Games were timed, 5 on 5, and continuous. Competitiveness took a back seat to fun. Naturally, a lot of people left a lot of skin on the turf--including myself (from playing, not from shooting).

This was the fourth installment of the Seven on the Green Line series. The event began in 2013 as a fundraiser for one family affected by the Boston Marathon bombing. The turnout was so good at that initial tournament that organizer Scott Walfield, who teaches at University of Massachusetts Lowell, decided to plan more in order to support other local causes and charities. (Other beneficiaries have included a domestic violence shelter and a program that serves at-risk youth.) Walfield is already beginning to plan the fifth tournament in the series, which will support Toys for Tots. In all, the series has raised over $11,000 for these charities.

It was great to see such a big turnout for this event. I think these small, charity tourneys exemplify the spirit of ultimate, even if they are often overshadowed by the legitimately big, competitive ones that grab most headlines on SKYD and Ultiworld. It seems unique to ultimate that, one weekend, you may be watching a player compete at the highest levels of the sport, and the next weekend, he or she is playing next to you in a hat tournament.

After five hours of ultimate, Team Saturn was declared the victor, and everybody bundled up to trudge back out into the cold. It was a fun night--almost enough to make you forget that there was 2 feet of snow on the ground. Almost.