In 2006, Beloit College achieved the world record for the longest continuous game of Ultimate Frisbee, playing for over 72 hours straight. A dedicated group of students sustains the tradition, practicing on Aldrich and Karris fields and entering tournaments every year. This year, the Beloit Ultimate Frisbee Family (BUFF) took their show on the road to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where they participated in the High Tide, the world’s largest college spring break Ultimate tournament.

After an 18 hour drive, students arrived at Myrtle Beach and checked into an Airbnb. The next morning, they stepped onto the field against other teams from schools across the country. Ultimate has developed a unique sport culture; most teams have choreographed bits and silly names, and as Keegan Petersen ’26, one of this year’s captains, put it, “everyone who comes to the tournament does their best to play the game in a kind and care-free way, but without sacrificing the desire to work hard at it.” For BUFF, “Myrtle has been an opportunity to take Ultimate seriously while making as much of our own fun as possible.”

BUFF played 7 games, against teams like the Dickinson Dumptrucks, Dirty Stall, and Snonkey S, and was knocked out on the third day. None of the students were bothered by their losses, they were just happy to play and spend time with the team. “There’s a particular sort of teamwork that comes naturally in Ultimate,” Keegan says. “With just a little bit of knowledge about how the game is played, there’s something intuitive about how a group of Ultimate players can work together.”

Even after the tournament was over, the week was full of fun. BUFF scrimmaged with other teams on the beach, ate ice cream, and watched Scary Movie while players tossed a frisbee back and forth in the background. The captains, Keegan and Liam Peterson ’27, capped it all off with an awards ceremony, where each member of BUFF was recognized for their unique contribution to the team. “Describing our club as a family is truly the most accurate way of talking about it,” Keegan told me.

For returning players, the High Tide tournament was a reminder of why they keep coming back; for newer members, it was an opportunity to connect with a group based fundamentally on trust and enthusiasm.

Back at Beloit College, as the spring slowly warms up, the discs keep flying, and the tradition continues. Support for BUFF and other teams are made possible in part by gifts to the Annual Fund for Athletics.