Nation,
I regret to say that on a day where this site had the highest number of visits ever, I failed to get any new content up. I thought people would need a little down time after such a crazy week. Not the case!
Well, the 2009 nationals have come and gone and I can guarantee that everyone involved will not forget the experience. After spending the week in Vancouver, I arrive Saturday and began touching base with teams/friends about their week. (That and watch former teammate Stephen 'Rene' Frye beat Mantracker!)
Stories of extreme heat, thunder storms, fields with standing water, rescheduled games and cancellations were a result of the deluge of rain and poor weather received during the tournament. I went through a similar situation at No Borders this year and being forced to cancel games, any games for teams in any division, is an extremely difficult decision to make. The fields were in worse shape for Corey Draper and the Host society at Nationals, and let's not forget it was Nationals! Only the most important tournament in the country, and on a year where final places influence world club bids.
The players and teams at CUC had to make a choice. They could understand the risks associated with outdoor sport and the situation at hand. Or they could treat the tournament using the lens of consumer-product. That is, they are mere customers and not partners.
Based on the feedback I got, the community decided to galvanize behind the organizers and make the best out a bad situation. People understood MODS couldn't control the weather, and appreciated the effort that was put forward.
Moving forward, I hope teams take the time to ask questions that they need to ask, and after that make suggestions and recommendations to the host society and CUPA based on their experiences.
Thanks to MODS and CUPA for the best tournament possible in a great city. Thanks to all the teams for supporting Canadian Ultimate, and thanks to the Finals teams for giving us some of the most exciting Sunday play in Nationals history.
