Beach Ultimate in Asia has been something I have written a lot about lately. China, India, Australia, Singapore, etc... many countries in the region have Beach Ultimate tournaments. The sport is truly growing. However it seems that when given the choice, most Asian players still prefer grass Ultimate.

We have been promoting and organizing the Asian Championships for more than a year now. We offered free accommodation, a Magic Bus trip to Manila Spirits (qualifier for the the world grass championships in Prague next year), and visited several tournaments in the region to get players/teams committed to come.But it seems that only a few countries are really dedicated to Beach Ultimate (Australia and the Philippines). New Zealand is coming with a mixed team and Singapore and China are still trying to get enough players to commit. India said they would come but payment has not yet been received.

This will not stop us from putting a stake in the ground. The championship will happen and we are still reaching out to get more teams. The Philippines will have two teams in each division and if you know of anyone that is interested in playing, let me know. Beach Ultimate in Boracay during Halloween is not something people should miss!

I was approached by the tournament director of the Chennai Heat Beach Ultimate tournament in India. He wanted to know if his tournament could be BULA approved? He likes the Discraft discount and he also values the legitimacy BULA approval brings. It allows him to get more international teams to participate.

He told me that the tournament would adhere to all the BULA criteria except...they play 7-on-7 Beach Ultimate..

As far as I know this is the only 7-on-7 tournament in existence and since time was of the issue (the tournament is 2-4 October) we allowed them to be BULA approved this year. It will help the growth of the sport in India.

However it brings up an interesting question: should BULA accept 7-on-7 Beach Ultimate as another version of the sport?

Asia is waking up to Beach Ultimate. Here is an article from Nina-Noelle Hall in Singapore:

Hurtling through the air, the red plastic disc escapes the desperate grasps of clasping hands and instead plunges, untouched, into the warm sands of Siloso Beach. Mere inches away lie the defeated: two panting players, now face-planted, who both missed the whizzing disc. 'Hey guys, how 'bout catching it?!' jokes a shirtless and sinewy defenceman toward his two sprawled teammates. A middle finger and a smirking face caked with sand is all he gets back. Trash talking is just part of the game in this popular twist on Ultimate Frisbee where, like volleyball, the adrenalin-pumping game has found its way to Sentosa's sands. This is Beach Ultimate. More...

I just returned from Poland where our team (Diz-Cu) played at the SandSlash tournament in Debki. Debki is a tiny village (125 people) north of Gdansk and is a fun place with beautiful surroundings. Poland is also still very cheap compared to most of Europe. For less than 10 euros you can get a complete meal with drinks and desert included.

The tournament was great. Well organized, great parties, and everyone was friendly and fun. A crazy drink-and-layout game on Saturday kept everyone laughing. The wind was strong but not unbearable. It did help that we are used to playing in the wind so we ended up winning the tournament in an exciting final against Uwaga Pies (=Beware of the Dogs). That we won the SOTG award was icing on the cake :-)

Poland is going through a great surge of (Beach) Ultimate. Four years ago there was hardly any Ultimate, now the tournament had 13 Polish teams with 3 teams on the waiting list. With beautiful women and men (according to my wife :-) and tasty vodka it has a place in my heart and I hope to be back soon.

(Picture from http://picasaweb.google.com/uwagapies/Sandlash2009ByEddy)