Held June 24, 2000
Danehy Park, Cambridge, Massachusetts

BlackJack	Tea Party

Texas	WUF

Five "Pro" teams competed for a $500 first prize in this hot one day event. 21st Century DoG emerged victorious in the finals over the Tea Party, while Blackjack defeated Texas for the 3rd spot. The fifth team had over 100 years of Goaltimate experience with 8 40ish recruits from Wellesley (birthplace of Goaltimate) and Natick, but couldn't run with the younger teams. 21st Century DoG was the top seed based on their 3rd place finish at the Phase II  Goaltimate tournament in West Palm Beach this February, and looked strong as they swept through the lower seeds in pool play. The sentimental local favorite Wellesley Founders, runners-up in the Inaugural Goaltimate Tournament last June in San Diego, were unable to field their regular team. Instead they entered as the Tea Party as they supplemented the lineup with teammates from ultimate dynasty Death or Glory, two of whom also participated in the Phase II event with other teams. The Tea Party struggled to find its groove, dropping individual games in two of their pool play matches, thus raising doubts going into the final match against 21 Century DoG. The setup for the final was remarkably similar to the quarterfinals in Phase II, when 21st Century had squared off against the tired, aged Wellesley Founders after a full day of play, ran off a 3-0 lead in the opening minutes, then never looked back in cruising to a demoralizing straight-sets victory. History seemed to be repeating itself in the finals, as 21st Century again ran away with Game 1, 5-1. The Tea Party battled back to win Game 2 by a point, raising hopes in the crowd that an epic was in the works. At the start of Game 3, the Tea Party nearly capitalized on their momentum but a two point launch ricocheted off the top of the goal and fell harmlessly to the ground. The teams struggled forward to a 3-3 tie that game, but the tide had clearly shifted to the younger DoG players. Two quick goals closed out Game 3, then the Tea Party provided merely token resistance in a 5-1 Game 4 clincher. Walking off with the title were original 21st Century members Nathan Wicks, Doug Moore, Tom Mathews, Lyn Debevoise, Fortunate Mueller, and Justin Safdie, plus San Diego transplant Dan Stine. Many thanks to tournament director Tom Proulx of Boston Ultimate Disc Alliance and to IGO founder Rick Conner for his sponsorship effort.

 

Jim Parinella organizing the troops for a fun day of Goaltimate.	Some of the Coed Hat Division players warming up.	Tea party talking strategy during their game against Texas.

Texas talking strategy in between games.	A break in the action between BlackJack and 21st Century DoG.	Some of the spectators getting ready for the finals between 21st Century DoG and Tea Party.

 

Dan Stine of 21st Century DoG receiving a perfectly throw disc over the defense for a goal.	Tom Matthews toes the line for a score in the finals.	Another score for 21st Century in the finals.

Jim Parinella of Tea Party with a clearing pass in the finals.	Fortunat Mueller with a huge sky in the finals.	"Thank you goal post". A beautifully thrown 2 point hammer for a score by 21st Century DoG gets rejected by the goal post.