UnIVErSITy ULTIMATE
Strengthening the Canadian
university Ultimate scene
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TYPICS
BY TAYLOR MARTIN UL

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IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, in the midst of a snowstorm, 100 men’s
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university and club Ultimate players came together in Toronto for the

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inaugural Torontula Indoor Invite. The tournament was ‘hat’ style, with
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players from the different universities distributed evenly between the five
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teams. Twenty-five GOAT players were enlisted to lead the teams as they
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battled for a meaningless though much-coveted title (and great prizes
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from VC Ultimate). The tournament ended with a showdown between
CEUUC 04 - Waterloo’s Jay can break Carleton’s force with a big step out.
the GOATs and the students. While the students were strutting their
stuff, the GOAT players were trying not to get embarrassed by the young
upstarts. The night was capped with mingling and a bit of revelry at a have participated in the UPA college series and will continue to do
local club. so, you can count these teams on one hand. Other teams do not have
What was the motivation for the tournament? Let’s rewind a few the commitment necessary for a bid at the Series. At this point their
months. The heated debate over the state of university Ultimate in commitment level allows for local tournaments such as GUT ROT,
Canada reached fever pitch last fall. The discussions, taking place on Goosebowl, and MUT in Ontario/Quebec. As much fun as our local fall
the comment threads of Ultimate blogs Canadian Ultimate and The classics may be, there are no competitive university tournaments outside
CUltimate Opinion, had drawn commentators out of the woodwork to of CUPA-sanctioned CEUUC and CUUC. While this situation persists,
share their views. At the heart of the issue were two divergent views our sport will fail to grow into anything more than a pastime, albeit a fun
of the legitimacy of the Canadian University Ultimate Championships, one, for the majority of our young players.
which are held each year in October. One faction argued that the system If we were to pursue the task of improving the Canadian university
is broken and should be eliminated and that Canadian teams should meld Ultimate scene, (and therefore reject the option of melding with the
with the UPA college series south of the 49
th
parallel. Others contended UPA series) how would we do it? Fast-forward to the Torontula Indoor
that an overhaul could strengthen the Canadian system and start the Invite in January. The tournament was organised with the explicit goal
process of improvement. As someone who learned the game through of strengthening the university scene in the region. The hat format was
the Canadian university system and is an active member of the touring chosen to expose players to unfamiliar faces and thereby build contacts
community, I suggest that we need to strengthen the Canadian university between players and among university teams. But how do you entice
community, especially within each region, if we hope to improve. 75 students to drive through the snow for just three hours of indoor
How do we improve? There’s no better way to answer this question Ultimate? In short, inspiration. What’s more enticing for young Ultimate
than to look south. Sarasota-level club teams across the U.S. are players than the chance to play on a team with some of the country’s (and
scooping up the products of strong college programs. Here at home, world’s in this case) best club players? If that’s not enough, throw in some
GOAT has expanded its herd with the help from the programs at prizes from our friendly neighbourhood Ultimate company, VC Ultimate,
McMaster, Queens, and U of T, and no doubt Furious has picked up a and now you’ve given players a reason to leave it all on the field.
few Thunderbird grads as well. According to John Hassell, GOAT captain The positive response to the tournament began even before the games.
and member of Team Canada in 2008, “the strength of club Ultimate Registration filled up early, requiring the time slot to be extended to
in Canada will be largely determined by the calibre of players emerging accommodate the masses. The widespread interest is promising to
from the university system. For GOAT, a team that has already benefited anyone invested in the university Ultimate scene and indeed the club
greatly, it was heartening to see the intensity and skill of the players at system as well. The Torontula Indoor Invite was a great success and gave
the Torontula tournament.” But given the number and calibre of players us a glimpse of what the Canadian university Ultimate system could
from Waterloo, Western, Guelph, and other Ontario schools, why are be: strong, connected, and supportive. Malcolm Johnston, a Torontula
they so underrepresented in the Toronto club system? These players grad and GOAT handler, has the right idea: “If we continue to hold these
compete at two or three tournaments a year without knowing that a types of events, we can embark on the path to a stronger, more unified
whole other world of Ultimate exists. The role of the university team Ultimate community that will reap rewards for the country.” If we venture
should be to open players’ eyes to the world of competitive Ultimate, down this path, the next GOAT vs Students showdown will be a lot more
which can only be done with a strong Canadian university series. embarrassing for the old guys. »U
Why does it have to be Canadian? While our best university teams
www.canadianultimate.com — Ultimate Canada Magazine 31
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