Indiana Ultimate Foundation President John Rempel figures hosting premier national teams will be a great way to introduce newcomers to the sport.
”We’re always looking to grow the sport and gets kids interested in it,” said Rempel, who lives in Lawrence and has a chiropractor practice in the Geist area. “It’s very easy to start playing it because you need a disc that costs you $10. There is no extra equipment like baseball or lacrosse.”
USA Ultimate Club’s Elite-Select Challenge is set for Aug. 20-21 at Grand Park in Westfield. Admission is free. Ultimate is a team sport with players using a flying disc.
The sport is unique in that it is self-officiated. Ultimate’s “Spirit of the Game” ethos places responsibility of fair play solely on the athletes.
“It’s personal integrity and mutual respect for your opponent and playing the sport the way it should be,” said Rempel, who has been playing for 41 years.
The Elite-Select Challenge is part of the Triple Crown Tour, an invitation-only showcase of five tournaments. The Elite-Select Challenge tournament gives 48 teams across three divisions an opportunity to improve national rankings.
Premier teams are invited from the bottom half of the previous year’s national championship participants (Elite Flight) and those that narrowly missed out on qualifying for the National Championships (Select Flight).
Rempel said there are three tiers with Pro Flight featuring the top eight teams that finished at nationals the previous year.
“The Elite Flight is the next eight teams and Select is the next 24 teams,” Rempel said. “It’s kind of like soccer in Europe that has different tiers based how they finished the previous year.
There will be 16 teams from men’s, women’s and mixed-gender divisions in the Grand Park tournament. The teams are from throughout North America, including one women’s team, Rogue, from the Indianapolis area.
Rempel said Indiana Ultimate Foundation hosts tournaments, leagues and clinics. Rempel said IUF hosts tournaments for youth, high school, college and adult clubs.
A unique and defining element of the sport of Ultimate, by requiring each player to make their own calls without a neutral official. These principles, uncommon in contemporary competitive sport, will be on display.
For more, play.usaultimate.org/events/TCT-Elite-Select-Challenge-2022/ and indianaultimatefoundation.com.
