Hotchkiss hosts interstate Ultimate Frisbee tourney

LAKEVILLE — On a soggy Saturday, April 20, eight teams competed in an Ultimate Frisbee mini tournament hosted by The Hotchkiss School.

There were teams from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Two middle schools competed against high school junior varsity squads.

A Lakeville Journal reporter watched as Hotchkiss played Amherst High School in the first round. Hotchkiss moved the disc with confidence, especially off turnovers, and prevailed 11-2.

In the end, Hotchkiss finished second at 2-1 in both the varsity and JV pools. Wooster School won Pool A (varsity) 3-0, and Columbia High School from New Jersey won Pool B (JV and middle school) 3-0.

Hotchkiss coach David Thompson said, “We were lucky with clear weather and lots of great Ultimate. Both Hotchkiss teams had a good day, each going 2-1 against solid competition. We all appreciated the mutual respect amongst the teams, and good, fair play. The Hotchkiss varsity team had 11 different people score points, and 9 different people throw assists; a true team effort.”

For the uninitiated, Ultimate is a non-contact team sport involving squads of seven. Players cannot run with the disc. Players pass the disc to each other to ultimately wind up in the end zone for a score. A turnover occurs when a pass is dropped, missed, intercepted, or goes out of bounds. Defenders call a “stall” when guarding an offensive player with the disc, and start counting aloud, usually 10 seconds. The offensive player must throw the disc in that time, or a turnover is called.

Ultimate is unusual in that there are no referees. The players are self-regulating, and there is a spirit of the game” ethos that pervades the sport.