Scobel Wiggins Photography

What was the best part about the weekend?  What was unique about the weekend?

The best part about the weekend was being able to hear tips from top players who taught skills clinic sessions. This tournament was unique because its focus was solely on bringing teams together, both college and club, to promote women's ultimate.

What was it like to have the club and college divisions play side by side?

It was like looking at a before and after picture. The college teams saw what their team and program can eventually develop into if they are willing to put in the hard work and dedication. The club teams saw how much the sport is growing and how important it is for them to teach the next generation of ultimate players.

What did you think of the trade show and skills clinic?

The trade show was a great way for teams, both college and club, to promote their team and what they are all about. The skills clinic was an opportunity for young, developing players to learn techniques and strategies from some of the best players around.

What are the big things you took away from the weekend?  How can you use that to help grow your local women's ultimate community?

I learned a lot from the skills clinic and plan to teach my college team what I learned. This tournament was also a reminder that it is imperative to help the women's ultimate community grow.

How can we develop more events like this around the country?

Have more people like Michelle Ng around, and make it mandatory for your college team to attend a Without Limits tournament / skills clinic.

What are the benefits of bringing together the college and club ultimate communities?

We can all learn from each other. Veterans can teach rookies all they need to know and rookies can remind veterans how important fundamentals are. If you are able to teach and explain the strategies of the game to younger players, you are becoming a better player yourself.

What do you think are the biggest obstacles facing women's ultimate?  What are the biggest opportunities?

The biggest obstacle for women's ultimate is developing a program where players expect a lot from each other and push each other past their limits. The biggest opportunities for women’s ultimate players include: going to tournaments like Philly Fusion and other Without Limits sponsored tournaments and learning from those who have been playing for a long time. You responsibility, as a new player, is to take advantage of the experience. 

Where do you see the women's division in 5 years? 

In the future, I see more tournaments such as this one that are geared toward promoting women's ultimate and bringing together college and club teams as one community of players. 

Shameless plug for the College Station Skills Clinic

In the movie Erin Brockovich, Julia Roberts makes a reference to how sports writing means you have to go to "places like College Station, Texas." To her surprise and probably yours too, there will be a skills clinic and tournament in College Station the weekend of December 4-5. I am the captain of Stacked, the Texas A&M Women's Ultimate team and I am thrilled that Without Limits is hosting a tournament and skills clinic here in College Station. Our women's team placed 5th in Regionals last year and one of our goals is to go further this year. We have done our job of recruiting and are now in the process of teaching new players everything we know about the game and showing how much passion we have for this wonderful sport. If you are a team like us, who feels overwhelmed at the thought of teaching brand new players everything they need to know, then you should take advantage of the tournament / skills clinic that we are hosting. In order to be a better Utimate player and in order for you program to develop into the one you have envisioned you are going to have to go to "places like College Station, Texas."

Meredith Hicks plays for Showdown and captains Texas A&M Stacked.