****************** 1274 players served *********************

Ultimate Happenings: Issue 166 - May 03, 2001

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

"If at first you do succeed, try not to look astonished!"
 
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CONTENTS:

- Registration System Back Up
- OCUA Position On Pesticide Use
- OCUA Volunteer Day
- Thursday Coed Hat Division
- Roommate Wanted
- Calendar Of Events

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REGISTRATION SYSTEM BACK UP

The online registration system is back up, and seems to be 
functioning well.  Captains please ensure that you and your 
teams are registered as soon as possible, in order that the 
score submission system may be set up.  The rest of your team 
members still have until May 28 to register in order to meet 
the minimum 12 person roster requirement.

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OCUA POSITION ON PESTICIDE USE

The OCUA BOD has certainly been aware of concerns regarding 
pesticide use raised via the kid's ultimate league 
organizational discussions and the Open Forum, and we 
discussed the issue at our board meeting April 30. At this 
time, OCUA does not have an official policy on pesticide use 
at fields that we use for league play, but the following is a 
statement outlining our position on the subject. 

OCUA recognizes that the use of pesticides on playing fields 
has inherent health and environmental risks, and that these 
risks are of concern to our membership. We also feel that as 
part of the larger community, we should make a concerted 
effort to be environmentally responsible. As such, we have 
been, and continue to be committed to limiting pesticide use 
on our fields wherever possible.

Due to the variety of sources from which we obtain our 
fields, we feel it is necessary to take a variety of 
approaches to the problem. The fields we use can be roughly 
divided into three categories, and we have varying levels of 
control/influence over the use of pesticides in each of them.

1. Public Fields - these include fields on NCC/government 
land, fields rented from the city, or fields rented from 
schools. We have very little if any influence over the use of 
pesticides on these lands, short of public lobbying. However, 
it is our opinion that these are all responsible public 
bodies, which are tightly regulated, and which seem to be 
taking a proactive approach to the problem.  We expect that 
any pesticide use on these fields will be made evident 
through the appropriate use of signage, and that this is 
sufficient for the purposes of our members. With respect to 
public lobbying for any stronger policy by these bodies, we 
don't consider this to be an option for the organization, as 
we don't even have the manpower to lobby for the more 
pressing concerns of our sport, such as field space.

2. Private Fields - these are fields that we rent/use which 
belong to private individuals, corporations, or 
organizations. This would include fields such as the sod 
farm, and St. Paul's. In most cases, using these fields for 
ultimate (or any other sport) is a non-traditional scenario, 
and while rent may be paid, we are essentially playing at 
these locations by the grace of the owners.  As a result, we 
don't feel that it is reasonable for us to dictate whether or 
not pesticides are used at these facilities.  We will, 
however, encourage the owners to avoid their use, and will 
ask that we be notified when applications will be made, in 
order to notify our members of possible risks, and to avoid 
application in time frames close to our events.  In the event 
that problems arise and are recurrent, we will assess if 
continued use of the site is appropriate.  Based on our 
current knowledge, we do not think we will have any problems.  
The sod farm, for instance, typically has herbicide applied 
only once per year, and timing this application should be 
manageable.

3. OCUA Fields - This category covers fields which we own and 
maintain, ie UP Inc. OCUA obviously has full control over 
pesticide use at this site, and we intend to continue our 
commitment to avoid the use of pesticides wherever possible. 
We will not, however, commit to an outright ban of pesticide 
use on our fields at this time, as the maintenance of quality 
playing fields for our members is our prime concern, and 
there may be extreme situations which arise where their use 
may be the only viable option.  This is in line with policies 
established by many public organizations.  We don't encourage 
the use of pesticides, and we certainly will not apply 
pesticides for cosmetic purposes.  In situations where 
pesticide use is warranted, that option will be taken only 
after consideration of other more environmentally friendly 
options. When applications do occur, we will post appropriate 
signage, and the application will be done in a window where 
the site is not being used.  In order to give you an idea of 
the frequency at which this might be required, an application 
of herbicide was conducted prior to construction of the 
fields in order to remove the weeds, but since then there 
have been no blanket applications.

