Saturday, May 02, and Sunday, May 03, 2015
Thank you to all players, coaches and volunteers!
Congratulations to our McNiven Spirit Award Winners in each Division:
Lexington Girls Varsity
Williston Northampton
Amherst Boys JVA
Our finalists in each division were:
Girls
1. Amherst V
2. Watchung HillsBoys A
1. Pennsbury
2. RadnorBoys B
1. Hotchkiss
2. Concord Carlisle
questions: send an email to Jim Pistrang
last year’s web page
Follow the Amherst Invitational on social media! Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/amherstinvitational Twitter – @AIUltimateTourn Instagram – @AmherstInvitational |
A note from Josh and Jim & Joe: As you submit your bid, please note the following: We have overwhelming interest in our tournament every year, and a long tradition of great competition. Some teams have attended for many years and have a long history with our ARHS Ultimate program, a history that we honor. However, with each passing year there are more and more Ultimate teams working hard in various corners of the country, building their programs and seeking out challenging tournaments, and we want to honor these teams as well. If your team has been attending for many years and is not offered a bid this year, it may simply be because we are trying to give opportunities for new teams to compete here to keep both the AI and the entire youth Ultimate world vibrant and growing. Respectfully, Tournament Directors Josh Nugent & Jim Pistrang & Joe Costello |
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Rain Date: We are designating the weekend of May 09 and May 10 as our rain date weekend. If we need to cancel the entire tournament due to the weather, we will hold the tournament on this weekend. The chances of this happening are very low, but all teams should keep it in mind. |
On February 7th the selected teams and waitlisted teams were determined. If you do not see your team on a list, it means that your team was not selected. |
Selected Teams
Frequently Asked Questions
Tournament Format and Schedules
How to Submit a Bid Received Bids
Field Maps Directions Ultimate Links
Selected Teams
Note: if your team is not listed below, it means that you were not accepted into the tournament and you are also not on a wait list. Please understand that this is not a reflection on your team, rather a reflection of the large demand and limited space at the tournament.
Girls
- Amherst Varsity
- Amherst JV A
- Amherst JV B
- Falmouth High School (ME)
- Fryeburg Academy (ME)
- Lexington High School (MA)
- Lower Merion High School (PA)
- Northampton High School (MA)
- PVPA (MA)
- Watchung Hills High School (NJ)
Girls Wait List
- Concord-Carlisle High School (MA)
- Lincoln Sudbury High School (MA)
Open A
- Amherst Varsity
- Amherst JV A
- Four Rivers Charter School (MA)
- Lexington High School (MA)
- Masconomet High School (MA)
- Needham High School (MA)
- Northampton High School (MA)
- Pennsbury High School (PA)
- Radnor High School (PA)
- Westfield High School (NJ)
Open A Wait List
- Lower Merion High School (PA)
- Columbia High School (NJ))
Open B
- Amherst JV B
- Amherst Middle School
- Andover High School (MA)
- Concord-Carlisle High School (MA)
- Falmouth High School (ME)
- Hotchkiss School (CT)
- Phillips Academy
- Sharon High School (MA)
- Somerville High School (MA)
- Williston Northampton School (MA)
Open B Wait List
- Cambridge School of Weston (MA) ) (B waitlist)
- Longmeadow High School (MA) (B waitlist)
About the Tournament
This spring we will be celebrating the 24th 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, offensive, drug-related or alcohol-related team nickname
- make your check out to anything other than ARHS Ultimate
Tournament Frequently Asked Questions
When is the tournament?
The tournament will take place on Saturday, May 02, and Sunday, May 03, 2015.
Who is allowed to play in the tournament?
We will (for the most part) be using the USA Ultimate Youth Competition Guidelines to determine if your team and players are eligible to attend our tournament. HOWEVER, in our tournament ALL members of a team must attend the same high school.
Do we need to be USA Ultimate members?
