Winter 2003 Ultimate News Magazine by USA Ultimate

ULTIMATE NEWS A publication of the Ultimate Players Association

Vol. 23 No. 4 - Winter 2003

2003 UPA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS! Ultimate Players Association 741 Pearl Street, Side Suite Boulder, CO 80302

Table of Contents

20 F

22 E

2003 club championship coverage!

4 20 21 22 23 24 13 14 16

Photo Gallery Open Division Wo m e n ’s D i v i s i o n

Mixed Division Masters Division Sp i ri t Awa rd s U PA C o a c h i n g C o r p s L e a r n h o w y o u c a n b e c o m e a U PA c e r t i f i e d c o a c h

Tribute to Kathy Pufahl Cande F r i e n d s r e m e m b e r a p i o n e e r i n w o m e n ’s U l t i m a t e

This Is How It All Began... Willie Herndon reveals a new Ultimate forefather

IN EVERY ISSUE

9 10 12 26 33

Seven on the Line News Briefs Youth Report Outreach Programs Player Profiles

Cover: Dana Green of Donner Party goes against Lisa Etchison of Hang Time for the disc in the mixed championship final. Photo by Scobel Wiggins. This page: (clockwise from top left) Furious George v. the Condors’ JD Lobue, Jr in the open championship final. Photo by Scobel Wiggins; Gwen Ambler of Fury throws around Riot’s Julia Gardner in the women’s championship final. Photo by Hart Matthews; Donner Party v. Hang Time in mixed champ final. Photo by Hart Matthews; Old & In the Way makes the catch in the masters champ final against the Refugees. Photo by Paul Neugebauer; Big Riot layout in the women’s final. Photo by Paul Neugebauer. NOTE: All photos by Hart Matthews & Scobel Wiggins contained in this issue are owned by the UPA, except the Farricker photos and team photos on pages 29 & 32. WINTER 2003

H A R T M AT T H E W S w w w. d u r h a m d i g i t a l . co m

(919) 416-6168 work • (919) 491-3395 mobile • hart@100aviators.com

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All photos by Hart Matthews. This page: (clockwise from top left) Fury v. Riot in women’s final; B+’s Jason Grove keeps it in; Hang Time v. Holes & Poles; Condors’ Taylor Cascino goes for the D block against Furious’ Jeff Cruikshank in the open final. Opposite page: (clockwise from top left) Riot moves upfield; Jam v. Furious; Schwa’s Chelsea Dengler goes for the D against Ozone’s Angela Lin; Donner Party v. Hang Time; Persuader lays out against Drive Thru Liquor; Jam’s Idris Nolan just misses the disc; Fat Boys get the D on Grey Expectations.

Durham Digital Photography

WINTER 2003

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All photos by Scobel Wiggins. Clockwise from top left: Ali Boyd of Rare Air against Fury; Brute Squad v. Bait; Condor gets D against Furious; Safari v. Pounce; Hang Time v. Holes & Poles; Condors v. Furious; An unidentified Condor tangles with Furious’ Mark Roberts; Riot’s Vida Towne v. Alias’ Mel Proctor; Donner Party’s Scotty Conway v. Hang Time; Jam’s Damien Scott v. Condors.

S CO B E L W I G G INS Ultimate Photography

ht t p : / / g la d s to n e. u o re g o n . e d u / ~ s w iggin1 7275 NW Mt View Drive • Corvallis, OR • 97330 • scobel235@aol.com

WINTER 2003

Top: The controversial final point of the mixed final between Hang Time and Donner Party. Hang Time’s Diana O’Quinn gets a big layout D, but the disc floats and Donner’s Will Sutton recovers it. The observers rule it in after heated debate. Photos by Paul Neugebauer. Middle: (left to right) Chain Lightning’s Jason Simpson gets the disc over two G-Unit defenders. Photo by Ned Coker; Fury’s Stacey Schoemehl lays out. Photo by Hart Matthews; Prime gets the disc v. Ozone. Photo by Hart Matthews; Condors v. Furious George. Photo by Marshall Goff. Bottom: Refugees’ Todd Demetriades v. KAVU’s Michael Lauber. Photo by Hart Matthews.

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Seven on the Line

What’s your pre-game ritual? My preparation for a big game really begins the night before the game itself. I need to eat the right foods to make sure my body is fueled for the game, so I usually eat a big steak or a large dish of pasta for dinner. Next, I get to bed early and wake up and get into a hot tub as the sun is rising and the world is quiet all around me. There, I stretch my body while my mind visualizes the game ahead in silence. I focus on one or two parts of my game that I feel are crucial to our success, such as man defense, non-clogging cuts or “seeing” the field of play. I’ll usually design a “mantra” that I’ll repeat in my head to remind me to stay focused and play well, and I’ll repeat this word later during the game if I need to regain my focus. Frank DeFazio Pittsburgh, PA HOSS Masters Team

I like to reach for nice two foot long Pixie-Stix, then chase it with a Red Bull!! Brandon Shank San Diego, CA SD Ultimate

In Super Bowl XXIII, Joe Montana walked into the San Francisco 49ers huddle with just over three minutes left, trailing by three, and 92 yards from the end zone. He pointed out to the entire team in the huddle that John Candy was sitting in the front row and said, “This must be a pretty big game if John Candy’s here.” While John Candy has since passed on, I always remind myself John Candy might be watching to give myself a little extra motivation. Heyden Pue Denver, CO Critical Mass

The “Coral Reefers” huddle around an over-sized UPS mailing box that bears all our signatures and the scores of our tournament victories. We slowly begin to bounce up and down while holding our shipping box as the captain whispers the phrase, “Who delivers the big, brown package?” The players respond, “The Reef delivers the big, brown package.” The cheer repeats over and over, getting louder each time as our bouncing morhps into tumultuous jumping, and with a final primal yelp, our frenzied starting seven storm the field. Dan Castillo Miami, FL The Coral Reefers

There’s a Powerade code; you have to drink the right colors at the right time...day before, copious amounts of red; day of, orange; after the game, green. Follow that, and I’m good to go. Alicia Morrison Durham, NH Flying Squirrels

When I want to get pumped up for the big game, I listen to the Transformers, the Motion Picture Soundtrack. Track number 4, “Dare” by Stan Bush, is the most inspiring and moving piece of eighties rock to ever be composed. Then I remember all the dreams I’ve ever had of Ultimate glory and how I am going to make them come true. Thomas Konneker Chapel Hill, NC UNC-CH Darkside

I think about how I would die if I could no longer play Ultimate and then focus really hard on what I want to accomplish during the game. Amber Sinicrope Amherst, MA Amherst High School Ultimate

WINTER 2003

News Briefs

H O S T A U PA E V E N T !

BOARD ELECTION RESULTS

The UPA is looking for host sites for its 2005 Youth, College and Club Championships and Series qualifying events. The interest and cooperation of fired-up local Ultimate organizations are essential to pulling off UPA championship events that are a highlight of the Ultimate year.

Congratulations to Mike Payne and Christian Schwoerke, the newest members of the UPA board of directors, and to Kate Bergeron and Jeff Dunbar, returning members of the board. Kate was re-elected as one of the at-large representatives, and Mike Payne replaces Jim Parinella in the other at-large spot. Christian Schwoerke was elected as the mid-Atlantic regional representative, and Jeff Dunbar replaces Dan Revelle as the southwest region’s representative after serving a one-year term as the mid-Atlantic rep. All four elected representatives will serve three-year terms starting in January of 2004.

Running a championship tournament with the UPA can be an exciting, challenging and ultimately very rewarding experience. Benefits include: exposing the Ultimate community to your little part of the world, exposing your little part of the world to some amazing Ultimate, financial opportunities for your club and your city, and the intangible rewards that come with teamwork and the smiles on the faces of Ultimate players as they chase their dreams on the fields that you set up. Bid deadlines are rapidly approaching, so go to www.upa.org/events/bids/ championship_bids.shtml for complete information, or contact Championship Director Will Deaver at will.deaver@upa.org with any questions.

2005 Events • • • •

NEW!!! High School Easterns and High School Westerns (held in mid to late May). Bid deadline 12/31/03. College Championships (held in late May). Bid deadline 12/31/03. NEW!!! Youth Club Championships (held in mid-August). Bid deadline 12/31/03. Club Championships (held in late October). Bid deadline 5/31/2004.

Corrections: In the fall issue, Ned Coker should have been given credit for the photo in the top right corner of page 19. We also received many concerns about the preseries coverage being limited to the open division. We’ll work hard to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future, but rely on our members to provide much of the content for the magazine. If you’d be interested in writing for us, please email stephanie.kurth@upa.org.

Voter turnout this year was 862 (853 online ballots/9 paper ballots), or 5% of the membership. The board thanks all the candidates for running and all UPA members who voted. AT-LARGE VOTE: MID-ATLANTIC VOTE: 351 Kate Bergeron 145 Christian Schwoerke 287 Mike Payne 201 Jonathan Brodhag SOUTHWEST VOTE: 185 Hugh Daschbach 43 Jeff Dunbar 135 Anthony David Adams 124 Lesli Younger 116 Kristen Farmer 19 Jacob Finn 19 Glenn Paufler

The UPA’s membership cycle is based on the calendar 2004 year (January - DeMEMBERSHIP DUES cember). Renew your membership YOUTH: $20 now to ensure COLLEGE: $30 uninterrupted ADULT: $40 benefits in 2004! Just go 2004 Introductory Dues to www.upa.org/ (available only to players who join j o i n u p a / after August 1, 2004 and have never participated joinupa.shtml to in a UPA sanctioned or organized event) renew online or to YOUTH: $11 print out a memberCOLLEGE: $17 ship form and waiver to ADULT: $22 mail in!

APPLY FOR THE UNITED STATES JUNIOR OPEN & WOMEN’S TEAMS! The UPA is now accepting applications for the US Junior Open and Junior Women’s teams that will be traveling to Turku, Finland August 1-7, 2004 to compete in the WFDF World Ultimate Championships. Already Junior Women’s teams from Australia, Canada, Finland, Great Britain and Sweden and Junior Open teams from those countries and Belgium have expressed interest. The US Junior Open team is looking to regain the World Championship that they earned at the 1998 World Ultimate Championships, while the US Junior Women’s team will be looking to regain the title that they earned in 2000 and subsequently lost in 2002 when no US teams attended. The US Junior Open team will be coached by Tiina Booth and Michael Baccarini, with assistants Jason Simpson and Ben Van Heuvelen. The US Junior Women’s team will be coached by Vida Towne and John Sandahl, with assistants Trisha York and Eileen Murray. This year, in order to better select the team, try-out camps will be held during March. These try-out camps are optional, and the locations and exact dates will be determined in January when we have received all applications. The application kit for both teams is available at www.upa.org/juniors/ 2004WorldsTeamApp.doc or by contacting Kyle Weisbrod at kyle.weisbrod@upa.org. The deadline for the application is December 31st. 10

ULTIMATE NEWS

News Briefs

A M A Z I N G U LT I M AT E P L AY E R S around the globe • Bethany Ehlmann, president of the women’s Ultimate team at Washington University in St. Louis, was selected as a Rhodes Scholar on November 22. Bethany is a senior majoring in earth and planetary sciences and environmental studies, and was one of only 32 students in the United States to receive this prestigious scholarship. She will study environmental geomorphology at Oxford. • Five Skidmore College students were headed to an Ultimate tournament in Rochester in mid-September when they came upon the scene of a car accident and jumped into action. The young men called 911 and pulled the driver from the wreckage just moments before it burst into flames. After saving the young woman’s life, they headed on to their tournament, only to find that they were a day early. The full story can be found online at www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10176078&BRD=1169&PAG=461&dep. • In the summer issue of Ultimate News, we reported that the Gettysburg College Ultimate team had broken the world record for the longest stretch of non-stop Ultimate play, which had previously been set by Anchorage Ultimate in 1994. Well, their record of 48 hours and one minute, set on May 13, 2003, has apparently been broken by a group of high school students from Bethel Park, PA. The students began playing on November 2 and continued for a little over 50 hours. Who will be next to undertake the quest? • A family in Wixom, Michigan (home to Discraft) recently sent a care package containing eight discs, along with various other sporting equipment, to their son, U.S. Army Capt. Daniel R. Morris, who is stationed in Baghdad. Morris will soon begin teaching Iraqi children Ultimate based on instructions sent by his younger brother Dave, who has been playing the sport for over 12 years and is co-organizer of the Ann Arbor Ultimate Summer League.

In Memoriam

ROBERT NESHEIM ARBACHER

UPA Lifetime Member Dan Hyslop writes: “I’m deeply saddened to hear of the sudden passing this year of Robert “Robear” Nesheim Arbacher. Robear was a rare mixture of intellect, love and silliness. To his wife and daughters, we share your loss. I was so lucky to have experienced life with him.”

Students from Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts were on hand at the 2003 UPA Club Championships as part of their Sport Event Management class. The group of ten students, led by Professor Jo Williams, helped the UPA with several sales and marketing projects prior to making the trip to Sarasota, then worked tirelessly and without complaint during the tournament to assist with everything from checking teams in to keeping the field site in pristine condition. Everyone who attended the club championships this year owes these kids a huge THANK YOU!

THANK YOU, NICHOLS COLLEGE!

CSTV on DVD A limited number of DVDs containing all six episodes of the 2003 College Ultimate Championships on CSTV is now available to UPA members at a nominal cost. Check www.upa.org to find out how you can get a copy!

WINTER 2003

Youth Development Report

2003 is almost over, and the Youth Development Program has seen significant progress this year. The first UPA State High School Championships were held in Colorado and Minnesota, a Coach and Volunteer Certification Program has been established and is ready to run in 2004, Wham-O has sponsored the UPA’s attendance at seven state Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AHPERD) conferences and will sponsor three more, as well as the national AHPERD conference in 2004. While what we have accomplished has been great, where we are going will be revolutionary in the world of youth sports. 2004 will bring us eight UPA State High School Championships and our final UPA High School Championships. 2004 will also be the first year that we tie the state tournaments into the larger UPA structure. Our Youth Club Championship structure will be in place in the fall of 2004, and the first Youth Club Championships will be held in August 2005.

Get Involved Now is the time to get involved with youth Ultimate. The support structures are being put into place for you to build local structures on your own. We have increased our support for new teams and coaches by creating an instructional kit and a coaching certification program. We have increased our support for state-based high school play by initiating UPA State Tournaments. We have increased our support for local youth club play by creating the UPA Youth Club Championships. These structures though are dependent on enthusiastic volunteers who are interested in stepping up and organizing at their local level, be it state, city, or school. We need people who are interested in starting teams at their local high school, running a league in their city, or being the tournament director for their state tournament.

by Kyle Weisbrod

generation of youth to play Ultimate, and if we build it, they will come. The demand for qualified and enthusiastic youth organizers far exceeds the supply. High school and youth teams are emerging throughout the country without any kind of support or encouragement. What can happen when there is support and encouragement is astounding. In two years, Minnesota has gone from zero to 20 teams playing in an organized league with a state tournament. In Colorado, a slight increase in organization doubled the number of teams playing to 16. Seattle has a 28-team middle school league and 26 teams playing in high school!

