A Brief Note on Sportsmanship

At high levels, Ultimate is an extremely competitive endeavor. It's very difficult to be mindful of capital-S Sportsmanship during close games that significantly impact the rest of your season.

However, last Saturday, before the biggest game of either of our seasons-to-date, Jojah of UGA and Darkside of UNC-Chapel Hill met at midfield to share a moment of silence in memory of Eve Carson. Before the AC Regionals Semi-final match--a game that would give its loser a considerably more difficult road to Nationals--Jojah and Darkside transcended competition and reflected on the comraderie we share with our teammates and as an Ultimate community.

The game did not suffer for this reflective pause; both it and the game-to-go the following afternoon were extremely close and hard-fought 15-13 games, with no punches pulled between the competitors. But it was a game of respect--a game embodying "Spirit of the Game" in the highest sense of the term.

Eve passed away a couple of months ago. She was student body president at UNC-Chapel Hill, and she grew up in Athens within a few blocks of the UGA campus. Her absence is an unimaginable pain for those who knew her.

Eve would be proud that a game preceded by a silence in her memory would be one characterized by intensity, competition, and respect between teams of the two towns she influenced so greatly.

As I reflect, I realize it couldn't have been any other way. This realization is a testament to my teammates at Jojah, my bretheren at Darkside, and the AC Region as a whole, in which we can balance the highest competition with the understanding that fraternity is, ultimately, more important. Eve's brother Andrew plays for DUFF of Davidson, and no doubt the virtues he shares with her will further contribute to the strength of Sportsmanship in the AC, as well as Ultimate as a whole. I am proud to be an Ultimate player, I am proud to be in the Atlantic Coast Region, and I am proud to play for Jojah.

Amble