We added a few more pictures to our selection of free pictures to download and use for articles, posters, etc... The latest pictures were kindly given to us by Daniel Bailey, a Venezuelan who is living in San Francisco and who is going to teach (Beach) Ultimate in Latin America this summer. Check out his site at www.disco-latino.com

In line with the WFDF change in eligibility rules, and in time for the ECBU in France, BULA has changed its rules too. The new rules are:

3.3.1 Citizens
Players are deemed to be Citizens and can automatically qualify for participation if
a) they own a passport or equivalent legal document issued by the country's government; or
b) they have moved to the country at least four years prior to the start date of the event and spent more than 75% of those four years in the country.

3.3.2 Resident Non-Citizen
Each team can put 3 players on their roster that are deemed to be "Resident non-citizens". These players
a) own a legal certificate of permanent residency issued by the country's government; or
b) moved to the country at least 20 months prior to the start date of the event and spent more than 75% of those 20 months in the country.

3.3.3 Ultimate Community Member
Each team can field one player that is deemed to be an "Ultimate Community Member". This choice is at the discretion of the National Association if they are considered to be a significant part of that Country’s ultimate community, but don’t fall under the above categories. The following may be taken into account by the National Association in making this decision:
• Residency history in that Country
• Participation in that Country’s ultimate events, especially national championships
• Past representation on National Teams
• Participation in the development of ultimate in the Country

Download the complete copy of the ECBU Team and Player Manual

The ECBU will have 5 divisions : Open, Women Mixed, Masters and Juniors.

The Fees:
Player fee: 70 €
Player fee junior: 60 €
Guest fee: 50 €
Team fee: 100 €
Team fee junior: 80 €

The player/guest fee includes : the player's pack, the BBQ of the welcome party and the Sunday night dinner (the dinner of the Big party).

Accommodations (per day/person)
Camping 5 € (500m from the fields)
Mobil home 15 € ( for 4 and 6 people, with kitchen, are located 15 min from the fields with the free ECBU shuttle service
Apartments 20 € (from 2 to 8 people, all with a kitchen, in buildings located from 10m to 400m from the fields! But we only have spots for 85 persons. First paid first served)

Food
Breakfast: A breakfast plan is provided for 4€/day.

Lunch : There is no mid-day meal plan as everyone will be at the fields. Of course, food and drinks will be available at the player's village on the beach.

Dinner: Thursday Night welcome BBQ and Sunday night diner are included in the player/guest fee. Dinner on your own the others days.

Timeline:
January 15 - February 15: National/team representatives notify of teams selected to play at ECBU. All team fee to be paid.
March 15: All teams to register players. Team registration closes.
March 20 - April 5: BULA seeds teams and devises tournaments format. Teams notified immediately.
April 15: All player registration closes. All players fee to be paid.
May 8 : Registration / Opening ceremony / Welcome Party with a free BBQ on the beach
May 9 - May 12 Games & Parties

Registration and Payment
The spot can only support 5 fields, so we have a maximum of 32 teams. So don't wait February the 15th to register...

The ECBU bank account is :
Bank: Crédit Mutuel Nantes - Cathédrale
27 rue de la Marne
44000 Nantes
France
Account name : ECBU2008
Account number : 00012782301
IBAN : FR76 1574 9361 8400 0127 8230 151

Please reference your payments with this format: (CountryCode)-(DivisionID)

where CountryCode is :
Austria: A
Belgium: B
Croatia: HR
Czech Republic: CZ
Denmark: DK
Estonia: EST
France: F
Germany: DE
Great Britain: GB
Ireland: IRL
Italy: I
Latvia: LV
Lithuania: LT
Netherlands: NL
Portugal: P
Russia: RUS
Slovakia: SK
Spain: E
Switzerland: CH

And TeamCode is :
Open: OP
Women: WO
Mixed: MX
Masters: MA
Junior: JO

When registering the teams, please send an email to info@ecbu2008.org with this reference and telling us the expected number of players and guest on the teams.

The official ECBU website (www.ecbu2008.org)will being updated and soon have more detail on the accommodations.

I've read my fair share of Ultimate/Frisbee books and many are okay, but none of them made me laugh as much as Tony Leonardo's "Ultimate - The Greatest Sport Ever Invented By Man". He is so right on when it comes to the Ultimate scene/culture. He describes several Ultimate stereo types that are so true (I fit many of them :-). He describes our dress code and our desire to win the party. There is even a section about the Ultimate pickup scene and how lesbians and bisexuals can score. It is just funny.

My only critique is that the book is US biased. He doesn't discuss the World Championships unless they were held in the US and according to him US teams are the best (ignoring Japans domination at the last World Championships).

Nevertheless, this book is a must-have for every player. Not only will you recognize yourself in this book, lend it to your friends that don't play the sport and they will finally see you in your full glory... (although I am not sure if that is that a good thing... ;-)

My favorite quote: "Being female and looking for action at an Ultimate tournament is like hunting deer in a disco. Even if the metaphor doesn't make sense you can't screw it up".

Thanks Tony. You capture the weird world of Ultimate players well.

You can buy the book at: www.thegreatestsporteverinvented.com or in the Lookfly store. Alternatively, Tony is going to the Bangkok Hat Tournament, Boracay Open and Bali Nusantara Cup, and he will be bringing a few books with him. So if you are also attending, look for him.

A very good 10 minute report on the World Championships in Brazil. It was shown today (13 January) on TV Globo, Brazil's largest TV station with millions and millions of viewers...

Every year BULA helps a local group of Beach Ultimate lovers promote a special Beach Ultimate event somewhere on the planet. The Beach Ultimate Traveling Tournament (BUTT) helped start the Mundialito in Brazil in 2002. The BUTT also assisted players in the Canary Islands to help start the now famous CFC tournament, and it has helped Israel setup a huge Beach Ultimate tournament (BULAFLOW) in 2005. This year it is helping to promote the Beach Ultimate trip of a life time in New Zealand…

Local players are organizing a 5-weeks-4-tournaments Beach Ultimate series that start in the centre of New Zealand; Wellington. On 3-4 February players and teams are welcome at the Wgtn Wild Wind tournament ; then the series moves, week at a time, north to beautiful Hawkes Bay for the Boutique Beach Tournament; then to the good weather north of Auckland and the Ocean Beach tournament in Whangarei ; ending up after a two week break for sightseeing travel, on South Island’s premiere beach area, Nelson, where you can play at the Flat Out on the Beach tournament.

I know it is short notice, but in case you have the travel bug, know someone who does, or you are in the area… check it out: www.beachultimate.org.nz. New Zealand has always been a great travel destination and now you can play some great Beach Ultimate too.

And… if you still have some time spare you should fly from the last tournament in Nelson straight to the Philippines and play at the amazing Boracay Beach Ultimate tournament 8-9 March… talking about a dream trip…

“It is an interesting question how far men would retain their relative rank if they were divested of their clothes.”

-- Thoreau, Walden 1854

What is it about modern culture that makes authorities feel the need to impose a foreign language, way of life and religion on a people that live in communion, unashamedly nude deep in an impenetrable forest? In a culture where no one bothers to keep track of their age, the well intended, but genocidal policies of outsiders have been ravaging western New Guinea’s highland tribes, as they slowly succumb to alien modernization.

One force driving this aboriginal extermination is the frontiersman psychology. Sledding to the Poles, summiting Everest, rowing across the Atlantic Ocean, it’s all been done. We live in an age when uncharted earthbound exploration is virtually at an end, yet I partook in a particularly unique adventure; I taught naked Frisbee to natives who still dwell in the Stone Age. Someone had to do it. (More...)