According to senior Ellie Cook, the tournament is called the Madison Mudbath tournament and the team will benefit from the longer trip.

“We are going to the Madison Mudbath tournament on April 28th,” Cook said. “It’s cool because I think the whole team is going. We also get to travel together and it’s a really good team bonding experience.”

Ultimate coach Seija Stratton said there are many more things to plan for an out-of-state tournament, such as travelling and places to stay.

“Well there are a lot of logistics to coordinate: carpooling, hotels, overnight stays, and also mentally it’s more of a commitment because you’re preparing to leave Friday afternoon and you’re gone all weekend, so you have to plan ahead with your schoolwork and and social commitments,” Stratton said. “When we go on an out-of-state tournament we will likely encounter a lot of things we have not encountered before and hopefully a good level of competition.”

According to Stratton she has know about this tournament since last January and is looking forward to playing against the eight other teams in the tournament.

“I’m very excited for it. We found out about the tournament last January and we’re going to the tournament in Madison, Wisconsin called the Madison Mudbath,” Stratton said. “I believe there will be eight girl’s teams from around the Midwest and we will be playing three or four games each day.”

According to senior Meg Wojitasiak, the team has yet to travel out-of-state and she hopes the team will bond on the trip.

“We’ve never had an out-of-state tournament, so the whole team is extra excited because it will be a whole new experience. I think it will be super fun, especially in terms of team bonding and everyone being together for the weekend,” Wojitasiak said. “In-state tournaments are super fun too, though. Our team is friends with a bunch of the other teams that we play against so it’s always fun to play against them in the tournaments that we compete in every year.”

Stratton said she is excited for the the team to grow closer together during the tournament and the additional activities throughout the trip.

“I expect a lot of fun carpool stories: singing together in the car, getting to know one another outside of the field and away from practices and games,” Stratton said. “Yeah, I’m really excited and it’s also an opportunity for all three of us coaches to be on location together and see the players outside of practice, as well.”

Stratton said people should look out for the Girls’ Ultimate fundraising events, such as coupon cards and events in coordination with businesses in Park.
“We have been doing some fundraising. We did a large fundraising effort last year and now we’re selling coupon cards door-to-door. This year I’m not quite sure, but we’re planning to coordinate with some local businesses,” Stratton said.