South Elberon Square was the center of excitement and flying Frisbees recently at Carol and Meyer Kassin’s home.

Michael Sutton, 18, organized the Beestock Frisbee Ultimate Tournament for the second consecutive year with help from Ralph Kassin and Florence Nasar to raise money for Hatzalah.

Rabbi Hershel Weber founded Hatzalah in Brooklyn in the late 1960s to address a need in the Jewish community for an ambulance service that understood its cultural and religious needs and to improve EMS response time. The organization expanded from being a basic first aid group trained in CPR and carrying oxygen to having over 80 ambulances and almost 2,000 volunteer EMTs in the US.

As stated on its website, today Hatzalah is the largest volunteer Emergency Medical Services and ambulance provider in the US, with numerous branches serving communities nationally and throughout the world. Because services are free of charge, Hatzalah relies on donations for funding, which is one of the reasons Michael chose to give Beestock proceeds to the organization.

“This year I shot for an older crowd,” said Michael, regarding the new 17 or older rule. This stepped it up a notch from being just a tournament to a legitimate event. Not only did Michael arrange the tournament, but he also brought live bands to perform simultaneously with the ultimate games. Around 7 pm, after the competition, there was a barbecue and more bands to enjoy.

With a huge playing field and 16 teams, there was constant action and grass stains on the tournament T-shirts designed to resemble the Woodstock logo. Referees Rafe Serouya and Noah Sutton had their work cut out for them as Frisbees whizzed by and close calls had to be made. After a tough match against the orange team, some of who were last year's winners, the navy team emerged victorious and team members Daniel E. Cohen, Morris Dweck, Eddie Hazan and Hal Sitt held their trophies proudly.

“All summer I look forward to tournaments,” said Eddie Hazan. He said that Beestock had everything from great competition, to food, to music. “When you think of Beestock, you think of bands playing,” said Eddie. The various bands that entertained the crowd included The Filthy Animals, Jobless Bob, Reality Addiction, Saka and the Balls, The Up Sessions, Woodfish, and Zodiac. Michael said he focused more on the music this year and added bands to last year’s list. “Live bands bring originality to the event,” said Abie Dwek, who played in Beestock.

Across the gate and literally adjacent to the Frisbee tournament was a high school tournament organized by the Rainbow Foundation in memory of Stella Liniado. “It's beautiful having back-to-back tournaments right next door to each other for different causes,” said Abie.

Written by: Yvonne Harari