Optimistic innocence

On Saturday I played in a charity mixed netball tournament no a team that began at ‘Kings Church Durham’ and ended as ‘Jose’s Magic Army’.  It was generally a good day.  I’ve always loved competing in sports tournaments, and this was the first competitive sport I’ve played since last October – partly because of graduating and being ineligible for the wonderful GCUFC and partly because of injury.

However, part way through the competition, I found myself almost speechless with anger, for reasons that I will explain in a moment.  Over the last couple of days I’ve been thinking about why I got angry, what my team mates said to me to calm me down and encourage me, and my thoughts on their responses.  I have particularly been comparing my experience of netball with my experience of Ultimate Frisbee, the sport I am most familiar with playing.

One of the rules of netball is that “No player may come into contact with an opponent in such a way that it impedes the play of that opponent.”  This includes the clarification that a player may not “push, trip, hold or lean on an opponent or use other forms of physical contact”.  This is pretty clear – netball is a non-contact sport.

Ultimate Frisbee is similar: “When the disc is in the air, all players must attempt to avoid contact with other players, and there is no situation where a player may justify initiating contact.  “Making a play for the disc” is not a valid excuse for initiating contact with other players…Some incidental contact, not affecting the outcome of the play or safety of players, may occur as two or more players move towards a single point simultaneously.  Incidental contact should be minimized but is not considered a foul.”

It could be argued that Frisbee is slightly more lenient, allowing for some contact that doesn’t affect the outcome of the play or the safety of players, but essentially these rules are the same – both sports are non-contact.

I have played Frisbee for about 8 years, and have learnt several things about the nature of the sport as non-contact:

• Minor contact is allowable until it interferes with play.  This is due to the second part of the rule quoted above (a caveat that, as far as I can tell, netball rules do not have).
•  Because of the self-refereed nature of the sport, if there is contact that interferes with play, players call the foul and, if necessary, play is reset and replayed.
• Inexperienced players are, to an extent, forgiven for not always following the rules due to ignorance or inexperience.  Experienced players endeavour to teach them the rules and set a good example of following the rules.

This is the perspective from which I came to Saturday’s tournament.

In most of Saturday’s games, the extent of contact allowed seemed quite like Frisbee.  This was a surprise to me, because I had expected the umpires to be stricter in enforcing the rules – from past experience of watching, playing and talking about netball, it had seemed that the non-contact nature of the sport was taken very seriously, compared to other technically non-contact sports such as Frisbee and basketball.

In a couple of games, however, I got very angry at the fact that my marker was blatantly breaking the rules by leaning into me, initiating strong contact and preventing my movement.  I attempted to hold my ground, though without pushing back, and was pushed hard enough that I had to take steps backwards to avoid falling over.  In a semi-contact sport such as football I could completely understand this way of marking, and would use my strength and weight to lean in as well.  But in netball, a sport that has a ‘no contact’ rule with no caveat such as the one in Frisbee, this was clearly cheating.

Two things frustrated me the most.  One, that the umpires rarely, if ever, blew for these fouls, even though they were basically continual for the entirety of the games.  Two, that the worst players for this were the most experienced – players who play regularly for teams rather than players like me who were beginners.

As I said, I got worked up into a speechless rage, which doesn’t often happen – I can usually rant relatively eloquently when angry!  My team-mates helped calm me down and I did enjoy most of the rest of the day.  There were a few things that they said that really got me thinking.

One response to my anger was along the lines of ‘That’s just how it is.  Players bend the rules all the time, and not just in netball’.  This, of course, is true in many sports.  Football is the most obvious example – players diving to win free-kicks or penalties, players tussling and holding shirts at set pieces, etc.  Two points in response.  Firstly – yes, this does happen all the time and in many sports, but I think I was surprised at it in netball, given my expectations of strict adherence to the no-contact rule.  Secondly, that is no reason not to get angry at it.  The argument of ‘that’s just the way it is’, is not a strong one for me.  The rules are there to make the sport safe and fair.  They should not be broken.  I have nothing against being competitive or playing hard or playing to win…so long as it remains in the rules.

