****************** 1612 players served *********************

Ultimate Happenings: Issue 138 - May 30, 2000

OCUA Web site: http://www.ocua.ca

"Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't"

************************************************************
CONTENTS:

- OCUA Vs Mother Nature
- Manotick Station Fields News
- Results From Registration
- Players Looking For Teams
- Cones - Status
- Layout For Life - New Date - July 8th
- Women'S League Subs Wanted
- Poultry Days Invite
- Women'S Hat Tournament
- Breast Cancer Fundraising Fun Run/Walk - This Weekend
- Volunteers Needed
- Sponsor Looking For Teams
- Found
- Calendar Of Events

************************************************************
OCUA VS MOTHER NATURE:

A Message Regarding Recent Field Closures and Game Cancellations

Well, the month of May is almost over, and many of you haven't
even played a game of ultimate yet. Most of you are understandably
frustrated, and believe me, so are those of us who run the league.
It's been a trying few weeks, to say the least. At any rate, we've
received a lot of questions and comments regarding this matter, and
while we certainly appreciate getting your feedback, it has become
apparent that there is a lot of misinformation, misunderstanding,
and miscommunication happening out there (not to mention some angst,
bitterness, and in some cases, outright rage). As such, the board
felt it would be best to make a general announcement explaining
the situation, and our actions in response to the problem.

First of all, I'd like to make it clear that we as a board don't
WANT to have to cancel games. We all play in this league ourselves,
and we want to be out there chasing discs as much as anyone, in
many cases, maybe even more. These are not easy decisions for us
to make - as one of the people who had to decide to cancel games
at UP Inc last wednesday when the rain had past, the sun was
shining, and the air was perfectly still, I can certainly attest
to that. We're simply doing the best we can to deal with a
difficult situation given the resources we have.

The Situation
----------

This isn't simply a case of there being a lot of rain lately,
it's all about timing. Basically, the rain has come right on
the heels of the spring thaw, which is a critical time of year.
The thaw follows the initial spring runoff, and the two in
combination literally saturate the the soil with water to a
considerable depth, much deeper than a heavy rain in the summer.
This leaves the ground extremely soft, and also subject to
compaction. Normally this period lasts for a couple of weeks,
usually ending near the beginning of May. However, the heavy
rains that we have received in the month of May this year
(117.3mm as of May 25th, compared to the average of 76.4mm for
the whole month) have essentially extended that period of
saturation on the vast majority of our fields to now... and
the forecast doesn't look promising.

In addition to the saturation problem, at this time of year
the grass just isn't as robust as it is later in the season.
There is always some degree of dieback and thinning of the
turf, and in some cases, there can be major bare areas. The
remaining grass also needs time to strengthen and rebuild it's
tissues after a winter of dormancy. Fertilization and associated
maintenance on our own fields can help speed this along, but
if it's too wet to use the equipment, well... I think you see
where I'm going here.

Both these factors combine to make the fields highly susceptible
to damage. Later on in the summer the turf is much stronger and
fuller (assuming there isn't a major drought), and it takes
several days of hard, steady rain to get the fields to a point
anywhere near as soft as they are now. As a result, games do
not need to be cancelled as frequently, as the potential for
damaging the fields is considerably less.

Why We Care
----------

On our own site, where we have to pay for maintenance and upkeep
and deal with any damage caused, I think it's pretty obvious
why we care. But what about the other fields? While we don't
have any formal responsibility for upkeep or damage - in some
cases, we don't even pay rent. However, the fact is that our
field situation is tenuous. We don't get the kind of recognition
as a sport that soccer, football or softball do, and so it's
a challenge to even get the city to rent us fields. Fortunately,
a number of private groups have come through for us, such as
the Oblate Fathers at St. Paul's and Peterson's Turf Farms,
and have made arrangements for us to use their sites. In some
cases money is exchanged, but regardless of whether we pay, we
are there by their grace, and it is their land. If we trash it,
you can bet we won't be invited back. The same holds true for
our field sites in parks. The nature of our sport allows us to
play in areas not typically designed for sports fields, such
as Riverside or Jacques Cartier. Our existence in these areas
is tolerated because of our generally unobtrusive nature.
However, if we start tearing up parkland, it only takes one or
two complaints to have us banned from using those sites as well.

