Turkey Bowl 2006
Over the weekend of November 10th - 12th, the team traveled to Eugene, Oregon to compete in Turkey Bowl III. Although we didn't win many games (OK, so we didn't win any games), we had a great time and learned a lot from the high level of competition. Highlights included Pat's first truly successful layout, Trevor successfully nailing a sea gull in flight with a disc, and Genesis successfully urinating in two states simultaneously. In summary, it was a very successful trip. The drive home through high winds and driving rain was (thankfully) also successful, even after it dumped 2 inches of snow on us while we were having dinner in Mt. Shasta.
Alameda Tourney 2006
On Saturday, December 2nd, the team traveled to Alameda to compete in a one day East Bay tournament. We enjoyed playing against the evil Coach (Scot) Schneider's team from Terra Nova High School, including a few points of Schneider on Schneider competition.
Meatfest 2007
On Saturday, March 17th, the team traveled back to Alameda to compete in the second annual Meatfest tournament. The highlight for us was probably our first game against Redwood High School's Gymnosperms. We led most of the game, but then the Gymnosperms finally mounted a comeback and pulled ahead 7-6 just before the hard cap came on. The team hurried back to the line and was ready to receive the pull when the hard cap came on, so Redwood was forced to pull again. ATC scored to tie the game, making the next point sudden death, then went on to win the game 8-7. Our defense was spurred on by a magic amputated doll arm I found on the side of the field at the beginning of the game ("who wants the hand????") After the game, a couple of Gymnosperms brought us the doll buttocks, which they'd found elsewhere on the field. These are treasures we will cherish forever.
Click here for photos
Redwhirled 2007
On Sunday, March 25h, the team traveled to Larkspur, CA to compete in Redwhirled 2007, hosted by the Redwood High School Gymnosperms. The wind hurt our offense, but we were able to score on every one of our opponents, even Team X (mostly adults) who went on to win the tournament. When the sun finally came out, our team was inspired to remove a truly scary amount of clothing, despite the fact that we were playing on astroturf (can you say "rug burn"?) This may have contributed to the fact that we brought home the Spirit Award for the tournament.
Click here for photos
2005-2006 Tournaments
Fall in the M.U.D. 2005
Our 5th annual fall trip to Quincy included the coldest weather the team has ever faced. When we started our first game on Saturday, it was only 22°F, and things didn't warm up much from there. The fields at the fairgrounds are notoriously lumpy, but there seemed to be new Native American burial mounds erected in several places. All of these surface features were frozen positively solid, so it's a wonder we escaped without any serious injuries. The other three teams (M.U.D., the Vacaville Fire Ants, and Chico State) proved too strong for our team to handle, but we were able to score on each of them. The dinner and party were pretty low-key to start with, but later all varieties of mortal combat broke out, including arm wrestling, leg wrestling, thumb wrestling, a strange game involving shooting while the other player reloads, an even stranger game involving cups (and more rhythm than I could muster), and finally, an all out cup war.
We arrived at the fields on Sunday to find the burial mounds hidden by several inches of snow with a light rain falling. After practicing slush layouts, pummelling me with snowballs, and constructing the Ultimate slush-man, enough Fire Ants finally showed up to put together a pick up game in the now driving rain. Every player who returned to the van was soaked from head to toe. Mathilda actually walked 40 yards from the changing station (port-o-pottie) to the van barefoot through the slushy snow! We decided to avoid as much nasty weather as we could, taking the Marysville route back, and the team played jello (milk bottle) for nearly the entire way home.
This was the first tournament that did not feature a single U-turn.
Click here for photos
Cold Fusion 2005
Air Traffic Control returned to Eugene Oregon in force this year (20 players!) and fielded a better team than we ever have before. Our seniors stepped up to the plate admirably and managed to infuse our new players with the Spirit necessary to help win some very difficult games. An epic battle of Street Fighter ensued after our loss to Tribe, featuring a marathon "Tiger Uppercut!" exchange between Alicia and a guy from Crescent Valley who obviously didn't know who he was up against.
After going 2-2 in pool play Saturday, we were seeded second in the lower quarterfinals. We won our first game easily (OK, so it was a middle school team), then faced South Eugene B again, hungry to avenge a close loss to us in pool play. We traded points for a while before South started running away with it. I called time out at 4-7, talked them up a bit, and then the team went back in there and scored 4 unanswered points to finish the half ahead 8-7. South never scored again, and we took it 9-7 after the game was capped. This was a true team effort, with the sidelines screaming and providing subs for our spent athletes. Although we lost the finals to HOTI B, our team once again took the Spirit Award (three times in a row!)
