(Don't worry Alia, it's not an email about the juniors...)
Dan Berry wrote:
Spirit seems to be defined differently by different people.
A lot of that is because people haven't read the rules recently. They're
spectacularly clear :
a) no swearing or abuse during dicussions or disputes (it's just about
possible to interpret swearing at a team-mate for encouragement as
allowable)
b) The following things (amongst others) 'must be avoided by all
participants':- 'aggressive behaviour'; 'taunting or intimidating
opposing players'
c) 'never sacrifice the mutual respect between players'
So you can't 'show' the disc; you can't show any angry reaction unless
it's clear that your anger is aimed at yourself (and could not possibly
be construed as disrespectful to the opponent); you can't shout in
someone's face or take an aggressive stance; you've pretty much got to
be a gentleman.
It seem to me that most people take spirit to mean not calling malicious
fouls, not cheating etc.. In this sense, spirit in UK Ultimate is pretty
close to perfect, and we should all give ourselves a pat on the back.
However, the part about respecting the opponent and his/her calls, about
not swearing at him/her, seems to be increasingly forgotten by a
minority. This is the biggest area we can all improve.
And for those of you who need more incentive to behave, think about it
this way: You call a foul that you're fairly sure about, but you might
just be open to changing your mind if the opponent says he definitely
got the disc before he hit you. In which of these two situations are you
more likely to back down?
1) The player calmly & politely says that he believes it wasn't a foul,
and explains why.
2) The player yells, storms off, throws things, and says in every way
but verbally that you're a cheat.
No-brainer? Thought so. Disrespectful and rude play will hurt your team
in a game like ultimate. The opposition will call more, will stick to
their guns more, whether consciously or not: you've shown yourself to
have poor spirit, and you can't expect the benefit of the doubt for the
rest of the game.
Incidentally, I did once hear (may or may not be true) that the way
Clapham improved their spirit a few years ago was by never sending the
disc back at practice - every dispute had to be settled as to whether or
not it was a foul. Does anyone else think this is a great idea for
non-tournament play, and perhaps for schools? Seems to me like a stroke
of genius.
Benji
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