What it all means is that it IS our responsibility, and we HAVE
to care. We can't find enough fields to accommodate the teams
who want to play now... where will we be if we lose the ones
we have? It's already happened to some degree, and with the
continued growth of soccer and other sports, it's a tough battle.
We don't need to make it harder on ourselves.

And besides, why would you want to lay out on bare, uneven ground
when things get rock hard this summer? Those of us who've been
around a while have seen trashed fields, and the hazard that
they become when things dry out. The safety of our members is
also a serious concern. Twisted ankles and torn knee ligaments
aren't a lot of fun - there are plenty of you who know that.

What Are You Doing About It?
----------------------

Basically, the board is giving this issue it's undivided attention,
and as an entirely volunteer organization, I don't know what else
we can do. There have been literally hundreds of emails sent
over the last few weeks on the subject, and who knows how many
phone conversations. Board members have been checking UP Inc.
and the Sod Farm sites essentially daily (if not more often)
since before the start of the season, and have been soliciting
reports on other field sites from coordinators and other experienced
individuals. While we realize it would be simpler to go ahead
and cancel games for an entire week as we did in week 1, we are
now making decisions on a day to day basis in order to try to
get in as many games as we can, and minimize the impact on the
rest of the season.

Questions & Answers
----------------

Q: Why didn't you cancel the games when you heard the weather
   forecast?

As we all know, weather forecasts are notoriously inaccurate.
Unless we hear a very strongly worded forecast indicating that
there will definitely be persistent heavy rain over widespread
areas, we don't tend to cancel games if the fields are in a
state where they may be playable. This is particularly true
of forecasts for thunderstorms, which tend to be very localized
and short lived.


Q: Why didn't you cancel the games an hour ago when it was
   pouring?

Rain, particularly in the summer in Ottawa, tends to be erratic.
What is happening outside my office window at Baseline & Merivale
is probably reasonably indicative of what is happening at St.
Paul's, but may have nothing to do with what is happening at Sod,
or at the Lighthouse field. I can't tell you how many times it
has been pouring in the city, and dry as a bone out at Sod, or
vice versa. In addition, who knows how long that rain will last?
Frequently it will pour for half an hour, and be done.

Unfortunately, as volunteers we just don't have the time or
manpower to send someone to each field to check on conditions.
Even if we could, it's extremely difficult to get the word out
to teams on short notice. It's not feasible to contact all the
captains to call off games an hour or so beforehand, and so we
have to rely on the web page and phone line, which people often
don't bother to check. So, that leaves us with two options.
Either we can cancel games much earlier in the day based on
forecasts, and probably end up cancelling at least some games
in almost every week of the season, or we can wait until game
time and leave the call to the teams, and whichever administrators
may be on site. Now I realize that if you drive all the way
out to Sod Farm to find out you can't play, it's inconvenient,
and quite possibly irritating. But right now, it's the best
system we've got to make sure that you play the most games you
can. We're certainly open to other suggestions.


Q: Why wasn't the web page or the phone line updated?

Usually because the call to cancel games has been made by an
administrator at the field only minutes beforehand. Even if we
could update those resources, you were probably already on your
way to the game. If we make a decision to cancel based on a
weather forecast, that will be done by 3pm, and the web site
and phone line WILL be updated.

Q: It was a beautiful day today, why can't we play?

Saturated fields require far more than a single day in order
to dry out. Weather conditions on any particular day have much
less effect on field conditions than the weather in the previous
four or five days (except in monsoon situations such as last
Wednesday).