Click here for photos
2004-2005 Tournaments
Cold Fusion 2004
The team once again drove all the way to Eugene Oregon and back again (thanks Mr. Baker!!!) over Halloween Weekend to compete in Cold Fusion, a co-ed high school tournament. Highlights of the weekend included a wicked inside-out backhand by Jed for a score, Jen (on her knees in the end zone) catching a hammer comming right out of the sun, Alicia laying it out over and over again, Cody and Liam ruling the skies, and the overwhelming hunger of Travis and Trevor as they chased plastic (sometimes successfully). We also got to play "High Duken" (sp?) and many other silly games during breaks in the competition. The most fun, however, was dragging Liam through the mud and rubbing it into his hair after he maliciously splattered several innocent bystanders (including Coach Schneider). Once again, the team received the coveted Spirit Award, quite an honor given the fantastic spirit shown by the other teams present.
Official Tournament Results Page
Click here for photos
Fall in the M.U.D. 2004
On the weekend of December 11th - 12th, Air Traffic Control returned to the site of their very first tournament for the fourth time to take part in Fall in the MUD, hosted by Feather River College's Mountain Ultimate Disc (MUD). Highlights included a glimpse of trailer park culture and an brief encounter with a county sheriff.
Click here for photos
Lei-Out 2005
ATC competed in their very first beach Ultimate tournament at the Santa Monica pier over the weekend of January 15th - 16th. While mired for hours in stop and go traffic on the grapevine (we nearly ran out of gas), Ms. D. and coach "entertained" the team with their renditions of favorite Grateful Dead tunes. Over 50 teams competed in the tournament, and each pool was associated with a character from TV's Bay Watch. Our gracious hosts for the weekend even let us use their hot tob!
Click here for photos
Slopfest 2005
The Red Hand from Castro Valley High School hosts the premier Northern California Juniors Ultimate tournament, and this was ATC's fourth showing. The team was (technically) undefeated during pool play, including a solid trouncing of Terra Nova High School's Diskfunctional, coached by Mr. Schneider's little brother Scot. The Saturday night party included a hilarious talent show, a disc golf course through the Castro Valley High School campus, and a "throw while dizzy" competition. On Sunday, the team waived a chance to take 8th in the tournament (through another forfeit), eventually placing 10th of 20 teams overall.
Click here for photos
Grass Burn 2005 - The Mark of Zorro
The team hosted their third annual tournament over the weekend of April 23rd & 24th, and a dreching good time was had by everyone who braved the rain. Unfortunately, the bad weather prevented Touchdown Productions from filming the finals (or Air Traffic Control's last game) as planned. The Campolindo Reunion team pulled out a close 12-11 win over The Red Hand to take the trophy, and The Red Hand won the Spirit Award. Air Traffic Control suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of The Evil Coach (Scot) Schneider's team, Diskfunctional. We're protesting the win, though, since they didn't pay their tournament fees on time, didn't show up for the captains meeting, etc.
Northern California High School Ultimate Championships (NCHSUC)
This State Championships (held over April 30th & May 1st) not only had the longest acronym, but also sported the most red tape of any tournament the team has competed in thus far, stemming mostly from its UPA sanctioning. On the positive side, it was held at the premier venue for Ultimate, with fields overlooking the entire Monterey Bay from high atop the lovely UC Santa Cruz campus. Our team placed 7th in the state, and begrudgingly cheered The Evil Coach (Scot) Schneider's Diskfunctional on to 3rd place.
MUD Classic 2005
The team's progress this year earned them an invitation to Mountain Ultimate Disc's spring tournament, a very high-level mixed adult event, including many former Donner Party players (the former mixed club world champions). Rain threatened the tournament several times, but everyone soldiered through. Unfortunately, the team suffered its worst injury when Cody got slammed (by an even bigger guy) and broke his collar bone. Coach Schneider consoled his mother Debra, by pointing out that she still had two fully operational sons.
Thoroughly Diskfunctional Invitational
The Evil Coach (Scot) Schneider's team, Diskfunctional, hosted their own tournament to round out Air Traffic Control's season. After playing round-robin, the four teams rearranged themselves randomly into four "hat" teams (including one that got most of the Dark Meat players). The highlight (for me) was going deep and laying it out to catch a disc thrown by my brother Scot and hearing his players on the sideline cheer, "Out with the new, in with the Old!" Of course, I still managed to satisfy The Conservation of Talent Law by throwing it away in the end zone.
2003-2004 Tournaments
Fall in the M.U.D. 2003
The team traveled to Quincy, CA over the weekend of November 8th-9th to take part in their third Fall in the MUD, again hosted by Mountain Ultimate Disc (M.U.D.) at Feather River College. The team played well despite absolutely miserable weather, proving that there's life after Sage and Cory. The photo at the top of this page was taken during a momentary break in the rain. Click here for photos.