With regards to official policy, we will continue to discuss 
the issue, with the aim of determining if there is a need for 
such a policy, and what the hurdles, complications, and legal 
ramifications to implementing it might be.  If it appears to 
be in the best interests of the organization and it's 
membership, we will then proceed.  At this time, however, we 
feel that there is insufficient data to automatically 
conclude that such a policy is warranted, and that given the 
complicated nature of the issue, it would be imprudent to 
issue such a policy at a whim.

We hope that this addresses any concerns that our general 
membership may have with regards to pesticide usage on OCUA 
playing fields.  As always, we welcome member feedback on 
this issue.

Thank you,

Ken Lange
president@ocua.ca

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OCUA VOLUNTEER DAY

It's hot, things are drying out and we got things that should 
get done before we play. So come out around 10am Sunday May 6 
to UP Inc. and lend a hand.

We've got things to do for everyone from strolling the fields 
looking for rocks and divots to straightening out the railway 
ties in the parking lot to finding all the over-grown 
irrigation covers to cleaning up brush to raking out some 
small problem areas.

If you have gardening tools, PLEASE bring them!

We'll need 
1) rakes....the more the merrier
2) a few shovels
3) a wheelbarrow or two (email if you can, mhalljones@sprint.ca)
4) a couple saws to chop up brush
5) hand garden trowels....lots.... to cut back the turf around 
   those irrigation covers...there are 106? of these covers
6) gardening gloves are a good idea
7) anything else that you think might be useful...gas 
   whippersnippers, a chainsaw...

Thanks,

Mike Hall-Jones

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THURSDAY COED HAT DIVISION

OCUA will now start creating Hat Teams for the Thursday coed 
division.  If you would like to get on a team please make 
sure you have placed your name and contact info on the 
Listing Service located on the league web page.  I will 
contact you via email within the next day asking if you are 
interested in playing on Thursdays.

Each team will have a mixture of experienced and new players 
so don't be concerned if you have never played the game 
before.  As for team fees, we will be collecting team fees 
after the season has started.

Please get your information up on the Listing Service ASAP.

Thank you, Steve Seabrook

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ROOMMATE WANTED
 
Young professional male, non-smoker, one friendly dog to 
share a semi-detached. Located in Sandy Hill north, 15min 
walk from the Hill Bright, hardwood floors, $405 plus heat & 
hydro. 

Inquiries can email martin.turpin@pwgsc.gc.ca

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

 2001/05/5-6   : Toronto Ultimate Tournament (Toronto, ON)
 2001/05/12    : Lakefield College School (Peterborough, ON)
 2001/05/18-20 : Boh-Down 2001 (Regina, Saskatchewan)
 2001/05/19-20 : Centrals 2001 (Kalamazoo, MI, USA)
 2001/05/26    : Layout For Life (Ottawa, ON)
 2001/06/2-3   : Gender Blender (Fergus, ON)
 2001/06/09    : Pole-Hole-Ka Disc Golf Tournament (Ott., ON)
 2001/06/16    : 10th annual Beach Tourney (Ottawa, ON)
 2001/06/30    : Pre-Canada Day Camp Out Party (Ottawa, ON)
 2001/06/30-1  : Montreal Jazz Tournament (Montreal, PQ)
 2001/07/14    : Tree-oh Disc Golf Tourney (Hull, PQ)
 2001/07/21-22 : No Borders (Ottawa, ON)
 2001/07/28-29 : Parlee Beach (Shediac, NB)
 2001/08/11-12 : Catch 'n Release (Halifax, NS)
 2001/08/16-19 : Nationals (Edmonton, AB)
 2001/08/18    : OCUA Tuesday Playoffs
 2001/08/19    : OCUA Thursday Playoffs
 2001/08/25    : OCUA Monday Playoffs
 2001/08/26    : OCUA Wednesday Playoffs
 2001/09/29    : Ottawa 'Plaid Jacket' Open Disc Golf Tourney
 2001/10/27-28 : 9th Annual Pumpkin Pull (Victoria, BC)
 2001/??/??    : Women's Hat Tourney (Ottawa)
 2001/??/??-?? : Fr'equinox (Co-ed, Ottawa ON)
 2001/??/??-?? : Unknown Legends (Hamilton, ON)
 
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