I Heart Durban Tournament Gallery

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I Heart Durban Tournament Review

The I <3 DBN Ultimate Hat Tournament 2010 took place on December 11 & 12 at the Westville Old Boys Sports Club in Westville, South Africa.  Sixty Six players from Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Angola came together for a full weekend of Fs: Frisbee, Fun, Friendship, and a Freaking good time!

The 66 players were divided into 6 teams of evenly matched skill and experience.  Special care was taken to ensure gender and geographical distribution as well.  Hat Tournaments are unique in that they allow individuals to play with new people, learn new skills, and make new friends.

The festivities began on Friday, December 10^th at the Westville Old Boys Sports Club.  Players arrived to register and collect their player packs.  Every player attending the tournament was given an I <3 DBN team shirt, an I <3 DBN water bottle, a Durban Ultimate messenger-style bag, some goodies from Red Bull, as well as sweeties and a poncho, in case it rained.  The weather reports threatened torrential downpours, but the I <3 DBN committee held thumbs rather tightly in the hopes that the rain would pass them by.

Perhaps the best part (aside from the epic Ultimate) about tournaments is the reunions they provide.  Friday night was not only about registration, it was about seeing old friends, reminiscing about the last tournament, and making plans for this one.  It was also the moment when the team lists were revealed.  Neal and Robin, the I <3 DBN tournament directors, had spent hours and hours working on the teams to ensure that they were entirely even (see the story of that adventure here).  Needless to say, it was a huge relief when players looked at the lists and confidently proclaimed, “With a team like this, there is no way we can lose!”

Full of the joys of friendship, we took an early night to prepare for the long day ahead.  Games would start on Saturday at 8am and continue until 5:15pm.  Each team would play 4 games of 75 minutes each, totaling in 5 full hours of Ultimate.  It would be a long day.

The broader schedule of the tournament included a preliminary round robin followed by an elimination round.  In other words, each team would play every other (aka: 5 games) and then engage in the elimination, which would provide another 1 or 2 games.  The teams would play 4 round-robin games on Saturday, and on Sunday would complete the round-robin and also play their final matches.

On Saturday, each team played two games before lunch and two after.  During our lunch break, an exhibition game was held.  Boys from Streetwise (Durban Ultimate’s main development site, a home for street children in Pinetown) played a 5-a-side game with members of the Westville community and Durban Ultimate players.  Durban Ultimate has always known how talented the street boys are, but it was utterly refreshing for the rest of the Ultimate community to learn this as well.  The boys were heralded as star players, which, hopefully, increased their confidence and love for the game.  The boys have now gone home for the holidays, but we look forward to visiting with the boys again and hearing their thoughts on their game.

The weather on Saturday was outrageous.  Seriously, we had all possible seasons: blazing hot and humid sun, blustering wind, and pouring rain.  We try to accommodate everyone’s needs in Durban.

At the end of the day on Saturday, after four rounds of preliminary play, the standings were as follows:

Saturday night provided an epic party at the Durban beachfront at the Durban Lifesaving Club, a beautiful second story building on the promenade with indoor bars and dance floors, and outdoor patios overlooking the ocean.

The party kicked off at 7pm with a pounding DJ complete with party lights.  Hot Debonair’s pizza was served at 7:30pm and people chowed until they could not consume anymore.

The highlight of the party was a bunny piñata (an homage to the Prawn Bunnies), which players took turns attempting to smash.  When the piñata broke, Ultimate players dove onto the floor to collect as much candy as possible.  It was almost like a 5 year old’s birthday party. After the piñata was destroyed, the dance floor opened up, and people got their groove on. The party fizzled out around 11pm, and players returned home to rest up for the next big day of Ultimate.

It was quite funny how the end of the round-robin worked out.  The final games in the round robin mirrored what the first round of elimination would be.  In that way, the morning’s first games could have been played as mere warm-ups for the second games.  Although some teams claimed to be “taking it easy,” all of the games were highly contested matches, where all players put their broken bodies on the line.

