Speaking of Summer Ultimate Camps...

I'm happy to announce that Sally Landefeld of Lakeside School in Seattle, WA is the recipient of the 2006 Riot Scholarship. In a pool of talented and deserving applicants Sally stood out as the one we should send to represent Seattle youth ultimate at NUTC this July. Seattle Riot feels strongly that we have gotten so much from the ultimate community - many of us played ultimate in high school ourselves - and this is one way we choose to give back. Sally's camp tuition will be fully covered as well as part of her plane ticket to and from the east coast.

Congratulations to Sally especially and all the 2006 applicants.

Here is an excerpt from Sally's application:
Why do you love ultimate?

When I'm sprinting for the disc, I forget about everything except the disc. I get so into it that I can trip and fall, or even bonk into something, and I won't notice for a few seconds.
An average day in my life is packed full of stressing about classes, parents, homework, and sometimes friends. I don't get very many chances to escape from my everyday worries. But when I play ultimate, I go into a trance, almost, where I can forget about life's complications for an hour or so and only think about how alive ultimate makes me feel. When I see a perfect lane to cut into, or when my teammate finally makes that forehand huck she's been practicing, or when someone gets a layout D, I get a rush of happiness and simplicity. In those moments it's only me, my team, and ultimate.

After a practice or a game, I feel like all the negative energy harnessed by worrying about school or how my parents are getting along or something was just vacuumed out of my body. Feeling clarified and positive like I do after I play ultimate is my favorite thing in the world. That's why I love ultimate.