Impression of Goaltimate

by James Studaris
Santa Barbara Condors

This past weekend, a new thread was woven into my frisbee adventures as I competed in the Second Phase of Goaltimate held in West Palm Beach, Florida. The First Phase Goaltimate Tournament was held in San Diego in September of 1999. Goaltimate is a sport disc phenomenon that has been surged forward through the efforts of many individuals, including Rick Conner, President of the International Goaltimate Organization. I have been playing competitive Ultimate Frisbee for close to six years. I didn’t expect ultimate to have created such a fascinating path through my life. Five years of college ultimate intertwined with five years of club ultimate have changed my life forever. The teammates, memories, lessons and rewards have been immense. I consider myself lucky because I had a chance to play and compete in this incredible sport of Ultimate in which most of our population does not know of or have this unique opportunity.

A new forum has arisen to promote the virtues of disc sport. The Goaltimate tournaments brought together a ‘who’s who’ in competitive open ultimate players in North America, to play in these inaugural events. The First Phase was won by heavily favored Ground Zero from San Diego. The Wellesley Founders took second, followed by the Santa Barbara Condors. The quality of games in this inaugural event was diminished because of the new nature of the game to most players and the clog defenses in front of the goal. Action was centered around a ten foot square area as defenses sagged to defend the goal mouth. Moments of brilliance emerged; however, excitement should occur frequently with the amount of quality players participating in these tournaments.

The Second Phase brought a fresh aspect of a woman’s division and an ambiguous ‘no-zone’ rule. Sag defenses that dulled the first tournament were not as prevalent with the threat of the zone rule, contributing to many exciting games. It was interesting to see in the men’s division that three of the four semi-finalists in the Second Phase of Goaltimate competed in the semi-finals of the UPA Club Nationals, indicating strong Ultimate skills help on the Goaltimate field.

The play of Goaltimate is even more physical in nature than Ultimate. Bumping similar to basketball is frequent near the goalmouth. The disc skills, field awareness, athleticism and desire of participants were all tested in Goaltimate. The quality of play is bound to improve as players become more acquainted with physical, fast paced nature of the game and rules are set in order to effectively inhibit defenses solely protecting the goalmouth.

Goaltimate can be an exciting sport as witnessed by spectators of the Open and Women’s Finals this past weekend. Lay out D’s were abounding along with some exciting offensive throws and amazing catches. The intensity of play is a major attraction for many Ultimate players. More is expected out of players with teams of seven in Goaltimate rather than close to twenty in Ultimate. Another appeal of Goaltimate is the amount of disc skills necessary to play affectively. Disc skills are very important in Goaltimate because of the shorter stall count and fewer players on the field compared to Ultimate. Playing Goaltimate will force players to handle the disc much more frequently. However, inspiring elements of Ultimate are not as distinct in Goaltimate. Long elegant full field plays are not nearly as common; either are nerve racking zone points where teams swing the disc forty or more times for a score.

The sports have positive virtues in their own respective ways. Proponents of the Gospel of Goaltimate say that Ultimate is too boring to watch because of repeated stoppages of the game through fouls, picks, etc. In Goaltimate, two to three referees are active on the field in order to quickly resolve disputes between players. Players are still responsible for foul calls on the field and must resolve them quickly before a referee makes the final word.

The referee situation in Goaltimate is not much different than the Callahan rules or active observers in College and Club Nationals play. Players still make the majority of calls and must go to an observer if the situation is not quickly resolved. The long-winded arguments during self-officiating play have subsided because of the looming observer and more conscientious players. However, the rules of the observer or referee in Ultimate and Goaltimate need to be refined.

I have competed in the last four College National Finals and past two Club National Finals. The quality of these games has been high; players are competing with integrity to play hard and fair. At the conclusion of the games, the fans have responded with a warm ovation for both teams effort and accomplishments.

Goaltimate can take a page out of Ultimate’s playbook by having spectator support for the large games. This past weekend was a disappointment as only a handful of spectators watched the finals games. The majority of spectators at Ultimate tournaments are players. However, most players who were flown to Florida for the Second Phase were no shows for the finals. Amassing the question if these individuals were simply on vacation or were here to further the advancement, popularity and enjoyment of disc sports. Having players flown out for tournaments is definitely in question if these players do not support the sport in which they graciously gave up a weekend to attend. This situation needs to change; the incorporation of prize to more teams and less flight money may help.

Goaltimate is a chance for recognition of team disc sports as serious athletic events. This should be a major attraction for all Ultimate players. Rick Conner has set up an opportunity for disc sport players to exhibit their skills to a national audience, having the finals shown on ESPN2. Ultimate and Goaltimate must compliment each other.

Goaltimate has feed off of the highest quality ultimate players in North America to create an exciting, high paced game. Goaltimate must give back to ultimate some much-deserved attention by bringing disc sports to a national audience. Goaltimate spawned out of Ultimate; the two are intrinsically linked. This bond should not be a problem but should create a synergism, aiding in the advancement of both sports and all participants involved. I look forward to the future.