|
|
|
Versailles
Poultry Day’s Ultimate Frisbee
This will be the 38th year for the Versailles Poultry Days Ultimate
Classic and is considered one of the oldest and top tournaments in the
nation. A record number of 75 teams will be competing from all
over the USA and Canada. To put this in perspective each team
includes an average of 20 swelling the Versailles population from 3,000
to nearly 5,000. The resulting tent city is welcomed by village
residents and the players are always friendly and with great
spirit. Over the year’s friendships have formed the community
looks forward to the annual flood of visitors.
The tournament is planned and ran by Rodger Oakes and Oshadega.
Oshadega is a Columbus based non-profit with a mission of supporting
players and promoting and growing the sport. This includes
conducting several tournaments throughout Ohio including the Poultry
Days Ultimate Tournament. The Poultry Days tournament is held
during the annual festival and involves 28 fields spread over Heritage
Park, Pheasant Ridge and one on the festival grounds.
So, what is Ultimate Frisbee? Ultimate Frisbee is a non-contact
team sport played with a 175 gram flying ultimate disc. The object of
the sport is to score points by passing the ultimate frisbee disc to a
player in the opposing end zone, similar to an end zone in American
football or rugby. Ultimate requires both athleticism and
endurance. Ultimate is a fast-growing sport and commonly played
on university campuses and parks worldwide. Basic ultimate
frisbee rules involve two teams. One team pulls the disc to the other
as in a kick-off scenario. Once the receiving team gains
possession of ultimate frisbee disc then the ultimate frisbee players
pass the disc to their teammates to advance up the ultimate field
toward the end zone. The opposing ultimate team attempts to
thwart the offense by intercepting the disc or (more commonly) knocking
the ultimate disc to the ground during a pass. Once the ultimate
frisbee disc hits the ground the possession changes
History of the game: Ultimate Frisbee was invented by Jared Kass
and Joel Silver, in 1967 at Columbia High School, located in Maplewood,
NJ. Its collegiate roots can be traced back to the first ever game
played between Rutgers and Princeton in 1972. In 1979 and 1980 the
Ultimate Players Association (UPA) was formed. The UPA organized
regional tournaments and has crowned a national champion every year
since 1979. On May 25, 2010 the UPA rebranded itself as USA
Ultimate. Ultimate Canada is the National Governing Body for the
sport of Ultimate in Canada. The popularity of the sport spread
quickly, taking hold as a free-spirited alternative to traditional
organized sports. In recent years college Ultimate has attracted a
greater number of traditional athletes, raising the level of
competition and athleticism and providing a challenge to its laid back,
free-spirited roots.
There are several changes to Versailles Ultimate this year. First
the teams increase from 70 to a record 75 with additional matches being
held on the festival grounds. Second the Ultimate players will
conduct a FREE youth clinic Friday, June 14th. Versailles also
very excited to host a match between the Indianapolis Red and Columbus
Pride professional ultimate teams. These teams are part of the
professional women’s Premier Ultimate League. The league has
eight teams located throughout the United States including New York,
Texas, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. The professional
match will occur at 7pm Friday, June 14th on the grounds of the Poultry
Days festival.
Versailles welcomes visitors to the annual Poultry Days June
14-16th. When planning your trip include time to watch an
Ultimate match. A full schedule of contests and activities can be
located at www.versaillespoultrydays.com.
|
|
|
|
|