Maybe I’m being naïve.  Maybe I’m too idealistic.  Maybe it’s my sporting background.  I grew up playing footy with mates, but in terms of competitive sport, my experience was limited to athletics, cross-country, and tennis – all quite individualistic sports where players don’t really come into contact with each other.  They tend to compete ‘at a distance’.  Post-school, my main sport has been Frisbee.  If you don’t know, the genius of this sport, beyond the speed, skill, or excitement, is ‘The Spirit of the Game’.  This is so completely fundamental to the sport, it deserves full quotation.  If you can't be bothered to read it, the essence is: respect players, be truthful not cynical, call your own fouls.

1.1. Ultimate is a non-contact, self-refereed sport.  All players are responsible for administering and adhering to the rules.  Ultimate relies upon a Spirit of the Game that places the responsibility for fair play on every player.

1.2. It is trusted that no player will intentionally break the rules; thus there are no harsh penalties for breaches, but rather a method for resuming play in a manner which simulates what would most likely have occurred had there been no breach.

1.3. Players should be mindful of the fact that they are acting as referees in any arbitration between teams.  In such situations, players must:

1.3.1. know the rules;

1.3.2. be fair-minded and objective;

1.3.3. be truthful;

1.3.4. explain their viewpoint clearly and briefly;

1.3.5. allow opponents a reasonable chance to speak;

1.3.6. resolve disputes as quickly as possible; and

1.3.7. use respectful language.

1.4. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but should never sacrifice the mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed-upon rules of the game, or the basic joy of play.

1.5. The following actions are examples of good spirit:

1.5.1. informing a team-mate if they have made a wrong or unnecessary call or caused a foul or violation;

1.5.2. retracting a call when you no longer believe the call was necessary;

1.5.3. complimenting an opponent for good play or spirit;

1.5.4. introducing yourself to your opponent; and

1.5.5. reacting calmly towards disagreement or provocation.

1.6. The following actions are clear violations of the spirit of the game and must be avoided

by all participants:

1.6.1. dangerous play and aggressive behaviour;

1.6.2. intentional fouling or other intentional rule violations;

1.6.3. taunting or intimidating opposing players;

1.6.4. disrespectful celebration after scoring;

1.6.5. making calls in retaliation to an opponent’s call; and

1.6.6. calling for a pass from an opposition player.

1.7. Teams are guardians of the Spirit of the Game, and must:

1.7.1. take responsibility for teaching their players the rules and good spirit;

1.7.2. discipline players who display poor spirit; and

1.7.3. provide constructive feedback to other teams about how to improve their adherence to the Spirit of the Game.

1.8. In the case where a novice player commits an infraction out of ignorance of the rules, experienced players are obliged to explain the infraction.

1.9. An experienced player, who offers advice on rules and guides on-field arbitration, may supervise games involving beginners or younger players.

1.10. Rules should be interpreted by the players directly involved in the play, or by players who had the best perspective on the play.  Non-players, apart from the captain, should refrain from getting involved.  However for calls relating to “out-of-bounds” and 3“down”, players may seek the perspective of non-players to assist them to make the appropriate call.

1.11. If players cannot agree what occurred in a play, the disc shall be returned to the last

non-disputed thrower.

I have played Frisbee for long enough that this attitude is now ingrained in me.  I’ve noticed how I often make calls against my team when playing other sports.  For example, in rounders, if I know my team mate is out, I will argue for that decision.  On Saturday, after a baseline pass was given to my team, I corrected the umpire by informing them that it had clipped my finger on the way out and the decision should be reversed.  I am not trying to sound ‘holier-than-thou’, I am not trying to make Frisbee sound better than any other sport, but this is the viewpoint from which I approach sport.  I try to apply the Spirit of the Game to any sport I play.  I believe it is the only way to remove cynicism and cheating from sport.

I do not have the sporting experience that others do, that perhaps make them more immune to the kind of cynical breaking of the rules I experienced on Saturday.  In fact, I have to opposite experience.  Maybe this is why I get so angry, more than others, when I observe cheating in sport.

