The Bates ultimate team seeks to meld NESCAC competitiveness with the spirit of the game. To that end, the Orange Whip culture is “fun, competitive, progressing, community, family,” says Shipway.
Despite differences in the scale and abilities of individual club teams in NESCAC, “we all try to share the spirit of the game,” he says.
Bates plays in the North New England Division III of USA Ultimate’s college division. “It’s a really strong section,” he says, the top rivals being the usual suspects, Bowdoin and Middlebury. Amherst and Williams, in the South New England Division, “are also always good,” he adds.
This weekend they’ll find out who’s good, better, and best as the Orange Whip head to Hamilton, Mass., for the Open New England tournament, April 2–3.