Last Chance Turkey Dance
The team traveled to Reno, NV over the weekend of November 22nd-23rd to play in Free Range's Last Chance Turkey Dance. It was pretty cold, and billions of canadian geese had obviously been decorating the fields for weeks. We got everyone to sing happy birthday to Ena and Liam at the party. I drove co-captains Jesse and Laura around downtown Reno for what seemed like hours trying to find a non-casino venue for the traditional "officers' breakfast". Click here for a photo of one of our best cheers of all time. If anyone has any other pictures from this tournament, please let me know.
Winter Thing 2003
The team made the long drive to Oregon for Eugene's Winter Thing tournament over the weekend of January 10th-11th. Highlights from the trip included me taking about a thousand wrong turns, none of us being able to find the tournament, losing Esther's dad John and Chip for several hours, sneaking in to John, Steven & Diana's hotel to go swimming, and having Steven pick up the check for dinner at Chevy's (thanks, Steven!!!!) However, I'll never forget Squid's fingers sticking out of a tiny hole in the door of the gas station bathroom she was locked inside for an hour or so, and Laura screaming "Get her out of there! I've got to go!!!" Click here for a few photos.
Slopfest 2004
The team returned to Castro Valley over the weekend of February 28th-29th to compete in the tournament hosted each year by Castro Valley High's Red Hand. The competition was very challenging, especially considering there were no bathrooms available. The team played so well that the opponent for our last game on Sunday left early to avoid getting crushed. Click here for a team photo.
Grass Burn 2004 - Can You Handle the Ninjya?
The team hosted their second tournament over Mother's Day weekend (May 8th and 9th), and it was a great success. Air Traffic Control won two games - the most they've ever won in any tournament! Touchdown Productions videotaped the win over The Ananda School's Chakras aired it on NCTV (Channel 11). Touchdown also recorded aired the finals, which pitted last year's winner The Red Hand (Castro Valley High) against Cultimate (Campolindo High) in a hard capped 15-14 nail-biter. We all feel sorry for the three teams who pulled out in the final week before the tournament - they missed a most excellent time.
Grass Burn QuickTime Movie (developed by Mike Weil of Cultimate)
Official Tournament Results Page
Click here for photos
2002-2003 Tournaments
Fall in the M.U.D. 2002
The team traveled to Quincy, CA over the weekend of December 7th-8th to take part in a tournament hosted by Mountain Ultimate Disc (M.U.D.) at Feather River College. Two other high school teams attended, Castro Valley High School's The Red Hand and Nevada Union's Sexy Beast. This trip was unique in that we brought along several fans, including the entire Air Traffic Control cheerleading squad (Jaimie, Esther, and Nadja). Click here for photos.
Cold Fusion
The team traveled to Eugene, Oregon over the weekend of November 1st-3rd to take part in a high school tournament hosted by the Sheldon High School Fighting Irish. The team captured the Spirit Award, and received skirts that match our blue shirts perfectly. Click here for photos.
Slopfest 2003
The team returned to Castro Valley over the weekend of February 22nd-23rd to compete in the tournament hosted each year by Castro Valley High's Red Hand. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures posted.
Grass Burn 2003 - Attack of the Killer Disczilla!
Air Traffic Control hosted their own tournament on Memorial Day weekend (May 24th-25th). It was a raging success, with the absolute best tournament trophy ever constructed.
Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures posted.
2001-2002 Tournaments
Fall in the M.U.D. 2001
In November, the team competed in their first tournament, the first annual Fall in the M.U.D. in Quincy, CA. Click here for photos.
Slopfest 2002
In February, the team competed against other high school teams in a tournament hosted by Castro Valley High School, home of The Red Hand. Click here for photos.
MUD Classic 2002
The team traveled back to Quincy over the weekend of April 27-28th. The level of competition at Mountain Ultimate Disc's spring tournament was the highest we've seen yet, including some of the top coed teams in the nation. Click here for photos.
The Spirit of the Game
Ultimate relies on a spirit of sportspersonship which places the responsibility for fair play on the individual. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players. And never with an intention to abuse the agreed upon rules of the game, or destroy the pure joy of play. Actions that go against these basic principles may hasten the day when players no longer control the game. Playing by the Spirit of the Game will help Ultimate remain a sport where each one of us is free to decide, for themselves, what fair play means to him or her. Remember, no set of rules can replace players' respect for one another and the Spirit of the Game.
Other Resources
California/Oregon High School Ultimate Email Distribution List
Nationwide High School Ultimate Email Distribution List
Local Pick-up Team's Email Distribution List
Ultimate Players Association
Quick Overview of the Rules
Offical Rules of Ultimate, 11th Edition |