Another response from my team-mates was the advice to do the same thing back, or ‘give as good as I got’.  I think I reacted quite badly to this.  I do not believe that the fact that other players are cheating (because, when you get down to it, that’s what bending the rules is – trying to gain an advantage though unfair and illegal (no matter how minorly illegal) play) gives me the right to do the same.  Again, maybe I’m being naïve.  Maybe I sound holier-than-thou – that is not my intention.

On reflection, I think part of this reaction comes from my personality – I am quite idealistic – and part of it comes from how I approach all sport like Frisbee.  This is why I was particularly angry at the fact that the worst players were the experienced ones.  In my Frisbee background, inexperienced players might break rules my mistake, but experienced players would do so only rarely, and would not break rules deliberately.

Unlike many of my posts on here, this is not me trying to prove a point or argue an opinion.  It is more a reflection on why I reacted badly in a situation.  Unsurprisingly I guess, it was due to both my personality and my experiences.  Maybe I’ll get used to sporting cynicism someday.  Part of me hopes I will, so I can just chill out a bit.  Part of me hopes I don’t lose this optimistic innocence.

The Rise and Fall of Grey College Ultimate Frisbee Club

Having recently finished playing for Grey College Ultimate Frisbee Club I thought I’d try to write a history of the club so far.  This will be partly my memories of the club and partly some comments on various events over the years.  Therefore, it will read partly like a history and partly like a diary.

2003-2004

GCUFC was founded officially in the autumn of 2003 by Ed Gay, then a third year engineer at Grey.  It was initially a club for friends to play Frisbee – at this stage it was the only college Frisbee club in Durham.  Training was on Tuesday lunchtimes and Friday afternoons and consisted of simply playing Frisbee.  I remember going along for the first time and being amazed at the skill and movement of some of the players, not understanding the concept of space, and being taught the forehand by Alex Wilcox.  At this stage the club had about 12-15 players, about half of whom were freshers.

Later in the year, I think in the spring term, the club was invited to the ‘Northern Alliance’ tournament with DUF (Durham Uni) and Too Many Pies (Newcastle Uni).  The conditions were very windy and the pitch on which we played DUF 1 was in line with the wind.  This meant it was very hard to score into the wind and we only lost 6-4.  I remember watching one player I was marking catch the disc in mid-air and land inside the endzone, the first time I’d seen this done.

At the end of the year, I was voted in as captain (in those days we didn’t have president/captain/treasurer roles, just one leader called the captain), and only one player, Hannah Stone, graduated.

2004-2005

The majority of players continued form the previous year and a fairly large number of freshers signed up, expanding the club to over twenty players.  We started training the freshers up and soon had the basics of the game mastered – it was useful to have plenty of 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th years to teach the freshers.  A second Northern Alliance tournament was held, which led to Grey’s first ever victory, 7-3 against DUF B.  We also lost only 8-5 to Too Many Pies, an early sign of the talent in the team as we took on university level teams.

At some point during the year, I think just before Christmas, I was contacted by a girl from Chads who had set up a team there and knew of a team starting at Hild Bede.  We agreed to play a mini-league in the second term.  I divided the club into two teams to produce a four-team league, and Elliott Hampson and Simon Meadows stepped in as joint B team captains.  Each team played three matches the following term.  Grey finished top of the league, including a 30-2 demolition of Chads, while Grey B finished 3^rd, behind Hild Bede.

By this time, the existence of college clubs had come to the attention of Mike Bee, DUF captain.  He suggested an end of year one-day tournament and offered to organise it.  This tournament happened after exams at the Shincliffe Pitches.  Grey A and B were present, along with Trevs, and a Chads/Collingwood combination team known as ChadWood (despite requests for Chads and Trevs to combine to form ‘Chavs’!)  Grey A won the competition, comfortably winning all their games, while Grey B finished third.  Plans were made to start a more formal league the following academic year.  Ben Jiggins was voted in as captain again, while Dave Grimm, Ed Gay, Sarah Walker (Senior), Alex Wilcox, John Shimmin and Kathryn Smith graduated.