What You Can Do Hopefully, at this point I’ve gotten you all fired up, and you’re saying to yourself, “Wow, I love Ultimate, I love kids, kids + Ultimate…I never realized! Kyle, what can I do to get more involved?” Or perhaps you’re thinking, “I’m coaching a high school team, and I was completely unaware of all of these things that are going on with youth Ultimate; how can I find out more about what the UPA is doing and contribute?” Well, if you asked either of these questions or similar ones, there are several things that you can do. First, check out the new Coach and Volunteer Certification Program on the next page, and watch for more information about the UPA Youth Club Championships and Youth Leagues. If you are trying to get involved on the local level with a high school team or are interested in starting a league, e-mail me at kyle.weisbrod@upa.org. I will put you in touch with local coordinators or give you information to get going on the right foot. It will be easier to get Ultimate started in some places than others, but wherever you do, the rewards will be tremendous.

And while I am appealing toward your altruistic side, the side of you that loves to play Ultimate and wants to share that love with the next generation, it would be foolish to not mention the personal benefits that you can get out of helping now. Youth Ultimate is growing rapidly in this country, and as more kids play, it will support a growing number of paid roles for adults in the support structure of Ultimate. Already, coaches of several high schools around the country are being paid for their services to coach Ultimate. Being paid to coach Ultimate! Administrators are being paid to run Ultimate camps, and counselors are earning money to instruct at those camps. It is unlikely that you will reap such benefits immediately, but there is no doubt that the people who are getting involved now will have significant opportunities and roles in the future.

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On top of that, imagine the opportunities that your children will have to play Ultimate. If you value this sport because of the ethic involved and its inherent ability to teach conflict resolution skills and personal responsibility, then imagine how great it will be when your son or daughter has the opportunity to play in a U-12 Ultimate league. These are benefits that will only be achieved by investing time into building these structures now.

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If You Build It They Will Come At first I thought the allusion to Field of Dreams was a little cliché. As I thought about it more, however, I became increasingly aware of how fitting it actually is. In the movie, of course, Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner) builds a baseball diamond in his cornfield in Iowa. Players from baseball’s past, when baseball was just cementing itself as “America’s pastime,” emerge from the cornfields to play ball. Field of Dreams looks towards the past; we, on the other hand, are looking toward the future. We are building structures for the rising 12

ULTIMATE NEWS

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JOIN THE PLAYULTY.COM UPA COACHING CORPS! In 2004, the UPA will be starting a coach and volunteer training and certification program—the PLAYULTY.COM UPA Coaching Corps. The PLAYULTY.COM UPA Coaching Corps is a process of educating coaches and volunteers, professionalizing the growing vocation of Ultimate coaching, and creating a pool of qualified volunteers to help grow Ultimate. The program will consist of 21⁄2 hour clinics for volunteers and full day clinics for coaches in which they learn skills and techniques to: introduce Ultimate and its skills to new players; attract new players to the sport; teach and maintain Spirit of the Game; interact with and utilize parents; improve the fitness of their team; maintain high professional coaching standards; and behave both ethically and legally while coaching.

• 20% off individual PLAYULTY.COM video titles and products • 10% off 3rd party titles (e.g. Above and Beyond, I Bleed Black) from PLAYULTY.COM • 15% off education bundles (Action Bundles excluded) from PLAYULTY.COM • 10% off promotional products and clothing (visors, shirts, pens) from PLAYULTY.COM • Bulk pricing discounts for coaches who want to re-sell PLAYULTY.COM product • 50% off retail for personal gear from GAIA • Additional marketing and administrative support to future UPA coaches (i.e. demo cleats, free use of “OnlyUltimate,” the sport’s player registration, waiver signing and event payment software, GAIA Affiliate status, and door prizes)

The first 21⁄2 hours of the clinic will include both the coaches and the volunteers. The rest of the clinic is just for coaches. This is a bold and forwardthinking initiative by the UPA, but it will only succeed with the support of you—the coaches and volunteers who are hoping to professionalize your work in Ultimate.

Coaching Corps Instructors, from left to right: Kyle Weisbrod, Bubba Denison, Tiina Booth, Michael Baccarini, John Sandahl, Joe Bisignano

In addition to the benefits of attending a coaching clinic and gaining certification, coaches will also receive the following from the UPA and the program sponsors, PLAYULTY.COM and GAIA Ultimate: • UPA Coaching Manual • UPA Coaching Code of Ethics • PLAYULTY.COM UPA Coaching Corps shirt • PLAYULTY.COM UPA Coaching Corps disc • PLAYULTY.COM instructional video PLAY ULTIMATE • An official GAIA UPA Coaching Corps jersey for an additional $15 • Access to the UPA Certified Coach Yahoo group Certified coaches will also receive the following benefits from our sponsors:

Certified volunteers will receive the following from the UPA and the program’s sponsors: • UPA Volunteer Guide •An official UPA Certified Volunteer t-shirt •A PLAYULTY.COM UPA Coaching Corps disc •Support from UPA headquarters when setting up and running clinics

UPA Certified Coaches must be at least 21 years old and UPA Certified Volunteers must be at least 16 years old. If you are below the age limit, you may attend the clinics but will not receive certification (e.g. for college and high school captains). Cost: UPA Certified Coaching Clinic: $60 + UPA membership UPA Certified Volunteer Clinic: $20 + UPA membership Check the UPA youth website (www.upa.org/juniors) in December for information on how to sign up! If you are interested in bringing a UPA Certified Coaching Clinic to your city, contact Kyle Weisbrod (kyle.weisbrod@upa.org).

Co a c h i n g Co rp s Lo c ations - (Sites TBA) AMHERST, MA Date: January 10th Instructor: Tiina Booth Phone: 413-256-3034 Email: tiinabooth@hotmail.com ATLANTA, GA Date: January 24th Instructor: Michael Baccarini Phone: 404-377-1357 Email: baccarini.michael@paideiaschool.org DALLAS, TX Date: January 17th Instructor: Barbara Denison Phone: 717-343-7570 Email: texasultimate@adelphia.net DENVER, CO Date: January 24th Instructor: Kyle Weisbrod

Phone: 303-447-3472 Email: kyle.weisbrod@upa.org PHILADELPHIA, PA Date: January 31st Instructor Barbara Denison Phone: 717-343-7570 Email: texasultimate@adelphia.net MINNEAPOLIS, MN Date: January 24th Instructor: John Sandahl Phone: 612-991-7840 Email: john@youthfrontiers.org SEATTLE, WA Date: January 24th Instructor: Joe Bisignano Phone: 206-789-5508 E-Mail: joe_bisignano@yahoo.com

Coaching Corps Instructors TIINA BOOTH • Coach of 1998, 2000, 2004 USA Junior Open Team • Coach and Founder of Amherst HS Open Team: UPA HS National Champions 1998 & 2003, UPA HS National Championship Spirit Award Winners 2003 • Tournament Director & Founder of Amherst Invitational • Director & Founder of National Ultimate Training Camp • Coached: o Stephen Rouisse (Univ of Colo, Johnny Bravo) o Josh Ziperstein (Brown, DoG) o David Kroodsma (Stanford) o Nick Reich (Carleton)

MICHAEL BACCARINI • Coach of 1998, 2000, 2004 USA Junior Open Team • Coach of Paideia HS Open Team: UPA HS National Champions 2001 & 2002 • Coach of Ozone • Tournament Director and Founder of Gruelfest • UPA National Juniors Director 1998-2002 • Director & Founder of Paideia Ultimate Camp • Instructor at National Ultimate Training Camp • Coached: o Moses Rifkin (Peter Farricker Award Winner, Brown, DoG) o Pauline Lauterbach (Callahan Winner 2002, Brown, Ambush) o Will Arnold (Brown, Sockeye, DoG) o Miranda Roth (Carleton, Ozone, Bait) o Jason Simpson (Georgia State, Chain Lightning)

JOE BISIGNANO • Founder of NOMS Ultimate Team, 1992 (team grew into Discobedient Youth and MOHO) • Co-founder of Seattle Public Middle School League • Co-founder of Seattle Juniors Spring League • Coach of Northwest School Middle School teams • Coach of Salmon Bay B: Fall Public School League Spirit Winner, 2003 • Coached: o Alex Nord (Callahan Winner 2001, Carleton, Subzero, Jam) o Sam C-K (UC Santa Cruz, Sockeye, Coach at Salmon Bay) o Jeremy Cram (UC Santa Cruz, Sockeye) o Chase Sparling-Beckley (Carleton, Subzero, Sockeye) o Julia Gardner (Carleton, Riot, Coach at Northwest)

JOHN SANDAHL • Coach of 2004 US Junior Women’s team • Coach & Co-founder of Squall Frisbee Club, Minneapolis South HS open team • Coach & Co-founder of MISCES (Minnesota Girls HS combo team): UPA HS National Championship Spirit Award Winners, 2003 • Coordinator & Co-founder of Twin Cities Juniors League • Tournament Director & Co-founder of the Minnesota State HS Championships • Founder & Director of Twin Cities Ultimate Camp • Subzero, 2001-current

BARBARA (BUBBA) DENISON

• Dallas Metropolitan YMCA: Youth Sports Director & Volunteer Trainer • Director of Curriculum Council: Highland Park ISD, Dallas, TX • Founder of Texas, Ultimate! – “Play the game…Live the Spirit” o Youth Tournament Director o Youth Ultimate Camp Director o Ultimate Consultant to Youth Organizations: Boy Scouts of America, Austin Parks and Recreation, LIV’N-THE-GAME

• In-service Presenter: Austin ISD, Dallas Metro Area, TAHPERD • Boys and Girls Clubs of America: Nike Sports Leadership Program, Ultimate Coach • National-level player in the masters & mixed divisions

KYLE WEISBROD • UPA Youth Development Director • General Manager of 2004 US Junior Open and Women’s teams • Co-coordinator of Colorado HS Ultimate League • Co-founder of Fairview HS Ultimate team • Coach of Monarch HS Ultimate team • Paideia HS 1994-1997 • Brown University 1998-2002, captain 2001 • US Junior team, 1994 and 1996 • Johnny Bravo, 2002-current

WINTER 2003

A Tribute to Kathy Pu On Columbus Day, 2003, the Ultimate community lost one of its pioneers and great spirits when Kathy Pufahl Cande (aka ʻKathʼ and ʻPoofʼ) passed away after a courageous ten month fight with cancer. She was 44. In Ultimate, those of us who knew Kath remember the awe and respect she inspired among her competitors and the gratitude and respect of her teammates in Washington, DC, and New York City in the 1980s and early-1990s. She was our standard for excellence on and off the field.

of the game and the UPA. Without her work, our sport may not have had the strength to flourish as it has over the past twenty-plus years. Kath was a great mom and wife with a fabulous family. In 1983, Kath married Kevin Cande, her high school sweetheart, an Ultimate player, and one of the finest championship players of his day. Kath and Kev were among the first folks to bring their now teenage kids (Tyler and Torie) to the sidelines in their Patagonia gear and baby joggers — for New York Ultimate in the 1980s, this was a big deal! And, yes, they dined at the sideline table of Mrs. Dobyns…

As folks have been reflecting on their Over the past two decades, she also times with Kath, itʼs striking how became one of the foremost growers many of us remember, in exact of hard-to-find plants and built a detail, our first encounters with very successful business (www. her. We remember the leadership, bedsandborders.com). Newsdayʼs the smile, the quick wit, the home and garden editor wrote laugh, the handshake that said that Kathy “was a monumental “welcome,” the in-your-face fake force in the horticulture world and that caused you to cringe because was famous internationally…she you knew your defense just wasnʼt brought about a sea of change good enough, or, if you were lucky in how gardeners viewed annual enough to play on her team, the plants. She took people beyond “pop through the zone” that created geraniums and impatiens. To watch another winning play, the honor, the her plant a container was like watching integrity, the intelligence, the generosity, an artist at work.” Horticulture Magazine the perseverance, the commitment, the called her the “Queen of Containers.” spirit, and the happy energetic competitive 6 8 A Rude Boy and his Godiva spouse, after intensity. She was truly an extraordinary person K a t 19 hy p a recent visit to Kathʼs seventeen-acre nursery u — she had a will and a way that was deep and P uf se C on the North Fork of Long Island, observed, “It was a hl C a h c strong. a n d e - Pu r clear that her horticulture career may have had more impact Kath wasnʼt there with the Maplewood, New Jersey crew in 1968 when than her great works for Ultimate…it was truly inspiring to be in her Ultimate was created, but for many of the women who played Ultimate presence — even in her absence.” in the early days, it seemed like Kath had always been around. After attending Georgetown University, she was often found holding her own Kath was the kind of person you always want to have as a friend, on the fields with the guys when she couldnʼt even find enough women a teammate, a leader, an involved parent and a business partner. A to play hot-box, let alone produce seven on both ends of a field. In 1981, longtime pal noted that Kath set the standard for what he expected she helped start one of the first womenʼs Ultimate teams — Housewives of people. As he grew older and met more people, he came to realize in Rochester, NY, and in 1983 she joined the newly formed Andromeda just how special Kath was and how hard it is to find people like her: in Washington, DC. Not only was she a tireless recruiter of players, thoughtful, gentle, strong, inspiring, and, oh, so much fun... but she was an especially talented and strategic athlete — the type that teams talked about with admiration as they drove miles to and from A generation of Ultimate players remember Kath fondly and will always miss her. For other generations, itʼs the people like Kath who keep the tournaments and as they watched her from the sidelines. Spirit of the Game alive. On the field, Kath helped build womenʼs Ultimate and several of its early teams, setting the pace for high-quality and fair play. Off the field, she Compiled by a motley crew of handlers, middles and longs who loved helped build the structure, and the spirit, of the game we know today. Kath and benefited mightily from having known her -She organized tournaments, wrote and mailed newsletters, organized the womenʼs college division, co-wrote (with Sholom ʻEricʼ Simon) the first update to the Ninth Edition rules, and played a crucial role throughout the 1980-90s in developing and overseeing the administrative responsibilities of the UPA and served as the second womenʼs national director from 1985 to 1988. She was the first managing director of the UPA and set up and ran the first official UPA headquarters in an office near her home on the North Shore of Long Island. She was relentless, yet thoughtful, as she endeavored to lay the foundation of the structure 14

ULTIMATE NEWS

ʻGuidoʼ Adams, Dave Blau, Tiina Booth, Mary Brenner, Paul Brenner, Annie Chanler, Corinne Corrigan, ʻTeensʼ Dunlap, ʻSuzʼ Fields, ʻNietscheʼ Garfield, Leah Goldman, Marie Hartley, Cheryl Hamer Lou, Mary Meeker, ʻMoonsʼ Mooney, ʻNobʼ Rauch, Janette Robinson, Sarah Savage, Andy Scheman, Shelley Scoggin, Sholom ʻEricʼ Simon, Edith Thurber, Finlay Waugh, Kelly Waugh, Amy Wilbur, Anne Westcott October, 2003

fahl Cande

REFLECTIONS ON KATHY - by Sholom Simon (Below is an excerpt of Sholom Simon’s reflections on Kathy. The full tribute is available at www.upa.org.)

