Frisbee Club is open to any interested student, regardless of previous experience or athletic ability. New players don’t need to worry about learning the game or rules, as any and all veteran players will gladly teach them during the weekend practices. The KSC team participates in tournaments and scrimmages hosted by neighboring colleges, as well as tournaments hosted by USA Ultimate, a national government organization for the sport of Ultimate. Members of the KSC team are encouraged and recommended to participate in the tournaments, although attendance is not mandatory.
One tournament spoken highly of amongst the team is the High Tide Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. The High Tide Ultimate Frisbee Tournament, often shortened to High Tide, is a national tournament hosted over the month of March. The tournament is open to any collegiate team in America and is broken up into several weeks to accommodate for the varying spring breaks that schools have. Ultimate Frisbee teams are invited to spend their spring break week at this tournament. High Tide understands that Ultimate players are sacrificing their spring breaks to travel to the tournament and have focused on finding hosting locations for the tournament close by to popular beaches. This past year’s High Tide tournament was held within 2.7 miles of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The KSC Ultimate team has participated in High Tide for the past several years, regardless of travel time and expenses. This past year’s travel took 16 hours of driving and the long distance only strengthened the team’s bond.
The travel time was spent sharing stories, learning more about each other, sharing plans for the break and at times, singing. A fair portion of expenses are covered by the club’s funding but personal purchases such as food and souvenirs is paid out of pocket per player.
From the time we spent traveling to the cost of the trip, I can say it was worth it all. The team bonding during the travel is only the first part of the togetherness. High Tide is filled with respective players who all gather together to enjoy their sport. In the rare times that a player is injured, there will always be help, even going so far as to carry them off the field. The bonds that have been formed amongst the players are only strengthened when downtime is spent tossing a disc on the beach or unwinding after a long, active day. Finally, with these bonds and community, mistakes are always corrected and skills are always sharpened as teams cheer their players on.
There is also a standard registration charge per player, covered by the player. However, planning for High Tide is often started at the beginning of the school year, leaving ample time for each player to plan their trip.
The fees each player pays is in their best interest, as the money goes to registration for the tournaments, transportation and supplies for the team, and living space during the week. This past High Tide, KSC spent their week comfortably in their own two floor house, two minutes from the beach.
Tim Smith can be contacted at tsmith@kscequinox.com