2005-2006

The following autumn, seemingly thousands of freshers signed up at the freshers fair.  In reality it was more like 200, and those who actually made a regular commitment to playing boosted the club numbers to over 60.  These numbers stunned DUF, who had nowhere near as many players.  This made us feel good.  We expanded to three teams.  Martin Greenbank took on the role of club and A team vice-captain, Jimi Davill was voted in as B team captain, and Paul Furley as C team captain.  Jimi also became our first ever social sec.  The league expanded this year, to include Collingwood A and B, Trevs, Hild Bede and Aidans.

The captains met to discuss the league rules – such rules as if a team can’t field the full 7 players, games down to 5v5 are acceptable, or that there is a hard cap of 17 points on games.  One frustrating thing about later years in GCUFC was that some of the rules that had been set out in this meeting were changed and the changes were not communicated to players.

The Cs won their first game, beating Collingwood B by a point, while the Bs struggled in their first few games, losing several by narrow margins.  The A team started very impressively, dominating every game and not allowing opposition teams a look in.  Over Christmas, a Cuths team was formed, full of players who had been playing for DUF.  They played fixtures quickly to catch up with the rest of the league and were looking strong for a while.  When they faced Grey A, I was away at a family event so Martin led the team to a solid 11-6 victory, inspired by a fine Rik Smith performance.  The As went on to win the league, with the Bs finishing 7^th and the Cs 8^th.

In the spring term, a couple of significant things happened, one personal and one on a club level.  The personal one was President’s Guest Night (PGN), the main Grey social event of the second term, aimed at people who participate in college clubs and societies.  It is the event where colours are given to those players who are about to graduate and have performed admirably for the club.  As captain, I was asked to nominate up to three players to receive colours, and I picked Phil Gray, Simon Meadows and Sarah Walker, all of whom had been very good A team players and had also contributed to the club off-field.  When it came to the night of PGN, my own name was also announced with the other three.  I was at first confused at the announcement, and then it was revealed that the club, knowing I wouldn’t award colours to myself, signed a petition to the sports reps at college to allow four colours awards for the club, and to give the fourth to me.  I remember walking up to the stage to receive the award and then sitting back at the table just feeling stunned.  It was a fairly simple gesture from the club, but it meant a huge amount to me – it meant that my effort and hard work had been recognised, and people were grateful for it.

The other significant event, or string of events, involved relations between GCUFC and DUF.  Grey A enquired about going to the university regional tournament at a 3^rd DUF team, a request which DUF rejected, saying that as non-DUF players, we could not play under DUFs name.  This was a reasonable response, but a disappointing one, and I think it caused some resentment in the Grey squad.  In response to this, Mike Bee, now DUF A vice-captain, emailed me requesting that I encourage Grey players to go along to DUF trainings to gain skills and experience.  I explained that I would do so, but that I thought Grey players were reluctant to go to DUF training because doing so would jeopardise their chances of playing in Grey A matches, due to not having attended as many training sessions as those players who hadn’t gone along to DUF sessions.  The strange combination of Grey players not wanting to train with DUF and DUF not allowing Grey to play in the uni regionals was the climax of the tension between the two clubs that had been steadily building that season.  In fact, several Grey players saw the creation of the Cuths team as an intentional attempt by DUF to form a team that would stop Grey A from dominating the league – a theory supported by the facts that the Cuths team was composed almost entirely of DUF players and that it disbanded at the end of the year so the players could focus on DUF.

At the end of the year was the college cup.  Most teams who had played in the league attended; memorably Hild Bede brought several barbeques.  I can’t remember many details about the day, though I know I threw up at one point and I remember losing in the final to the Uni/Cuths team – I think the score was about 8-5.

At the end of the year, a club constitution was written to make things more official.  The roles of president and captain were separated and the role of treasurer was created.  Rik Smith was voted in as president.  I graduated and was given special permission by the college captains to continue playing the following year, as I would be doing a gap year in Durham working for Kings Church.

2006-2007

This season was very different for me.  Although I was still playing for Grey A, I had no responsibility for the first time in two years.  This took a bit of getting used to but was ultimately a really nice change.  I enjoyed just being able to play, and contribute to the team, without having to be constantly thinking about tactics, drills, players, matches etc.

