From britdisc-owner@csv.warwick.ac.uk Mon Oct 6 14:35:12 1997 Received: (from daemon@localhost) by pansy.csv.warwick.ac.uk (8.8.7/8.8.7) id NAA10136 for britdisc-outgoing; Mon, 6 Oct 1997 13:22:11 +0100 (BST) Received: from helium.btinternet.com (helium.btinternet.com [194.72.6.229]) by pansy.csv.warwick.ac.uk (8.8.7/8.8.7) with SMTP id NAA10049 for <britdisc@csv.warwick.ac.uk>; Mon, 6 Oct 1997 13:21:49 +0100 (BST) Received: from snow.btinternet.com [194.72.6.226] by helium.btinternet.com with smtp (Exim 1.70 #1) id 0xICIT-0003IJ-00; Mon, 6 Oct 1997 12:30:01 +0000 Received: from btinternet.com [195.99.48.154] by snow.btinternet.com with smtp (Exim 1.70 #1) id 0xICBI-0005w9-00; Mon, 6 Oct 1997 13:22:37 +0100 Message-ID: <MAPI.Id.0016.0061726b2e4a4a204345363530303039@MAPI.to.RFC822> To: britdisc <britdisc@csv.warwick.ac.uk> MIME-Version: 1.0 From: Mark Jefferson <Mark.Jj@btinternet.com> Subject: Ultim-8 Date: Mon, 06 Oct 97 13:20:03 +0100 ( + ) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-britdisc@warwick.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Hi all..... I have started this message a dozen times, and each time stopped before sending it, thinking it wasn't the right time. I am now of the opinion that there will never be a right time, so I will choose the wrong one. The Tour is over, National champions have been crowned for another year and I have an accusation to make. When Ultim-8 emerged we were told, and I am sympathetic with the reasoning, that it was established to raise the standard of British Ultimate. As a short term strategy it probably does - top team receive better competition, and it certainly makes for crowd-pleasing matches. On a long term basis, however, If we expect to see an improvement in the game then I believe we will be pretty dissappointed. I accuse the Tour of, at best, overlooking the broader picture, and at worst, of severe neglect of the national game. Please humour my outburst and listen to my reasoning..... I believe the strength of British Ultimate lies currently at University level - with Students, who, after a full indoor season, and with exams approaching, cannot afford the money or the time to field a tour entry. My first tournament was the National Outdoors, Oxford, where I beleive the Bears came 9th. I did sweet FA to get that result but it was well deserved by many other players. People who, by the way, are now key memebers of the country's top teams. Under the current arrangement, the Bears could never again figure in the National results. They may have a top ten side but they will not be able to compete. Am I the only one who thinks this is unacceptable? Let's call things what they are - the Tour creates an environment where top players must continually play to the highest standard, without the usual distractions of an minor team. In itself I agree that this is a good thing for individual teams, but I do not accept that this leads to a resounding improvement in the national game. As a long term strategy it sucks. You are doing the game an injustice if you insist on consigning student teams to the indoor game - and let's be honest, that's exactly what's happening. Ask yourself, how many student teams were there in the Tour, or at the Nationals, from a count of, I think, around thirty. I will go further to say that, in the present arrangement, the Tour will, in time, foster a drop in standards, where indoor specialists will graduate only to face the task of learning a completely different game if they wish to compete at a high level outdoors. When current players are old and arthritic the standards of outdoor Ultimate will, at best remain constant, at worst have fallen. It will take more than the instigation of a league to repair the damage. What I am calling for is a separation of the Tour from the Nationals, and a Tour which is more flexible to the needs of student teams. If I am the only one who believes the student game needs more support than it currently gets then I will forever hold my peace. If, however, there are others who feel that students have been pushed to one side as a problematic clause in a difficult equation then this is only the beginning. Student's should have the right to contest the Nationals, and I believe the game needs them. Once again, I'm sorry if this has been discussed before. All I require is a bit of public opinion to shut me up. This may seem like a bit of a diatribe but it is with the best of intentions that I raise the issue. Cheers for reading this far Mark Jefferson. Ex-Bear, Whiplash.