Q: Why are games cancelled at UP Inc. but not elsewhere? Is
there a problem?

We are being more cautious with the UP Inc site for a number
of reasons. The primary reason is that the turf there is not
as well established as it is at most of our other sites. In
addition, we are still in a learning process of how to properly
administer maintenance on the site. As such, the turf conditions
aren't as optimal as we hope they will be in the future. Finally,
the water table at the site is relatively high (in part due to
the work of the beavers). This can be an advantage in summer
when the weather is dry, but it does mean that it takes longer
to dry out, particularly in spring.

That being said, there are certainly some drainage issues on
the site that need to be corrected. Most of them are minor
issues which can be corrected through normal maintenance. Our
most major concern is field 2, which is currently doing a fine
Caspian Sea imitation. That issue will require specific corrective
measures, and we plan to address those as soon as the area has
dried out sufficiently.

Q: Are the games that have been cancelled going to be rescheduled?

It is our intention to try to reschedule as many games as possible.
This could involve Saturday or Sunday double-headers, or less
likely, extension of the season.


Sign Off
------

Well, hopefully I've been able to address most of your questions.
If you have any more concerns, feel free to contact the board,
or any one of the board members individually. We appreciate
your patience in this matter, and hope to have you all playing
soon.

Cheers!

Ken Lange, on behalf of the Board of Directors

-----------

Editors Note:

Monday and Tuesday seemed to go well and hopefully dried
things out a bit. The weather for Wednesday and Thursday
currently doesn't look very good but probably will not
require any cancellations. BUT please use your judgement.
If you get a local thunderstorm that totally soaks the field
so it is obviously soft please postpone your game or find
another site that isn't as wet.

Thanks

************************************************************
MANOTICK STATION FIELDS NEWS:

It seems that some (hopefully non-Ultimate) players had a
bit of a bush party on the back end of field #9 out in
Manotick Station Monday night.

We are still following up on it to see if we can identify
who it was and what actions we can take.

I understand there was only a small bit of damage, mainly
their fire pit which was dead center in the endzone. Thanks
go out to Ken Lange, Peter Bruton & his Tuesday team and an
un-named officer of the law for their help in cleaning up the
mess.

It looks like they got into the site through the north entrance
by moving some of the rocks.

Please help us out and keep your eyes open for any more of
this in the future and be sure to lock the gate if you happen
to be the last one leaving the site.

************************************************************
RESULTS FROM REGISTRATION:

We have a grand total of 2806 individual players who registered
online. Thanks for your help everyone. Now we have proof we
are the largest league in the world. :)

I actually gave everyone a grace period of 23 hours before
locking down the database and generating the following results.
Even so the following teams did not meet our quota of having 12
players registered by the deadline.

Captains, if your team is on this list AND you think you have
an exceptional excuse as to why we should not cash your roster
deposit cheque please CALMLY let me know.

We will be destroying the roster deposit cheques for teams that
are not on the following list.

Everyone please continue to update your personal information on
the online database as it changes.

Thanks
Mike
e: mharley@sympatico.ca

Monday
(00)  Tweety's Revenge
(02)  PPI
(02)  Strange Brew
(02)  The Coasters
(06)  Rhymes With Horatio
(07)  Harry Areola
(07)  Opiate of the Grasses
(09)  Huckin Hores
(10)  Steamed Hams

Tuesday
(00)  TBD Canada Trust (I think this team bailed from the league)
(02)  Huck and Fappy
(05)  Fetch Astro (Hagen/Vautour)
(07)  EBU
(09)  Big Hand of Death
(10)  Greenbelt Flyers
(10)  Ultimatum

Wednesday
(00)  Organized Chaos
(01)  668 Neighbours of the Beast
(03)  Rhymes With Horatio
(04)  Tetris
(09)  Mimicking Fishsticks
(10)  Nervous Flick
(10)  Shut Up and Run
(10)  Who's Your Daddy

Thursday
(01)  Almonte
(08)  Happy Huckers

************************************************************
PLAYERS LOOKING FOR TEAMS:

The online database of players looking for teams has been
cleared and reset. This was done because too many people
never went back and took their contact info off of the
list when they found a spot. This made it extremely difficult
for a captain looking for players to actually find a player
who didn't already have a spot.