Rik took on the presidency and did a fine job.  He took the club to the next level by organising for us to go to outside tournaments like Northern Winter League.  This gave players lots of extra experience at playing at a higher level.  There was still a bit of resentment felt towards DUF from last season, so it was great to almost beat them at one NWL tournament.  We had an equivalent of our B team (3 As, 4 Bs and 3 Cs), and they had an almost full-strength squad.  We were level at 5-5 before losing 9-6.  A full Grey A would have destroyed them that day.

Back in Durham, Grey had 3 teams in the league again. Grey A were captained by Dave Dodd, the Bs by Paul Furley, and the Cs by Poul ‘Samwise’ Alexander.   With no Cuths team (they were now concentrating on playing for DUF), the main threat to Grey A’s dominance looked to be Aidans and Collingwood A.  We faced Aidans first, I think.  I seem to remember a bit of rivalry had been building from the previous year, when meetings in the league and cup had been feisty affairs.  Grey A certainly had felt that Aidans were not the most spirited of teams.  When it came to the league match this year, Aidans were not happy that I had special permission to play, and we were forced to negotiate that I could play every other point.  This really wound me up, especially as this was the one time my parents had come to watch me play.  There was nothing we could do about it, however, so I played the upwind points and managed to help us win all of them.  We won a hard-fought and bad-tempered game 7-3.  The Collingwood game came later in the year, after they had already beaten Aidans, so it was basically a championship decider.  This Collingwood team were really good.  They’d looked excellent all season and had beaten all the other decent teams in style.  We knew we were up against possibly the biggest challenge we’d ever faced in the league.  We needn’t have worried.  Solid handling, well-thought out tactics, 2 layout Ds in the first 2 points from Matt Knight and myself, an intense mental game and hard defence meant we won 14-0, a scoreline that no-one would have predicted.  The best moment was at 6-0 when we’d been defending our line solidly for several minutes (Collingwood even thought they’d scored at one point but their player landed outside the endzone).  We managed to take possession several times but had failed to get out of our own half.  Then I took the disc on our line, Xander ran long, and I put up a pitch-length huck which he took down superbly, just inside the Collingwood endzone.  That was the killer point.  I won MVP that day – it’s one of my fondest on-pitch memories for the club.

The B team played incredibly well all season and managed to secure fourth place, beating Hild Bede on the way.  An outstanding season for a B team, in a year that had seen Trevs B, Collingwood C, Johns, Mildert join the league.  The C team also played well, finishing 9^th out of 12 teams.

Towards the end of the year, another competition was introduced, giving the A team another chance to dominate.  The College Festival of Sport was a one-day tournament featuring all Durham colleges and many sports, to find an overall college winner.  I can’t remember many details about this or any other festival of sport in later years, but I do remember that these were yet more competitions in which Grey continued their outstanding, unbeaten streak at college level.

Unfortunately I can’t remember what happened to the Bs and Cs in the cup, but I do remember the As.  We cruised through the early stages, beating Grey B to a pulp along the way, and met Aidans again in the final.  Aidans had brought along some DUF A players to help them.  I still disagree with the rule that allows DUF A players to play in the cup, but that’s another story.  So, we were up against the old enemy, to regain our cup title.  We went 5-1 down.  We weren’t playing well at all, and then, for some reason I still am not sure of, everything started clicking.  The drops disappeared, the movement was efficient, the D was tighter.  We won the next point very quickly – just two passes.  Rik popped the disc to me in space, Chris Rodd ran long and I picked him out.  The momentum had changed and, from 5-1 down, we fought back to win 8-5.  That felt really good, especially against Aidans.  A great way to end the season.  At the end of this season, several players such as Rik, Dave, Chris and Ed moved on to join DUF, leaving a sizeable gap in the A team that would need to be filled.  Rob Balmer was voted in as the new president.

