Brighton & Hove Summer League 2009 Summary & Results

Two weeks ago we saw the Summer League’s climactic final between Kohlrabi and Rhubarb. It was an amazing game, with huge catches, D’s, hucks and great layouts from the beginners as well as the experienced players on both sides. An exciting match to watch, the score was always close, with Kohlrabi eventually coming out on top, 12-10, making Kohlrabi the Brighton & Hove Summer League Champions 2009!
The Spirit of the Game award also went to Kohlrabi, so congratulations for winning both! Scroll to the bottom of this article for the definition of Spirit of the Game, the importance of which is essential and unique to Ultimate.

Thanks to all the players and the spectators that turned up for the final & enjoyed all the drinks and burgers, I hope you had a great evening and enjoyed Summer League 2009. Over the next 5 or 6 weeks we’ll be having “beginners skills, drills + game” sessions, where complete beginners are welcome and learning players can improve,
whilst the intermediate & experienced players can play a few drills & have a pickup game alongside, until it gets dark. All happening in Preston Park on Tuesdays of course, and possibly leading towards a floodlit Monday night Autumn League starting in October!

Now for some summer league stats:

78 total participating players, including:
44 players who had never played at Brighton / Mohawks practices before, including
31 complete beginners

171 total points scored
54 points for Kohlrabi
45 points for Rhubarb
40 points for Ginger
32 points for Onion

24 total players for week 1
40 total players for week 2
36 total players for week 3
52 total players for week 4 (semi finals)
23 total players for week 5 (final)

9 players attended all weeks:
Waggle, Mental, Priya, Deeny, James Ely, Toby, Bea, Jon, Staff

13 players only missed 1 week:
Jo, Ben Speed, Olaf, Simon Elliott, Craig, Kirsty, Malcolm, Jon
(hair), Alice, Mediocre, Elias, Charlie, Andy

Most consistent team: Ginger (5 attended all weeks, 2 missed only one week)
Special mention: Rhubarb (2 attended all weeks, 5 missed only one week)

Spirit of the Game, as defined in the 2009 rules:
http://www.ukultimate.com/system/files/WFDF+Rules+of+Ultimate+2009.pdf

1.1. Ultimate is a non-contact, self-refereed sport. All players are
responsible for
administering and adhering to the rules. Ultimate relies upon a Spirit
of the Game that
places the responsibility for fair play on every player.
1.2. It is trusted that no player will intentionally break the rules;
thus there are no harsh
penalties for breaches, but rather a method for resuming play in a manner which
simulates what would most likely have occurred had there been no breach.
1.3. Players should be mindful of the fact that they are acting as
referees in any arbitration
between teams. In such situations, players must:
1.3.1. know the rules;
1.3.2. be fair-minded and objective;
1.3.3. be truthful;
1.3.4. explain their viewpoint clearly and briefly;
1.3.5. allow opponents a reasonable chance to speak;
1.3.6. resolve disputes as quickly as possible; and
1.3.7. use respectful language.
1.4. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but should never sacrifice
the mutual respect
between players, adherence to the agreed-upon rules of the game, or
the basic joy of
play.
1.5. The following actions are examples of good spirit:
1.5.1. informing a team-mate if they have made a wrong or unnecessary
call or caused
a foul or violation;
1.5.2. retracting a call when you no longer believe the call was necessary;
1.5.3. complimenting an opponent for good play or spirit;
1.5.4. introducing yourself to your opponent; and
1.5.5. reacting calmly towards disagreement or provocation.
1.6. The following actions are clear violations of the spirit of the
game and must be avoided
by all participants:
1.6.1. dangerous play and aggressive behaviour;
1.6.2. intentional fouling or other intentional rule violations;
1.6.3. taunting or intimidating opposing players;
1.6.4. disrespectful celebration after scoring;
1.6.5. making calls in retaliation to an opponent’s call; and
1.6.6. calling for a pass from an opposition player.
1.7. Teams are guardians of the Spirit of the Game, and must:
1.7.1. take responsibility for teaching their players the rules and good spirit;
1.7.2. discipline players who display poor spirit; and
1.7.3. provide constructive feedback to other teams about how to improve their
adherence to the Spirit of the Game.
1.8. In the case where a novice player commits an infraction out of
ignorance of the rules,
experienced players are obliged to explain the infraction.
1.9. An experienced player, who offers advice on rules and guides
on-field arbitration, may
supervise games involving beginners or younger players.
1.10. Rules should be interpreted by the players directly involved in
the play, or by players
who had the best perspective on the play. Non-players, apart from the
captain, should
refrain from getting involved. However for calls relating to
“out-of-bounds” and “down”, players may seek the perspective of
non-players to assist them to make the
appropriate call.
1.11. If players cannot agree what occurred in a play, the disc shall
be returned to the last
non-disputed thrower.

Enjoy your Ultimate everybody, wherever it takes you. Hope to see you
at practice!

Felix