I have to say that I think Paul Hurt has nicely highlighted the issues but just to put them in the context of what has actually been said about this event by the organisers...
>>we are 100% committed to Spirit of The Game and that MLU is completely >>separate from normal Ultimate. But you want to call what you are playing Major League _Ultimate_ >>That said however we are not trying to compete with the current game. But you want to call what you are playing Major League _Ultimate_ >>we are 100% committed to Spirit of The Game But you want to have referees? >From the WFDF website: Spirit of the Game is the most important rule in flying disc sports. It is summarised in this preamble to the rules of play: "Flying disc sports have traditionally relied upon a spirit of sportsmanship which places the responsibility of fair play on the players themselves. Highly competitive and committed play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed upon rules of any event, nor the basic enjoyment of play. Protection of these vital elements serves to eliminate adverse conduct from the playing field. The responsibility for the maintenance of this spirit rests on each player's shoulders." AND "As Ultimate is a self-refereed sport, maintaining spirit of the game is essential to making the game work. And good spirit makes the game more enjoyable." So how does having a referee square with being 100% committed to Spirit of The Game? To be clear I do not think that the WFDF should have the final say on how all disc sports are played. I don't think that it is a pre-requisite of all disc sports that you don't have a referee any more than all ball sports should have one. Conversely though it is true that Ultimate does come under the overview of the WFDF, that it is a disc sport without referees, and that adding them changes the game to an extent that it should no longer be called Ultimate. As others have highlighted "renaming" it Major League Ultimate is a move that is only likely to alienate a lot of people and hardly makes it clear that you have made a radical change to the standard game. Presenting this as a high profile event only makes this worse. Paul >>>> Britdisc, We are strongly in favour of spirit of the game in Ultimate. Running this tournament does not indicate that we are against Ultimate as it is currently played. We are trying something different and are in no way intending to replace the WFDF rule set. We agree that ultimate in its current form is highly marketable and that spirit of the game is a unique selling point. We agree with the views expressed by Ben Wiggins when interviewed by UltiVillage at the MLU tournament in 2006 - we are 100% committed to Spirit of The Game and that MLU is completely separate from normal Ultimate. That said however we are not trying to compete with the current game. We agree that having a core of university players will slightly reduce the standard of play. However we feel that this is offset by the experience these university players will gain from stepping onto the pitch the with/against best club players from the country. It is also a chance to showcase up and coming university talent. The MLU UK team is headed up by James 'Jacko' Jackson (Chevron #7) and Adam Irving (LLLeeds #61) both of the University of Manchester's Halcyon. There was no intention to be anonymous - addressing emails from the 'Team' was merely a reflection that there are many people working hard to make this tournament a success. We have been in contact with Push Pass Productions who have agreed to attend, film and produce a DVD about the event. We appreciate all interest and feedback we have received, Many Thanks The MLU UK Team __________________________________________________ BritDisc mailing list [email protected] http://www.fysh.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/britdisc Staying informed - http://www.ukultimate.com/staying-informed __________________________________________________ BritDisc mailing list [email protected] http://www.fysh.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/britdisc Staying informed - http://www.ukultimate.com/staying-informed
