If you’ve been outside in April, then you no doubt have seen Choate students playing Ultimate Frisbee. Now all ham-fisted freshmen boys trying to learn how the game is played and experienced seniors flinging the ‘bee with mind-boggling expertise, can have the chance to participate in a school-wide Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. At the same time, the Tournament supports an interesting cause, raising funds for a visit to Choate by Tibetan Buddhist monks.
Charlotte McCurdy ’08, the head of the Alternative Spiritualities Club, coordinates the tournament this year. On one hand, she wants “kids at Choate to relax and just enjoy this amazing place for once,” but she is equally trying to make a grander idea of hers into reality. “I am still working to realize my vision of having Tibetan Buddhist monks visit Choate for a week to build a sand mandala, visit classes, and teach master classes,” said McCurdy.
In 2005, during McCurdy’s freshman spring, a senior created a free form Frisbee tournament. “I assumed that few of my friends would be interested in competing, so I did not put effort into finding other aspiring disc-eteers and organizing a team,” McCurdy said. But the night before the tournament started, McCurdy and her roommate, Nina Tarnawsky ’08, were tossing a Frisbee when a Chapel House senior recruited the two girls as alternates for his team. McCurdy said, “This team was lead by Alex Miller and Chris Danner. Needless to say, as a freshman, I was honored to be part of the Chapel Home Midnight Warriors who rock so hard and dangerously, they should take up domestic chores like basket weaving and muffin baking. The team name was coined, I believe, by Scott Mattoon.” The team unfortunately had only one victory—against a team of inexperienced Mem House boys. McCurdy attributed the Midnight Warriors’ poor performance to the team’s absolute lack of practice. Despite the dismal performance, McCurdy said, “the whole tournament was epically fun.”
For the past few years, though, bored Choaties at loose ends have had not had another such chance to relieve their boredom, as the tournament has not happened since that memorable spring of 2005. McCurdy decided to fill this gap in entertainment. She hopes that the tournament will be a permanent event in the spring term at Choate for years to come. She proudly proclaimed, “Now it is my turn to take up the mantle and pass on a tradition that formed a highlight of my freshman year.” For this tournament to be an overall success, McCurdy wants it “to get the Choate student body excited about the [Tibetan monks’] visit while also offering an outlet for fun and relaxation.” McCurdy believes that “Choate can be a happier, more spiritually healthy place; we just have to make it that way.” And she hopes that this year’s Ultimate Frisbee Tournament will help.