In the end, Dingane beat Shaka to secure 1^st place, Mpande beat Solomon to take 2^nd, and Cetshwayo beat Goodwill to take 5^th, leaving the standings as follows:

The semi-finals were then played, with Dingane taking on Shaka again, while Solomon challenged Mpande.
Both Shaka and Solomon dug deep and were able to beat their opponents.  Whereas Solomon ran away with their game, winning 15-10, the game between Shaka and Dingane came down to the final point.  The scores were tied as time was called, meaning that one remaining point would be played; the winner of this point would be the winner of the game.  Dingane started with possession, but a nasty gust of wind sent the disc off-target, causing a turnover.  Shaka was able to quickly capitalize on this unlucky error, scoring one last point, winning the game, and thus advancing into the final.  The undefeated Dingane had fallen.

The 5^th vs. 6^th playoff game was just as intense as all the other games.  Goodwill and Cetshwayo put more on the line than their bodies; they put their money.  Throughout the weekend, I <3 DBN engaged in a Charity Challenge and raised money for CHOC, the Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa.  The team who raised the most money for charity would win a prize.  Goodwill and Cetshwayo decided that whichever team won their 5^th place game would also win the charity money from both teams.  Although Goodwill began the game with a wide lead, Cetshwayo came back in the end to win the game, thus securing 5^th place and a large sum of money to donate to charity.

Utterly exhausted, Mpande and Dingane opted not to play “regular” Ultimate for their 3^rd place game, but instead played a rousing game of Social, wherein they soaked each other in water, followed by a competitive game of team Rock-Paper-Scissors.  From these games, Mpande emerged victorious.

Finally, it was time for the final.
Shaka, in yellow, and Solomon, in white, began their game with a full house of spectators watching.  The music was pumping from the Red Bull van (that had generously been on site all weekend to keep the vibe going with cool tunes), and if it was raining, the players did not even notice.

Shaka came away with a fast lead, scoring five points in quick succession.  But Solomon would not be so easily taken.  Solomon scored three unanswered points, bringing them close to the lead.  The game continued with the teams exchanging points, which kept the score close and the game tense.  Despite being a highly competitive final, the game remained very spirited, just as the rest of the tournament had been.  And of course, what is an Ultimate final without a streaker?  Many thanks to Dylan for fulfilling this little bit of tradition.

The final score was Shaka 15 to Solomon 12.  Shaka had come from 4^th place, after losing most of their games in the round robin, to win the tournament.  One player commented that it was a great testament to the evenness of the teams that a losing team on Saturday could come back and win everything on Sunday.

The final standings for the tournament were:

The prize-giving ceremony awarded Trevor and Marlise as MVPS, and Teena Sebastian and new Durban player Matt Cavanaugh for their epic layouts.  Dylan was awarded a prize for streaking, and not to be outdone, Mike W and Nic took off all their clothes and chased Robin around the field before catching her and rubbing themselves all over her.  Needless to say, it was a traumatizing experience.  Cetshwayo was awarded the spirit prize for their incredible spirit, and Shaka was recognized for winning the tournament.
The Charity Challenge raised nearly R2200 for CHOC, with Shaka raising a whopping R913 and thus winning the charity prize.

After all was said and done, players said farewell and departed towards home.  Those who did not have to leave so soon, stayed behind for an impromptu Bring & Braai at the Westville Old Boys Sports Club.

At the end of the day, the I <3 DBN Ultimate Hat Tournament 2010 was a resounding success.  Hopefully, it proved that Durban really can do more than sing and dance, and they can especially organize incredible tournaments.  Ideally, the I <3 DBN becomes an annual event.

The I <3 DBN team would like to thank our sponsors, friends, and associates once more for their amazing support:

Red Bull, for the free drinks, the music, the party, and the wiiiiiiiings.
The Westville Old Boys Sports Club, for the venue.
Pam, for her delicious food.
nologo, for sponsoring the party’s DJ.
The Durban Lifesaving Club, for the awesome party venue.
Debonair’s pizza for the chow, and the gift cards.
The Rotary Club of Westville, for lifting our development players to their exhibition game.