2007-2008

This year, I started a PGCE and Maters in education, allowing me to continue laying for Grey.  This was a season of stability and growth, as far as I can remember.  Rob did a great job as president, getting us to NWL tournaments as well as Edinburgh beginners and a variety of other outside tournaments.  The club maintained 3 teams, with Alex Jamieson, Eley Haslam and Marc Etherington as the respective captains.  As usual, I can’t remember much of the B and C teams’ seasons, though I don’t think they were as successful as they had been in the previous year, which was, and still is the strongest overall year in the club’s history.  The A team were strong once again, with very little threat from any other team in the league or the festival sport.  In the cup, the As lost in the final to another DUF-heavy Aidans team.  Colours were awarded at the end of the year, but the rule about colours only being given to finalists seemed to have either disappeared or been ignored by now, something I was not happy with.  I think it is a bit farcical to honour a person’s career for the club in that way before they are at the graduating stage of uni.  The trend of giving colours to non-finalists continued into future years, which is a shame.

One final thing about this year – I believe Alex Jamieson to be the best captain the As ever had.  He had big shoes to fill, following such a successful previous season.  The As had lost a lot of quality players, but gained more good players who mostly had decent experience.  It was a very hard to job to gel a new team together quickly in order to continue the dominance of previous years.  But Alex did a superb job, was an excellent leader, and outstanding motivator and a good tactician.  I was very proud to play under him, gutted that I never had a chance to captain him myself (he was in the C team in my final year), and touched to see him cry when he finished the job – I believe that he and I remain the only captains to be so emotionally involved in our jobs.

2008-2009

Mike White took over as president for the next year and continued Rob’s trend of entering us into lots of outside tournaments, giving great opportunities to gain experience at higher level Frisbee, and also spreading the name of Phoenix Knights, our open team name, around the country.  The club shrunk in terms of numbers this year so we downsized to two teams with Sam Jones and Stefan Kemp as captains.  Graduates of Grey had by this time set up an alumni team called Ashes which provided a chance for alumni to play together from time to time.  I don’t know whose idea this was, but it was an excellent one.  The A team this year was a strong one, which quality from top to bottom.  This was the year I moved from playing handler to playing in the endzone, due to our wealth of handlers.  I loved the chance to run more and to score more.  I forged a lethal partnership with Jack Butters – I think we must have scored about 100 points between us that season.  I scored 10 in one match, against Collingwood B.  Success abounded again for the As, winning the league, cup and festival of sport again.

Links with DUF were now a lot stronger than in the past, which was both a good and bad thing.  A good thing, because positive relationships with other local clubs are always good, and it helped the league to build momentum as more players from different colleges new each other.  A bad thing because it pulled people away from Grey – players started going to tournaments with DUF B and therefore missing matches for their Grey teams.  These conflicted loyalties caused a few rifts within Grey, mainly between the older players such as myself, Alex and Ant, and the younger ones who were now running the club.  Luckily, this season the A team was strong enough to cope without a few players each weekend.

At some point, possibly this season or possibly a previous one, but after I had finished as president/captain, DUAU (the university sports team) took over the running of the league, which had previously been organised by DUF, and the cup, which had been organised by the Grey president.  This made our league more official and provided better organisation, though it started to cause problems in later years.

2009-2010

The club entered the next season with our first female president.  Emily had been B team captain last year and now took on the top role.  Although we had had excellent female players in the past (most notably the legendary Sarah Walker (Junior)), and Eley had also been a captain, this was another step and was great to see.  Grey has had a perennial problem of not having many female players and there was hope that Emily would help to change that.

Ant Bailey and Alex Pettitt were the clubs new captains.  This year, I found myself in the B team.  Emily acknowledged that I easily had the ability to play in the As, but said that they were concerned about the As gelling together and knew I that as a teacher I wouldn’t be able to attend Wednesday trainings.  I knew this argument didn’t make sense – many of the As had played together before and it was actually the B team, consisting largely of freshers, that would have the trouble gelling.  I believe it was also thought that my experience would help the B team, and that this was more of the reason for the decision.  Nevertheless, it was hard to take, with my past commitment and time playing for the As.

The As dominated yet again this year, winning the treble again.  The Bs enjoyed a successful season, finishing a record-equalling 4^th in the league and also getting third place in the cup.  And here is where I try, and probably fail, to not sound arrogant.  Although there were a few decent players on the B team, I was by far the most experienced and skilful.  I found it frustrating playing with inexperienced players.  They did not move where I expected, they threw away what I thought to be easy throws, and they dropped lots of catches.  I persevered, trying to teach and encourage as best as I could, but I desperately missed playing for Grey A and often felt like I was carrying the team.