Kathy was, beyond question, one of my most favorite Ultimate players. And she was my favorite UPA person to work with. One of my favorite people, actually. The following incident probably stands out the most in my mind when I think of Kathy: She was in a big game, probably at Easterns, and made a cut across the middle of the front of the end zone. The throw seemed a bit too fast, too far in front of her, and a bit too low. But she made an incredible diving catch for the goal, hitting the ground flat. She popped up and trotted to the sideline, right where I happened to be standing. She didn’t boast, she didn’t scream about how now her team was going to win; she had a big grin on her face, turned to me and said, quite simply, in a very understated manner: “Wow, that was fun!” And those four words were quite telling. Sure, she loved to win. But even more than that, she had a healthy perspective on life. And even in the heat of a competitive game, with the adrenaline rushing, she was able to put it all in perspective: it was fun. She was a stellar player; she had tremendous spirit, and never let winning get in the way of fair and fun play. The first time I ever saw her play was the day before an April Fools tournament in 1983. During a spur of the moment co-ed pick-up game— pick-up!!—she made a diving block on the first point. We learned that she and her husband, Kevin Cande, were moving to the DC area after college graduation. And so they came to DC and put DC on the national Ultimate map. That fall Kevin led Static to its first nationals appearance, and Kathy led Andromeda (a forerunner of Satori) to its first nationals—all within the first sixth months of their arrival. She followed leading Andromeda to nationals with co-organizing the first Easterns held in Washington DC in 1984 with me and Tiina Booth. Kathy and I wrote the first “UPA Tournament Organizers Handbook” based on our experiences with that tourney. Further, the strength of our Easterns tournament enabled us to win the bid for 1985 Nationals, the first ever held in Washington DC, and the handbook helped us to run an exceptional tournament. By the time the tourney had rolled around, Kathy and Kevin had already moved to Long Island, but now as women’s national director, she helped in a different role.

Photos: (opposite page) Kathy at Purchase Cup 1986; (this page, clockwise from top) Kathy with New York teammates following tournament; Kathy and dog Gwen; Kathy with New York teammates celebrating in the off season; Kathy on sidelines with teammate Amy Wilbur.

As women’s national director, she was essential in the UPA administration, particularly during times of disorganization in the national director’s position. Among other programs she got off the ground was the women’s college division. She was so involved in every aspect of Ultimate, we invented a new position for her—managing director—a position she filled for a number of years. She and I were also in the group that served as the first board of directors for the UPA. She, essentially by herself, wrote the first UPA administrative guide. Kathy, Scott Gurst and I wrote the first update to the Ninth Edition Rules of Ultimate, which stood for four years. Her organizational skills, her willingness to help and jump in with two feet, her raw intelligence, and her exceedingly refined common sense almost overshadows what a great player she was. She wasn’t the flashy player who could out-sky everybody, but rather the steady player who always got open, who was impossible to cover, and who threw exceedingly strategically and accurately. There are very, very few Ultimate players I admire for being, simultaneously, a great player, a great friend, a great supporter of the real spirit of Ultimate, a quick wit, a genuine open attitude towards everybody, and one of the smartest and most intelligent people I have ever met, combined with such an acute degree of common sense that still puts me in awe. Kathy was all of those. Not only will her family and friends miss her, not only will the Ultimate world miss her—but the world at large is a poorer place with her missing. And I can’t help feeling that somewhere Kathy is looking back at her life, disappointed that the game was too short, but saying, “Wow, that was fun.” WINTER 2003

This is How

Willie Herndon interviews Jared Kass, the man who taught J In 1998 I interviewed Joel Silver in his office at Silver Pictures at the Warner Brothers Studio in Los Angeles, California. He spoke of his role in creating the sport of Ultimate frisbee. He mentioned, without adding any detail, that he had learned a frisbee game from someone named Jared Kass while attending a summer camp at Mount Hermon School, now the Northfield-Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts. I tried to track down Kass, but didn’t think, from the way Silver described things, that he had actually taught Silver the game of Ultimate. It sounded like Silver had played something like frisbee football with Kass at camp, and then gone back to Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey and made up, and named, a whole new game called Ultimate with his buddies Jon Hines and Buzzy Hellring Jr. (now deceased) back in 1968. I was mistaken in that impression. Thank goodness Joel Silver remembered the name of Jared Kass, and cared for the truth about the origins of Ultimate. Otherwise, we might never have known the real story of how Ultimate came to be. Last summer I did an Internet search and found a name and a number, this time having the presence of mind to try the state of Massachusetts. For the sake of history and just plain curiosity, I left a message at the home of someone named Jared Kass. It was a shot in the dark. I hoped he might be the same Jared Kass that Silver had remembered from 35 years ago, and he was. To my surprise, once I spoke with Mr. Kass, I discovered that he had taught Silver not some distant relative of Ultimate, but Ultimate in its essence. Jared Kass, a professor of Counseling and Psychology at Leslie University, agreed to be interviewed August 30, 2003. He had no idea that he had had anything to do with the creation of Ultimate, and hardly thought or heard about the game for the last 35 years, except that his son’s best friend plays Ultimate, and one of his son’s teachers is Moses Rifkin, a top notch Boston area player. Here then are excerpts from that interview which took place in Mr. Kass’ home in Concord, Massachusetts, just a couple of miles from Walden Pond. WH: What was the game you made up, who did you make it up with, and where did you make it up? JK: The way it started—I’ve had to think this over the last couple of months to really put this 16

ULTIMATE NEWS

together. When I arrived at Amherst College in 1965, it was a very poor social environment, and not just in the sense of being an all male

if a pass dropped, that was it; it changed possession.

school, but also in the sense that it was a fairly competitive environment. We were trying to figure out how to be friends at the same time as knowing that you’re in a hothouse, an academically competitive environment.

WH: So you changed the rules. Did you or someone else decide about these new rules? JK: It’s an indistinct memory, and I was definitely part of it. But that’s part of what was fun: at least at that point I think it was just a bunch of guys playing together, and you just suddenly realized intuitively, “No, that’s the way we should do it,” because you wanted the game to keep changing, to be very fluid. That’s what was fun about it—the fluidity and the change of direction that happened so naturally and so quickly.

There were a bunch of us who knew how to throw the frisbee, and we also played touch football...I think that it was probably really in our junior year [‘67-’68] that it kind of happened and gelled—when we shifted from sometimes playing touch football or sometimes kicking a soccer ball around to using the frisbee in that way. There was a moment when we began to play a team game using a frisbee. WH: On the campus of Amherst College? JK: Yes, there were a couple of nice quads— reasonably flat greens. WH: Do you remember a day when you were playing touch football and you happened to have a frisbee and someone said, “Why don’t we play with a frisbee?” JK: I don’t remember that, and I wish did. I remember there was a point when we had made the shift. I just remember most clearly that you weren’t kicking it through a goal; you were having to pass it to somebody who was across the line. What was so wonderful about the frisbee game was that it was so much more fluid than the downs in football. In that way soccer, with all the constant movement back and forth, had more of the fluidity of what made sense for a frisbee. So obviously if somebody intercepted a frisbee pass, the teams changed possession. Then you realized

WH: What were the rules of the frisbee game that you and your friends made up? JK: I don’t think we actually thought of it as rules. It was just sort of the way you did it. Contact was not what it was about. Whether it was because we were the intellectuals who were not into contact sports, or I just think we understood that the beauty was to keep the frisbee moving and that that’s what it was about. If you were running with it, then how could somebody stop you? It had to become a contact sport. So [we decided] it was okay to take a couple of steps to position yourself, but basically you couldn’t travel by running. If the frisbee was intercepted or the frisbee pass was dropped or if it was blocked and knocked down, then the direction changed. If it was knocked down by somebody bashing your arm, then hey, everybody understood that was no go—everybody got that—then the guy was allowed to pick it up and throw it again. WH: Do you remember any names from that group, and did any of you keep playing? JK: Steve Ward, Richard Jacobsen, Bob Fine,

It All Began

Joel Silver to play Ultimate and who gave the sport its name Robert Marblestone, Gordon Murray...The gang broke up. I didn’t really play after Amherst.

official capacity. I was an assistant teacher in a creative writing program, and I was a dorm counselor for a bunch of the guys. We lived

by Willie Herndon wanted the game to basically be fun, not another thing to compete in and worry about, “Am I good enough, how am I being seen?” Someone would drop a pass. I could see the kid getting really pissed at himself, and I’d say, “Don’t worry about it. That’s what’s cool about this game because the mistakes are what allow the direction to change so fast.” And so it began to give them a way to relax. Sometimes somebody would take too many steps, and someone would start yelling, “YOU TOOK TOO MANY STEPS,” and I’d say, “Yeah that’s right, but the most important thing is actually to keep the game going. So let’s not count steps, guys. Let’s try to just sort of selfregulate on this. Nobody’s gonna’ give you any trouble...”

WH: It seems that, without realizing it, you named the sport of Ultimate. How did that happen? JK: What I do remember—and this piece I do remember clearly—I just remember one time running for a pass and leaping up in the air and just feeling the frisbee making it into my hand and feeling the perfect synchrony and the joy of the moment, and as I landed I said to myself, “This is the ultimate game. This is the ultimate game.” WH: You do remember this moment? JK: I do; I remember that. It was like saying, “I’ve played football, basketball, baseball—” WH: You had played those sports? JK: Yeah. I played all the different things. I was just a kid who liked sports and didn’t care to be in heavy competition. I wasn’t that good, but I was good enough to be graceful and really just enjoy them. So saying, “This is the ultimate game,” was saying this game just really matches and beats other ones that I’ve enjoyed. And it’s not that I then turned around to my friends and said, “We should call this ultimate frisbee.” We just kept saying we were playing frisbee. WH: But you did later name this game Ultimate frisbee? JK: Yes, it was when I was at Northfield Mount Herman. I can remember the moment clearly, but I can’t identify the exact date or the time. [Jared Kass worked there in the summer of 1968, at age 21, between his junior and senior years at Amherst.] This was really the first time in my life I was a teacher in an

on a floor together, and that’s the matrix, the context in which the thing developed. I think I was probably trying to entice the guys. I felt that they just needed some new kind of energy, so I said, “Hey guys, have you ever played Ultimate?” WH: Wait, is this a memory? JK: Yes...I think the teacher in me came out in that moment, and I understood that I needed to say something that sounded confusing, flashy to these high school kids who were all over the place in terms of who they were. WH: Was Joel Silver one of the guys on your floor? JK: I can’t swear to that, but it must have been because I wasn’t teaching it to the whole school. There were a bunch of guys that I was bonding with, and we were the ones who played Ultimate together. WH: Do you remember who Joel Silver was? JK: I wish I could say that I remember Joel. When you called me, it jogged my memory, and I thought, “Yeah, there was a Joel.” That came back. WH: Why did you want them to play this frisbee game? JK: They were kids who were trying to figure themselves out...I could feel that they didn’t know how to be friends or whether they should be competing with each other. I mean, after all, you’re in an enrichment program to get into college, so it’s as though, “Who’s supposed to be doing best.” Many of them were showing signs of loneliness. It galvanized them. I

WH: Are you sure you said that? This isn’t hindsight now with your knowledge of Ultimate and the “Spirit of the Game?” JK: The weirdest thing about this is I had not seen an official game until you called and sent me a tape. WH: So you did say “self-regulate” or words to that effect? JK: Yes, definitely words to that effect. I was saying, “Guys, what’s important is the fun of the game; it’s not catching each other on mistakes. Being mad at each other and feeling like we’re making mistakes—that’s not going to make the game feel fun. It’s going to make the game feel like another thing that you’re competing on, and we’re all doing that way too much in our lives. So let go of it.” I already understood as a young man just how much I hated that kind of competition and hated the pressure because Amherst was a hotbed of that. WH: Do you think you succeeded at Northfield Mount Herman? JK: Yes, I think that that succeeded in that way. WH: So you stopped playing Ultimate after college and later heard about a sport called Ultimate. It didn’t occur to you that maybe that was you—that you had developed the name of the sport and the sport itself? JK: Did I understand that I had something to do with creating this game called Ultimate? I didn’t understand that at all. I’ve always thought it was kind of nifty—I knew that our gang must have been in the early days of playing, but I just kind of assumed that it must have popped up in 20 or 40 different places and slowly took shape. I didn’t follow its Interview with Jared Kass, continued on page 28 WINTER 2003 17

FINAL STANDINGS

OPEN DIVISION

1. Furious George, Vancouver, BC 2. Condors, Santa Barbara, CA 3/4.(tie) Jam, San Francisco, CA 3/4.(tie) Ring of Fire, Raleigh, NC 5/6.(tie) Death or Glory, Boston, MA 5/6.(tie) Sockeye, Seattle, WA 7/8.(tie) Doublewide, Austin, TX 7/8.(tie) Johnny Bravo, Boulder, CO 9. G-Unit, Madison, WI 10. Chain Lightning, Atlanta, GA 11. Boss Hogg, Boston, MA 12. Vicious Cycle, Gainesville, FL 13. Big Ass Truck, Ann Arbor, MI 14. Pike, NJ 15. Electric Pig, Washington, DC 16. Sub Zero, Minneapolis, MN

2003 UPA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS 1. Doublewide 4.67 2.Pike 4.57 3.Boss Hogg 4.38 4.Furious George 4.33 5.Sockeye 4.31 6.BAT 4.29 7.DoG 4.17 8.(tie) SubZero 4.14 8.(tie) Johnny Bravo 4.14 10. Vicious Cycle 4.13 11.(tie) Electric Pig 4.00 11.(tie) G-Unit 4.00 11.(tie) Chain Lightning 4.00 14. Ring of Fire 3.83 15.Jam 3.79 16. Condors 3.00 All Teams 4.11

