Madison will host Ultimate Frisbee Nationals in May
Daniel Schott
Issue date: 4/28/10 Section: Sports
|
MUFA was founded in 1993. While Madison already held a healthy history of Ultimate, having hosted a number of tournaments at the University Bay Fields in Warner Park, a group of Madison residents and Ultimate enthusiasts wanted a friendly, non-profit organization to expand the Ultimate culture throughout Madison. To this day, MUFA hosts a league every season and has established Madison as the Ultimate capital of the nation.
"Boston has maybe as big of a summer league as (MUFA) does," comments Matt Young, one of two team captains for the UW Madison team, the Hodags. "The difference in the population really shows how amazing Madison is when it comes to Ultimate. It's just what MUFA brings to the table for Ultimate that makes it so great."
Two things make MUFA stand out as one of the best organizations for Ultimate. The first is the price of the league and the experience you get for it. The 2010 summer league costs $28 a player. Befits include about 18 games before the play-offs, a synthetic team jersey, a Frisbee and every team receives two free pitchers of beer from The Great Dane after each game.
The second would be the dedication MUFA holds to the community. Not only does it sponsor a summer league every year for the same low price, expecting no profit, but it also holds fall, spring and winter leagues, each one costing no more than $30 every year.
With the UPA College season beginning in early April, over 700 teams have already begun to compete throughout the nation in regional tournaments, with some of the best already moving on to sectional tournaments that begin as early as May 1. Only 20 teams in the College Open and College Women's divisions play in the finals in Madison.
"Because some of our biggest opponents are in our region, such as Carlton College (the defending UPA Champions), most of our biggest games will be in regional's," Young comments, before discussing the last two tournaments in North Carolina (Eastern's) and Lake Superior (Sectionals), where the Hodags claimed victories. "Statistically, we're ranked two in the nation behind Oregon."
Other teams that have in the past shown to be major competitors in College Ultimate are the University of Minnesota, University of Florida, Colorado, Berkeley and Pittsburg. Another team coincidently ranked two in the nation as well would be the UW Madison women's team, Bella Donna. Having also won a sectional tournament, Young notes that they have "beaten every big team in the nation."
CBS announced on March 31 that it will be covering the 2010 UPA College Championships, as a part of the network's Alt Games: College Action Sports Championships line-up.
The beginning of the tournament, from May 28 to May 30, will be held in Verona at the Reddan Soccer Complex. The finals, however, have moved from downtown Madison (Breese Stevens) to Middleton High School's Stadium on May 31. With the event being free to the public, it is expected to be a massive event, with people "coming out just because they love Ultimate," as Young points out.
Be the first to comment on this story