Therefore if you are still looking for a team PLEASE go back
to the online form and resubmit your contact info and the
night (or nights) for which you are looking to play.

Hopefully this will generate a more up to date list for
captains to use.

Please remember to go back and remove your info if you
actually do find a team in the future.

-------------

We are looking for a whole new Tuesday night 4/3 team as one
of the teams we had bailed. We will be filling this team with
players from the online database (see above). We would
ideally like to use players who are not playing any other
night of the week.

IF (and only if) you can be a CAPTAIN of this Tuesday team
please e-mail me at mharley@sympatico.ca.

************************************************************
CONES - STATUS:

Cones have been ordered. In fact they were ordered a month
ago. Only today were we finally able to contact the "jerk"
who we ordered them from. It seems this guy doesn't have all
his oars in the water. Anyway he "promised" they would be
here sometime next week. I'm not holding my breath...

When the cones finally do arrive we will let you know in
another Ultimate Happenings and on the website.

For now if there are ANY teams who have a spare set of cones
they are not using we would sure like to get them back into
circulation. That said please try to drop them off at Doug
Tahirali's office (Cleave Physio, 180 Metcalfe Street at
Nepean, Suite 104) and we will pay you $5 for a set of 8.

************************************************************
LAYOUT FOR LIFE - NEW DATE - JULY 8TH:

The new date for this tourney will be July 8th.
Check out their website for more info:
http://www.echelon.ca/samo/layout_for_life/

************************************************************
WOMEN'S LEAGUE SUBS WANTED:

Ever wanted to give the Women's League a try, but didn't want
to commit to a team for the full season?

What about trying it out at your leisure, when it suits your
schedule, for free?

Sound too good to be true? It's not! How would you like to be
one of our fabulous subs?

Subs are the most appreciated person on the field! ...and we
are looking for some women for our electronic sub list.

If you're interested, please contact Kathy Butler at
kathandallan@sprint.ca or by phone at 230-6150. :)

************************************************************
POULTRY DAYS INVITE:

We're looking for players to come on the ultimate road trip
of the season - to the 19th Annual Poultry Days Ultimate Classic
(http://www.poultrydays.com) in Versailles, Ohio! (NOTE: it's
pronounced ver-SAILS by them there Americans). The tournament
is one of the majors in the US, with teams coming from all over
the states. Voodoo has traditionally held a spot at this
tourney (one of only a couple Canadian teams), but since it's
an unwritten rule that the Open division is generally coed,
in the last few years we've made it an optional tournament,
and picked up some other Ottawa players to pick up the slack.
This year we're looking for both men and women to fill out the
roster, and make the trip to what is undoubtedly the best
overall tournament of the year, June 9th to 11th.

Now it may seem like a long way, but this is what ultimate road
trips are all about... loading up the vans friday morning (aka
noon), being sure to find a spot for the triple fermented quebec
beer that the tourney organizers always ask us to bring down
for them... driving down the scenic 416/401, past the center
of the universe, Drumbo, Putnam, Talbotville Royal, Prairie
Siding, and other up and coming Southern Ontario towns, to reach
Windsor, where you can see thousands of Red Wings fans roaming
about madly in their natural habitat. A quick stop at the duty
free to pick up SUPER-cheap Canadian beer, a cagey slip past
the border guards, and it's over the bridge to beautiful Detroit...
if we haven't eaten yet, a stop at Xochimilco's will be in
order - it's a wicked Mexican restaurant serving up delicacies
and cervezas from the best North American country south of
Canada... Then it's on to Toledo, the stuffed grape leaf capital
of the Midwest. You're now in O-hi-O, and you can just smell
the Americana... or something.