Phot o by Rick Collins

Big Ass Truck - Craig Frankland Boss Hogg - Ben Friedenson Chain Lightning - Jason Simpson Condors - Andy Crews DoG - Jit Bhattacharya Doublewide - Todd Peters E-Pig - Patrick Mackie Furious George - Allan Nichols Jam - Justin Safdie Johnny Bravo - David Remucal Ring of Fire - Dan Axon Pike - J Dono Sockeye - Sam Chatterton-Kirchmeier Sub Zero - Dave Boardman Vicious Cycle - Will Broadway Madison G-Unit – Tom Burkly

CHAMP GAME STATS VANCOUVER FURIOUS GEORGE Assists Goals 5 2 4 1 4 1 1 2 2 3 1 3 1

D’s

1 1 1 2

TO’s 1 3 1 2 2 1 2 1 9 22

SANTA BARBARA CONDORS Player Andy Crews JD Lobue Brandon Steets Tommy Burfeind Steve Dugan Taylor Cascino James Studarus Ian Ranahan Kevin Buchanan Greg Husak Adam Glimme Mike Namkung Chris McManus Unknown TOTALS

by Kelly Esp

osit

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by Bil Elsinger

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT WINNERS

Player Mike Grant Andrew Lugsdin Oscar Pottinger Mark Roberts Allan Cowan CJ Harmer Al Nichols Jeff Cruikshank Evan Wood Rick Melner Derek John Unknown TOTALS

Photo

Assists Goals D’s 2 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 12 12 5

TO’s 3 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 13 25

One of the more frustrating things about last year’s nationals, or rather, the preparation that went into it, was all of the time spent worrying about the wind. All of that worry was for naught come Sarasota, as heat and slippery hands made play challenging—not galeforce gusts. Last year’s lack of wind might have lulled some teams into complacency. Although teams not lucky enough to practice regularly in the wind prepared with weekends of practice in windier climes, turnovers mounted in almost every game this year, indicating that the preparation wasn’t sufficient for the conditions. Fairly steady winds came directly out of the east all tournament, with a few gusts and occasional shifts to lighter breezes. The fields were set up north to south, and righty forehands thrown up the east sideline floated. A modicum of pressure on attacks of the north end zone yielded turns, and on particularly gusty rounds, almost all points were scored in the south. Thursday’s wind created innumerable turnovers, but Friday and Saturday saw stiffer gusts, and many players rued their preference for claw catches over claps. Even the world’s best players lost control of some easy catches.

Pool Play: Day One The wind leveled the playing field amongst similarly skilled teams, but also worked to widen the gap between tiers of teams. In pool play, the top seven seeds had almost automatic wins against the lower half of their pools. Only Austin’s Doublewide, seeded 8th overall, had difficulty winning their games against lower seeds. While the outcome of games amongst the top seven seeds and the bottom eight didn’t all follow seed, crossovers between these two tiers were always won by the higher seeds. Last year’s champions, Vancouver’s Furious George, arrived without the ultra-competitive Jon Gewirtz, but most of the rest of their roster was back, including post-sabbatical Evan Wood and Jeff Cruikshank. The number one overall seed earned three easy pool play games and a 3-0 record. Death or Glory out of Boston didn’t have a great season, but their history and an influx of youth without losing much personnel earned them the second overall seed. The wind played right into their strengths—experience and zone offense—and they too went 3-0. Boulder’s Johnny Bravo stayed tight to 13-13, and DoG’s difficulty closing out against the number seven seed overall was a harbinger of things to come. Despite finishing second last year, North Carolina’s

Ring of Fire hadn’t yet won the respect of the rest of the nation. Ten of Ring’s players were replaced by taller players like Sandy Hartwiger and Kevin Kusy in the off season, but the second seed in their pool, Seattle’s Sockeye, was picked as likely to upset them. No wind the year before saw these two teams splitting games, and Sockeye had done a better job of keeping their roster fairly intact. Turnovers were the word of the day and calls weren’t unusual, but as predicted, Sockeye pulled off the upset—a four point upset. The Condor – Jam pool was the hardest to call. The Santa Barbara Condors have an illustrious nationals history. This year’s roster lost an important Taro Ramberg, but the addition of Brian Bogle, Ian Ranahan and the like kept the Condors fresh. Last year’s Ring/Sockeye surge shut perennial contender Santa Barbara out of semis. Jam, meanwhile, had the year off after a measly two northwest bids left them caught in the too-tight filter of wildcard craziness. Both teams were hungry to prove themselves. Half was close with fewer turns than the rest of the field, but Jam’s second half run was enough to secure the win. It was clear that any game between these two teams would be a toss up.

Power Pool F Sockeye had a good win over Ring in Thursday’s less windy conditions, but a combination of Johnny Bravo’s tough man defense and increased gusts shut Seattle down on Friday. Sockeye’s athleticism worked well when hucking, but the wind revealed their limits and frequent drops weren’t helping out. The game started out sloppy, but Bravo cleaned things up first and worked the disc up the field underneath Will Deaver to win. Ring took advantage of its height (Mickey Madzinski) and hucked its way out of tight situations. In contrast, DoG worked the disc up carefully, but some mid-field turns led to Ring scores, and a Callahan goal by Ring’s Mick Ribault added excitement as they answered speculation about last year’s finish order. Four 1-1 teams created a power pool imbroglio that could have resulted in any team placing first or last. In the determining second round, Sockeye and DoG were close until 11-9. DoG repulled after an offsides call, and Sockeye DROPPED THE PULL, an especially tough break on the upwind side. Another mental lapse turned into a Callahan goal given up to Ron Kubalanza, and Sockeye loses. Bravo went up early against Ring via disc control, but Ring sucked Bravo into hucking as the Fire rekindled. Open Division, continued on page 28

ULTIMATE NEWS

WOMEN’S DIVISION 2003 UPA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

FINAL STANDINGS 1. Fury, San Francisco, CA 2. Riot, Seattle, WA 3/4.(tie) Lady Godiva, Boston, MA 3/4.(tie) Prime, Vancouver, CA 5/6.(tie) Alias, Raleigh, NC 5/6.(tie) Ozone, Atlanta, GA 7/8.(tie) Nemesis, Chicago, IL 7/8.(tie) Schwa, Portland, OR 9. Safari, San Diego, CA 10. Rare Air, Boulder, CO 11. Stella, Ottawa, ON 12. Clutch, Ann Arbor, MI 13. Brute Squad, Boston, MA 14. Strike, Atlanta, GA 15. Bait, Minneapolis, MN 16. Pounce, Pittsburgh, PA

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS Pho to b

y Rick Collins

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by Neva Cherniavsky San Francisco Fury handily beat Seattle Riot to take home the UPA Championship in the women’s division, with dominating play in a game that was never close. Riot simply couldn’t convert against Fury’s stifling fourperson cup, giving the other team many easy scoring opportunities by turning it close to their own end zone. Fury had no trouble punching those in for points, and when Riot started playing field position, Fury did the same. In the second half, there were many long points with multiple turnovers, due to both teams hucking and setting zones, but Fury has more experience at this type of play and pulled down more of the long bombs. Riot tried to make it interesting, playing hard man defense and laying out all over the place, with an especially breathtaking high dive by Vida Towne. But in the end the score and game were lopsided, with Fury coming out on top 17-4. Fury is a potent mix of veterans and recent college graduates that has speed and throws. The team was dominant the entire tournament, relying on handlers Jennifer Donnelly and Amy Little to run the offense, while Robin Knowler, Gwen Ambler, and Martita Emde were key in the cup. In many ways, the final was typical of Fury’s games all weekend. No opponent was able to handle their four-person cup, even though the wind wasn’t always very high. While Fury has the ability to work it down the field, it was rarely necessary for them to do so, because opposing teams would turn it over near their own end zone. And when other teams did try to play field position, Fury won the battle. Perhaps their most anticipated win was against defending champion Godiva. The Boston team had won the past seven out of eight championships and is famous in the Ultimate community for their efficient, chilly offense. But this year marked the retirement of worldclass players Molly Goodwin and Christine Dunlap, and the loss of team leader Lori Parham to Atlanta. The resulting squad is young and athletic, led by veteran all stars Johanna Neumann, Vy Chow, and Shana Cook, but overall lacking the consummate skill and patience that those three provided. Godiva had its first scare on the first day of the tournament, in pool play against Vancouver’s Prime. Prime brought a zone and hucked on the turnover, sometimes converting, often not. But Godiva would give the disc right back. It was an ugly game, with many, many turnovers between scores. Godiva’s normally smooth offense looked stagnant and chaotic.

Prime went up 11-3, and then Godiva staged one of the biggest comebacks in Ultimate history. Godiva won the game 13-11 once their offense started clicking. But their shaky play did not bode well for a day two matchup against Fury. That game was never close, with Godiva resorting to the huck game and losing the battle in the air; the final score was 15-5. Godiva wasn’t out of it with this loss to Fury, though they made their quarterfinal tougher. Portland’s Schwa had a disappointing Friday as well, losing to Atlanta’s Ozone, and thus both teams had a bad draw for the quarters. In the other 2-3 game, it was Prime versus Ozone. Meanwhile, Fury faced Chicago’s Nemesis, and Riot had Raleigh’s Alias in the 1-4 games. Prime-Ozone was a huckfest, with Prime’s zone not working well against Ozone. Prime played the same style that got them the 8-point lead over Godiva, with lots of hucks (and turnovers), and occasionally some big gainers. Prime actually made many more catches than they rightfully should have; their tall receivers read impressively well. Prime also utilized the break throw. Ozone seemed to be trying to find themselves. They have a number of very good players, including Holly Sommers, Angela Lin, Lori Parham, and Katherine Kidd. But these four superstars can’t carry the entire team, and the role players are young and simply not up to semis level yet. Ozone was down from half on and lost 13-9. The Fury-Nemesis game was never close. Nemesis has some tall, athletic women with great hucks, but their offense turns it over too much to succeed at this level. Fury switched it up a lot on defense, perhaps preparing for the semis. Though San Francisco’s offense was far from perfect, Nemesis would give the disc right back on a turnover. Another quarterfinal featured Alias against Riot. Alias is a fast team, with nice long throws which they use to a field position advantage. Moreover, much of the team is used to this style of play, and they often catch swill. Riot made a lot of mistakes early on, while Alias played good, hard defense led by Beth Cates. Their offense was questionable though, with zingers through the cup and many low-percentage hucks. The game was tied at 6s when Riot pulled themselves together and stopped throwing the disc away. The outcome was never really in question after that point, with a final score of 13-9. Three of the four teams in the semis were from the

1. Clutch 4.63 2. Ozone 4.43 3. Bait 4.33 4. Safari 4.29 5. Stella 4.21 6. Strike 4.17 7.(tie) Riot 4.14 7.(tie) Fury 4.14 9.(tie) Nemesis 3.88 9.(tie) Rare Air 3.88 11. Schwa 3.86 12. Pounce 3.71 13. Brute Squad 3.67 14. Alias 3.50 15. Godiva 3.43 16. Prime 3.32 All Teams 3.97

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT WINNERS Alias – Missy Richardson Bait – Katy Janzen Clutch – Lani Kawamoto Fury – Martita Emde Lady Godiva – Anne “Westy” Westcott Nemesis – Sasha Romantseva Ozone – Lisa Kotora Pounce – Karen Thorne Prime – Jennie Craig Rare Air – Sara Gravelin Riot – Kathy Scott Safari – MaryAnn Polityka Schwa – Tara Sechler Stella – Monica Kerr-Coster Strike – Kate Shropshire Brute Squad – Erin Baumgartner

CHAMP GAME STATS SAN FRANCISCO FURY Player Jody Dozono Alicia Barr Erin Percival Kirsten Unfried Samantha Salvia Amy Little Jennifer Beck Stacy Schoemehl Jennifer Donnelly Martita Emde Nicole Beck Gwen Ambler Shannon Overly Leean Nounnan Julie Baker Kimber Zabora Karli Sager Bryn Martyna Janet Wong Julie Baker Unknown TOTALS

Assists 1 1 3 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 1

Goals D’s

TO’s

4 1 2 1 1

1 1 2 3

2 1 1 1 1

2 2 1 3 2 2 3

1 1

3 3 4 5 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 30

SEATTLE RIOT Player Kati Halmos Kari Deleeuw Liz Duffy Julia Gardner Vivian Zayas Kimm Blakemore Leah Towne Vida Towne Mizu Kinney Kristen Daily Liz Penny Deb Cussen Cat Pittack Kathy Scott Aida de la Cruz Sara Kajewski TOTALS

Assists Goals D’s 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 1 1 4

Women’s Division, continued on page 31 WINTER 2003

TO’s 5 11 8 2

14 1 1 42

FINAL STANDINGS

MIXED DIVISION

1. Donner Party, Lake Tahoe, CA 2. Hang Time, Dallas, TX 3/4.(tie) Holes n’ Poles, Baton Rouge, LA 3/4.(tie) B+, Winston-Salem, NC 5. Red Fish Blue Fish, San Francisco, CA 6. Blah, South Bend, IN 7. Drive Thru Liquor, Ft. Collins, CO 8. FoF, Washington, DC 9/10. Chinstrap, New England 9/10. Phob, Northfield, MN 11. Bad Larry, Denver, CO 12. Halibut, Portland, ME 13. Kaze, Chicago, IL 14. Persuader, Salt Lake City, UT 15. Rival, Atlanta, GA 16. Blue Ridge Ultimate, Charlottesville, VA

2003 UPA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS 1. Kaze 4.71 2. Holes and Poles 4.64 3. Hang Time 4.57 4. Blah 4.39 5. RFBF 4.38 6. DTL 4.25 7.(tie) Donner Party 4.14 7.(tie) Chinstrap 4.14 9. B+ 4.13 10. Persuader 4.07 11.(tie) Rival 4.00 11.(tie) BRU 4.00 11.(tie) Phob 4.00 14. Bad Larry 3.84 15.(tie) Halibut 2.88 15.(tie) FoF 2.88 All Teams 4.06

Ph o

B+ - Jenny Hong Bad Larry – Julie Dintman Blah – Dan Baker BRU - Beth Oppenheimer Chinstrap - Brian Healy Donner Party – Jen Mader, Gina Montesano, George Grass (tie) Drive Thru Liquor – Josh Dewitt FoF – Anthony “AJ” Iwaszko Halibut – Victoria Morales Hang Time – Pam Mclemore Holes and Poles – Hugh Daschbach Kaze – Craig Moore Persuader – John Neill Phob – Cindy Craig Harper Red Fish Blue Fish – Kelli Hereford Rival – Dan Heacox

