UITM North Zone Tournament at UITM Kedah

31 July 2004
When we arrived on the campus at a little before 8:00 am we new only a little of what to expect. We knew that 4 UITM branches were gathering together to compete in a series of events. We knew that the teams assembled for the Ultimate competition had only recently been instructed in the basic rules of the game. We knew little else about what the day would hold. Two additional things we were sure of: Athletes love to compete and People love Ultimate when they play it.

The first hour was reserved to warm up, review the rules, discuss the round robin format, and have an exhibition game with some women who had been recruited to learn the game as well. So we began by grouping he teams. "Kedah, line up over there, then Perlis. Perak you're here and next to you Penang. OK, let's get started. Where is Penang?"

With only four teams in the mix, nobody wanted one to be missing. Nestle had provided prizes for four teams, not three. We had trophies for four teams, not three. The tournament was scheduled for four teams. A little quick thinking and some enthusiastic demonstrators found the women's team, also from Kedah, filling in for Penang until they arrived - which they did about and hour later once they fixed their flat tire.

The tournament went on with each round being played to 7 points or a 30 minute time limit. A little different than many tournaments but the schedule demanded back to back games. Each round the players gained experience, understanding, developed strategy, and began to excel at the game. Quite naturally players shifted into positions based on their experience in other sports. And they also realized that getting back into defense was essential for staying in the game. For some games crowds gathered and the intensity was sky high.

Getting used to playing without referees took some time but through it all the players managed to maintain the Spirit of the Game, even clapping for their opponent and cheering on other teams while waiting for their next match.

The final two games pitted UITM Penang against UITM Perak. Both teams were fixated on the goal. Third place was in their grasp. Just get that last score in. Finally, The fast paced quick throwing team of rugby-turned-ultimate players from Penang came out victorious. They had managed to recover from their hour delay and end the day with victory. Perak fought hard but in the end they had suffered too many injuries to maintain the pace of the game.

The finals was played between two teams that had only one loss between them. This was the match between the hometown Kedah vs. Perlis. These two teams had actually gone quite easily through the opening rounds. Now it was all on the line for the title. Perlis came out strong jumping to a 4-0 lead. After a short intermission with both teams talking strategy and looking for the energy to finish the game Kedah began to mount a comeback. Soon the score was 5-2. Perlis kept telling themselves they only need to hold on, maybe score a few more points to put the game away. Kedah was working hard to generate some momentum. And then, the tide turned fully back to Perlis as they scored the remaining goals to finish the game. Congratulations UITM Perlis

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