AI 2006

About the Tournament    Selection Notes    Frequently Asked Questions

Tournament Format and Schedules

How to Submit a Bid                 Received Bids

Directions                 Ultimate Links

Tournament Results

Saturday, May 06, and Sunday, May 07, 2006

Coaches and players please note:

May 06 is an SAT date! To avoid conflicts with the Amherst Invitational, take your SATs in April or June instead of in May.

Selected Teams

Girls Division

  • Andover High School (MA)
  • ARHS Girls JV
  • ARHS Girls JVB
  • ARHS Girls Varsity
  • Beacon School (NY)
  • Paideia School (GA)
  • St Johnsbury (VT)
  • Stuyvesant High School (NY)

Open A Division

  • Andover High School (MA)
  • ARHS Boys JVA
  • ARHS Boys V
  • Columbia High School A (NJ)
  • Lexington High School
  • Longmeadow High School (MA)
  • Nipmuc High School (MA)
  • Paideia School (GA)
  • Pennsbury High School (PA)
  • Princeton (NJ)

Open B Division

  • ARHS Boys JVB
  • ARMS
  • Four Rivers (MA)
  • Needham High School (MA)
  • Newton North (MA)
  • Northfield Mount Hermon (MA)
  • Pioneer Valley Performing Arts (MA)
  • Phillips Andover (MA)
  • Scarsdale High School (NY)
  • St Johnsbury (VT)

Open A Wait List

  • Milton Academy (MA)
  • Watchung Hills (NJ)

Open B Wait List

  • Compass School (VT)
  • Stuyvesant High School (NY)
  • Beacon School (NY)
  • Weston High School (MA)
  • Newton South (MA)

About the Tournament

This spring we will be celebrating the 15th Annual Amherst Invitational Tournament. The tournament will once again be divided into three separate groups: Open Division A, Open Division B, and Girls Division.

Selection Notes

We have the difficult task of selecting 28 teams to play at the tournament out of a pool of 40+ applicants. We hate to do this, but our resources are limited and we cannot expand the tournament.

Here are things that will help your chances of being selected:

  • organize a tournament or league and tell us about it in your application
  • get your bid in early

Here are things that will hurt your chances of being selected:

  • give us an email address that doesn’t work
  • have a sexist or drug-related or alcohol-related team nickname
  • make your check out to anything other than ARHS Ultimate

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Tournament Frequently Asked Questions

When is the tournament? The tournament will take place on Saturday, May 06, and Sunday, May 07, 2006.

Who is allowed to play in the tournament? We will (for the most part) be using the UPA Juniors Team Guidelines to determine if your team is eligible to attend our tournament. The Guidelines state that ALL members of a team in the Open Division must attend the same high school, and 75% of the members of a team in the Girls Division must attend the same high school. We may consider an exception to the rule for a team in the Girls Division or for a team traveling a great distance to the tournament.

Do we need to be UPA members? All players on all teams must be UPA members to play in the Amherst Invitational. The UPA is strongly committed to the growth of high school Ultimate, and becoming a member will support their efforts. You can sign up on the UPA web page. (note: make sure you are signing up for a 2006 membership. The Youth (high school) membership rate for 2006 is $20.)

Who is in charge of this tournament? The tri-directors of the Amherst Invitational are Tiina Booth (coach, ARHS Boys Varsity), Jim Pistrang (coach, Amherst Regional Middle School) and Ann Hollingworth (president, ARHS Ultimate Booster Club). Contact information for Jim and Tiina is listed below. All decisions regarding eligibility, acceptance of bids, seeding, and rules will be made by the TDs.

How do you decide which bids to accept? We expect to receive well over 30 bids, and we only have room for 20 teams (not counting the Amherst teams). We will use the following criteria: Open Division A: we will give preference to the most competitive teams who apply from around the country. Open Division B: we will give strong preference to teams who apply from the Northeast Region, particularly New England. For all divisions, we want a sense of how you have contributed to the growth of juniors ultimate in your school, town, or area.

Are there good parties at the Amherst Invitational? We are quite sure that you will have a wonderful time at the tournament. However, all drugs, alcohol, and tobacco are strictly forbidden, both on and off the field. In addition, teams staying with a host family must abide by all rules and curfews that are set by the host. Failure to follow these rules will result in the expulsion of your team from the tournament (and we won’t want you back next year either).

Where is the tournament? On Saturday and Sunday morning, the Girls and Open A Divisions will play on fields at Amherst High School and Amherst Middle School, and the Open B Division will play on fields at the Eaglebrook School in Deerfield. On Sunday afternoon, all teams will play at Amherst High School and Amherst Middle School. Directions to the fields are below.