CHAMP GAME STATS LAKE TAHOE DONNER PARTY Assists Goals D’s 2 1 1 5 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 5 3 2 1 1 1 4 1 1

TO’s 2 1 1 1 1.5 1 2.5 2 1 1 1 1 1 6 23

DALLAS HANG TIME Player Tom Etchison Lenny Correll Johnny Thompson Scott Buchanan Diana O’Quinn Rex O’Quinn Lisa Etchison Kirk McLemore Gabriel Fuzat Mary Fuzat Dave Patton Unknown TOTALS

Assists 2 1 4 3 2 1 1

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Goals D’s 6 4 1 1 1 2 1

1 1 1 1

TO’s 3 2 3 2 1 1 1 2 1 9 25

Lake Tahoe Donner Party beat Dallas Hang Time to take home the UPA Mixed Division Championship, in an exciting match full of hucks, swill, and lead changes. Hang Time had a dominating tournament, including a 15-8 win over Donner on Friday. In fact, no team had scored in the double digits on Hang Time up to the final. After losing to Donner Party in the final of Worlds 2002 and in last year’s championship game, Dallas looked poised to take home the trophy. But Donner Party played a hard straight-up/middle force that pretty much shut down Hang Time’s long game. While the Dallas team showed much more versatility this year than last—both in using their women and in not relying entirely on the huck game—they seemed to regress to previous form in the championship match. Hang Time’s zone was successful against Donner on Friday and again on Sunday, but the Dallas team was unable to convert the turnovers they forced. Instead Hang Time relied too much on hucking to Tom Etchison, making throws that were not high percentage, without much movement upfield to distract the defense. On some possessions, Hang Time made many passes for minimal yardage and even those short throws were risky. Hang Time’s spread offense looks for big gainers on in cuts to the middle and favorable one-on-one matchups going deep. Donner effectively changed the entire strategy of the offense and forced it into playing an unfamiliar game. On the other side of the disc, Donner Party had more success with their huck game, perhaps choosing when to throw it more carefully. Both teams played field position, and the points were sometimes quite long. Donner had trouble with the zone, throwing swilly swing passes that were often D’d, but Hang Time usually gave it right back. In the end, Donner’s defense won the game for them, by forcing Hang Time to turn near their end zone and converting these easy opportunities. Throughout the tournament, Donner Party looked vulnerable and Hang Time unstoppable. The quarterfinal matchups were South Bend Blah versus Hang Time, Baton Rouge Holes and Poles versus Fort Collins Drive Thru Liquor, San Francisco Red Fish Blue Fish versus Washington, DC B+, and Donner Party versus Washington, DC FoF. The top eight contained some big surprises in Blah, up from #16, and Drive Thru Liquor, up from #12. Dropping out of the top spots were Denver Bad Larry, New England Chinstrap, and Salt Lake City Persuader.

Phot ob

ews y Hart Matth

by Neva Cherniavsky

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT WINNERS

Player John Brokaw Will Sutton Toby Johnson Jeff Fillinger Topher Manahan CJ Johnson Frankus Flores Katy Carman Mary Burke Jeff Marvan Gina Montesano Jen Yockey Tim Peterson Dana Green Annie Dixon Eric Johnson Jamey Eichart Scotty Conway Unknown TOTALS

i ns to by S cobel Wigg

ULTIMATE NEWS

Bad Larry played two close games on Friday, and then gave it away in the end to Blah. Blah’s depth and Larry’s hard-fought games earlier made a difference. Chinstrap had a terrible first day, losing two games by one point each after being up big in both. Furthermore, the other three teams in their pool made it to quarters, and a fourth was a mathematical impossibility. Blah, coming out of nowhere, in this way upset two teams out of quarters. Persuader simply had a very bad tournament. Overseeded from the strange results out of Northwest regionals, Persuader had trouble in the wind and seemed to rely too much on one or two key players. Bad Larry dropped four spots, from 7th to 11th; Chinstrap dropped only one, from 8th to 9th; and Persuader dropped ten, from 4th to 14th. Blah was psyched after their win on Friday, with cheers of “Blah Blah Blah” echoing across the fields. The South Bend team is enormous and plays a loose rotation so many players get touches. Making the jump from 16th to 6th was quite an accomplishment. Unfortunately, Blah had no chance against the high-powered Hang Time. The game was never close, as Hang Time jumped out to a 6-0 lead and was finished long before the other matches. Drive Thru Liquor faced Holes and Poles in another quarterfinal. DTL is strong on fundamentals, with great in cuts for yardage and super tight defense. But their skills across the board weren’t up to the level of their opponent. They seem nervous and make costly mistakes, with turnovers near their own goalline. Holes and Poles had their offense run through solid veteran handlers and played all-out defense. Their long hucks were not so much for field position as good looks at the right time, and connected for scores. This game was also not close. B+ played Red Fish Blue Fish in the third quarterfinal. Red Fish Blue Fish was undefeated so far in the tournament; their closest game was a 15-11 victory over Holes and Poles. Early on the teams traded downwinders. B+ relied on great defense and athletic play by their men, but also had good skills in the zone offense. Still, the team turned it over a lot, which RFBF used to go up 7-4. RFBF is great in the wind, but their men are not nearly as athletic. The Fish had trouble taking half, and B+ went on a run to make it 9-7, mostly through playing field position. From there on out, B+ led, winning 15-12. In the last matchup of quarters, FoF faced Donner

Mixed Division, continued on page 30

MASTERS DIVISION 2003 UPA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Refugees, Miami, FL 2. Old and in the Way, Boulder, CO 3. Kavu, Ketchum, ID 4. Fat Boys, St. Louis, MO 5. Never Nice Guys, San Diego, CA 6. Grey Expectations, Minneapolis, MN 7. OLD SAG, Philadelphia, PA 8. Keg Workers of America, Seattle, WA 9. GLUM, Ottawa, ON 10. Empire, New York, NY 11. HOSS, Wilmington, NC 12. Big Unit, Birmingham, AL

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS

Pho

ins to by Scobel Wigg

Pho

s to by Hart Matthew

Pho

r aue to by Paul Neugeb

by Bil Elsinger The masters division is, somewhat ironically, the younger sibling of open and women’s. With 12 teams for the first time in 2000, there isn’t a substantive history to live up to. As Ultimate increases its participation numbers across the board, more teams graduate skilled veterans, and masters has been forced to mature quickly. The number of new names in the list of each years’ qualifiers indicates that the growing pains are going on now as new programs spring up and hard running legs become as much of a necessity as great throws. Every year, players in close-to-prime form convert because of added responsibilities of children, the call of careers, or the heavy toll of too many practices a week in open.

affected. There were two pools of six teams, and the masters format is dissimilar to the other three divisions with five pool games transitioning directly to bracket play.

Only six teams that attended the 2002 nationals made it over the higher bar of 2003. Three of the semifinalists were back—minus local team Skeleton Crew—but a full half of last year’s quarterfinalists weren’t present. Teams are finding that they can no longer rely on remembered ability or historical cohesion, as more of their competitors are practicing on a regular basis. The addition of a few out-of-area superstars on returning teams also contributes to the unpredictable nature of the division—a point proven when Philidelphia’s OLD SAG brought in a few pivotal additions for their championship run last year. Boulder’s Old and in the Way (OIW) continued to look pretty good with their second place finish, and they and Idaho’s KAVU (only one loss last year) were back and seeded with the expectation of late tournament activity. A new addition to the mix, the Miami Refugees (most recently seen in a string of mid 90s nationals open appearances) were part of the new wave as they rounded out the top four seeds.

In the second round of pool play, the wind picked up a bit, and the fourth seed in pool A, Never Nice Guys (NNG), managed to stay in the game against OLD SAG at 12s. In a big statement about the competitiveness of this year’s newcomers, NNG took the final three for the upset. Empire also got a minor upset with a win over Big Unit. The other seeds held in not-close games.

Seattle’s Keg Workers have recent championship pedigree and were back after a year away thanks to the anti-wildcard and KAVU’s rise. Minnesota’s Grey Expectations also returned, but despite a quarterfinals appearance last year, Grey came in second in their region to the new to the St. Louis Fat Boys. HOSS out of North Carolina rounded out the returning teams, though their seed was again low. The northeast region was something of a mystery, as Canadian GLUM and New York’s Empire weren’t around last year. The southwest had a new contender in San Diego’s Never Nice Guys (who beat OIW in regional’s pool play), and the south’s Big Unit was the last of the qualifiers. The wind was back for this year’s nationals, but of all divisions, the masters should have been the least

Pool Play: Day One The first round of pool play went mostly according to plan, although the savvy Keg Workers managed to beat the team seeded just above them, GLUM. Grey Expectations went up early against the Refugees 7-4, but Miami got the momentum back to get to a double game point win. The rest of the games weren’t close and higher seeds won out.

Round three saw the first and second seed of each pool competing. OLD SAG and KAVU made it interesting all the way to the end. KAVU took half, but OLD SAG won by one in cap to prove that they still have it. The bottom seeds in pool A didn’t challenge in losses. Pool B saw Old and in the Way providing the Refugees scant shelter as a win established that they are still the team to beat. The Keg Workers cruised on a scrappy HOSS, and Grey Expectations proved that GLUM was overseeded as the Canadian lineup didn’t go very deep and tired late. The day ended with all teams agreeing that the field was playing at a much higher level than in previous years with only a slight difference in talent between the seeding extremes. HOSS was a good example of the overall improvement, as they remained winless despite improvements to their team. Only the Big Unit—minus six pivotal players from regionals—was out of contention in pool A. Old and In the Way was undefeated in pool B, and GLUM and HOSS looked for their first wins.

1. KWA 5.00 2. Big Unit 4.83 3.(tie) Kavu 4.29 3.(tie) Grey Expectations 4.29 5. Empire 4.17 6. Old Sag 3.86 7. Glum 3.83 8.(tie) Refugees 3.71 8.(tie) Old and In the Way 3.71 8.(tie) Fat Boys 3.71 11. HOSS 3.00 12. Never Nice Guys 2.57 All Teams 3.91

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT WINNERS Big Unit – Peter Thomas Empire – Eric Dorsch Fat Boys – Doug Parrish GLUM – Trevor Pound Grey Expectations – Dave Gregg HOSS – Frank DeFazio Kavu – Eric Rogers Keg Workers – Elod Toth Never Nice Guys – Joel Kindem Old and in the Way – Karl Heuerman OLD SAG - Cornacchio and Marc Schoettle (tie) Refugees – Todd Demetriades

CHAMP GAME STATS MIAMI REFUGEES Player Erik Peterson Garrett Crosbie Kevin Bogusky Dave Kelly Milan Hooper Luis Casteleiro Monte Adler Butch Brown Steve Fisher Parker Gillum Pablo Saade Todd Demetriades Rob Cotleur Tico Corredor David Dewitt Unknown TOTALS

Assists Goals 1 1 1 1 3 1 3 2 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 2 4 2 2 1 17

D’s

TO’s 1

3 3

1 3

2 1 2

2 16

BOULDER OLD & IN THE WAY Player Randy Ricks Dave Banks Ian Hue Dave Smith Heath Mackay Jeff Van Spriell Bo Esrey Buzz Ellsworth Jeff Bryant Brian Oliver Jim Glynn Chris Payne Geir Kvaran Rob Bleiberg Bob Pease Renzo Verbeck Karl Heuerman TOTALS

Assists Goals D’s 2 2 2 1 1 1 3 1 3 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 1

1 1 11

Pool Play: Day Two Empire kept pace with KAVU on Friday morning until 6-6. There was sloppy play by both teams—not an exception as the wind does change the masters game too—but KAVU cleaned it up first for the win. The calm weather that OLD SAG saw back home hurt them all weekend as the Fat Boys used great defense and long Masters Division, continued on page 32 WINTER 2003

TO’s 1 1 2 4 4

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The individual spirit award in the open division is called the Farricker Spirit Award, named for Peter Farricker, a player who embodied Spirit of the Game to those who knew him and those who played with or against him. This award is given to a player in the open division of the UPA’s Championship Series adjudged to have exhibited personal responsibility, integrity, and fairness combined with a high standard of playing ability. Each qualifying open team nominates one player from their own team as the person who best represents the Spirit of the Game. During the open championship game, each nominee is honored with a disc, pin or set of Mardi Gras beads. The hope is that the people wearing the Mardi Gras beads will be connected to Pete, each other and the Spirit of the Game, and will become role models for their teammates and opponents. A selection committee watched the open semis and selected one of the four semifinal nominees as the winner.

2003 Farricker Spirit Winner

by Steve Mooney

ANDY CREWS: SANTA BARBARA CONDORS What drives you to play this game?

Originally, when I started playing, it was pick-up Ultimate—and of course, there wasn’t much sense of team. At that time, I enjoyed playing for those moments of individual glory. Beyond personal achievement, I find filling a role and achieving as a group much more challenging and rewarding in the long term. Getting a group of people to work together at the level that is required to win Ultimate games is really incredibly difficult. Probably any team that went to UPA Championships could beat any other team if they could achieve their perfect game.

What does Spirit of the Game mean to you?

I would define Spirit of the Game at this level as the ability to combine fierce competition with both respect for other players (opponents and teammates) and the ability to act objectively and fairly. It is hard, almost impossible, to compete for something you really want and maintain these things. During competition, I lose sight of them from time to time. Having “spirit” means trying your hardest to maintain them.

How do you feel about winning the UPA’s most prestigious individual award?

I guess the most striking thing about it is that others put a considerable amount of care into the selection, and I am honored by that.

Is you team giving you a hard time? How do you respond?

My team made a few jokes about it. It’s a bit natural—we don’t go to Ultimate tournaments to win spirit awards; we go to win Ultimate games. The team spirit awards are a bit arbitrary anyway. If I had to choose between winning a spirit award and winning an Ultimate game, as long as I won the game by playing fairly and had respect for the other players, I wouldn’t be too upset about not winning the spirit award. It is a little bit funny that as a team we got the lowest team spirit ranking at nationals…and I’m afraid we don’t even really know what we did as a team to deserve that. The Condors do have a written code of conduct that calls for fair play, respect for teammates and opponents, and commitment to the Spirit of the Game (I have it on my desk). We all understand the importance.

Phooto by Haartt Maattheewss

Do you think that other countries like Sweden value Spirit of the Game more than the USA?