You're on the home stretch now... only a couple of hours to go.
Oddly enough, you cross the Ottawa River, presumably not the
one you left behind at home.... and somewhere in there is Bowling
Green... what's up with that? Then you go past a sign for Ottawa,
and you wonder if you've really left home at all. Still, you
keep truckin' down the I75, ponce and all, passing places like
Lima, and Wapakoneta, until you finally hit the Versailles
(remember, it's ver-SAILS) exit... another 20 minutes, and
you're in downtown Versailles, a town of about 2300... The
annual Poultry Days festival is already in full swing, with red,
white and blue ribbons decorating the house, the standard small
town midway, and people out and about. If you've been to Poultry
Days before, you find the park after about 15 minutes of searching....
if not, you find it after half an hour.

Regardless, what awaits is a sight to behold... for both the
veteran and the rookie poultry player.  The tent city that forms
in the park is simply amazing... there are some on top of the
hill, but most of them surround the pond in the middle of the
park... and everywhere you look there are discs and beverages
and ultimate freaks... people are just tossing, or playing cups,
or DDC, or just hanging out slagging the group next door or
the guy who loves Bud Light... there are massage lines, drinking
games and people to meet from all over... tres cool.  You make
some attempt to set up your tent, and crawl right into the
festivities...

The next morning, you somehow crawl out and head to the breakfast
gazebo... then those of you who are wise and want some of the
hot poultry merchandise make a bid for the tent now, as choice
will be limited later. Then it's on with the cleats, and off
to play great spirited, high level ultimate against teams you
would not normally get a chance to play... Dallas, Houston,
Florida, Knoxville, San Diego, Arkansas, Columbus, Colorado,
San Fran... you name it.  4 games on day 1, and they're a blast...
but the reward comes at dinnertime, when you get your chicken
dinner...  For those of you who didn't leave until 4pm on Friday
and crawl in at 4am, you'll see them firing up the barbecues....
all day long you watch the smoke pour out... and then finally,
you get to taste it.  I won't try to describe it here... I'd
need a smoke afterwards... and I don't even smoke. But believe
it's good.  And they take it very seriously... they plan to
serve 26000 chicken dinners over the 3 days of the festival...
and throughout the day, you'll hear the count of how many are
left... you don't want to hear the call that they are out if
you haven't gotten yours yet. But hey, it's not just chicken -
it's a meal... so naturally, you get a bun, potato chips, and
a container of "Chilly Willy" simulated orange drink. The
container actually says "less the 1% real fruit juice". The
stuff actually glows. No wonder those who can't go always
request we bring a few back...

That night usually means a quick tour of the midway... perhaps
you'll be lucky enough to catch a glance of Miss Chick, the
festival queen, in the crowd... then it's back to the tents
for... well, basically whatever you want.... there's always a
party to suit everyone's tastes. (although you may have to make
a quick trip to the drive through liquor store by this point).
The next day you play a few more great games, go through the
drive through to pick up your chicken dinner, and start to make
the long trip back... as you get closer to the Canadian border,
you start to lose your American drawl, and sometime around 2am,
you're safe at home in bed.

Well, there's the (not so) quick synopsis. It's a great tournament,
and those who go once always want to go again. Unfortunately
other commitments sometimes make that difficult, and we come
up short.... so we need some bodies. This tournament is extremely
difficult to get into, and once you've locked on to a spot, you
can't afford to give it up. If you're interested, drop me a line
and I can answer any questions you may have... If I know you,
not too many details are necessary... if I don't, an indication
of skill level and style of play would be nice. Regardless,  if
I offer you a spot,  I will need solid commitment from you by
the end of this week (June 4), and I will expect you to keep
it.  We can't afford to have people bail at the last minute.

