With 120 teams at Lei-out this past weekend on the gorgeous, widespread beach of Santa Monica, CA, it's hard not to love ultimate frisbee, beach or grass. Thousands of smiling people gathered Saturday morning, greeting old friends and meeting new ones, and prepared themselves to play in one of the biggest beach tourneys in the US. Minimal wind speeds and temps in the low 70s were the sprinkles on top of an already delicious beach cupcake.
Lei-out was my first 2-day beach tourney (I played in 2009 at Surf-n-Turf in Destin), and I was set to play on one of the two USAU 2011 Beach Worlds tryout teams. Everyone on the team met for the first time, and it showed by our lack of chemistry that the other A-bracket teams possessed. Fortunately, we began to learn each other's strengths and played significantly better on Sunday. Our record may not be impressive, but my new teammates certainly made an positive, lasting impression on me. I'm so ecstatic that I got to play with amazing people, (and 2 days later) amazing, lifelong friends. Much thanks to Dave Hammond, Ev Kramer, and Alison Regan for organizing the teams and making it a great experience. Also, a shoutout to my new best beach homies: Hale, Jerry, Dutch, Kyle, Lopez, Lisa, Remy, and all my other teammates :) You guys rock!
If you're interested in applying for the USA Beach Worlds team, you can still apply until Jan. 31 for a fee of $25 at the USAU website.
Before I move on, check out GT Women's College Spotlight on Youth Ultimate's website.
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I've been thinking a lot about what I can do to help Wreck accomplish our goals for this season, and my mind meandered (as it often does) its way to thinking about all the reasons I love ultimate frisbee, which I'm sure has happened to everyone at least once. These are some of the reasons why I play:
* Efficiency - Ultimate combines the endurance of soccer, the speed and transition between offense/defense of basketball, and the strategy and play-making of football. Why play 3 different sports when you can reduce it to 1?
* Spirit of the Game - Society is time and again governed by the phrase, "Everything is yours for the taking," even if it means taking away from another person. In other sports, more often than not, it's OK to foul if it's to your advantage, start fights, and belittle your opponent. However, because Ultimate is centered around SOTG, we can simply play a sport in its purest form, no b.s. or drama necessary (note the word necessary, meaning unspirited arguments can and do happen). Spirit of the Game also extends off of the field. Just by being at an ultimate tournament, you are connected with every other player present, and that is proven by the numerous friends made over the course of a single weekend.
* Camaraderie - I've played several team sports with this aspect present. Ultimate is one of these sports. The difference is that ultimate has a higher volume and more intimate friendships than any other sport I've participated in. If someone asked me who are my closest friends, chances are I'm going to name my teammates and other players.
* "Fashion is the only cure" - Two things I love: colors and clothes. Frequently, you'll see me combining them (I'm super cool like that). This is the only sport where you'll find people playing in outrageous outfits, ranging from plaid skirts and footy-pajamas, to pink jerseys and matching argyle socks and beyond. The myriad of whimsical attires clearly represents the spirited, silly aspect of Ultimate.
This list is only a fragment of reasons to love and play Ultimate frisbee, but I will end it here for now.
Stay tuned for posts regarding Southeast Team Previews and avoiding the dreaded ACL injury.
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