This year marked the tenth annual Against The Grain (ATG) Beach Ultimate tournament. Twenty teams from all over gathered at Seaside, Oregon, July 14 and 15 to play in either the 4v4 or 5v5 division.
The teams from Seattle managed to sweep the title in both divisions…but there was a strong showing in 5v5 finals by a team USA reunion team (players who went to World Championships of Beach Ultimate last summer).
The TD was quoted saying: “A lot of it is about the friendships we develop and getting to know new people”.
Agreed! Beach Ultimate is great for that. No wonder I have heard only good things about ATG 🙂 Here are some pictures of this year’s tournament.
For those of you in the US NW region, keep an eye on oregonbeachultimate.com.

Hawaii has always been a place where we hoped Beach Ultimate would be played. However, most beaches just don’t have (enough) sand. Today however we found out that there are indeed some crazy people slogging through through the sand.
Even better, there is a highly spirited league where teams cheer for the other team after the game, and where raffle tickets are given out to the most spirited man and woman on each team (by the opposing team) after each game.
For more info and cool/hot pictures, have a look at http://bvconrad61.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/beach-ultimate-in-hawaii/

Every July, players flock to the same groomed beaches to celebrate a new summer by playing a little Ultimate. But these teams aren’t overlooking the Pacific in Santa Monica or even from the Atlantic in Wildwood, New Jersey. Instead they are gathering in the heart of the country, looking out over Lake Michigan.
Sandblast, is returning to Montrose Beach, minutes from downtown Chicago, for its 12th consecutive year this July 7-8. Despite boasting a number of familiar teams returning year after year, this tournament is almost unrecognizable from its original self. What was once a small-scale tournament for Chicago players to get together has transformed into a major Ultimate event that attracts spectators, sponsors, and teams from around the country.
Continue reading at:
skydmagazine.com/2012/06/chicago-sandblast-2012-history/

Easter weekend is always a holy weekend for Beach Ultimate Lovers with its mecca in Rimini for Paganello. Again it was a great weekend that was topped off by great finals. The Open final was won by the Scandal from Chicago, edging out the equally flamboyant international pickup team SeXXXpensive 10-9.

Luca Miglioretto from SeXXXpensive making a sick layout!
In the meantime, an African Easter tradition is also growing: FEAST (Frisbee East Africa Sand Tournament). This tournament in Mombasa, feeling the heat from the Indian Ocean, was won by Team Uganda who had to travel 27 hours in a bumpy bus to beat South Sudan 13-9.

The Sudan and Uganda teams after the finals.