The high winds and morning rains could not stop 24 men's and women's ultimate Frisbee teams from playing in Ohio's annual Halloween tournament Saturday.
With the Ohio Ultimate flag flapping furiously, teams from Ohio State, Maryland, Ohio Northern and Eastern Michigan, among others, took the field to compete in the one-day tournament. Each team dressed in costume and played four games.
The costumes this year ranged from Boy Scouts and lifeguards to Cleveland Browns players. Ohio women's team member Amy Matsko said the costumes made the tournament fun and relaxed.
Ohio men's ultimate team captain, Blake Sousa, described the tournament as having a surreal spirit. It captures the essence of Halloween, Athens' most festive time of year, he said.
Despite the relaxed atmosphere, the competition was intense.
Everyone is still out there to win
said men's team member Drew Mikita.
Sousa compared the tournament to a competition with his brother. He wants to win, but also cares about the well-being of his brother. The games are fierce, but good-spirited as well.
Both the Ohio men's and women's teams found themselves in close games against their competitors. The experienced Ohio men's and women's alumni teams proved to be the stiffest competition.
The women's team lost to their alumnae, but Matsko said her team did not mind losing, because the alumae are just good.
Tensions ran especially high during the men's team's game against the men's alumni team, with the alumni eventually defeating their former team.
They were our best competition Mikita said.
Spectators witnessed numerous layouts, one-handed grabs, and -possibly the highlight of the men's team's season -Mikita completing the greatest to team captain Andy Horne. The greatest is a term used to describe when a player catches and throws the disc in midair, before landing out of bounds. It is, as its name infers, the greatest play in ultimate.
The high winds blowing through the area yesterday also affected tournament play. The movement of the disc became slightly unpredictable when the wind was under it.
The wind completely changed the complexity of the tournament Mikita said.
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Eva Grippa
