the 25th annual high school ultimate tournament
Saturday, May 07, and Sunday, May 08, 2016
Thank you to all players, coaches and volunteers!
Congratulations to our McNiven Spirit Award Winners in each Division:
Longmeadow Girls Varsity
Sharon Girls Varsity
Amherst Middle School
Amherst Boys Varsity
Our finalists in each division were:
Girls
1. Amherst V
2. Lexington High SchoolBoys A
1. ARHS Varsity
2. CHSBoys B
1. Sharon Boys Varsity
2. Somerville High School
questions: send an email to Jim Pistrang
last year’s web page
** We are now accepting bids! Follow this link… **
| Follow the Amherst Invitational on social media! Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/amherstinvitational Twitter – @AIUltimateTourn Instagram – @AmherstInvitational |
| A note from the Tournament Directors: In our 25th year, we are excited to introduce a Girls B division this year at the AI. We now have gender equity across all divisions and we hope this will support the growth of girls Ultimate as well as Ultimate in general. Our tournament has continually evolved over its history and this latest step feels overdue! Note that as a result the tournament format will be slightly different this year, stay tuned for more information about the schedule. Tournament Directors: Josh Nugent & Jim Pistrang & Joe Costello |
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| Rain Date: We are designating the weekend of May 14 and May 15 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. |
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 A
- Amherst Varsity
- Amherst JV A
- Fryeburg Academy (ME)
- Lexington HS
- Longmeadow
- Lower Merion
- Northampton HS
- PVPA
Girls B
- Amherst JV B
- Columbia HS
- Lincoln Sudbury
- Newton North HS
- Longmeadow JV
- Sharon HS
Open A
- Amherst Varsity
- Amherst JV A
- Columbia HS
- Four Rivers Charter School
- John Jay HS
- Lincoln Sudbury
- Lower Merion HS
- Needham HS
- Northampton HS
- Pennsbury
Open A Wait List
- 1: Newton North HS
- 2: Lexington HS
- 3: Masconomet HS
- 4: Radnor High School
- 5: Phillips Academy
- 6: DMV Aces (DC Area)
Open B
- Amherst JV B
- Amherst Middle School
- Cambridge School of Weston
- Falmouth High School
- PVPA
- Sharon HS
- Somerville HS
- Williston Northampton School
Open B Wait List
- 1: Concord-Carlisle
- 2: Longmeadow HS
About the Tournament
This spring we will be celebrating the 25th Annual Amherst Invitational Tournament. The tournament will be divided into four separate eight-team divisions: Open Division A, Open Division B, Girls Division A, Girls Division B.
Selection Notes
We have the difficult task of selecting 32 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 07, and Sunday, May 08, 2016.
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 25 teams (not counting the Amherst teams). We will use the following criteria: Open A and Girls A: we will give preference to the most competitive teams who apply from around the country. Open B and Girls B: we will give strong preference to developing teams and 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 Schedules
Schedules with seedings are here:
Here are links to thescore reporter sites:
How do I submit a bid to the Tournament?
Bids will be accepted as of November 29, 2015.
Bids are closed as of January 31, 2016
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, 2016. Teams will be notified by February 9, 2016 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 at the link above. 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 application 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 made out to ARHS ULTIMATE and mailed to: c/o 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 2, 2016 (refresh your browser to get the current version)
- Girls A Division and Girls B Division (we will accept 16 teams)
- Amherst Varsity
Amherst JV A
Amherst JV B
Columbia HS
Fryeburg Academy (ME) - Lexington HS
Lincoln Sudbury - Longmeadow
- Longmeadow JV
- Lower Merion
Newton North HS - Northampton HS
- PVPA
- Sharon HS
- Amherst Varsity
- Open A Division and Open B Division (we will accept 16 teams)
- Amherst Varsity
- Amherst JV A
- Amherst JV B
- Amherst Middle School
- Cambridge School of Weston
Columbia HS
Concord-Carlisle - DMV Aces (DC Area)
- Falmouth High School
- Four Rivers Charter School
- John Jay HS
- Lincoln Sudbury
Lexington HS
Longmeadow HS
Lower Merion HS - Masconomet HS
- Needham HS
Newton North HS
Northampton HS
Pennsbury - Phillips Academy
- PVPA
- Radnor High School
Sharon HS - Somerville HS
Williston Northampton School
Field Maps
- Open A and Open B (ARHS & ARMS fields)
- Girls A and Girls B (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
May 1, 2016