D-III College Championships Update
USA Ultimate
Posted: May 19, 2011 12:43 AM
USA Ultimate is excited about this weekend's upcoming Division III College Championships in Buffalo. This event is not only the culmination of many teams’ 2011 seasons, but the culmination of a lot of efforts by a lot of players and organizers to put together a competitive structure for Ultimate teams from small colleges and universities. In addition, it is the result of a lot of hard work by a dedicated group of local organizers in Buffalo, who are looking forward to seeing athletes from around the country step onto the fields that they are busy setting up.
On that note, USA Ultimate would like to share some developments related to the event that have occurred throughout the last 48 hours, and explain why there hasn’t been more information published about the upcoming competition, including seedings and game schedules. The bottom line is that due to the record-setting rainfall that Upstate NY has received this spring, and over the past couple of weeks (continuing as we speak), the original field site AND the backup field site were both determined to be unplayable by the facility managers. USA Ultimate found out about the first on Monday and the second on Tuesday. USA Ultimate has spent the past two days scouring the Buffalo area and beyond (well beyond…into neighboring states) for a place to hold the event.
The good news is that the event is still on, and still in Buffalo at yet another athletic field site that is going to keep everyone together. The field site is in Akron, NY about an hour away from the original fields in Hamburg. Registration is still set for Friday at the same hotel (Holiday Inn Express) and attendees should of course fly in or drive to Buffalo as planned. The tournament hotels are the same. However, USA Ultimate has worked dilgently to provide significantly discounted rates at several hotels closer to the field site in Akron.
It took considerable effort on the part of a lot of people in Boulder, Buffalo, and elsewhere to come up with this backup site. Still, there will unfortunately have to be some compromises made to the game schedule, because there are fewer fields than originally planned and there are other sports also using the site for portions of the weekend. Details of those other activities are being finalized so that USA Ultimate can continue to put together the best championship schedule possible. Teams will still get to play pool play, a championship bracket, and some consolation play. However, games will almost certainly be shorter and the schedule itself somewhat broken up. Again, USA Ultimate and the local organizing committee are working diligently to make the best use of the fields to give teams and athletes the best experience possible.
To that end, all athletes can still expect this to look and feel like the USA Ultimate championship event that it is, including player packs, event guides, tournament merchandise, lined fields, plenty of water, scoreboards, scorekeepers, observers, dinner at the fields, games, prizes, and the best competition of the year.
Seedings are now available (Open / Women's), although a detailed competition schedule is still being finalized. As soon as those details are available, they will be posted on the event website - hopefully by Thursday evening.
USA Ultimate would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding, and congratulate all of the teams, coaches and athletes on their accomplishments this season. See you in Buffalo!