Washington Games 2009: Disc Event
Washington Games 2009: Disc Event
Frequently Asked Questions
More questions and answers to come, especially in reference to tourney day details.
What are the Washington Games? The Washington Games is an annual Olympic-style sports festival for the state of Washington. The Washington Games take place each summer at venues all across the Puget Sound region. As the banner event of the Powered by You fitness movement, the Washington Games promotes the importance of health and fitness to the youth of Washington. What does my event fee include? In addition to participation in all parts of the event (including the Ultimate tournament, the individual disc events, and the spirit games), all players will receive a t-shirt and field food.
We believe that in order to get and stay active, you need an activity. This is why the Washington Games includes 25 different sports ranging from traditional sports like basketball and softball to non-traditional sports like bmx racing and geocaching. The Washington Games has an activity for every interest and every level.
In only its second year, the Washington Games will include nearly 10,000 participants from all over the state. The Washington Games is a member of the National Congress of State Games, and its participants are a part of the 500,000 participating in more than 40 states across the country. The National Congress of State Games is sanctioned by the United States Olympic Committee.
We encourage you to get active and get registered for this year's Washington Games. We'll see you on the court, field, track, or pool this summer!
How will the tournament teams be formed?
Your team will be created by the event director. Teams will be single-gender. Players will be divided into divisions based on age, experience, skill, and the preference indicated on the registration form. Players within each division will then be divided geographically. In other words, rosters will be based on the neighborhoods/regions in which players reside. The event director will combine neighborhoods when it makes sense. Team assignments will be available on the event webpage one week prior to the tournament.
Why no school or club teams? Many players have spent much of the spring playing for their school, and school champions have already been crowned both at the Spring Reign and DiscNW Spring League tournaments. The geographic hat format of the Washington Games Disc Event gives players an opportunity to play with new teammates. Regarding club youth teams, there simply aren’t enough of them (yet) to make a tourney. As soon as Washington State has 4 highly-competitive club teams, you can expect a new club division at the Washington Games Disc Event.
Who is going to coach my team?
Most teams will be led by a member of the Seattle YCC (Youth Club Championships) teams. These are mostly older high school students who will be selected by their coaches for leadership, maturity, skill, and ability to coach a team in a fun and inspiring way. Other coaches will come from the ranks of college players and successful local youth coaches. (To apply to be part of the coaching corps for this tournament, e-mail the tourney director at the address on the event webpage. Click on "Info" at the top of this page to return to the event webpage.)
I always play co-ed. Why is this event single-gender?
Ultimate is a sport that is played in both co-ed and single- gender formats. Most of the Washington State middle school competition has been of the co-ed variety. We have consistently heard from players how much they enjoy those rare opportunities to play single-gender, and we want this tournament to provide a different experience. Also, we assume that many players in this tournament will go on to play competitive ultimate at the high school or college level, where single gender is the norm. Third, we routinely hear from girls that the boys don’t throw to them enough. So girls, here is your chance to pick up and handle the disc and throw to each other! Finally, in a tournament that is open to all registrants, it would be very difficult to ensure a 4:3 co-ed gender balance for all teams.
What is the tournament format?
Players will have a chance to get to know their teammates and their coach on Saturday morning, with a scheduled practice time for all teams. Pool play will begin late Saturday morning and continue until end of day on Saturday. The total number of games and length of games will depend on the number of teams, but you will get plenty of playing time. Teams will be seeded for championship round play on Sunday, with all teams guaranteed at least two games that day.
What other competitions will be part of the tournament?
Distance and accuracy qualifying trials will take place between rounds on Saturday, with the championships held as showcase events on Sunday. We will also be holding grand championships of Streetfighter, Jousting, Rock/Paper/Scissors and other fun/spirit games.
Will there be prizes?
Yes! There will be bronze, silver, and gold medals for both the ultimate tournament and the individual disc events. There will be no medals for the spirit games, but winners will get serious bragging rights!