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           U L T I M A T E   H A P P E N I N G S            
                Issue 223 - August 18, 2002                  
                
******************* 2978 players served ********************
                   
      OCUA - The largest ultimate league in the world!      
            (300 teams and 3700 members in 2001)            

                    http://www.ocua.ca/                    

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         *** SPECIAL ISSUE: NATIONALS IN OTTAWA ***         

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CANADIAN ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2002
Thursday Aug 22 - Sunday Aug 25
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- Nationals Details
- Why YOU should be there
- OCUA League Break for Nationals


Nationals Details
------------------

What:
59 of the nation's best ultimate teams in five divisions

When:
   10:30 am - 11:00am, Wednesday Aug 21 (Opening Ceremonies, 
                       City Hall)	
	8:30 am - 7pm Thursday Aug 22
	8:30 am - 7pm Friday Aug 23
	8:30 am - 8pm Saturday Aug 24
	9:30 am - 4pm Sunday Aug 25 (Finals only)

Where:
Ultimate Park, 1295 Manotick Station Road

Amenities: Beer Garden, BBQ and Snacks, Party Saturday night

Parking: Paid parking on site (staggered fee for car pooling, 
please refer to website), free parking at St. Mark's School 
(Mitch Owens & Limebank) with a free shuttle bus.

Junior's Final: 3:45pm Saturday
Master's Final: 6:00pm Saturday
Women's Final: 9:30am Sunday
Open Final: 11:45am Sunday
Coed Final: 2:00pm Sunday

More info at the website: http://www.ocua.ca/Nationals2002/


Why YOU Should Be There
-----------------------

Why should you come out to watch nationals? Well, there are 
lots of reasons, but two of them really strike a chord.

First of all, it's a chance to see some high quality 
ultimate. Some of you may simply say "Yeah, so what?". But 
we can't begin to tell you how important getting a chance to 
see the game really played can be. OCUA has grown by leaps 
and bounds over the last few years, which has unfortunately 
brought with it a resultant drop in quality of play. Why you 
ask? Simply because ultimate isn't a sport you grow up with 
like baseball, football, basketball or soccer. At this stage 
in it's history, you have to learn to play ultimate from 
more experienced ultimate players, and there just aren't 
enough in our league. Having nationals in our backyard is a 
rare opportunity to come out and see how the top teams play 
the game. What strategies do they use? How do they mark? How 
do they break the zone? What kind of zone do they play? It's 
amazing the number of things you can learn just hanging out 
and watching the upper level games. And besides, it's just 
plain fun to watch good ultimate. Especially when there are 
19 games going on. :)

The second, and probably most important reason for you to 
come to nationals is exposure. There will be varying degrees 
of television, radio, and newspaper coverage. There will be 
city officials checking out the event. This is an 
opportunity for ultimate to shine in front of the community. 
And a big part of that is showing them just how big ultimate 
really is, and just how many people are interested in the 
sport. If we can get substantial numbers out to watch the 
games, it will make a big impression. The city is just 
starting to pay more attention to us, and this is our chance 
to really make them stand up and take notice.

Now, I realize that it's hard to come out on Thursday & 
Friday with work commitments, but maybe try to get out there 
for the last timeslot. Or hey, why not take a day off - you 
deserve a break anyway. :)  Saturday is a great day to come, 
because all the teams are still playing, and so there will 
be lots of games to watch, plus the Masters and Juniors 
finals.  Finally, Sunday is a key day - 3 straight finals 
games, all being filmed by Rogers TV! If we could get a huge 
crowd out to watch, it would be fantastic! Come for an hour 
or two, come for the day, or come for the weekend, but just 
be there. It will make more of a difference than you 
probably think, both to your game, and your league!


OCUA League Break For Nationals
--------------------------------

In general, there are no OCUA League games scheduled for the 
following dates:

Wednesday, Aug 21
Thursday, Aug 22
Friday, Aug 23
Monday, Aug 26
Tuesday, Aug 27

This will allow for the use and recovery of the UPI fields, 
as well as allowing teams the ability to come spectate. Each 
night misses one night of league play, which has been offset 
by pushing playoffs back into September.

There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, in situations 
where coordinators felt that they needed to make up game 
days lost to rain. Captains will hear from their 
coordinators if they have games scheduled.


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