There was also the issue that club figureheads started giving preference to DUF over Grey.  This was not the same as the previous year because it now happened more often, with more players, and with more significant players.  When a club’s most senior and respected players, in fact its leaders, start abandoning the club to play for local rivals, it sets a very poor example of commitment to the junior players at the club.  I believe this to be, not the only factor, but the most significant factor in the downfall of GCUFC.  Other factors include a shrinking in the size of the club due to, I believe, lack of community spirit and lack of players living in college, a lack of commitment from some senior players to training, and a lack of hardcoreness – training would often finish after a couple of hours rather than continuing for four just because it could. But the biggest factor was players prioritising other clubs over Grey.  It comes down to why you play Frisbee.  Do you play for yourself, and therefore take every opportunity to gain personal experience and skills, and play at the highest level that you can, or do you play for your club, and therefore sacrifice your personal development and opportunities to play at higher levels, in order to make your club as successful as you can?  It seems that as players deprioritised playing for the club over several years, the standard of players and teams declined.

I almost left the club at the end of that season, even though I was eligible to play for one more.  In the end I stayed, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to not play while still being eligible.  I loved the club too much, and had invested too much in it, to give up now.

2010-2011

Mark Savage became the next president, while Jacob Hicks and George Hicks (no relation!) were the new captains.  I was moved back into the A team, and it was so good to be playing with more experienced players again.  However, the club was much weaker now than it had been two years previously.  Many ex-Grey players were now playing with DUF, and both the A team and B team struggled to get enough players to turn up to matches.  Senior players missed trainings and matches, or turned up hungover and few freshers stuck with the club.

DUAU were now causing problems too – most matches were played on the school pitches because Mary’s field was in such poor condition, but because of the nature of Frisbee and the large number of games being played, the school pitches were soon in poor condition too.  This meant games had to be postponed and the fixture list became very clogged.

Then came the day that I’d always known would come, but I’d hoped it would be after I’d left.  I had already received the news that, after graduating in January 2011, I could no longer play for Grey due to insurance reasons (another situation caused by DUAU).  However, I intended to continue supporting the team in matches.  In the first term we were still unbeaten, though looking weaker than ever before.  Then in the first match of the spring term Grey A faced Johns.  Not only did Grey A lose at college level for the first time ever, they were demolished by 11 points to 2.

Johns were a decent team who worked hard, but were nothing special.  Grey however, were missing their captain through injury, their most experienced player (me) through ineligibility, one player through other commitments, two players who simply did not turn up, and had one vice captain returning from injury, another hungover, and a president hungover.  Little could have been done about illness, injury and the ban, but the other problems showed how much the mighty Grey A had fallen.

The team that once could field a 14-strong squad of university level players, the team who would only concede a couple of points to the next best team in the league, the team that could win forty minute games in twenty minutes, the team that trained and trained and trained, 3-4 times a week, the team that balanced socialising, studies, commitments to other sports and were still fiercely loyal to the club and to each other, the team that would grab every opportunity to play an extra half hour of Frisbee, the team that refused to give up, refused to stop running, and considered every point conceded to be a personal insult from the opposition…that team was no longer.  Over the past three years or so, many things have contributed to GCUFC, and particularly Grey A, being less passionate and committed than it had once been.  No individual people are to blame; it has been a combination of factors.  I suppose that I am the only person in the world who fully understands this, being the one person who has seen and been a part of the entire story.

As someone who has invested hundreds (possibly thousands) of hours into the club, on and off the pitch, playing over a hundred games, it is both hard and satisfying to look back over the last eight years.  It is hard to see the recent decline of the club, and to think back over past difficulties and struggles.  It is satisfying to remember the matches, the victories, the socials, the tournaments, but most of all the dozens of players we have produced.  I am immensely proud to have played with the players I have at this great club, to have had the honour of leading some of them and coaching most of them.  To anyone who has ever played for GCUFC: thankyou for your contribution to the club that means so much to me.

