Nanaimo does it in the dark!


BY BURKE STOLLER PHOTOS BY AMY TABATA


As a budding but experienced frisbee league, the Nanaimo Ultimate Association (NUA) eagerly jumped aboard to participate in the Great Canadian Ultimate Game (GCUG). Not wanting to be outdone by any other British Columbian teams, Nanaimo took the reigns and got over 20 Ultimate players out for the game, held at the Merle Logan fields, where the lights and artificial turf an both burn bright.


Being only the second team in the nationwide event, Nanaimo had a tough, late-night slot, starting the game at midnight, sharp. To be certain that the players were not just awake, but instead completely fueled and fired up for the big event, NUA kicked off the event early at the fields with tons of food and pre-game activities. From pizza to homemade cookies, and fresh veggies to juices, nobody was running on an empty stomach. Warm up involved a quick game of “goaltimate,” and a closest-to-the-pin throwing accuracy challenge, for which the prize was a GCUG commemorative disc, from Daredevil discs.


As the midnight hour approached,


players began to buzz with energy, like the mercury halide lights high above. The clock ticked down, the score from Yellowknife came in, the teams took the field. And just as the game had begun . . . the towering lights snapped off, and a communal groan erupted from the darkness. Due to an automation error on the part of Nanaimo’s Parks and Recreation department, the lights were dead, and it looked as though the game may have been as well. But, with resilience and resourcefulness, the Nanaimo players pulled their vehicles adjacent to the field and lit it up, playing in the dusk with a Flashflight disc. By sheer


luck, a parks employee was driving by the field and noticed the lights were off. He stopped


Ultimate Canada Magazine — www.canadianultimate.com 11


in, re-programmed the lights, and with about 20 minutes left in the game, the lights tinkered into action and slowly brought energy back into the game. In the end, it was a closely fought battle, with the final score being passed on to Victoria with just a single point spread between the Right to Play and The Boys and Girls Club teams. With just over $500 raised, and the sprits of everyone involved raised more, the GCUG is sure to be a regular event in the Nanaimo Ultimate Association’s calendar.


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