This weekend’s “Romp in the Swamp” Ultimate Frisbee Tournament, at Camp Jordan in East Ridge, sent home champions of several kinds. There were titles for the Open (mostly men, but some women playing as well) Champions in both the A and B brackets, as well as the women’s division.
The overall tournament champions were the College of Charleston Palmetto Bums. The B bracket champions were the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Swamp Donkeys A Team. Finally the women’s champions were Emory Luna. C of C finished 7-0 on the weekend winning what one participant called, “the best finals ever!” It was a hard fought game as C of C beat Davidson 15-14.
The other two champions of the weekend were the women’s team from the College of Charleston Hobos and the open team from Valdosta State. Each of the teams received the Spirit Award. Spirit of the Game is the guiding tenant of ultimate frisbee.
Spirit is defined in ultimate standards as follows, “Ultimate has traditionally relied upon a spirit of sportsmanship which places the responsibility for fair play on the player himself. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed-upon rules of the game, or the basic joy of play. Protection of these vital elements serves to eliminate adverse conduct from the Ultimate field. Such actions as taunting of opposing players, dangerous aggression, intentional fouling, or other 'win at all costs' behavior are contrary to the Spirit of the Game and must be avoided by all players.” It is a high honor to receive such an award in any setting as these teams were selected by other teams in the tournament.
After an amazing weekend of play, a little rainfall, and lots of fun, UTC goes home as successful hosts to their first college ultimate frisbee tournament.
For more information about the local college team, visit www.utc.edu/ultimate.