Update, Summer 2013:
Over the last couple of years, the club has begun to rise from the ashes.  While they are not at the level of previous years, and Grey A are not head-and-shoulders the best team around, the whole 'feel' of the club has changed.  Entry to outside tournaments has increased.  Players seem more committed and excited about the club.  There are three teams again, and probably the highest number of girls we've ever had.  When I watch them play, or help with training, it feels like how the club was when it was strong.  The results aren't yet as good as they used to be, nor is the quality of play, but in a way, those things are secondary.  It feels like the passion is back.  I'm sure that many people are to be credited for this, but some that I am aware of are John Oliver, Craig Hawes and Will White.  Well done to them, and to everyone still at the club who is helping to make it great again.  Keep it up guys.

Unique feelings and GCUFC

You know there are some things that cause unique feelings, that aren't replicated anywhere else?
Some of mine are:
Boxing day
The smell of Hebron Hall
Seeing teenagers worship
The final scene of LOTR
A new season for Grey College Ultimate Frisbee Club

The last one has happened recently.  I'm now in my 8th season playing for GCUFC.  The uni team asked me to join, there were several opportunities to leave, but, although I want to be as good at frisbee as I can, I want to do that with GCUFC.  And I love it at the start of the season when we start playing again after the summer and when freshers turn up to learn how to play.  I love teaching new players and watching them learn and improve.

My life in 10 photos

I thought I’d try to represent my life in 10 photos. This isn’t really possible, as I only have photos from the past 6 years or so. But here’s an attempt.

Photo 1 was taken a couple of years ago in the Lake District. It is of me, my sister and my brother. They are both being very humorous. I don’t think I realised the photo was being taken. Photo 1 represents my family, immediate and extended, and how well we get on together.

Photo 2 was taken at a wedding last year. It is of (from bottom, clockwise) Joe, Jenny, Geri, Tom (the groom), me and Sam. We have all been good friends for well over a decade, through the youth group we used to attend. Photo 2 represents the Christian friends I had during my teens, both from home and from across the country.

Photo 3 was taken in 2006. It is of some of my Frisbee club from uni. I led the club for two years and invested a lot in it. Photo 3 represents GCUFC over the last 6 years, and the friends I had and have there.

Photo 4 was taken in 2005. It is of my housemates from 2nd year at uni: from left – Dave, Chris, Mike, Tom, Jik, Adam, Ian, me. Photo 4 represents some of my university friends, and the memories of the stupid stuff we did over the three years.

Photo 5 was taken in 2006 after one of the leavers formals. From left are Helen, Christina, Beth, Chris, Tom, Elliott, Cassie, Helen, me, Izzy. Photo 5 represents all the friends from my college Christian Union. We formed a really tight group for three great years.

Photo 6 is from 2006 and is of the 8 interns from my gap year working for my church. From left are Sarah, Kat, Catherine, Phil, Cassie (front), me (back), Gaz, Will. Although it’s not a great photo, it reminds me of the fun we had together. Photo 6 represents my internship year, and also the amazing group of friends I have in my church in Durham.

Photo 7 is from 2008’s ‘Red or Dead’ party – Phil, Chris, Ruth and Clare are all good friends from my church, who have all supported me and invested in me. Photo 7 represents King’s Church Durham as a whole.











Photo 8 doesn’t exist. It would have been taken between 1999 and 2001, and would have been of a group of friends from Hebron, the summer camp I attended. Photo 8 would have represented Hebron, and the impact the event and people have had on my life. Unfortunately, this photo was never taken, or if it was I don’t have it. But it’s there in my head.

Photo 9 was taken in 2005 at Hebron. It is my all-time favourite photo, because it is of some teenagers who I love, worshipping God. Photo 9 represents what I love about Christian youth work, and Hebron in particular. It also represents how cool I think it is that I can have real friendships with people half my age.

Photo 10 was taken in 2008 at the end of a week away with some year 8s from my school. Photo 10 represents my job and about 35 of the reasons why, most of the time, I enjoy it.


So there you have it – my life in 10 photos. I think I’ve represented all the really important things in my life. If anyone reading this owns photo 8, please can I have it?