Upfront: Catch Me If You Can

Redmond’s annual ultimate Frisbee tournament takes contestants for a spin

In 1990 a handful of local “ultimate” teams (as in ultimate Frisbee) gathered for a tournament in a subsection of Redmond’s Sixty Acres Park. Dubbed Potlatch, after the Pacific Northwest Coastal Native American gift-giving ceremony, this skirmish was the beginning of an annual tradition that has grown into one of the largest coed ultimate tournaments in the world. At that first tourney, opposing teams brought gifts for each other—but these days they’re more likely to bring each other an open can of whoop-ass. Run by DiscNW, an organization that serves more than 3,500 players in year-round leagues across the region, Potlatch is serious competition (all teams must submit competitive bids and then be invited to play). But it’s also serious fun, and the camaraderie of those initial games is still in full evidence among the 100-plus teams—a third from the Seattle area, a third from the greater Northwest, and a third from well beyond—that battle for the coveted Potlatch trophy. Join the throng of spectators and catch the disc derring-do. 7/3–7/5. Times vary. Free. Redmond, Sixty Acres Park, NE 116 Street and 154th Place NE; potlatch.discnw.org.