Good Spirit

I have been involved with competitive athletics the majority of my walking years. And in all of my experiences, there have been far and few that have topped what I experienced this past weekend at the Windmill Windup, Amsterdam's Ultimate Frisbee Tournament.

I was in what was considered a pick up team, meaning people from all over that have little to no connection to one another, come together to play in the tournament as a team. Mine was initiated by a few people that had played together in Australia a few years back. Our full roster was filled with people from all over, the States, Canada, Holland, Australia, France, and of all levels of play. We instantly meshed as a team and created a name for ourselves as great competitors...and partiers!

This was my first competitive Ultimate Frisbee experience, but I was lucky enough to have been surrounded by many people who were passionate about the game as well as me learning. I realized throughout the three day tournament there are an incredible amount of strategic parallels in Frisbee and basketball, so I caught onto things pretty quickly.

There were many MANY things about the Windmill Windup that made me LOVE Frisbee tournaments, but the greatest piece was the idea of spirit. In Ultimate Frisbee there are no judges or referees. There are fouls, picks, and other penalties called, but they are called by those playing. The opposite team has an opportunity to agree or contest and from there the play may resume or start over. Needless to say there is often a certain degree of tension among teams throughout the process of coming to these decisions, but along the way the idea of spirit is always carried on.

When a game begins players often shake hands and wish the person they are defending good luck. Whenever an indiscretion on a play arises, the players involved in sorting it out always end shaking hands. Throughout the play of the game, while remaining competitive, the players keep in mind the idea and importance of having good spirit...or being a good sport.

The absolute best showcase of spirit occurs following the game. Both teams come together in a circle, arm and arm and give feedback and thanks for the game. There are often gifts symbolizing the teams origins given to the other team, and many times a fun game/competition is played between the two teams. The post-game activities are my favorite because they make all the competitors human again. People relax and laugh and leave behind them any frustration or anger they may have had following the game. Because of this Frisbee players become extremely close with people on other teams and have phenomenal parties together!

This is much longer than I intended. So I'll wrap up with the following:

http://www.windmillwindup.com/2009/photosvideo.html >>>Check this out. It's a video made by BicycleMark, a guy I have met, hung with, and even given an origami peace crane... The video will give you a better idea of the wonderful spirit shared throughout the weekend!