Ahmedabad Ultimate (AU) Indicorps’ local Ultimate Frisbee initiative hosted its second national tournament, the 2009 Ahmedabad Ultimate Open in December.

Each of the six teams in attendance had a chance to play one another. The tournament also served as an opportunity for the Indian Ultimate Frisbee community to come together, learn more about one another, and grow stronger.  The teams in attendance included two teams from Chennai, one mix of Delhi and Mumbai players and three teams from Ahmedabad.
After two-days of intense Ultimate Frisbee competition, two teams from Chennai competed in the championship match.  The match ended with Chennai’s Too Fat and Too Furious (TFTF) prevailing over Chennai’s “Stall 7” team by a score of 7-4.

The Flying Dutchmen from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM Ahmedabad) won the “Most Spirited Team” award, voted on by opposing teams and coaches.  The award recognized the team that best epitomized a unique aspect of the sport of Ultimate Frisbee, the “Spirit of the Game.”  During the post-tournament awards ceremony, Manu Karan, the captain of the Chennai TFTF explained the concept to the audience, “As a competitor, you can only be sure that you are your best when your opponent is playing to his or her best as well.  So the ‘Spirit of the Game’ demands that you do the things necessary to make you and your competitor both play to the top of his or her game.”

In addition to tournament play, players from the Ahmedabad Ultimate youth league came as special guests to cheer on the teams.  Throughout the tournament, the youth, ages 10-16, sat, talked and played with the national-level players.  A highlight of the weekend for all, spectators and participants alike, was the exhibition match in which the youth team players faced-off against the adults.

Rahul Brahmbhatt, August 2009 Indicorps Fellow