Sunday night at Tullio Field, the lights were on and athletes were running, throwing and catching. No, the football team wasn’t practicing. The Ultimate Frisbee team was.

They are practicing in preparation for the Halloween tournament this weekend at Grove City College as they will square off against teams like Edinboro University, Allegheny College and other area colleges.

The tournament is Halloween-themed, with each team wearing a costume. The Mercyhurst College team plans to wear Crayon-themed costumes.

This sort of tournament makes the sport of Ultimate Frisbee truly a sport about having a good time. This sort of attitude is what makes ultimate Frisbee a sport that is quickly gaining popularity.

This sort of love of a game became apparent as players hustled through an utterly frigid night as if it were a nice summer evening.

The energy on the field was truly electric when players not just from Mercyhurst played under the lights.

The game played at a nonstop pace, with players twisting and turning, trying to shake their defenders to get open.

Despite the constant motion and battle for position, the feeling on the field was of pure enjoyment, as players constantly joked around with one another, having a great time.

Ultimate Frisbee is a 7-on-7 game in which a team tosses a Frisbee up and down a field. Once an individual catches the Frisbee, he/she may no longer move. The goal is to make it to the opposing team’s end zone.

The scoring goes up to 15 before a team gets a win, as each trip into the end zone counts as one point.

Former student Denny Porter started the Mercyhurst Ultimate Frisbee club in 2005 and it has been going strong ever since then.

The Ultimate Frisbee team is now also part of RSCO on campus with a $300 budget.

Currently, the club is led by senior Scott Inman with sophomore Violet Fields doing most of the dirty work.

“Our club is a really laid-back club with players all over Erie coming to play with us, not just students from Mercyhurst,” Inman said.

The Lakers have already competed in the Skylander tournament in Edinboro this fall. The Lakers did not win any games, which are not the main concern at the time.

“We are really just trying to improve our skills right now as we have a lot of new players. The Skylander tournament is also a very competitive tournament,” Inman said.

“This upcoming tournament is an opportunity to just have some fun as we get to dress up in costumes, work on some fundamentals and just enjoy the laid-back attitude,” said Inman.

If you are a student bored and looking to blow off some steam on a Sunday night, go to Tullio Field and play some Frisbee with the Mercyhurst College Ultimate Frisbee club. It may just be the fun time you have been seeking.