Earlier this week we blogged about the LA law that might get disc players a $1,000 fine. Today we can say that the Beach Ultimate community successfully requested a rewrite of the Frisbee- and ball-playing section of the new ordinance.
The new language will clearly state that “such activities by small groups and individuals are allowed at all times on the County beach” unless lifeguards direct otherwise for public safety reasons.
More information here

USA Ultimate is currently conducting a search for candidates to serve on its Beach Ultimate Committee.
If you have a passion for beach ultimate and a desire to help develop and grow the sport USAU would love to hear from you. Committee members will help develop short and long range goals for the division within the USA Ultimate framework. If you are interested in applying please fill out the online application today. The application period will close on February 29th.
www.usaultimate.org/news/usa-ultimate-beach-/

For many years there have been regular pickup games on Ocean Beach (Saturday’s 2:30 PM at stairwell #9). Now the time has come for the Bay Area to have a Beach Ultimate league.
Led by Renata and Edmundo (the organizer of Gazos Gambit) there will be games every Sunday at Ocean Beach from 1:00 to 3:00 PM beginning January 2, 2011. No games January 16th due to conflict with Lei-Out. The season concludes with 2 consecutive Sundays of expanded tournament-style play on March 6th and 13th.
For those that are Beach Curious (a great word considering the location 🙂 you can register and get more information at http://bayareadisc.org/leagues/ocean_beach_home.asp

Jonathan Potts, the President of the World Flying Disc Federation, was at the SportAccord (former GAISF) convention this past week and brought back some news about the World Beach Games.
This event will be run along similar lines to the upcoming World Combat Games in Beijing. At World Combat Games all flights, accommodation and meals for athletes are paid for by the games. If they can manage the same sort of deal for World Beach Games it will be a world first for ultimate!
You can also bet that there will be significant broadcast opportunities, so if Beach Ultimate we were to be included, we would probably use the World Beach Ultimate Championships 2011, which are to be held in Italy, as a qualifying event.
SportAccord is tentatively aiming at late 2012/early 2013 for the inaugural event, and already have had informal interest from a number of cities. They plan to have a host in place as soon as possible, maybe by the end of this year.
Unfortunately, SportAccord didn’t have the information it required to evaluate Beach Ultimate and it hasn’t been included in the list of initial sports for the first World Beach Games.
However, Jonathan had very positive discussions with SportAccord staff and thinks if we put together a strong proposal for Beach Ultimate’s inclusion we will have a good chance.
So that is what we will be working on this week 🙂
This is great news for Beach Ultimate!

FEAST (Frisbee East Africa Sand Tournament) is back by popular demand and this year promises to be even feastier. Last year, Mighty Meaty put together an awe inspiring run to the championship that is remembered as one of the greatest victories in sports history! In addition to the world class athleticism, there was also glow-in-the dark night frisbee, greased watermelons, beer pong, dance parties and much more that cannot be mentioned nor remembered.
This year’s FEAST will be held on May 30-31st at Tiwi Beach, (one-hour drive from Mombasa, Kenya). The format will be 5 x 5 of co-ed ultimate on the beach. The team fee is $280 per team. Lunch will be provided both game days and remaining money will go to purchase a finite amount of party beverages for the final night of the tournament. To register or for additional information email nairobi.ultimate@gmail.com.

Fred Morrison, inventor of the Frisbee, has died at his home in Utah at the age of 90.
Morrison traced the idea for the Frisbee to a Thanksgiving Day family picnic in 1937 when he and his future wife tossed the lid of a popcorn tin back and forth for fun, the Deseret News reports. He took the idea to the beaches of Santa Monica where he sold the “Flying Cake Pan” for 25 cents.
Various versions — and various names — came and went over the years, especially after Morrison learned aerodynamics as a bomber pilot in World War II. There was the Whirlo-Way, the Flyin-Saucer and the Pluto Platter until Wham-o signed on with Morrison and registered the name Frisbee.
More at USA Today

Beach Ultimate in the US has mostly been in the form of annual tournaments. However that is changing. For many years Los Angeles was the only place with a Beach Ultimate league. This fall they are starting their 5th of Beach Ultimate league season with 16 teams (about 200 people) taking over a good chunk of Santa Monica Beach for 7 weeks. They even have an all-star game, where every team sends a male and a female player.(www.labeachultimate.com)
Chicago kicked off a 6-week Beach Ultimate league this year after their annual Sandblast tournament. The experience was very positive for new and experience players. Ultimate Chicago (a local social organization) ran the league and is going to host an even bigger one next summer in two different sessions.
There is even rumor of Beach Ultimate in Boston next year… but that is just a rumor…

Mojo Jojo – Lei-Out Beach League Winners 2008

Tournament Directors (TD’s) are the backbone of Ultimate and Beach Ultimate. Without them the players would be lost and end up spending their days behind the TV 😉
BULA has always supported TD’s, helping them with tips, free posters, readily downloadable pictures for magazines, discounts, etc… Now there is another way TD’s can get help: James Melzack, an experienced TD from the UK has started a forum for TD’s to help each other with experiences and tips.
In less than 2 weeks, 57 people have already registered and the first topics included:

• Ranking players at a hat tournament
• Refunds
• Fees
• Media and Sponsorship

This was long overdue. Thanks James!

TD’s at the World Championships Beach Ultimate in Portugal