How much does it cost? The entry fee for the tournament is $250, with an additional $25 deposit. At the end of the tournament the $25 deposit will be returned. If a team forfeits a game, leaves the tournament early, or in some other way violates the tournament rules, they will lose their deposit.

What do we get for our money? Some of the money goes for things that you will see: trophies, team boxes, Saturday lunches, Saturday night pizza, the printing of the program, port-a-johns, and an on-field trainer. We also have unseen costs such as custodial fees and field fees.

Where will we stay in Amherst? Housing will be provided for all teams that travel a distance to the tournament and need to stay overnight. Your hosts will be Amherst Ultimate team members and their families. Teams must indicate in their Registration Form whether or not they need housing, and how many people are on the team. Some teams will be able to stay together at one house, others may be split between two houses. Visiting teams must bring sleeping bags, pillows, etc. Most likely you will be sleeping on a floor. After you are accepted into the Tournament you will be contacted by our Housing Director.

Do we need an adult chaperone? Absolutely. You must have an adult chaperone if you want to play in the tournament, and the chaperone must be with your team for the entire weekend. Failure to have a chaperone may result in expulsion from the tournament.

How do I know if my team belongs in the A Division or the B Division? The Registration Form includes a place where you can describe your team and give us some info from your seasons last fall and spring. The Tournament Directors will put together a seeding based on this info. return to top of page

Tournament Format and Schedule

Tournament Format (subject to change)

Schedules (without seedings) can be seen here:

Saturday Open A and Saturday Girls GSaturday and Sunday Morning Open BSunday Open A and Sunday Girls G and Sunday Afternoon Open BView Field Maps   Girls G Division: The Girls Division has 8 teams, which will be divided into two pools of 4. After pool play, the top two teams from each pool will advance to semi-finals, while the bottom two teams will play consolation games. Consolation games are required, not optional. All teams will play three pool games on Saturday. Semis, finals, and consolation games will all take place on Sunday. All teams will play a total of five games.   Open A Division: The Open A Division has 10 teams, which will be divided into two pools of 5. After pool play, the top two teams from each pool will advance to semi-finals, while the bottom three teams will play consolation games. Consolation games are required, not optional. The two top-seeded teams will play four pool games on Saturday and have a bye early Sunday morning. The other eight teams will play three pool games on Saturday and a fourth pool game early Sunday morning. Semis, finals, and consolation games will follow the final pool round on Sunday. All teams will play a total of five or six games.   Open B Division: The Open B Division will also consist of 10 teams, with the same format as the A Division.

Tournament Seeding Placement within the Divisions will be determined by the Tournament Directors in February, after the bids have been accepted. Tournament seeding within your division will be determined by the Tournament Directors at the end of April. For accurate seeding please report all spring scores to the UPA Score Reporting Page as soon as they occur. return to top of page

How do I submit a bid to the Tournament?

Bids will be accepted as of December 5, 2005.

In order to be considered, you must submit a bid to the tournament directors. The bid consists of a completed Registration Form and a check for $275, made out to ‘ARHS Ultimate’. The deadline for receiving bids is January 31, 2006. Teams will be notified by February 17, 2006 if they have been accepted into the tournament. A submitted bid does NOT guarantee acceptance into the Tournament. In fact, we expect to receive more bids than there are openings. Teams that are not accepted will have their entire check returned.

The Registration Form must be downloaded, filled out, and mailed to us with a check. Click on the link below to download the Registration Form in MS Word format. If you would like a Registration Form mailed to you, send an email to Jim Pistrang. The Registration Form must be mailed to: Tiina Booth Invitational Registration 21 Deepwoods Drive Amherst, MA 01002

Click below to download the Registration Form.

Click here to download a letter with more tournament info.

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Who submitted a bid?

This is a list of the teams that have submitted complete registration forms.

