League Information 2003

Table of Contents

Introduction to the League

Welcome to the seventh year of high school Ultimate Frisbee league play in New England. Every year the league expands adding new teams loaded with talent and sportsmanship.

Last year was another great year for high school Ultimate. Congratulations to last year's League Champion, Amherst Varsity from Amherst Regional High School who defeated Newton North A to regain their title. I want to thank all of the League's team's players, coaches, and others who helped make a great season for all who participated.

This year shapes up to be very exciting! Last year's finalists have been perennial powerhouses, but they are losing ground to the likes of Andover, Haverhill, and others. Will your team put all the pieces together to stand proud as this year's 2003 League Champion? Register now and find out!

The majority of all League business can be done through our website at:

http://www.buda.org/highschool/

If your team is already on the team list, all you need to do is review your teams contact information and let us know that you will be competing again this Spring.

If you are a new team to the league, just fill out the form for joining the league found on the Website (you can go straight to

http://www.buda.org/highschool/join.php3

*These events are not affiliated with the League, but they are excellent opportunities to play against teams outside of your area. Contact the hosting team for details. Some of these events have early registration dates so act now.

How to Become our 2003 League Champion

Win the League Championship Tournament and you become our new champion. There are a number of ways to earn a spot at the tournament:

• Win your division (there will be four divisions), and you receive an automatic bid.
• Win the most games league wide, and you receive an automatic bid.
• Win a Qualifier Tournament, and you receive an automatic bid.

The allocation of the remaining bid will be determined by the League Commissioner. Likely scenarios include giving a second bid to a proportionally larger division or giving more then one bid during a Qualifier Tournament.

Divisions -- after we get a handle on the dispersion of teams participating, teams will be placed in regional based divisions. Unfortunately, the New England area is rather large so we do not expect a team to play all others within their division. We simply ask you make an effort to play teams within your division.

Only the first two games played between opponents that are played as League games will count in the standings. However, all outcomes of every game played will be considered when seeding teams for League Tournaments.

If a team earns a Championship Tournament bid by winning the most League games and by winning their division, then they will forfeit their division-winning bid to the second place team within their division.

Games against common opponents (even if the opponent is not a member of the league) will be used for seeding purposes.

Any team that has to forfeit their Championship Tournament bid will pass that honor onto the next team that satisfies the requirements of that bid.

In order to participate, each player must either: attend high school in New England or have their permanent residence in New England while attending high school elsewhere. Notice, this enables teams to form from various high schools and/or include players who attend school out of the region. Though not a rule, we prefer players on a team come from a single high school and/or town.

Teams can be single sex or coed.

Once a person has played with a team in the League, that player is committed to that team for the rest of the season. A player can only later switch teams if the League Commissioner makes an exception (a very rare occurrence.)

Persons who have played significantly during the season with a team outside of the League are generally asked to refrain from participating. However, there are scenarios where such a player's participation enables a group of individuals to play who otherwise would be unable -- something the League would be in favor. Such cases will have to be addressed on a case-by-case manner with the League Commissioner.

This event serves two purposes. It provides an avenue to the Championship Tournament by doling out a bid(s). It also provides a venue for teams to play in a tournament setting who might otherwise be unable to do so.

When running the tournament, we also try to satisfy individual team goals or other random needs. For example, we pared two brand new teams against each other to ensure they could have a fun game rather then always being squashed by more accomplished teams. For example, since we were having a difficult time seeding two teams for the Championship Tournament, we had them figure it out on the field by playing one another. For example, since we had a team from Western CT. who hadn't played any Boston teams, we made it happen.

Any team can participate who satisfies roster requirements. Thus a team that played during the season, but was unable to secure a bid to the Championship Tournament, can come and try again at Qualifiers.

This has traditionally been an eight-team single elimination event. It will be tentatively held on June 1st.

The types of teams who participate in our league range from those who possess Varsity status to those who are simply a group of young people coming together to play Ultimate. Thus, scheduling games is a little more challenging than one might desire. The League does not set up a schedule for regular season games. That responsibility lies with each team.

In 2003, teams played as many as eighteen league games and as few as two, with the average somewhere between eight and nine games per team. Many teams played about an additional six games through non-league tournaments.

After registering your team, you will gain access to contact information for teams league wide. Use email and the phone to contact those teams and set up games. Any time two teams from the league meet, it can count as a League game if both captains agree before the start of play. Thus, a tournament match in Philly can count towards a League game if the parties involved so choose.

Re-confirm the date, time, and place a few days before the match.

Use April Vacation to set up lots of games during that week (remember, it is better to play then worry about the `great' player you are missing because they are away.)

Enter local tournaments because you will likely play two League games against teams outside of your division.

If you have two fields available (one soccer or football field divides easily into two Ultimate fields), then invite three teams and make it into a little mini tournament (two or three short games is generally more fun then one long game).

If finding field space is a problem, then try scheduling games when your local high school team has an away game. For example: when lacrosse has an away game, invite a team over to use that field.

Generally right after school and Sundays are a great time to use general-purpose town fields.

It is the primary responsibility of the winning team to report the score of a game; However it is each teams responsibility to ensure all reported scores are accurate. The losing team is encouraged to report the score if the winning fails to do so.

To report a score, go to:

http://www.buda.org/highschool/2002/scores/scores.php3

or press the link off the main page.

Questions or concerns regarding the League should be directed to James Pitts and Tommy Proulx at: highschool@buda.org

Be sure to check out our `Links Page.' If your team has a web site, we would be honored to add your link to this page.

If you have a photo for us to add to this web site, please send it to us as an attachment to: hsphotos@buda.org

The Amherst Invitational Tournament tends to attract some of the best high school teams from around the country. I highly suggest taking a road trip to Amherst, MA on Sunday May 4th to watch some great high school Ultimate!

Sportsmanship separates Ultimate from all other sports -- Play with Spirit!