To Make the Call…or Not? The Perspectives of Junior Nationa ~ Stor y N
y b ancy Spencer-Cavaliere
Imagine this: you’re in the semifinals of the World Junior Ultimate Championships. The game is tied, the hard cap has just sounded, and your team is receiving the disc. Score and you’re into the finals—guaranteed a silver or gold medal; get scored on and you’re potentially finishing off the podium. After a making a series of hard cuts, you get the disc around midfield. You see a cutter striking deep with the defender slightly trailing. You launch a backhand, feel a hard bump from your mark right after the release, and then watch painfully as the disc falls just outside of the cutter’s reach: Turnover.
Or is it? You could call a foul on the marker and get the disc back—“That call gets made all the time,” you reason. Then again, the bump came after the throw was released—“Doesn’t that mean it’s not a foul?” What do you do? Keep your team’s chances of winning alive by making a call you’re unsure about? Potentially dash your team’s chances of playing in the gold medal game by not making a call? What would be the spirited thing to do?
The Ultimate Spirit
In this theme players spoke about the importance of respect for their teammates, opponents, and the game itself. Trying hard, making good calls, and acknowledging the performance of opponents were provided as examples of what it meant to have good spirit. At higher levels of competition, however, players recognized that it was challenging to maintain good spirit. For example, the desire to win led players to make poor calls they wouldn’t make in less competitive settings. This was possible because of self-refereeing. Self-refereeing also challenged spirit when players did not know the rules well and, as a result, made poor calls.
The Ultimate Sport and Community
In this theme players described how Ultimate was different from other sports in part because it was so challenging, but also because the community of people who played Ultimate were so welcoming. Teammates, coaches, and even opponents were characterized as inviting and eager to promote the sport’s inclusiveness.
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This was actualized when more experienced players willingly taught skills and strategies to newer players and when opponents provided encouraging words.
The Ultimate Player
In this theme players described how spirit and self- refereeing provided opportunities for players to self- reflect, take responsibility, and develop as leaders. Examples of how these important skills transferred to life outside of sport were also shared. Learning to work as a team, meeting different people, and growing as an individual were part of what made participation in Ultimate such a valuable experience for the players.
Canada and Australia engage in a spirit circle in 2010
Ultimate Canada Magazine -
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