Local Club Teams Score Big at UPA National Championships

The Ultimate Player's Association National Championships were held last month in Plano, TX. Two Atlanta teams qualified: Ozone (Women's Division), and Chain Lightning (Open Division).

Congratulations go to Ozone for their second-place finish. Ozone lost only one game in preliminary pool play, a tough game with Boston's Godiva before advancing to the semifinals. In the semis, Ozone beat the Philly Peppers from Philadelphia by only one point to earn the right to face Godiva again in the finals. Although they couldn't pull out the victory, they did bring home not only the second place title but the Spirit of the Game award as well.

Chain Lightning made a strong showing, missing a trip to the semis by only one game. The men's title match was a replay of last year's game between Seattle and Boston, with the victory once again going to Boston.

Congratulations also go to the Southern Women's Masters team for their second-place finish in the Women's Masters division. Three local women were members of that team: Heidi Schaffner, Lara Geller, and Beth Ann Hanson.

A Men's Southern Masters team also reached the finals in their division, meaning the Southern region was represented in three out of the four division championships.

The Southern Region has often been called the weakest in the country, so such a strong showing proves that our region has become a force to be reckoned with.

ESPN Features Paideia/Emory Game
Local high school Paideia's ultimate team was featured on ESPN's show Scholastic Sports America on Dec. 9^th. GPTV did a similar piece in the fall, and when ESPN called them looking for a story idea, they recommended the great program at Paideia. The ESPN crew did interviews with some of the players and filmed a scrimmage between Paideia and a team from Emory University. Paideia narrowly won the hotly-contested game, which was reportedly filled with fantastic layouts and awesome Spirit of the Game.

Ultimate at Paideia is a year-round club sport with a "no-cut" policy. Approximately 22 students show up for any given practice, and the playing is intense. The team regularly travels as far as Birmingham and Savannah to play in club tournaments.

Last May, Paideia traveled to Massachusetts for the UPA Junior Championships. The team rocked all the way to the semis before losing to Amherst, the host team and eventual winners of the tournament. In addition to their third-place trophies, the team brought home the Spirit Award. To raise money for their trip, the players performed yard work and sold discs and shirts. The team plans to go to the Junior Championships again this year, and asks for your support. If you have any leaves to be raked or would like to help in any other way, please call Kyle Weisbrod at 404-634-7313.

Paideia is coached by Mike Baccarini (404-624-4435), assisted by Annie Perry.

Farewell to Jackie...

Jackie Bourgeois, an integral part of Atlanta's ultimate community, is moving to California in January. She will be sorely missed by all.

AFDC News: The 1997 Steering Committee

President: Fred Perivier 404-624-1982

Secretary: Lilian Rodriguez 404-352-3930

Treasurer: Laura DeLong 770-386-1720

Membership Director: Nils Turner 404-622-3571

Public Relations Director: Richard Hanson 770-986-8467

Summer League Commissioner: OPEN

Fields Director: Randall Anderson 770-435-1218

Newsletter Editor: Jennifer Christianson 770-594-9562

Activities Director: OPEN

Historian: OPEN

If you are interested in volunteering for any of the OPEN positions, please contact any member of the Committee. Get involved!

The AFDC Online: HTTP://WWW.AFDC.COM

The AFDC launched its site on the World Wide Web last summer, and now the site is expanding to include some new features.

The new site contains pick-up information, the online version of this newsletter, directions to local playing fields, links to national ultimate sites, and more.

The highlight of the site will be the AFDC Forum, an online bulletin board for AFDC members to post messages to each other. The Forum is designed to replace the e-mail list afdc@chara.gsu.edu, which will be discontinued as of January 1st.

Jennifer Christianson is currently compiling a list of contact people for each high school, college, and club team in the area to post on the web site. The AFDC would like to make this information as complete as possible. To add your team's information, please call Jennifer at 770-594-9562, or e-mail her at jennifer@extraplex.com.

Local Pick-up Play

Just because Fall Club season is long gone and Summer League is a distant memory doesn't mean there still aren't plenty of chances to play ultimate. Dust off your cleats and check out these games.

• Wednesdays: Coed play at the AJCC in Midtown. (Right behind the Beer Mug on Peachtree.) 7 - 10 pm. Contact: Randall Anderson, 770-435-1218 (home). E-mail: RDAnderso@aol.com.
  
• Sundays: Chattahootchie River Park, 2 pm - dark.
• Tuesdays: Women's play at Terrell Mill in Cobb County. 7 pm. Contact: Beth Ann Hanson, 404-352-6660 (work) or 770-986-8467 (home). E-mail: BXH@newcomb-boyd.com

If you know of any other pick-up ultimate in the area, or if you would like to get a new game started, please visit the AFDC web site to post an announcement.