Ah, a loaded question. I guess I’d have to stand up for the US on that one. Spirit of the Game does seem generally important outside the United States; I won’t dispute that. I’ve attended the world championships four times: 1993, 1997, 1999, and 2002. At those tournaments I saw and played in a lot of games against other countries that were very spirited, and a lot of those games weren’t very close (especially the earlier tournaments). In 1993, we came in 9th, and the top 10 teams were from the US. At more recent tournaments, as the competition has gotten closer, I’ve seen less “spirited” games. Do the evil Americans bring it out in them? I would enjoy watching some games from the European Championships. Part of the problem is that it is possible to win games with bad calls—I’ve seen it happen—and as competition heats up, it becomes more difficult to maintain the Spirit of the Game. The fact that it’s possible to win games with bad calls encourages people to do that. There are very limited checks and balances that encourage people to play fairly with respect for other. I see the Farricker award as something that does, and I definitely appreciate that. I’ll do my best to represent it. 24

ULTIMATE NEWS

Photo by Scobel Wiggins

Photo by Hart Matthews

SPIRIT OF THE GAME Ultimate has traditionally relied upon a spirit of sportsmanship that places the responsibility for fair play on the player himself. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreedupon rules of the game, or the basic joy of play. - UPA 10th Edition Rules of Ultimate

2002 Farricker Spirit Winner

MOSES RIFKIN: BOSTON DEATH or GLORY What drives you to play this game?

I play because I love the sport itself, because I love working and enjoying myself with my teammates, and because I love to compete.

What does Spirit of the Game mean to you?

It’s simple—I think it’s an agreement that nobody will bend the rules in order to gain an advantage in the game. It doesn’t mean that fouls don’t happen...in fact, it’s the opposite. When they inevitably do, it’s having the sense of honor to think honestly about what happened and act accordingly. It’s also buying into the assumption that your opponents (and teammates) are making the same agreement...understanding that their perspective on a play or incident may not be the same as yours but being willing to respect that.

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARDS Teams were each asked to nominate a player from their own team who they feel displays the highest level of spirit. The definition of spirit is up to each team, but usually includes elements of sportsmanship, leadership, perseverance, fire, etc. Individual spirit winners received a medal and donated merchandise from Chasing Plastic Magazine.

TEAM SPIRIT AWARDS Following every game, each team was asked to rate its opponent on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the rating for the highest level of sportsmanship. These ratings were averaged and the team in each division with the highest rating was awarded the Team Spirit Award.

How do you feel about winning the UPA’s most prestigious individual award?

I have always taken pride in the fact that I’ve been able to play at higher and higher levels without compromising SOTG, which I think is so important. I have loved that playing top-level club brings with it a whole host of conflicts and questions about SOTG that I hadn’t anticipated, forcing my definition and impressions of SOTG to grow along with my playing abilities. Beyond everything else, I feel glad that the UPA has a way of acknowledging what had been a previously unacknowledged quality—the role of individuals in promoting SOTG. I feel great when people congratulate me on winning but mostly because these people are thinking about SOTG now and feel strongly enough about its importance to say something. THAT’s a great feeling.

Has your team given you a hard time? How do you respond?

A few months after winning, I was on a team of high school alumni, and we took to calling me “An Inspiration To All Players,” a quote from the newsletter article about the award. I think one thing I didn’t anticipate is the little challenges it brings with it, namely the assumption of others that I have an all-seeing-eye into the ‘right’ call to make. When I have made calls that others disagreed with—and I certainly have—I think there’s an extra layer of surprise. But again, I think there will always be plays that lend themselves to different perspectives, and no person, no matter how spirited, will have an unblemished record in the eyes of other people.

WINTER 2003

UPA Outreach Programs

Hosting a clinic designed to attract and teach women about the sport of Ultimate is a great way to start a women’s team, increase the number of women in your local league, or add players to an already existing team. Following is a useful guide to help organizers design a successful women’s outreach program.

VISION The first thing you should do is develop an outline of your idea and establish some basic facts. Having a clear and simple vision of what you want to accomplish will help you get started. Some basic questions to answer include: a) Who: Determine who you are trying to attract to this clinic. Are there a lot of students in the area? Do you want to start a youth league? This will determine the structure, content and advertising for your clinic. b) When: Decide when would be a good time for the clinic. Factor in the weather (is it too hot to have it in the middle of the day?) and when you think most people would be able to participate (if classes have started and you are hoping to attract students, then you may not want to do it on a weekday morning). You probably don’t want to make it longer than 3-4 hours because new participants may be hesitant to commit to more than that. If it does last longer than four hours, you’ll need to consider scheduling a meal break. Many organizers have mentioned that they found it more effective for a clinic to coincide with the beginning of a league or a practice schedule in their area. For example, if you have a fall league starting in September, you may want to schedule the clinic the weekend before the league starts. After the clinic ends, use that time to capitalize on the excitement that some of the new players will have to encourage them to sign up for the league. c) Where: Do you have a field site that you can use? Nice fields that are easy to find or on a campus may help attract students in your area. Does your field site require insurance? Do you need to reserve the fields? d) What: What specifically do you want to accomplish with your clinic? It is likely that you are you trying to increase interest and support for women’s Ultimate in your area. Do you want people to join the local women’s team? Then maybe you should have several of the women there to help teach, recruit and tell everyone how great their team is. Are you trying to increase sign up in the local league? Bring sign up forms and encourage people to join after the clinic. Figure out the main goals of the clinic and make sure that any decisions you make regarding your plan for the clinic 26

ULTIMATE NEWS

Guide to Organizing a Women’s Clinic focus on achieving those goals.

PROGRAM Once you have developed the ideas and groundwork for your clinic, you can determine the layout for the clinic. Following is an outline that provides organizers with a format to follow or use as a guideline when planning their clinic. a) Introduction:

To start off the clinic, Photo by Rick Collins

each skill station. This should be someone who can effectively explain the technique involved in executing the skill to beginners and then have them practice it in a pre-planned drill. Divide all of the participants into as many groups as you have stations. Allow each group to spend a pre-determined amount of time at each station and then rotate to the next until all groups have participated in each one. By splitting all the participants into smaller groups, you provide them with more individual attention, which helps new players learn more quickly and feel more encouraged to ask questions. c) Rules: After players have learned some skills, it’s now a good time to explain the basic rules of the game. We recommend the 10 Simple Rules, which are available on our website. The 10 Simple Rules break the game down into simple concepts that are geared towards teaching beginners what they need to know to start playing Ultimate. This is an excellent time to discuss the meaning of Spirit of the Game and its uniqueness to our sport. Rulebooks can be used as a resource for more detailed questions. d) Play Ultimate: The final step is to put everything that has been taught into effect by having a scrimmage. This gives participants the opportunity to use the new skills they have just learned to see what the game is really about. Beginners usually enjoy this part the most if the games are structured to be a learning tool rather than a competitive game. Make it easy for participants to ask questions. Or you can pair new participants with experienced players.

TIPS Some tips to keep in mind to help your clinic be more effective include: set aside at least a few minutes to introduce everyone to each other, perhaps even play an “ice breaking” or “name game” to get everyone familiar with one another. This would also be a good time to briefly inform participants of the day’s schedule. The focus of the introduction is to help new players feel more comfortable and relaxed and set the tone for the entire clinic. b) Skills and Drills: Many organizers and participants have found it effective to set up different “stations” around the field and have the focus of each station be on a different skill. These should be very basic. Examples of some good skills to cover include throwing and catching, cutting, marking, and defense. Assign at least one experienced player from your local community as a Station Leader at

- Advertise several weeks in advance. You can hang posters around your community, email other players and friends, post information at a local recreation department or at work. - Plan for frequent water breaks to keep participants hydrated and refreshed. - Request assistance from your local Ultimate community for support, set up, ideas and to participate as station leaders. - Request a Women’s Event Promotion Packet from Melanie at the UPA. - Ask other Ultimate organizers for ideas. This is only a starting point for your clinic. We welcome new ideas, questions and discussions regarding our women’s outreach program. To download the application for the Women’s Promotion Pack, go to www.upa.org/outreach/ womens or email melanie.byrd@upa.org.

UPA Outreach Programs

The goal of the UPA affiliation program is to encourage the growth and support of Ultimate at all levels and in all forms by assisting event organizers in providing their local community with opportunities to participate and learn about the sport through leagues, practices, tournaments and clinics. Below are answers to some commonly asked questions about the UPA Sanctioning Program.

for each team participating at the event. Players and teams that are not identified on a roster as playing at this event will NOT be covered by the insurance. 2. A valid UPA waiver must be signed by each participant that does not have one on file at UPA headquarters. 3. Each youth participant must complete a medical authorization form. These must stay on site during the course of the event and be submitted to the UPA along with the follow-up materials after its conclusion. 4. Chaperone forms must be completed when youth players participate at an event and be submitted to the UPA along with the follow-up materials after the conclusion of the event. Photo by Rick Collins 5. All participants must either: a) Be a current member of the UPA, b) Pay dues to become a member of the UPA, or c) Pay a one-time event fee in order to be able to participate in the event. 6. All rosters, waivers, youth chaperone forms, youth medical authorization forms, dues and fees must be submitted to the UPA (postmarked) within 10 business days after the conclusion of the event. Events that last for a duration of time, such as leagues, must send monthly updates. 7. The UPA recognizes the most current version of the rules, the 10th Edition. 8. Water and refillable containers for each team must be available at no additional cost. 9. Tournament directors must provide a source of carbohydrates and fruit for each participant. For league and practice play during the week, this is not required. 10.Tournaments must provide teams with at least four scheduled games.

Commonly Asked Questions About UPA Event Sanctioning

What does it mean to sanction my event with the UPA? It means that you have reviewed the policies and procedures required to host a UPA sanctioned event, and you have completed the sanctioning application and submitted it along with the deposit, and it has been approved by the UPA. What are the benefits of sanctioning my event with the UPA? 1. If your event is approved for sanctioning with the UPA, the entities you identify beforehand will receive a certificate for general liability insurance coverage. 2. UPA event sanctioning is a free service provided to its members. 3. Discounted discs are available to event directors for purchase to use as a fundraiser, or to sell or give away at your event. 4. We will promote your tournament on the UPA website. 5. You will have the potential to receive UPA newsletter coverage. 6. The UPA will provide services to assist you with planning and organizing your sanctioned event. 7. An event affiliated with the UPA gains recognition and sets higher standards for participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expectations. What are the objectives of the Event Sanctioning Program? 1. To assist event directors in hosting Ultimate tournaments, leagues, practices and clinics throughout the country. 2. To spread the enjoyment of Ultimate by supporting and affiliating with events in the local community. 3. To improve and ensure the quality of Ultimate events by affiliating with them and providing them with additional services from a national governing body that they might not otherwise have access to on their own.

4. To improve the communication between Ultimate players and the Ultimate Players Association.

What are the procedures involved with sanctioning my event with the UPA? 1. Review the policies outlined in the UPA event sanctioning application. 2. Complete the forms in the UPA event sanctioning application and submit them along with the deposit at least two weeks prior to your event date to: UPA, 741 Pearl St., Side Suite, Boulder, CO 80302, Attn: Event Sanctioning. 3. All sanctioning applications that are submitted are subject to approval by the UPA. Events will not be considered without receiving the completed packet and deposit. 4. Event directors will be notified once their event has been approved for sanctioning. What are the rules and regulations of the Event Sanctioning Program? 1. Sanctioning rosters must be fully completed

Any failure on the part of an event organizer to meet these requirements may result in the loss or increase of the deposit, suspension of a director, assistant director and/or event from being able to sanction through the UPA in the future. To download an application to sanction your event, go to www.upa.org/outreach/sanctioning or email melanie.byrd@upa.org. WINTER 2003

Interview with Jared Kass, continued from page 17

development enough to understand that the rules that it’s played by were so similar to the rules that we played by then, because I think I would have understood. The whole thing’s really a wonderful surprise and a wonderful shock. I still can’t quite comprehend that you’re naming a connection between those things I did at Northfield Mount Hermon that Joel Silver was involved in, and, I mean I get it, but it’s bigger than you can quite take in and imagine. I just didn’t understand that that was a seed germ that was very specific and and that that planting has grown into the tree you’re describing. If it took hold, it’s only because that desire for joyousness, connection, relaxation, and being lovingly, highly engaged in something is in everybody. And so when somebody finds a way to do it, they just grab hold of it. It’s not that, “Oh this guy Jared Kass had this good idea; let’s all follow it.” That wouldn’t do it. It’s only because it really stirs up something in us that we really need. WH: What would you like to say to the tens or hundreds of thousands of people who now play Ultimate? JK: There are a couple of things to say. Even as we try to pin responsibility on me for it, the part that I can’t take responsibility for is that at that moment that I leaped up and said, “This is the ultimate” and felt it and experienced it—it’s not that the game came from me; it’s that the game came from the joy of life and that was a moment when I was lucky enough to discover it. It’s a joy to be connected to all of you who are playing this game because we all know together—we’ve all had tastes of the experience—that it’s the ultimate. It’s definitely a way of bringing a circle together that I didn’t know was there. WH: What do you think of the UPA newsletter? JK: To me it’s a shock to know that there’s such a thing as a newsletter

like this. WH: The September 2003 newsletter, and the sport itself, has a healthy debate about whether or not to have penalties and referees at highly competitive levels, while hopefully maintaining the “Spirit of the Game.” Do you have an opinion on this question? JK: I don’t want to assume that I have a wisdom about this that would be more important than somebody else’s wisdom who has really been a part of the development of Ultimate as a serious, organized, official sport, which I guess it clearly is. I understand that Ultimate has its own unique qualities, and somebody could easily use it in all of those competitive ways. And I’m way past the point of being so moralistic as to say, “Oh you guys are betraying it,” or something like that. No, sure, it easily could take several forms. But, but, but that’s what our culture does. It always turns everything into vanquished and conqueror. Our culture turns everything into who’s winning and who’s the best. So it just saddens me to know that this is what our culture always does so much. I wish that more of us could continue to join together and say, “This great culture we live in, with all that technology has brought us, would benefit even more if we could just learn together to share the joy and to spread that joyousness and that way of being loving and accepting.” To say, “I’m not attached to whether we won or lost. What engaged me was that ultimate feeling of flying in the air, the grace of it.” It’s a different value than what we usually talk about, but it’s such an important value. WH: And what would you like to say to Joel Silver? JK: Joel! I want to meet you sometime! [hearty laughter] © 2003 Willie Herndon. Do not reprint without permission from author. (williamsherndon@hotmail.com)

Open Division, continued from page 20

Bravo repeatedly turned just short of the goal line, and Ring cruised through the second half for both the 15-11 win, and the pool.

Power Pool E Doublewide was the odd man out in this pool, as their pre-quarter berth was basically reserved before play began. Vancouver and Santa Barbara both zoned early, but moved to man in the second half. The defensive teams for both sides scored often, and the lead changed like a hot potato. Several chances were taken, but Furious turned out to be the house, as a few extra Condor mistakes became a 15-12 win for the Monkey. Furious shifted gears and restrained their hucking game to take the last few points. Furious was playing well, but unlike last year, seemed vulnerable. Jam seized the opportunity to go up early in the second round game. The Furious focus faltered into throwaways, drops, and a Jam five point run after half. Jam’s 1-3-3 forced Furious to throw up some 50/50 floaters that Jam brought down. Jam went on to a 1510 win for the only undefeated record.

