Elephantitis, informally known as Titis, is a long-standing tradition for Grinnell’s ultimate frisbee team that gives new players a chance to play competitively and learn more about the sport. This year’s tournament, held on Sept. 14 and 15, was the first time students played against alumni, as well as other frisbee teams in Iowa.
“We call it a learning tournament because for people who are brand new, like me, it was a good opportunity to learn,” said Fionn Riley `28. “You gain something from playing other schools and other teams.”
During this year’s tournament, the Grinneleanor Roosevelts (Svelts), the women’s and non-binary team, played on MacEachron (Mac) Field, and the Grinnellephants, the predominantly male team, rented out the Grinnell-Newburg Middle School field. The lack of referees is a prominent feature at these games, which the teams call the “spirit of the game.”
“The notion of the spirit of the game is if there are any fouls or calls, we solve that by talking to the other team, ” said Jeronimo Camargo Ochoa `25, one of three Grinnellephants captains. “We recognize their ability to play the game, their ability to respect the game and them wanting us to improve as much as we do.”
Adding on to Camargo, Danielle Rogers `28 said, “It’s very interesting in the way that it is collaborative and team-driven. It shapes the flow of the game.”
Grinnellephants President Niko Vamvakides `27 said that he also finds this collaboration to be a good lesson for the team. “The whole sport is basically built on being able to talk things out and understand where everyone is coming from,” he said.
Ultimate frisbee’s community-oriented culture drew many Grinnell students towards both teams.
“I stayed on the team because the people are so much fun and it’s a cool opportunity to get outside and take a break from work and things,” said Adella Catanzaro `27, Svelts president. “It’s fun to have an excuse to hang out with them.”
Vamvakides agreed with Catanzaro’s sentiment, adding that frisbee continues to be an encouraging community for him. “The willingness to teach from everybody on the team and to make people feel welcome is a big part of why the team’s so successful,” he said.
As an open frisbee team, people can join without any expectations to show up to every practice.
“There’s people who show up every once in a while just to hang out with their friends and run around,” said Ben Shulman `26, Grinnellephants captain. “Others lift outside of practice.”
The open frisbee team usually splits into two squads during the spring semester, the travel squad and the campus squad. The travel squad is for students who want to play more competitively.
“In the spring, the travel squad is for people that want to go to more tournaments and want to be more serious at frisbee,” said Felix Benardo `25. “They try to win regionals and sectionals to gain a bid for nationals.”
When asked to describe the team in three words, “supportive,” “funny” and “energetic” were the most repeated answers by team members. They spoke of the team being full of unique people all contributing to make a comfortable environment.
“I have never interacted with a group of people who are so wholeheartedly and unabashedly committed to an inclusive community,” said Shulman. “It’s [a] pretty radically goofy place, especially when people get to be unapologetically themselves.”
Any and all students are welcome to join their practices on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 4:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Mac Field.
