The South Lawn Shirdals: SLC’s Ultimate Frisbee Team

Christyn Refuerzo ‘26

23-24 Team. Photo credit: Christyn Refuerzo ‘26

If you’ve been on or near South Lawn on Friday or Sunday afternoons, rain or shine, then you’ve probably seen a group of students with a frisbee or two. 

That is “god’s favorite frisbee team,” according to the Sarah Lawrence Ultimate Frisbee Team’s Instagram bio.

In 2011, psychology professor Linwood Lewis saw some students throwing a disk on South Lawn. Lewis, who had been playing frisbee professionally for almost thirty years and is a champion ultimate frisbee player, discovered that a group of 15-20 students played ultimate frisbee unofficially. The group met on a small field, where the Barbara Walters Campus Center is currently located. They officially formed the club after Lewis agreed to become their coach. They competed in tournaments in the northeast for the next four years. 

The group hit a snag in 2015, when many of the core players graduated and the team had to go on hiatus. A new team was formed in 2018 with an increase in student interest and they began recruiting more students, with Lewis continuing to advise them. The team has regained its original roster numbers, with 15-20 students at most practices who are not only enthusiastic but have also ensured longevity for the club. 

In my conversation with Lewis, he said that he prefers to take a more “low-key approach” to coaching, hoping to “let the ultimate players generate their own team, because… it’s much more important that students are enjoying, you know, hanging out together and playing Ultimate.” 

During tournaments, there are traditionally seven people on the field at one time. Because the team is mixed gender, they try to organize people according to where they are most comfortable. 

They continue to compete in scrimmages and tournaments throughout the academic year, though they are often off-campus, since the standard field is much larger than South Lawn. 

So, why do you often run into the team on South Lawn and not in the Sports Center, training? Despite being a sports team, they are not an official National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sport, which is why they are referred to as the “Shirdals,” the Persian name for a gryphon. According to official rules, they are not allowed to have the gryphons as their mascot either, which is why they are technically the llamas. 

As the NCAA is organized according to the gender binary, the co-captains of the team were intentional in keeping the SLC Ultimate team separate from that institution as it is important that the players are players first, without having to think about how their gender might play a role in their sport. During Shirdals tournaments, the co-captains of the team will ask the other teams to use they/them pronouns when referring to anyone on the team, to ensure that no one is misgendered.

When witnessing a tournament, one would be able to watch most of their other traditions, which included shouting out a member on the other team who showed great team spirit, getting team dinner, and the team singing ultimate frisbee parodies when they scored a point. Their most memorable song was “We go together like shalala…” and their team motto was a call and response of “Ultimate! Frisbee!” and “Ultimate! Friendship!”

One of the co-captains, Grace Cabral ‘24, expressed that frisbee as a sport has this very supportive nature and it is not specific to Sarah Lawrence, even though the team is close. You’ll often find team members at theater and music shows supporting their teammates in their academic and other extracurricular activities outside of frisbee. When she toured colleges, Cabral found it important that there was a frisbee team, since she has been playing since seventh grade, though it is not necessary to have any prior experience to play at SLC. 

Emma Moorhead ‘25, also a co-captain, was completely new to the sport when she joined. She had a class with the then co-captain and Lewis, who invited her to play. She decided to check it out, hoping to make friends during the stricter COVID-19 protocols. At first, she went to practices to watch and understand the game. During the first tournament, she kept score. Eventually, she learned the game and started playing.  

Within the team, there has also been some reunions – Cabral and Zeke Ash ‘24 both went to high school in Massachusetts where their frisbee teams competed against each other. Cabral also knew Charlotte Hudnall ‘26 from childhood and invited them to join the team last year. 

This year, the team has a wide range of rookies and experienced players, and they are always open to having new members. They also hope to have a larger fan base, so whether you would like to play or not, join their email list to be informed about all of their upcoming tournaments. Their next tournament is on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Marist College at 11:30 a.m. (Also, The Phoenix’s own co-editor-in-chief, Simone Endress ‘24 is on the team this year!) 

“What I love so much about frisbee is the spirit of the game and is the only sport I’ve ever played, there’s an emphasis on having fun first and foremost and playing with good integrity,” Cabral said. 

To join, email ultimatefrisbee@gm.slc.edu and follow their Instagram @slcultimatefrisbee.