impt read: Spirit of the Game

by: Roxanne Lu

Dear STD Viruses:

For the past month, we have seen our little and humble South Team Durian family grow from ten heads to beyond forty. We eagerly step into the grounds night after night to toss discs with new and old friends, and nothing can be more satisfying than to exchange shrieks and high-fives to a stranger over a point brilliantly scored. Not only are we spreading the love of the sport, we are building good friendships along the way.

But as we teach the basics of throwing and catching disc, the rules of playing Ultimate Frisbee, and how to joke around STD-style, let's not forget to impart to every player the sense of responsibility the moment he begins playing Ultimate: and that is to keep the Spirit of the Game alive!

Why all the sudden emphasis on Spirit of the Game? Before we started the summer clinic, Francis and i have requested (alright, so i begged!) Mr. F to lend us some discs to use for the entire summer. The good guy that he is (and I'm sure Mark can testify on this), F sent us the white discs that we use every game, on the condition that we must not forget to incorporate in our teachings the Spirit of the Game. Excerpts from his email:

"I have in my possession several discs, donated by several philanthropic individuals from Canada and Australia, which are actually meant for activities such as yours...to Spread the Love that is Ultimate. I'm giving some to players from Cebu and the rest, I can give to your group.

However, you must make me a promise. Promise me that you will teach your beginners the Spirit of the Game (insert inspirational music here...). I don't mean the type of "spirit" that is just associated with cheers and high fives and all the merry-making that goes on in a game. By "Spirit", I mean a real LOVE for the GAME. They must play the game because they enjoy playing it and because it should bring out the best aspects of a person. Be COURTEOUS to other players and RESPECT them and the calls they make. Make diligent efforts to LEARN and KNOW the rules of the game. Try hard to be the best Ultimate players that they can be. And help in Spreading the Love for Ultimate.

With what you are going to do, you will be planting the seeds of the game in your community. Make sure that the crops those seeds produce will grow properly. (music fades...)"

You guys know how passionate frisbee players are about Spirit of the Game because you have been in the field yourselves, and you know how it feels to find security in knowing that you can play a clean game through and through. So as our family becomes bigger, insert the Spirit talk in your chikkas and Da Vinci discussions. That, or you can forward this to them in a sort-of chain letter way. haha.. nah.. kidding! How scary. But, seriously, it's not just coach Manong Francis who should teach our beloved newbies about this, but it's everyone's role.

Below are articles and opinions-shared about Spirit of the Game. This will give us a clear understanding about it and how we can share the same thinking and practice to our player-friends.

Happy Tossing and See ya on the GREENS and the BEACH!!!
Roxy

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Spirit of the Game

"Spirit of the Game", perhaps the central governing principle of ultimate. Ultimate players, by their own reckoning, are among the more courtly athletes. Respect for one's opponent is paramount. In contrast to crybaby sports like soccer and basketball wherein skilled thespians refine the art of fouling and being fouled, the official ultimate rules strictly forbid any action—taunting, intentional fouls—that might be construed as bad sportsmanship. "Often," says the introduction to the rules, "a player is in a position where it is clearly to the player's advantage to foul" or rattle his opponent with taunts, but such tactics are considered "a gross offense against the spirit of sportsmanship." Dennis Rodman, stay right where you are.

The most compelling aspect of ultimate is the absence of penalties. In the preface to the rules, the founding fathers of the sport, such trusting souls, "assumed that no ultimate player will intentionally violate the rules; thus there are no harsh penalties for inadvertent infractions." (In fact, there really aren't any penalties at all.) This statement is, in its off-hand way, revolutionary. Imagine a country with no way to enforce its laws other than simply by presuming its citizens would never intentionally violate the law in the first place. Foolish? Naïve? In ultimate-land, it works.

Should some vicious churl choose to flout the Spirit of the Game, the founding fathers conceived of a simple safeguard. In place of referees, the players call their own fouls. For instance, if Jane hacks Mary while Mary is winding up to deliver the huck to end all hucks, Mary simply yells "foul," and it's a foul. Jane is presumed to have hacked unintentionally, and play resumes with Mary's possession. Since players cannot "foul out," a cynic might think it a toothless sort of foul call, but the Spirit so dominates the sport as to make further disciplinary measures unnecessary.

In Ultimate, every player is responsible for their own conduct on the field. There's no refs to make sure that everyone acts like grown-ups, so it's the responsibility of players to call fouls on themselves if the person they have fouled does not call the infraction. That's right. You can call a foul on yourself. Ultimate relies on the honour system and the belief that no one will intentionally cheat, much like marriages, the income tax system, and all-you-can-eat sushi bars. [1]

Ultimate's rules, like any sport's, can take a while to learn. However, they can, for the most part, be summed up by the concept of "Spirit." Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed-upon rules of the game or the basic joy of play. The purpose of the rules of Ultimate is to provide a guideline which describes the way the game is played. It is assumed that no Ultimate player will intentionally violate the rules; there are no harsh penalties for inadvertent infractions but, rather, a method for resuming play in a manner which simulated what would most likely have occurred had there been no infraction. It couldn't be much simpler. Spirit allows the game to be played without refs, without untoward aggression, and without long stoppages in play. It really can't be stressed too much. Spirit is what makes Ultimate so much fun. If you can't relate to the concept of Spirit you might be better off trying a different activity; such as sitting in a darkened room cleaning your firearms and obsessing over conspiracy theories.

http://www.ultimatehandbook.com/Webpages/Beginner/spiritofgame.html

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The Spirit of the Game is running after the disc like its the thing you want the most in the entire world, laying out, and making the catch (It's such an awesome feeling). Then, when you think it can't be any better, as you stand up in the endzone, you see not only your team, but your opponents cheering and congratulating you. It's calling a foul on yourself. It's playing at the highest level your capable. It's helping new players keep their forehands from flopping over. And It's definitely a Beautiful Thing. - Mike Costa

Spirit of the game is how you feel when the losing captain comes up after the game to congratulate you, not on the win but on the foul you called on yourself. It is something to be more proud of than the most killer inside-out. - Chris Bostic

"We must have slid 15 feet on our bellies. I was so excited to be playing with so many great people in one place. I had never played with so many fun loving, skilled, weather be damned great people. My opponent was a top player and competing step for step all the way to the end zone on a long huck was a challange in itself, but my first layout D was about a leap of faith that set a fire for my spirit for the game." - Anonymous