Cheers!
Ken
e: kblange@nortelnetworks.com
************************************************************
WOMEN'S HAT TOURNAMENT:

Saturday, July 22nd at the Sod Farm in Manotick

Contact:

Diana Nunes
e: nunes@sprint.ca

Julie Thompson
e: t-juliet@microsoft.com

************************************************************
BREAST CANCER FUNDRAISING FUN RUN/WALK - THIS WEEKEND:

Hello everybody!

For any of those who have not yet heard, I got suckered into
helping to organize a Breast Cancer fundraising fun run/walk.

Well, our hard work is about to pay off, and although it is
(very) late notice, I was just wondering if any of you - my
nearest and dearest - would like to come out for a worthy
cause and a good time!

The Breast Cancer Action fund raiser is set for this Sunday
morning - 9am, June 4th at the Rideau Canoe Club near Hogs
Back. You need only collect $25 in pledges (or just pay for
yourself if you're too lazy) to be able to walk/run/whatever.
And you get a free shirt!! :-)

We'll have entertainment, BBQ, tugowar, Dragon Boat demos,
etc etc...more fun than you can shake a stick at...

Anyhoo, let me know, or just show up, or call me (265-9024)
or call the Breast Cancer Office at 736-5921 for info.

Hope to see y'all out there!!

Prayin' for sun,

Karlis

************************************************************
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:

Journalist:

Ottawa Sportswatch a (monthly?) free newsletter is looking for
a few people to write Ultimate articles for their publication.
If you are interested let me know and I will connect you with
their representative.

Thanks
Mike
e: mharley@sympatico.ca

************************************************************
SPONSOR LOOKING FOR TEAMS:

Father & Sons restaurant (located @ 112 Osgoode and King Edward,
Ottawa U campus) is looking for teams to sponsor for this
upcoming Ultimate season.

Contact Sam @ 234-1173 and ask about the Ultimate sponsorship
package.

************************************************************
FOUND:

I found a women's digital watch at Riverside last Thursday
night - women's league.

The owner can email me at cole_harbour@yahoo.ca

************************************************************
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

2000/06/03-04 : Gender Bender (Fergus, ON)
2000/06/10-11 : U.F.O. (Oromocto, NB)
2000/06/17    : 9th Annual Ultimate Beach Tournament (Ottawa, ON)
2000/06/17-18 : Black and Blue Co-ed Tourney (Ottawa, ON)
2000/06/24-25 : Unknown Legends (Hamilton, ON)
2000/06/30    : Pre-Canada Day Campout Party (Ottawa, ON)
2000/07/01-02 : Montreal Jazz Tournament (Montreal, QC)
2000/07/08    : Layout For Life (Ottawa, ON)
2000/07/14    : UP Inc General Meeting
2000/07/15-16 : No Borders (Ottawa, ON)
2000/07/15-16 : Flatland Frenzy (Winnipeg, MB)
2000/07/22    : Women's Hat Tourney (Ottawa)
2000/07/22-23 : Parlee Beach (Shediac, NB)
2000/07/27-30 : Nationals (Vancouver, BC)
2000/08/12    : Pole-Hole-Ka Mixed-Doubles Disc Golf Tournament (Ottawa, ON)
2000/08/12-13 : Catch 'N' Release 2000 (Halifax, NS)
2000/08/19-20 : OCUA playoffs (divisions to be announced)
2000/08/26-27 : OCUA playoffs (divisions to be announced)
2000/09/09    : OCUA end of summer party
2000/09/23-24 : Fr'equinox (Co-ed, Ottawa ON)
2000/09/30    : Ottawa 'Plaid Jacket' Open Disc Golf Tourney

************************************************************
Ultimate Happenings is an e-mail newsletter for the
Ottawa-Carleton Ultimate Association.

If you want to subscribe send an e-mail to mharley@sympatico.ca
with the subject "Subscribe Ultimate Happenings".

------------------------------------------------------------

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please refer to the following website for pricing and guidelines.
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************************************************************