Favorite Tournaments

So i just got back from Ommegang this past weekend, a tournament I had not been to and I must say that it was quite enjoyable. After playing in another co-ed, party oriented, fun based tournament I thought I would go on and on about my favorite tournaments and why.

Acapulco
First, probably my favorite ultimate experience, was Acapulco. This tournament is just more fun than should be allowed on earth. It takes place in January and the 85F sandy beach environment is a nice switch from the cold and bitter New England crap. I think it was 18F when I left JFK and it was like 80F in Mexico, that's a tough day to dress for. In any event, the tournament is put on by the oh so Mexican nationalist Fernando. This guy is a class act. Not your typical TD because the guy will swear and heckle and drink with the best of them and can run like the wind as well. A true pleasure to play with/against. Basically, the tournament fee is ~$400 (yikes) but, it covers all your food and alcohol, thats right ALL your food and ALL your alcohol. You can walk up to the bar at the resort with a nalgene and ask for a beer and they'll fill it up. The resort is small, about 40 minutes outside the city, but the scenery is beautiful and the beach is fantastic. You get your team assignments there (cuz its a hat tourney) and you play a combination of sand and grass disc (you have 2 separate teams). You play one in the mourning and one in the afternoon and it is bad fucking ass. You don't play between 1-4p because it is too hot and during the break you can hang out by the pool, go swimming, go site seeing, or in the case of me and my new buddy Jeremy, we did pot brownies and enjoyed life. The competition is also what is awesome. There aren't very many chumps (because its >$500 to play in this thing including air fare) but there are also not too many superstars. So if you love the game but aren't necessarily a juggernaunt (myself) you can have a great time and still do well. This past year my grass team actually won the tournament (a switch) and that was something I had never experienced that made it all the better. Plus there are all sorts of party shenanigans, kareokee, clubbing, etc... And the best part are the locals. The tournament has ~75% americans and ~25% locals who are so intense and into the game but also some of the nicest people I have ever met. I made so many friends with people I could barely converse with in english or spanish but they were so welcoming and cordial, a nice alternative to the bitter NE. In any event, the tournament was the most fun I have ever had at an ultimate function and I highly recomend it. Believe me, it is worth the green (looking at you Stu).

Potlatch
Another tournament that is just too freaking awesome for words, is Potaltch. Now this little hum dinger is pretty ridiculous even for the ultimate veterans out there. My first trip there was back in 2004 and I was a bit overwhlemed. Basically every major ultimate player in the country goes to Seattle for 4th of July and plays in one of the biggest tournaments in the world. There are something like 100+ teams on like 60 fields in this massive space in Kirkland, WA. The level of ultimate is about as intense as it gets (at least for co-ed) with some of the big open teams fusing with the elite women's teams to make absolute beats of competition. In 2005 team USA and Canada went and I got the chance to play against Canada (not sober what so ever) as well as watch and meet a lot of the team USA players, that was fun. But the tournament is also a huge party/festival sort of thing. You have everyone staying in tents on the same field so folks are just walking around with handles of booze getting wrecked. The tournament is also a 3 day-er (aside from last year which was 2) and you get a lot of games in. The competition is pretty intense though and a lot of teams take it seriously. Which makes it fun when you beat them drunk. Eventually most teams are gonna hit a pretty stellar squad not unlike the Portland team that upset team USA in the semis in 2005. The best part of the tournament though is the party. Now this is fucking cool. They get the whole bunch of 2000+ hippy drunk frisbee players and bus them out to the party spot which not only has 20+ kegs of GREAT micro brew but also a buffet style salmon dinner. I dunno about you guys but dry bagels and unripe bananas don't really compare to all the grilled salmon, salad and potatoes you can eat. This was awesome. And of course, not only do they feed you, but they also have this kicking party where all these fun loving sociable folks are mixing it up and bringing their regional party antics. I remember in 2004 my team (crab high reunion) set up shop right inside the entrance and we would escort people right to the beer as soon as they walked into the party. Not sure why we did that, Bilbo was in rare form. In any event, some of the most fun I have had. Wouldn't recomend playing drunk because I got really hurt on a nasty bid. But if you can get a team into the mixture, which as long as you submit the bid in early, as in March, you'll get a spot. A great time.

