Exit 69, St Olaf’s annual fall frisbee tournament, took place the weekend of Sept. 28. St. Olaf’s resident frisbee teams — women’s teams Tempest and Vortex and men’s team the Zerks — host teams from schools across the Midwest. A lighthearted chance to compete with other schools and introduce new players to the sport, Exit 69 takes place right as frisbee tryouts are closing. This means all players on the men’s and women’s teams can mingle before official team divisions are made; the tournament is a sort of finalization of tryouts. Hopefuls for the teams, coined ‘rookies,’ are given the chance to play in actual games for the first time, and returners can reconnect with friends from other schools and get back into the competitive spirit.
The atmosphere on the fields was friendly and companionable. Leina Goto 24’, captain of Vortex spoke about the tournament: “In terms of actually winning games, stakes are very low — the focus is mostly on the rookies and their playing. It’s pretty unserious, especially because the tournament is literally called 69, so it ends up being a lot of fun every time.”
The women’s teams collectively were divided into two playing teams for the tournament, “St Olaf X” and “St Olaf Y.” The Zerks were similarly separated into two teams. For the women’s teams, each was divided equally with returning Tempest players, Vortex players, and rookies. A fun way to introduce new players to frisbee tournaments, and connect with other schools and their frisbee teams, Exit 69 kicked off frisbee tournaments for the year, and helped finalize tryouts and team selections for St. Olaf’s frisbee teams.
