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For some unknown reason, foolishly, I became Sectionals Coordinator for a few years.
It should come as no surprise that I always made it a priority to make T-shirts to sell as I was not the only one who liked souvenirs of special events like Ultimate tournaments.
I am continuing a run of shorter blog posts and easy posts, cribbing highlights from some Internet searching, in order to save time and allow me the lead time I need to create some more involved and longer posts. Though looking at my closet, I am concerned that I may be a bit more than halfway through my T-shirts even before I am halfway through the year by date. The half way point is coming up between shirts #182 and #183. This leaves me about 20 short if I am halfway or a bit past now. And there's still shirts in boxes and a trickling in of new shirts, so I might make it. And my estimation may be off. Just in case, you needed this update. :-)
I showed off one of my other creations in T-shirt #141 with a shirt from Centrals 2002.
The disc I am holding displays the UPA "rule" called "The Spirit of the Game," though now the organization is called "USA Ultimate," and I am less impressed with this name.
"Spirit of the Game" is one of the reasons I love playing Ultimate.
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Excerpts from the Official Rules of Ultimate: 11th Edition
From the Preface: "The integrity of Ultimate depends on each player's responsibility to uphold the Spirit of the Game, and this responsibility should remain paramount."
From Section 1. Introduction, item B. "Spirit of the Game. Ultimate relies upon a spirit of sportsmanship that places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect among competitors, adherence to the agreed upon rules, or the basic joy of play. Protection of these vital elements serves to eliminate unsportsmanlike conduct from the Ultimate field. Such actions as taunting opposing players, dangerous aggression, belligerent intimidation, intentional infractions, or other 'win-at-all-costs' behavior are contrary to the Spirit of the Game and must be avoided by all players."
Spirit of the Game sets Ultimate apart from other competitive team sports. For over 30 years, Ultimate has flourished, reaching a highly competitive level, without the use of referees. In Ultimate, the honor system works. Sure, human nature rears its ugly head from time to time - just as in any sport, just as in life. Yet, one of the many beauties of Ultimate is how, even amid the most difficult of situations, utmost graciousness is allowed to meet that challenge head on. Through this balance, Ultimate players are free to demonstrate the most honorable and the most joyous sides of human nature in sport.
Most Ultimate players care deeply about Spirit of the Game. The organizational challenge for USA Ultimate is to foster an environment where the challenge does not become,"to see what I can get away with". Rather than dictate what Spirit of the Game is or should be, it is up to each player to do so for him or herself within the context of the teams he or she plays with and against.
BENDIS! TUMBLR - "Food for Thought"
Forgotten masterpiece from EC Comics writer Jack Oleck (writer) and Al Williamson (artist).
Originally published in EC Comics' November 1955 issue of Incredible Science Fiction #32 under the title "Food for Thought."
Just as a point of order, Jack Oleck is a hero of mine for writing the Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror novelizations that accompanied the 1970s films. And Al Williamson is, well, he's AL WILLIAMSON. Google his images. Damn good stuff.
Al Williamson died in 2010. Mark Evanier on Al Williamson's life.
Al Williamson Tribute. (This is a very cool blog of weekly "Pulp" drawings by renowned artist Francesco Francavilla: chck it out!)
This story has nothing to do with Ultimate but how many EC Comics shirts do I own?
I think I need a closing Al Williamson image to drive home how awesome he was.
- chris tower - 1309.02 - 9:01
