AI 2009

Saturday, May 02, and Sunday, May 03, 2009
Thank you to all players, coaches, and spectators who helped to make this tournament a success. A special thank you to the ARHS staff and our amazing community volunteers who made it all happen!
 
Tournament Results
GirlsFirst Place: ARHS Girls Varsity
 Second Place: Stuyvesant High School
 All Scores
 Spirit: Stuyvesant High School
  
Open AFirst Place: Pennsbury High School
 Second Place: ARHS Boys Varsity
 All Scores
 Spirit: ARHS Boys Varsity
  
Open BFirst Place: Four Rivers Charter School
 Second Place: Andover High School
 All Scores
 Spirit: Amherst Middle School
questions: send an email to Jim Pistrang

last year’s web page


Selected Teams

Frequently Asked Questions

Tournament Format and Schedules

How to Submit a Bid                 Received Bids

Field Maps                  Directions                  Ultimate Links

Coaches and players please note:

May 02 is an SAT date! To avoid conflicts with the Amherst Invitational, take your SATs in March or June instead of in May.

  • Selected Teams Girls Division
    • Amherst Varsity
    • Amherst JV A
    • Amherst JV B
    • Andover High School (MA)
    • Beacon School (NY)
    • Longmeadow High School (MA)
    • Northfield Mount Hermon (MA)
    • St. Johnsbury (VT)
    • Stuyvesant High School (NY)
    • Watchung Hills High School (NJ)
    Girls Wait List
    • Columbia High School (NJ)
    Open A Division
    • Amherst Varsity
    • Amherst JV A
    • Columbia High School (NJ)
    • Longmeadow High School (MA)
    • Needham High School (MA)
    • Nipmuc High School (MA)
    • Pennsbury High School (PA)
    • Phillips Andover (MA)
    • Stuyvesant High School (NY)
    • Watchung Hills High School (NJ)
    Open A Wait List
    • John Jay High School (NY)
    Open B Division
    • Amherst JV B
    • ARMS
    • Andover High School (MA)
    • Four Rivers (MA)
    • Hotchkiss (CT)
    • Newton North (MA)
    • Northampton High School (MA)
    • Northfield Mount Hermon (MA)
    • St. Johnsbury (VT)
    • Somerville High School (MA)
    Open B Wait List
    • Lincoln Sudbury (MA)
    • Lexington (MA)
    • Concord-Carlisle (MA)

About the Tournament

This spring we will be celebrating the 18th 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 30 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 (December!)

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 02, and Sunday, May 03, 2009.

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 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 2009 membership.)

Who is in charge of this tournament? The co-directors (TDs) of the Amherst Invitational are Tiina Booth (coach, ARHS Boys Varsity) and Jim Pistrang (coach, Amherst Regional Middle School). 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 40 bids, and we only have room for 23 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. Important: 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 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 Hampshire College. On Sunday all teams will play at Amherst High School and Amherst Middle School. Field Maps and directions to the fields are below.

How much does it cost? The entry fee for the tournament is $350, 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 many unseen costs such as custodial fees, trainer 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

These are the tournament formats. Teams will be added on April 26 after the seedings are determined:

Girls G Division:

The Girls 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 A Division:

The Open A Division has 10 teams, which will be divided into two pools of 5. 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 on Sunday morning. After pool play, the top four teams from each pool will advance to quarter-finals, while the bottom team from each pool will play a consolation game. Quarter-final losers will play consolation games, and the quarter-final winners will advance to the semi-finals. All teams will play a total of five or six or seven games. The 9/10 consolation game is required, all others are optional.

Open B Division:

The Open B Division will also consist of 10 teams, with the same form at as the Girls 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 1, 2008.

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 $375, made out to ‘ARHS Ultimate’. The deadline for receiving bids is January 31, 2009. Teams will be notified by February 16, 2009 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

Microsoft Word Document

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Who submitted a bid?

