The President's Corner

What does “Spirit of the Game” mean to you? After discussing this with a variety of people, I realized that it means many things. This month kicks off the start to a series exploring Spirit of the Game.

Here’s my take on Spirit: Spirit is how you play during the game and when standing on the sidelines. Not only is it how you treat your opponents but also your teammates. Spirit is keeping your cool when someone else has an outburst no matter what the circumstance is. Spirit is understanding when to step into a discussion about a play and when to keep out. Spirit is actually knowing the rules to Ultimate (yes I’m insinuating you should read and learn the UPA 11th edition Official Rules).

I’m a proponent of shaking hands after a game, but as far as spirit circles, they’re not always the best idea. There’s nothing worse than having to circle up with a team, who during the game was not spirited (frequent bad calls, arguing), but then they start singing praise for the other team in a spirit circle. To me, that’s just fake and even more unsettling. Why didn’t they show that kind of spirit when they contested an obvious foul?

The greatest amount of spirit is shown when you play your hardest- when you can shake your opponent’s hand, look them in the eye and know that at that moment, one team played better than the other team and that’s why they won.

Tina Woodings
UPLA President

Tina was Showdown’s 2008 Spirit Award winner and is a UPA observer. She clarifies that she too sometimes has rules questions, which is why she reads “Frequently Asked Questions” on the UPA site and Peri Kurshan’s rules article in the UPA magazine.