Wild Wood
Now, aside from grass disc, there is beach and the most fun I have ever had at a beach tourney has got to be Wild Wood. WW is pretty insane. Not only does it boast >200 teams but it is also in one of the most....how shall I say this....asthetically humorous spots in NJ. Its basically a board walk and a beach town that is the personification of a used up Meth Addict. If you have ever seen requiem for a dream, it could have taken place in Wild Wood, NJ. The hotels are pretty dumpy, the board walk is riddled with white trash and shitty carnival games, but if you are in your 20s (or at least act like it) it is absolutely heaven. Its bascially Trouble in Vegas but beach and the fields are walking distance from where folks stay. Depending on how intense your team wants to be you can either play in the elite bracket (yikes), open, or non-competitive. Because my team (Trash Gets Picked Up) wanted to basically enjoy the beach, the booze and the antics as much as possible, we opted for the non-competitive and ended up in the finals of our bracket. My one criticism is the party which wasn't too steallar. Like TiV the surrounding environment encourages shenanigans on its own so you don't really need to sequestor folks in one spot, let them roll out. the format is also pretty bad ass. You play a game for time (1hr) and then you are off for an hour and then on and off etc... During your time off most folks go down to the beach to cool off and its a good time. I really enjoyed it. I wish I could remember the name of the motel we stayed at but needless to say it was pretty dumpy, we got into some trouble and we had a lot fun.

Ommegang
This past weekend was Ommegang which is a decent size tourney in Cooperstown NY. Good spot for a tournament, the fields are pretty nice, at least at first glance. A bit hard but, thats ok. The coolest part is the place where everyone stays. There is a camp site at the ommegang brewery, hence the name and you basically pitch tents, pull out BBQs and socialize before and after games. Folks get kegs and there is a party with a crazy african music band, who are AWESOME. Aside from that its your usual ultimate craziness. Folks going tent to tent playing "strip-OK" (as opposed to "drink-ok"), packing bowls and smoking up, keg tossing, water mellon stealing, heckling potential hookup-ees (thanx Korber), and your general shennaigans. The competition is pretty stiff, which I wasn't expecting but it was nice to have to work at it. Going down in quarters sucked, but hey, I still had a great time. You also have the baseball hall of fame, the lake, the local town near by and its generally a great time, provided you don't get horribly lost on the way to the fields.

Aside from these 4 there are also some great tournaments in some great spots.

Pres Day was always a good time at UCSD because the party was awesome (us sqids can booze), the competition is great, and you can't beat San Diego weather in february.

Trouble in Vegas was also a great time. The fields are absolutely horrible and, at least at the college one, really really windy, so that sucked. But all the big name colleges are there and you are in Vegas (how bad can that be). Party is kinda weak, but like Wild Wood, you don't really wanna party in a great city like Vegas, you wana go mobile, take it to the streets and gamble.

Jazz Fest is also good for this reason. Its basically what NE teams do instead of Potlatch for the 4th. Its in Montreal which is a really fun city and folks usually take it to the strip clubs and get high on THC and absynthe. I really enjoyed myself last year except for the fact that getting around enibriated in a city that likes to speak French can be a challenge.

Another notable fun spot is OMK (Ow My Knee) in albany which is similar to Ommegang, just open instead of co-ed, the TD is actually a good guy and the party is sweet.

I also really enjoy High Tide. A lot of snobby college teams think its a joke but it isn't, the competition is pretty good (at least for the second session), its run very well (except that we had to play a sectional rival twice in a row), and it takes place in Savannah during St Patty's Day. This deserves a bit more discussion. Savannah is the Irish captial of the South and River St is basically a mini-mardis gras. Folks go absolutely crazy. Titties popping out, drunken parents with kids, crazy t shirts, awesome bars and great great stories the morning after. I made off with an ATM sign back in 2006 which now resides above my door, love that thing. And the best part is, you are there for ultimate.

I also liked Purple Valley. This is an interesting tourney because it takes place right around halloween so everyone comes dressed up for the party. This party is pretty bad ass considering its filled with under age kids on a college campus and no one cares. its also in the middle of nowhere Williamstown, MA so you can wander around with a nice little co-ed and not have to worry, although better not get lost when you are blitzed by yourself.

Some other tournaments that I would like to go to but haven't yet are kaimana, paganello, and Poultry Days. kaimana is basically the ultimate nirvanna. Fantastic disc in Hawaii. Some of the best in the game come out and play for squads like Nada Mooger (Mike Grant's team), Voltron (Nord and some CUT guys), Ono (don't know), Grey Tide (black tide alums?) and SMUT (stanford's open team). This past year saw the 7 year streak of Nada Mooger come to an end. From what I hear the party is legit and come on its freaking hawaii, can't beat the scenery.

Paganello is a beach tourney in Italy in April. It has a lot of international teams which is nice but the weather is not consistent (from what I hear). No Tsu Ho (basically Nada Mooger on sand) wins it consistently but its supposed to be a good time. The only other draw back I hear is that you have to buy all your booze (ok thats fine) and you are probably gonna wanna take more than 4 days off work if you are going all the way to Italy.

Poultry days is like Potlatch but in Versailles, Ohio. The chicken dinners there are supposed to be the best food on the planet (one of many reasons why I want to get my fat ass out there). Team USA went to it in 2005 and won. A lot (60+) teams rock out here and I am sure have a raging good time. Something to mark on your calendars for mid June.

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