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

  • Girls Division (we will accept 8 teams, and maybe 10)
    • Amherst Varsity
    • Amherst JV A
    • Amherst JV B
    • Andover High School (MA)
    • Beacon School (NY)
    • Columbia High School (NJ)
    • Longmeadow High School (MA)
    • Northfield Mount Hermon (MA)
    • St. Johnsbury (VT)
    • Stuyvesant High School (NY)
    • Watchung Hills High School (NJ)
  • Open A Division and Open B Division (we will accept up to 20 teams)
    • Amherst Varsity
    • Amherst JV A
    • Amherst JV B
    • ARMS
    • Andover High School (MA)
    • Beacon School (NY)
    • Columbia High School (NJ)
    • Concord-Carlisle (MA)
    • Fieldston (NY)
    • Four Rivers (MA)
    • Hotchkiss (CT)
    • John Jay High School (NY)
    • Lexington (MA)
    • Lincoln Sudbury (MA)
    • Longmeadow High School (MA)
    • Needham High School (MA)
    • Newton North (MA)
    • Nipmuc High School (MA)
    • Northampton High School (MA)
    • Northfield Mount Hermon (MA)
    • Pennsbury High School (PA)
    • Phillips Andover (MA)
    • St. Johnsbury (VT)
    • Somerville High School (MA)
    • Stuyvesant High School (NY)
    • Vermont Commons (VT)
    • Watchung Hills High School (NJ)

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Field Maps

Directions

Directions from the East via the Mass Pike to Amherst Regional High School http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=6854392421013894665,42.191464,-71.862006,4362480224094777272,42.379882,-72.512853&saddr=I-90+W%2FMassachusetts+Turnpike%2FMass+Pike+%4042.191464,+-71.862006&daddr=21+Matoon+St,+Amherst,+MA+01002+(Amherst+High+School)&mra=pe&mrcr=0&jsv=107&sll=42.2893,-72.194219&sspn=0.624772,0.942078&ie=UTF8&ll=42.286453,-72.193909&spn=0.25026,0.65178&output=embed&s=AARTsJoz-uC2-N0CVCw_ZFXRq-W6MENORA


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Directions from Route 91 (northbound) to Amherst Regional High School http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=4362480224094777272,42.379882,-72.512853&saddr=42.155164,-72.648253&daddr=21+Matoon+St,+Amherst,+MA+01002+(Amherst+High+School)&mra=pe&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=11&jsv=107&sll=42.27115,-72.57937&sspn=0.312478,0.471039&ie=UTF8&ll=42.270704,-72.579117&spn=0.22471,0.13556&output=embed&s=AARTsJrHwianG_PzcOu6fsNnwdEnSHnogg


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Directions from Route 91 (southbound) to Amherst Regional High School http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=8568673264102048354,42.735930,-72.568903,4362480224094777272,42.379882,-72.512853&saddr=I-91+S+%4042.735930,+-72.568903&daddr=21+Matoon+St,+Amherst,+MA+01002+(Amherst+High+School)&mra=pe&mrcr=0&jsv=107&sll=42.557127,-72.57019&sspn=1.244208,1.884155&ie=UTF8&ll=42.556815,-72.570555&spn=0.35823,0.11551&output=embed&s=AARTsJpE8rzCLGhfcJspK_w9sgoz6Ma4kA


View Larger MapDirections 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 from Amherst Regional High School to Hampshire College http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Amherst+Regional+High+School,+Amherst,+MA&daddr=893+West+St,+Amherst,+MA+01002+(Hampshire+College)&hl=en&geocode=FTuihgIdZYet-yGbs2SJ3uT7UA%3BCaMTydAq0XUHFUrXhQIdLF2t-yFbv8uSyxs6Zg&mra=pe&mrcr=0&rtol=0&sll=42.351508,-72.522183&sspn=0.072184,0.09819&ie=UTF8&ll=42.351567,-72.521782&spn=0.05196,0.01159&output=embed&s=AARTsJoEvIoB9RPJfF81Nh2dTR69kf1o9Q


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Directions from the Mass Pike to Hampshire College http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=I-90+W&daddr=42.178543,-72.318878+to:Depot+St+to:Orchard+St+to:893+West+St,+Amherst,+MA+01002+(Hampshire+College)&geocode=FaqOgwId9qy2-w%3B%3BFeoghAIdXBaw-w%3BFRi6hQIdiIyu-w%3BFUrXhQIdLF2t-yFbv8uSyxs6Zg&hl=en&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=13&via=1,2,3&rtol=0,2,3,4&sll=42.185158,-72.329693&sspn=0.072375,0.09819&ie=UTF8&ll=42.185158,-72.329693&spn=0.072375,0.09819&output=embed&s=AARTsJqdpODj9PTMzqlDWmslwW84_6tjYA


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Ultimate Links:

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this page last updated by Jim Pistrang

on March 16, 2009