Monday, April 13, 2009

Upcoming Tournaments

The Orange and Black teams will have two tournaments coming up. First, on April 25, there will be a one-day tournament called the St. Cloud Face Off. The tournament will take place at Whitney Park in St. Cloud and will likely take place between 8:00AM and 4:00PM.

The second tournament is a two-day tournament on May 2-3, called the St. Cloud Granite City Classic. This tournament is also held at Whitney Park and again is likely 8:00AM to 4:00PM. Sunday's play is likely to end around 2:00PM. Due to this weekend falling on the same weekend as White Bear Lake Prom, we will consolidate all remaining players into one White Bear Lake team.

PARENTS

Ultimate tournaments are a lot of fun. You get to stand on the sideline with other spectators and the players. I think it's that closeness to the players that makes it such a special sport to watch. A typical tournament day will have your child's team playing 2-4 games... yes, that's 2-4 games in one day. There will be 30-90 minutes between games, so you can usually drive to get lunch if you didn't bring food to the field. Tournaments are usually Saturday and Sunday, and Sunday there are usually single elimination games, so only the winning teams continue playing up to the finals.

But a day of Ultimate can be challenging for a spectator if you are not prepared. Here are a few things you should bring:
  1. a folding chair
  2. a hat
  3. sun block lotion (and use it often)
  4. some food and drinks (unless it's Nationals, there usually are no food or drinks available on the fields)
  5. a camera (if it's a small one, use it for close-ups of the players - action shots are usually not very good unless you have a telephoto lens)
  6. a video camera is great to bring. You'll love watching them later!
If you are in a position to help with a few team supplies, here's what many Ultimate players like during a tournament:
  1. ice (filling up an ice chest or cooler is best)
  2. gatorade (the tournament usually supplies water)
  3. fruit (oranges and bananas - and if you really want to go all out, cut the oranges into quarters)
  4. healthy snacks - perhaps pistachio nuts, bagels, peanut butter and bread. Ask your child what his/her team likes.
Reprinted from: http://www.upa.org/friendsandfamily/tournaments

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