I know I haven’t posted in a while, but a lot of this had to do with HUX (the Hendrix Ultimate eXperience) being postponed due to the horrendous amount of snow (how the hell can it snow this much in Arkansas?) we received 2 days before the tournament. The parks were closed for the weekend and we were left notifying the incoming teams at the last-minute, with Hendrix Ultimate alumni already flying into town.
When I was a wee baby Sugar Glider, HUX was my favorite tournament. It was one of the most incredible weekends I had ever had and surprisingly, I can remember most of it in painstaking detail. It was this tournament that made me realize, “Hell yes, I love Ultimate.” The first semester I came out to the team, I was most likely considered to be Flake Numero Uno by the older players. Half the time, I didn’t show up. The other half of the time, I showed up late. I kind of dreaded going to practice, always conveniently doing my laundry too close to practice time and missing out on the first 15min. I think a lot of it had to do with my not knowing anyone on the team. I was a lot more shy back then, and that still came across when I talked to the alum when they were in town. But I also know a lot of it had to do with my complete and utter lack of skill on the field. I know this because I lived for conditioning. I was always out there, always on time, ready to run sprints like no body’s business. Running sprints didn’t require any skill. Well, at least not for me.
HUX was the first tournament where something in me came alive. Defense was my strength, trying to predict where that disc was headed. I remember the sound effects I would make whenever I would D a disc. A loud grunt of anger. Won me my “Best O Face” award at the end-of-the-year party. It made me realize that I could have skills on the field. It made me realize that there was a desire in me to do this.
I think the party later that night also played a substantial role in me falling in love with Hendrix Ultimate.
This year just wasn’t the same. I know I over analyze things. I also know I’m the sentimental gushy type who likes to make a big deal about things beginning and ending (Pearl of wisdom…? Perhaps I need to enjoy the journey more…?). Even postponing it by one week seemed to throw several things off-balance. The men’s bracket went from 19 teams to 11. The women’s bracket went from 10 to 3.5: Hendrix X, Hendrix Y, Harding, and a hodgepodge of C. Arkansas, Missouri S&T, and Rhodes… who stuck around long enough to play only one game.
I felt like we had been cheated out of something. HUX was so influential for me as a freshman. And if anything, this year’s unfortunate turn of events just made me frustrated and disgruntled. I know that most things were out of anyone’s control (damn you, nature gods), but I couldn’t help but be disappointed.
Hendrix Y lost their one and only game to Harding. Hendrix X won their game against “hodgepodge,” and lost at ultimate point to Harding. It was difficult to watch from the sidelines; with the insane amount of luck I’ve had this year, I was injured, yet again, for another tournament. A concussion (my second one almost two years to the date) along with a running collision into my knee, left me as cheerleader. I could go on about the lack of injury prevention and care in Ultimate, but I’ll save that for another entry.
What sucks about sitting on the sidelines is that you can’t play. You just have to sit there and watch your team do what they’re doing while screaming from the sidelines about how “now” would be a good time to use that new end zone we went over at the last practice. But as a said before, this we’ll save for another entry.
I want to say that my being on the sidelines was a fundamental cause of my frustration. But I’d be lying. Having the women’s bracket be pretty much nonexistent was also a huge part in my aggravation. Which brings me to my main point. Why did we have such few teams come out in the end? Ok, so I realize that we had to postpone HUX by one week, but seriously? One week and all but 3.5 teams drop out? With two of those being our own? I’m not even going to try to do the math on that one and tell you what the percentage decrease is (screw you if you know it), but come on. The boys go from 19 to 11. We go from 10 to 3.5. The boys lose about what, 1/3? And we lose just about 2/3.
I feel like women’s Ultimate in the south needs some serious help. I know that this blog roll and Without Limits is doing a lot to promote women’s Ultimate. And it makes me rather happy that I’m doing what I can to help along. But this past weekend made me realize, to a greater degree, how much is lacking in this region. And what more needs to be done.
I have to be honest; it made me truly sad that these girls, especially the rookies, weren’t able to experience the same kind of HUX that I did when I started out 3 and half years ago. Call me sentimental, call me mushy, call me whatever. But that’s how I feel.
The party was alright. In case you were wondering.