  • Girls Division
    • Amherst Regional High School Girls Varsity
    • Amherst Regional High School Girls JVA
    • Amherst Regional High School Girls JVB
    • Andover High School (MA)
    • Beacon School (NY)
    • Paideia School (GA)
    • St. Johnsbury (VT)
    • Seattle Girls (WA)
    • Stuyvesant High School (NY)
  • Open A Division and Open B Division
    • Andover High School (MA)
    • ARHS Boys JVA
    • ARHS Boys JVB
    • ARHS Boys V
    • ARMS
    • Beacon School (NY)
    • Columbia High School A (NJ)
    • Compass School (VT)
    • Fieldston High School (NY)
    • Four Rivers (MA)
    • Lexington High School
    • Longmeadow High School (MA)
    • Lower Merion High School (PA)
    • Milton Academy (MA)
    • Needham High School (MA)
    • Newton North (MA)
    • Newton South (MA)
    • Nipmuc High School (MA)
    • Northfield Mount Hermon (MA)
    • Paideia School (GA)
    • Pennsbury High School (PA)
    • Phillips Andover (MA)
    • Princeton (NJ)
    • Scarsdale High School (NY)
    • St Johnsbury (VT)
    • Stuyvesant High School (NY)
    • Watchung Hills (NJ)
    • Weston High School (MA)

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Directions

Directions from the East via the Mass Pike to Amherst Regional High School 1) Exit 8…Rt 32 Palmer/Amherst 2) LEFT at the end of the ramp (after the toll booth) on to 32 North. Ignore signs telling you to go right! 3) Go 7/10 of a mile, turn LEFT at light, leaving 32 North. Sign points to Thorndike and Three Rivers 4) Follow road for 2.2 miles, to a STOP sign. Turn right at the stop sign on to 181 North. 5) Follow 181 North. In 8/10 of a mile 181 takes a LEFT turn. Don’t miss it! After the turn, go another 5.8 miles on 181 North, to the traffic light at the center of Belchertown. 6) Go straight through the light, you will now be on route 202 North. Stay on 202 North for 9/10 of a mile to the intersection with route 9. Turn left on to route 9 West. 7) Stay on route 9 West all the way to Amherst. When you reach the traffic light at the intersection with 116 south, you are in downtown Amherst. Turn RIGHT at the light on to North Pleasant Street. (Note: turn LEFT on to 116 South if you are going to Hampshire College) 8) Go through downtown, passing through 2 traffic lights. At the third light, turn RIGHT on to Triangle Street. There is a Bertuccis Restaurant on the corner just before the turn. 9) Go past Cottage Street and pass the baseball fields on your left. 10) Turn left immediately after the baseball fields into ARHS. 11) Take a left when facing the school and park in the side lot on your right above the fields.

Directions from Route 91 (northbound) to Amherst Regional High School 1) Exit the second Northampton exit, Route 9 2) RIGHT at the end of the ramp on to 9 East. 3) Follow road for a few miles, past large shopping malls on both sides of road, and into Amherst. 4) When you reach the traffic light intersection with route 116 South you are in downtown Amherst. Turn LEFT at the light on to North Pleasant Street. (Note: turn RIGHT on to 116 South if you are going to Hampshire College) 5) Go through downtown, passing through 2 traffic lights. At the third light, turn RIGHT on to Triangle Street. There is a Bertuccis Restaurant on the corner just before the turn. 6) Go past Cottage Street and pass the baseball fields on your left. 7) Turn left immediately after the baseball fields into ARHS. 8) Take a left when facing the school and park in the side lot on your right above the fields.

Directions to the Amherst Middle School: The Middle School is located behind the High School. Assuming that you are facing the high school, go to the right side of the school (away from the fields), and turn left on the driveway that goes along the side of the school. Cross the street at the end of the driveway and you will be in the middle school parking lot. The two middle school fields are located on the far side of the parking lot, near the tennis courts.

Directions to the Division B fields at Eaglebrook (from ARHS): Division B will be playing on four fields at the Eaglebrook School (Pine Nook Road, Deerfield, Massachusetts 01342). Here are directions from Amherst High School to the Eaglebrook fields: 1) Exit the high school on the driveway that goes past the track, and turn RIGHT on to Triangle Street. 2) Turn right at first light on to East Pleasant Street. 3) Stay on East Pleasant to the stop sign (T intersection) and turn left on to Pine Street. 4) Go 1.2 miles on Pine Street and turn right at second light on to route 116 North. 5) Go 6.6 miles on 116 through Sunderland, across the river, and continue to the intersection with routes 5 and 10. 6) Turn right on to route 5 (and 10) North. 7) Travel North for 5.2 miles, and turn right on Pine Nook Road. There is a Sunoco station on the left just before the turn, and there is a sign for Eaglebrook on the far corner. 8) Bear to the right on Pine Nook, then turn left, going under the railroad bridge. 9) Take the first right on County Road. 10) Take the first left off County Road, you will see signs for Alfond Arena and Lower Field. 11) Park in the parking lot, the fields are to the right of Alfond Arena.


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Ultimate Links:

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this page last updated by Jim Pistrang

on May 3, 2006