Lower Pools — Pool G Vicious Cycle grabbed two important wins in the under pools. Big Ass Truck’s tough, close loss to Doublewide in pool play had been followed by a game against a well rested Madison G-Unit. Young (15 players not on

last year’s roster and an average age of 24) and full of vigor, Madison was able to use a short rotation to be the pleasant surprise of the tourney as they provided regional rival BAT with a 15-8 drubbing. Madison’s chances to move up to the pre-quarter game went the way of milk kept too long near the end of their first power pool contest against Pike. Madison was up early when controversy erupted, and Pike used the negative energy to pull out a victory. Vicious benefited from the erratic emotions and play of their opponents as they earned a pre-quarters showdown with Sockeye. Photo by Kelly Esposito

Lower Pools — Pool H Round robin wins by BAT, Sub-Zero, and Chain resulted in a point differential of 1, 0, and -1, and an ebullient Hogg made pre-quarters by the hair of their chinny chin chin. The close point differential would seem to indicate close games, but in fact the three teams beat each other decisively. Despite moderate success in previous years, Sub-Zero, out of Minneapolis, had lost several of its Carleton contingent and fared poorly all weekend. The 11 players that returned from Electric Pig’s 2002 roster also had trouble meshing with new teammates as appearances by these two teams later descended to the 15th place game. Several teams in all of the Friday pools had cleaned up their play significantly, especially

in important games. Error free Ultimate wasn’t the norm, but worthwhile offensive efforts were more common.

Pre-Quarters The Sockeye - Vicious game started off close with a Vicious lead, but Sockeye soon expelled its demons, and hand blocks turned into a comfortable lead and regained composure. Last year’s Vicious was close to the quarterfinals (with a very small official roster), but the addition of more players didn’t change the results as Vicious was simply outclassed. While Sockeye was running away from Vicious, Doublewide and Boss Hogg were neck and neck. Mostly downwind points led to Doublewide taking half 8-6, and they added to their lead to bring it to 14-10. Hogg pulled back to 14-13 when Doublewide took a time out that they didn’t have, and Hogg tied it up. At 15 Photo by Rick Collins all, Doublewide’s David Salisbury brought home the final quarterfinal spot with a catch over two Boss Hogg defenders to finish one of the more entertaining games of the tourney.

Quarterfinals Doublewide lived on the margin all tournament as they managed to Continued on next page

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The UPA had the top eight seeds all still present and accounted for at quarterfinals, although few would have predicted a DoG – Condor matchup this early. The Condors worked it back to an 8-5 halftime lead after starting down. Their explosive shorter handlers made openings on quick resets whenever needed, while DoG struggled, and for all of their experience, couldn’t get open consistently. DoG missed semifinals for the first time in a decade to signal the end of an era. Sockeye’s upstream battle against Jam started off even as Sockeye managed to get to 3s. Jam scored three in a row, the wind increased just before half, and Sockeye sank, although they later won back two NW strength bids for 2004. Despite an increase in wind just before half, quarters saw mainly man defense. Also common were early ties that turned into significant leads for one team. Bravo proved no exception as they managed to stay close to Furious until 4s. It was all Furious the rest of the way, and Bravo plateaus with three quarters losses in three years.

Semifinals Most prognosticators were right as three of the four finalists came through as predicted. Only Ring confounded expectations by replacing DoG. Not really a big surprise as this was a replay of last year’s final. Interestingly, the California semifinal matchup also echoed the 2001 final. Jam’s biggest hurdle was internal, as they had historically been unable to finish in the big games. Santa Barbara’s Black Tide history resulted in a winning tradition and several titles. Jam’s Stanford connections were less accustomed to successful finals, and Jam had yet to shake off their history. Jam came out man while the Condors’ tall cup of James Studarus, Mike Namkung, and Brandon Steets anchored their zone. Jam’s Damien Scott took advantage of his ability (long reach) to breach cups by getting a ridiculous number of short three meter dumps throughout the tourney. Jam started out with a mistake, lost the break off the pull, traded, then threw away a huck that the Condors converted. Another couple mistakes, and Jam found themselves down significantly for the first time (41). While the Condors weren’t exempt from making a few mistakes, their hucks continued to be perfectly placed, and Jam

didn’t make up the difference for their first loss. Neither Ring nor Furious worried too much about possession of the disc as turnovers were abundant as points were traded. Furious relied heavily on Grant while Ring spread its offense around. Vancouver’s early points were immediate scores off the pull. Ring turned it over more and relied on getting the disc back to stay even. Furious managed half first, but didn’t convert after, and Ring tied it back up at 8s. Grant went out momentarily after a tough layout attempt, and Ring went on a little run. Grant returned but went out again after landing on his arm. With their main player questionable, Ring took advantage by going up 10-8. Furious came back to make it 10-10, but Ring kept the lead as cap came on. Grant returned, and Furious managed to get to 12-12, Ring receiving. On Ring’s most important point of the season, two Ring touches on a soft throw resulted in an uncaught disc. Twelve throws later, Evan Woods caught Vancouver’s 13th goal for the win. Although this wasn’t the best game of the weekend for Furious, Ring proved themselves worthy in the crucible of the nation’s gaze.

Final The Condors looked unstoppable against Jam, but Vancouver’s earlier win made calling this game difficult. Mike Grant’s health was vital, but so was his being on with his throws. Several of his hucks went incomplete in the semis, perhaps because of his ailing arm. The Condors’ hucks looked good all weekend, and neither team allowed the wind to determine their play. But the Condors did have injury issues with Andy Crews at less than full strength and Corey Sanford’s knee injury (on the first point that he played) keeping him out. None of the games this year came close to matching the almost perfect offenses of last year’s semifinal between DoG and Furious, and the first few points of the final included several turns. George was up 4-3 when the Condors put on the zone after a turn. The Condors let some discs get out of hand, and Furious surged up to 6-3. Another trade to 7-4, and it was the 2000 final revisited. The Condors’ long game wasn’t clicking as Furious gave junk transition some playing time, but the Condors regroup to get back to 7-6. Furious took half 9-7.

Phooto by Haartt Maattheewss

pull out wins against lower seeds, but lost to higher seeds by several points. Certainly an improvement over missing nationals last year and finishing last in 2001, as trips to distant fall tourneys provided important experience. Sean McCall’s leadership was a big part of Doublewide’s upward mobility. Ring went up fast and big to prove that Doublewide needed a little bit more to compete with the big boys.

The Furious offense started off all game in a tight vertical line that shifted into two horizontal stacks as Grant or Lugsdin worked the middle of the field for the disc. Grant gave deep looks, but was equally as dangerous as a hucker as he’d turn to look up the field for receivers like Marc Roberts. Furious signaled no big shifts in strategy this year, as they stuck to a tight rotation and unchanged offensive sets. The Condors went much deeper into their bench as they spread both the scoring and the throwing around. Their stack extended further down the field, and their fast, shorter players were often on the receiving end of long throws. Condors came out of the half a little more fired up, but both teams were a bit peaked. The Condors stepped up their man D a bit to force some turns, and the score tied at 9s. The crowd rejoiced. Trading continued with long points. Furious managed an extra stop to go 13-11. The Condors had chances to tie, but Furious maintained its two point lead to game point, 14-12. Fatigue showed its ugly face as tired legs turned into several turns. No cuts forced Condor Steve Dugan to punt out of bounds. A mixup in the Condors deep defense, and Michael Enns hit an open Ricky Melner for the championship. Furious retained their title and proved the rule set by New York, Death or Glory, and the Condors over the last several years. Repeating is the norm.

Mike Grant took part in seven goals for a huge game. The Condors’ Crews, Dugan, Studarus, Steets and Burfeind all had multiple assists, with Dugan, Lobue and Cascino the only Condors’ players with more Photo by Hart Matthews than one goal. Lugsdin and Roberts were popular receivers for Furious, Cruikshank and Wood threw multiple goals, and Nichols was solid as both a thrower and receiver. Next up for both teams is Finland and Worlds. A rematch of these two teams is a pretty good bet, and should mean another great game. Whether both teams can come off of a Worlds performance in August of 2004 and not give up a step to the other, better rested qualifiers for next year’s UPA nationals is a story waiting to be written. WINTER 2003

Mixed Division, continued from page 22

Party. FoF is made up of veterans who are great in the wind, but the team lacks depth. Donner Party, after playing mediocre on Thursday and Friday, decided to step it up Saturday. The game was entirely downwinders, with FoF playing zone the whole way, until FoF turned it three times in a row on their goalline. Donner punched those in for quick scores, and FoF was never able to recover the margin. Both semis games were rematches; Hang Time faced regional rival Holes and Poles, and Donner Party took on B+ in a repeat of Friday’s power pools. Hang Time was up on Holes and Poles early. The Baton Rouge team was unable to connect on the long throws that were so successful in the quarters. Meanwhile, the Hang Time offense was clicking—throwers had complete confidence in their receivers and the receivers were wide open. This one wasn’t close, with a final score of 15-7. B+ made Friday’s game close, with athletic plays by their men and tight, shutdown man defense. But Donner Party came into the weekend ready to win the tournament. One of Donner’s main advantages is relying on all members of the team across the board. An early injury to Scotty Conway didn’t seem to hurt the Party at all, even though Conway usually scores many goals. They played with confidence and seemed to crush B+’s hopes with every score. Chants of “Don-ner Par-ty” reverberated around the field. Donner took half 8-4 and never relinquished the lead. The final score was 15-10. The last point of the final game was decided on a controversial call that the Hang Time players were arguing long after Donner rushed the field and celebrated. This loss has to hurt for the Dallas team, who beat everyone they played here, but couldn’t take home the trophy. Donner Party continues to show dominance, racking up an impressive win-loss record of 145-13 since 2001, with three trips to Sarasota, two championship titles, and one Worlds title (and all three finals versus Hang Time). Hang Time won’t be satisfied till they win it all, and Donner Party is having great fun as world champion. These teams could compete in the finals for years to come.

Phooto by Haartt Maattheewss

Women’s Division, continued from page 21

Northwest, and Schwa looked to make it four. But Godiva had an impressive comeback to deny the Northwest bragging rights. Schwa was up 11-8 in the quarterfinal, with Tracey Satterfield and Chelsea Dengler running the show. Mainly Schwa worked it well against Godiva’s zone, making questionable choices but pulling down the throws. But Schwa turned it over plenty too, and when Godiva started to come back, the Portland team seemed to fold. Godiva still holds the power of mystique, even when they aren’t playing well. Godiva scored five in a row to win this one, with Johanna Neumann running the offense and Mary Catherine Arbour a big receiver. But then Godiva faced Riot in the semifinals—probably the most exciting women’s game of the tournament. Riot prides itself on tough, layout defense. There were many impressive plays this match. At times, Godiva looked as good as ever, scoring every time they touched the disc. The offense starts with the front two cutters splitting to either side of the field; the Boston ladies have the skill to make breakside throws as necessary, and the receivers seem wide open when the offense is working. The thrower just places the disc in space. But sometimes this breaks down, perhaps because the timing of the cutters is off. The defense is able to be close enough to make the throw difficult. Godiva jumped out to an 8-4 lead with beautiful offense, but Riot came out fired up in the second half. The defense made some nice layout Ds, and the offense, led by hard-working handler Deb Cussen, kept the disc moving against Godiva’s middle force. A couple of scores shook Godiva’s confidence, and they started hucking. The offense looked confused. Though Godiva scored at one point to lead it 9-7, they weren’t able to stop Riot’s momentum. The final play was a point block by Liz Penny on Johanna Neumann, which Riot easily converted for the win. In the other semi, Fury easily defeated Prime. The Canadian team continued to rely on the huck, with Lara Mussell and Valerie Dion big in the air. But they had no more success against the Fury zone than anyone else. Both teams played field position, resulting in long and ugly points. In the end, Fury ran away with it, leading at one point 11-4 and winning 15-8. After losing last year by one point to Godiva, Fury was ecstatic to take home the title. The ladies stayed at the fields till well after dark, celebrating and driving around in golf carts. This team is young and deep, and has a great Ultimate base to draw from in San Francisco. After years of close games, the dynasty may finally have moved from east to west.

Photo by Hart Matthews

Photo by Scobel Wiggins

ULTIMATE NEWS

Phooto by Paaul Neeugebauer

Phooto by Haartt Maattheewss

Photo by Hart Matthews

Phooto by Haartt Maattheewss

Phooto by Scobel Wiggginss

Photo by Hart Matthews

Clockwise, starting top left: Riot’s Vida Towne gets huge layout goal; Empire v. GLUM; Jam lays out; Alias’ Val Kelly gets D block against Riot; Old & In the Way v. OLD SAG; Furious’ Oscar Pottinger gets the disc; Schwa pulls; Bad Larry v. BRU. Center: Stella v. Prime; Hang Time v. Donner

Phooto by Haartt Maattheewss

Photo by Hart Matthews

Masters Division, continued from page 23

throws to drop SAG another seed. GLUM played better as they stayed in their game against OIW until late, and the Keg Workers were up early at 6-5, but Minnesota shifted gears and improved their record. More blowouts occurred in the other games. Coming into the final round of pool play, pool A had four likely contenders as both Big Unit and Empire had uphill battles against teams that they were unlikely to beat. Unfortunately for Empire, the Fat Boys brought the hammer down hard, and they went up 8-0 at half. Empire switched to zone and stayed even in the second half. They left the fields wondering why they didn’t start playing zone earlier in the weekend. In the showdown of the 3-1 teams, Never Nice Guys didn’t give up after being down and got to 9-9. Kavu adjusted and went on a 6-2 run for the win. OIW had a strong-looking, undefeated record as they beat Grey Expectations, who had their worst game of the weekend at an inopportune time. The Keg Workers must have been

Expectations and the Fat Boys worked itself out in their quarters matchup, perhaps thanks to the addition of observers. The Fat Boys managed to get up early and never relinquished their hold on a few extra points. The OIW - OLD SAG game turned out to be just as good as last year’s final. Both teams worked patiently against man defense, and both went to the huck at opportune moments. OLD SAG had its chances, but last year is a long time ago, and they were eliminated.