All players on all teams must be USA Ultimate members to play in the Amherst Invitational. USAU is strongly committed to the growth of high school Ultimate, and becoming a member will support their efforts. You can sign up on the USA Ultimate web page. (note: make sure you are signing up for a 2015 membership.)
Do the teams need Certificates of Insurance?
This year we will NOT need Certificates of Insurance from the visiting teams.
Who is in charge of this tournament?
The directors (TDs) of the Amherst Invitational are Jim Pistrang (coach, Amherst Regional Middle School) and Josh Nugent (coach, ARHS Girls Varsity) and Joe Costello (coach, ARHS Boys Varsity). Contact information for Jim and Josh & Joe 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 A and Girls: we will give preference to the most competitive teams who apply from around the country. Open 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? We will use fields at or adjacent to Amherst High School and Amherst Middle School.
How much does it cost?
The entry fee for the tournament is $400.
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 on-field trainers. 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. At least one adult chaperone must stay with the team. 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
View the schedules here:
Teams will be added to the schedules on April 30 after the seedings are determined.
Here are links to the 2015 score reporter sites:
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 format 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 USA Ultimate 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 November 21, 2014.
Bids are closed as of January 31, 2015
Click Here to Fill Out and Submit Your Online Bid
In order to be considered, you must submit an online bid using the above link and mail a check for $400, made out to ‘ARHS Ultimate’ to the address below.. The deadline for receiving the online bid and the mailed check is January 31, 2015.Teams will be notified by February 9, 2015 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 filled out online. The check must be mailed to us.
Please note: If it takes a long time for your school to cut you a check, submit your application early anyway. Please note on the app that the check will follow shortly AND give us a contact name and number for the person who is responsible for cutting the check from the school.
Submitting bids for multiple teams? Please send separate $400 checks instead of a single $800 check.
Please be sure to identify the team on your check. The check must be mailed to: Josh Nugent ARHS 21 Mattoon Street Amherst, MA 01002 return to top of page
Who submitted a bid?
This is a list of the teams that have submitted bids. Teams in red still owe us checks. Teams in blue are the home teams.
Last updated February 6, 2015 (refresh your browser to get the current version)
- Girls Division (we will accept 10 teams)
- Amherst Varsity
- Amherst JV A
- Amherst JV B
- Andover High School (MA)
- Columbia High School (NJ)
- Concord-Carlisle High School (MA)
- Falmouth High School (ME)
- Fryeburg Academy (ME)
- Lexington High School (MA)
- Lincoln Sudbury High School (MA)
- Lower Merion High School (PA)
- Northampton High School (MA)
- PVPA (MA)
- Watchung Hills High School (NJ)
- Open A Division and Open B Division (we will accept 20 teams)
- Amherst Varsity
- Amherst JV A
- Amherst JV B
- Amherst Middle School
- Andover High School (MA)
- Cambridge School of Weston (MA)
- Concord-Carlisle High School (MA)
- Columbia High School (NJ)
- Falmouth High School (ME)
- Four Rivers Charter School (MA)
- Fryeburg Academy (ME)
- Hotchkiss School (CT)
- John Jay High School (NY)
- Lexington High School (MA)
- Lincoln Sudbury High School (MA)
- Longmeadow High School (MA)
- Lower Merion High School (PA)
- Masconomet High School (MA)
- Needham High School (MA)
- Newton North High School (MA)
- Northampton High School (MA)
- Pennsbury High School (PA)
- Phillips Academy
- PVPA (MA)
- Radnor High School (PA)
- Sharon High School (MA)
- Somerville High School (MA)
- Westfield High School A (NJ)
- Westfield High School B (NJ)
- Williston Northampton School (MA)
Field Maps
- Open A and Open B (ARHS & ARMS fields)
- Girls (ARHS)
Directions
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 three middle school fields are located on the far side of the parking lot. There is one field on either side of the tennis courts and a third field up the hill from the tennis courts.
Ultimate Links:
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this page last updated by Jim Pistrang
April 5, 2015