Frisbee tournament continues years of fun & success
CALUMET — Sixty years of history at the International Frisbee Tournament was celebrated by players of all ages over the weekend.
“I’m 12. I’m 10 turning 11 on the 14th,” said Hunter and Boden Salani, two players at this year’s tournament. “This is our first time playing and our dad played as a kid.”
“I’m 82 now and I’m nowhere near as quick as I used to be,” said Sky King Richardson, a longtime IFT Tournament player.
The Healy brothers invented the game of Guts Frisbee in 1958. The first tournament was held that same year in Eagle Harbor.
The tournament grew to international fame during the ’70s and ’80s. Despite a downsizing of the tournament that began in the ’90s, organizers say this year’s event saw it’s biggest crowd in years.
“We’re at 24 teams, it’s hard to believe, and now we’ve got teams from around the world here. We’ve got teams from Japan, a guy from Great Britain, a guy from Taiwan, people from Canada, and so it’s really turned into an international event,” said Tournament Director Jeff Foss.
The action on the field didn’t disappoint. Appleton Assassins beat out Carmelita’s to become back-to-back IFT Champions.
Appleton Assassins Player Joshua Tews said “This is the best feeling in the world, you know, this is exactly what we came here for. We’ve been working hard all year long to finally win. This is the grand-daddy of them all.”
The Assassins promise they will be back to defend their title again at next year’s tournament.