Semifinals OIW started out ahead of the Fat Boys with multiple two point leads, but only managed to take half at 8-7. Man defense by both, and hucks for scores were the norm. At 8s, there were several calls in a row, but it was Randy Ricks again, with another assist for 9-8. Two more points, and the Fat Boys were in trouble, 11-8. The teams traded points the rest of the way out, and OIW was back in finals. The Refugees went up early in their game against KAVU with a 2-0 lead and held on for an 8-5 half. KAVU brought it back to 8-7, and it was a defensive contest through some long points. The Refugees got better field possession off of longer chances, while KAVU sometimes had trouble getting the disc off the end zone line against a very tough trap man defense. Several turns by both teams turned into an 11-8 game, and it was the Refugees the rest of the way.

Final OIW and Miami traded early runs to 5-5. OIW Rob Bleiberg hit Jeff Bryant for point six, and OIW was off to the races with four points in a row (9-5). Randy Ricks, Heath Mackay and Buzz Ellsworth gathered the assists.

Phooto by Haartt Maattheewss

sticking too close to their keg, or the Refugees had hit their stride, as it was a blowout, 15-4. Hoss was not able to come up with their first win for the weekend, ceding that pleasure to Empire, but both were out of the championship bracket.

Quarterfinals OLD SAG’s slippage and OIW’s dominance resulted in a rematch of last year’s final in this year’s quarters. Two quarters games featured regional rematches, as Grey Expectations took on the Fat Boys, and the Keg Workers were tested by KAVU. Two youngish new teams battled it out in the final game as the Refugees faced the Never Nice Guys, and it was the battle of the opposite (southern) coasts. KAVU’s legs carried them past the Keg Workers, and it was time for Seattle’s masters to move on to other activities. Miami came out of the gate like a bat out of hell, and with no drops, good consistency and left-handed throwers galore, Miami earned their first semifinals appearance. Some inherited bad blood between Grey 32

ULTIMATE NEWS

The Refugees started zoning somewhat successfully while OIW stuck with man, and the Refugees finally put one in. Another point trade to 10-7, and then Miami grabbed an extra. Thus started the marathon point at 10-8, although strangely, not so many throws were involved. Miami’s zone made several calls in a row with a few travels and some fouls and everyone grumbling. The game dragged, and the crowd complained as Miami seemed to be calling minor violations. OIW’s handlers may not have been keeping their toes firmly planted until release, and the calls were interrupting the flow. OIW gained little advantage on their infractions, but the observers were rightfully upholding some calls as technically valid. OIW was, however, obviously frustrated, and the Refugees defensive. After a few more calls and several turns, the Refugees finally converted a disc lost too close to the end zone

Photo by Hart Matthews

for 10-9. Another four man cup Miami zone, OIW worked it up for the score, but there was an earlier travel call. A long discussion ensued, and the cup was reluctant to return to their positions at the time of the call. The sidelines were actively booing. A few more turns on both sides, and the Refugees finally tied at 10s. That’s a three point swing, and OIW was looking stunned. OIW made mistakes throughout this run and played defense too loosely. Miami benefited from some come-from-nowhere Ds, and the run didn’t stop as they took EIGHT POINTS IN A ROW to 15-10 and cap. OIW looked either tired or a bit old, as Miami moved the disc at will. Miami’s defense shut down the underneath, and OIW’s hucks weren’t converting. The defensive pressure caused hurried OIW punts at high stall counts, and OIW only managed one more goal. Several of the master’s games had seen big runs, but this one was hard to believe. I wrote the game off as not that interesting with the 10-7 OIW lead, but was proved presumptuous. The calls stopped once the Refugees were up, but complaints of ugly play were common, and the shrill sounds of some heckling by a female Persuader left my ears ringing. I’m going to attribute the bad feelings to a tight game situation and some differences in regional interpretations of the rules. The Refugees would have won this game without the calls, as their more youthful legs came through for them at the end. There’s a new champion in town, and the grand prize is a (self-funded, of course) trip to Finland to represent the US in next year’s Worlds competition. The Refugee’s win indicates that younger, better conditioned players have risen the standards. They may need to watch their backs though, as the masters division continues to improve by leaps and bounds.

Phooto by Haartt Maattheewss

Player Profiles

by Stacy Hubbard PROFESSION: Student at Stanford Law School NUMBER OF YEARS PLAYING ULTIMATE: 7 NUMBER OF YEARS PLAYING WITH FURY: 4 LEARNED TO PLAY AT: Penn State PREVIOUS TEAMS: Penn State (1997), University of Wisconsin (1998), Toast (1999), Fury (2000-current) TITLES/TOURNEYS WON: Nationals 2003 WHY DO YOU PLAY ULTIMATE? The most obvious benefit of Ultimate is the competition, pushing myself and being challenged by my teammates and other players. I also love the intimacy: knowing where the next cut is coming from, recognizing when someone has improved their mark, saying to a teammate, “I knew you wanted to throw that hammer to the corner.” And, at a gut level, nothing is better than spending a weekend running around a field with my friends. FAVORITE PART OF THE GAME: Defense, especially the zone, which relies on every player being involved HOBBIES BESIDES ULTIMATE: Alpine skiing, running, cooking, developing my hand at Magic: The Final Gathering, testing the confines of the 24 hour day HOW DO YOU TRAIN FOR ULTIMATE? Our team is really spread out, with people living in Berkeley, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and as far west as Roseville. During the season, we have two practices on the weekend. Regionally, groups get together to do midweek workouts such as track, drills, or stadiums. During the off season, I run, play in city basketball and Ultimate leagues, and do yoga. HOW DO YOU GET PUMPED UP FOR BIG GAMES? Focused throwing with one teammate, intense drills, pregame scrimmage FAVORITE TOURNAMENT: Nationals—every year. There is nothing like it. Every team comes at their top condition and focused to win. SPORTS (ULTIMATE OR NOT) ROLE MODEL: My teammates for their willingness to make personal sacrifices, find common ground, and constantly surprise me with amazing feats of athleticism. BEST TOURNEY MOMENT SO FAR: Catching the game winning goal from Kim Zabora at 2003 Nationals. A close second is coming back on Godiva during the final of 2002 Nationals. WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE AT NATIONALS THIS YEAR? Our biggest challenge as a team is being able to incorporate twenty-four tremendously talented women into a line of seven. At a long, tough tournament like nationals, however, it is a great position to be in because, with a deep rotation, fatigue and injury are less of an issue. “Karli is one of the sickest layout D and O players I’ve ever seen. And one of the hardest workers. She has this abundant, downright contagious energy that spreads to anyone she is around (ask to see her happy dance). Somehow she manages to do it all while juggling the responsibilities of law school and captaining Fury. Of course, she can’t seem to remember to bring her left AND right cleat home from tourneys, but perhaps that is the price of Ultimate genius.” —Samantha Salvia

Photo by Bil Elsinger

KARLI SAGER - San Francisco Fury

FRANKUS FLORES - Lake Tahoe Donner Party Photo by Bil Elsinger

PROFESSION: Project manager for a housing developer NUMBER OF YEARS PLAYING ULTIMATE: 15? LEARNED TO PLAY AT: Wellesley High School (MA), UMass Amherst (MA), Humboldt State University (CA) PREVIOUS TEAMS: Keg Workers of America Local Union #333 (Seattle), Home Brood/Dude (Bay Area), Hee Haw (Hell), DownTown Brown (the ‘Hood) TITLES/TOURNEYS WON: 1st Place, Mixed Division - 2002 & 2003 UPA Club Ultimate Championships; 1st Place, Mixed Division - 2003 World Disc Games; 1st Place, Masters Division - 2002 World Flying Disc Federation Championships; 1st Place, Masters Division - 2001 UPA Club Ultimate Championships. No, I didn’t win in college. That sucks. No, I haven’t won in open. Yet. WHY DO YOU PLAY ULTIMATE? It’s a release. I love competition, and I love camaraderie. Ultimate is a great blend of these traits. I also hate coaches and referees (unless I am one).

HOBBIES BESIDES ULTIMATE: Fashion. Dancing. Saving the world from environmental disaster. HOW DO YOU GET PUMPED UP FOR BIG GAMES? I stay out all night drinking and dancing with complete strangers—making sure that everyone knows I’ll be playing in the big game the next day and not to forget my name. The more I am heckled during the course of a game, the better I will play. I feed off it. Also, I play great hungover with little to no sleep. I swear. FAVORITE TOURNAMENT: Nationals. And Potlatch. SPORTS (ULTIMATE OR NOT) ROLE MODEL: In all of sports, it would have to be Ali because he was so cocky and confident and backed it all up. I could only hope to be as poetic in my trash-talking as he was. In Ultimate, it would have to be Stu Downs. Best hand/eye coordination I have ever seen. Also cocky and confident, but the most fun guy I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing next to. BEST TOURNEY MOMENT SO FAR: Masters finals at the 2001 UPA Championships. Catching a 40-yard blade from CVH in traffic, and in the end zone, for the game. WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE AT NATIONALS THIS YEAR? Complacency. I have a tendency to be a bit too, well, relaxed on the field—even at the big tournaments. I get the reputation of being a “turnover machine” because I’m trying to score every goal with one cool throw. I’m really just messing around and having fun out there. But at nationals, it’s for all the marbles and there is this need to dial in and play the hated control game. I think when my captains cringe every time I touch the disc, I’m having problems focusing and/or I’m playing into the crowd. But I do tend to step it up in the big games. I played like crap Thursday and Friday this year, but turned it on when it counted on Saturday and Sunday. “Playing with Frankus is like having a real life rock star on your team. He’s hot, he’s exciting, he is so much fun. I didn’t know the human body could do such things until I met Frankus, and I’m a physical therapist! He can be a hothead, but his heart is huge and more people should know that.” —Annie Dixon WINTER 2003

Player Profiles

Phooto by Haartt Maattheewss

PROFESSION: Perma-student at UBC. Human Kinetics teaching degree. NUMBER OF YEARS PLAYING ULTIMATE: 9 WHERE YOU LEARNED TO PLAY: I learned to play in the VUL and high school. Cory McLean taught me all about Ultimate when I was in grade 11 and lured me onto his league team by telling me there were hot older chicks playing. I then started a high school team at my school where we eventually became Canadian junior champions. I was addicted and threw every day during my first year. PREVIOUS TEAMS: Altarboyz (First men’s team I played on with Marc Seraglia, Pete Rive, Kirk Savage, and many more top current players - 15th at WUCC in 1997); Furious George (Altarboyz folded and half of us joined Furious George in 1998); No Tsu Oh - Paganello beach Ultimate team from Houston (plus a few pickups); Nada Mooger - Kaimana Klassic; Doughboy - London, England TITLES/TOURNEYS WON: World Championships – 1998; World Games – 2001; UPA Champions - 2002, 2003; British Tour Champions – 2000; Dream Cup Japan - 2003; Paganello World Beach Championships - 2000, 2002, 2003; Canadian Nationals - 1999, 2003; Canadian Junior Nationals – 1995; Potlatch - 1998, 2002; Solstice - 2001, 2002; Labour Day – 2002; ECC – 2003; Flower Bowl Vancouver - 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002; Tempe – 2000; Kaimana Klassic - 2001, 2003; Ho Down - 1998, 2001 FAVORITE TOURNAMENT: Definitely Paganello in Italy. No other tournament even comes close to the organization and combo of fun and competitive play. You stay up until 4am and then play at 8am every day for five straight days. Pretty sweet deal. Kaimana Klassic is a

distant 2nd. WHY DO YOU PLAY ULTIMATE? I love the fact that you can’t be hit by a guy who’s 6’5” and 300lbs. The sport is all about speed, quickness, coordination, and creativity...making it easy for skinny guys like me to succeed. Also, I got cut from the Vancouver Grizzlies. YOUR BEST ULTIMATE MOMENT EVER: It’s a tie between placing 7th at the Freestyle World Championships at Paganello with Alphie Alphonso (Doublewide) and Damien Scott (Jam)...or winning the UPA Championships for the first time in 2002. Also, winning World Games in 2001 was a special feeling, as was winning Worlds in 1998. I guess I have more than one... HOW DO YOU TRAIN FOR ULTIMATE? I generally wait until the season starts before I do any real training (i.e. plyos, running, etc.). In the off season I play goaltimate, basketball and hockey consistently so I’m always in fairly good shape. I used to do Bikram yoga, but it got too expensive and cult like, so I stuck to doing nothing. Now I pretty much use sports for training. HOBBIES BESIDES ULTIMATE: Snowboarding, Goaltimate, Basketball, Hockey, Partying, Scrabble, Jenga BIGGEST CHALLENGE AT NATIONALS THIS YEAR: Every team was out to get us. It was amazing how intense the competition was each game. The biggest challenge was not taking any team for granted and coming out hard each game. Seriously, there wasn’t much seperating the top four teams because everyone’s getting so much better each year. Another challenge was being able to adjust and stay on top with our strategies for all situations - wind, rain, heat, etc.

MIKE GRANT- Vancouver Furious George

TODD DEMETRIADES - Miami Refugees

Photo by Scobel Wiggins

PROFESSION: Attorney NUMBER OF YEARS PLAYING ULTIMATE: 14 WHERE YOU LEARNED TO PLAY: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL OTHER TEAMS YOU’VE PLAYED FOR: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL; Wall City Ultimate, Berlin, Germany; Vicious Cycle, Gainesville, Florida; Miami Refugees, Miami, Florida; Florida Combo, Florida TITLES/TOURNEYS WON: US Championship (masters) – 2003; Southern Region (open) – 2001. I cannot remember if there were others. That is why I started playing masters. FAVORITE TOURNAMENT: World Ultimate Club Championships in Vancouver, 1997 WHY YOU PLAY ULTIMATE: I love the game. I have played with the Refugees for quite some time. They are my good friends and are reason enough to keep playing. YOUR BEST ULTIMATE MOMENT EVER: My best Ultimate moment was meeting my wife, Stacey, and the birth of our daughter, Olivia. We both played in Gainesville, which is how we met. I group these two together. There is nothing better. In second, though, would have to be the US Masters Championship this year and the opportunity to represent the USA at the World Championship in Finland. HOW DO YOU TRAIN FOR ULTIMATE? I try to follow a three month program. The first month, I focus on building endurance. The second month, I focus on building strength. The third month, I focus on speed. My workouts involve lifting weights in the gym, running and plyometric exercises. Depending on which month, I vary the routine accordingly. I keep my running distances to about 3-4 miles (alternating sprints and jogging). I usually do one big circuit in the weight room, alternating upper body and lower body. In the gym, I try not to rest much in between repetitions so that it is a good cardiovascular workout as well. HOBBIES BESIDES ULTIMATE: Digital photography and website design, playing guitar. BIGGEST CHALLENGE AT NATIONALS THIS YEAR: Grey Expectations, Kavu and Old and in the Way. These are great teams. All of them would have represented the US well.

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