Seventh grader Nels Schimek, who has captained the Bright Water Waldorf middle school Ultimate team for the last two years, has been selected as the SUBWAY® Washington Games Athlete of the Year. The award recognizes athletes who personify the ideals of the State Games movement: participation and achievement, sportsmanship, good attitude and effort, and special attributes within the sport/community. Nels won three medals at the SUBWAY® Washington Games disc event this summer. He competed in the AAU Junior Olympics last month, and he plays a wide range of sports. Nels' coaches commented on his maturity and ability to lead his team during competition, and one described him as "polite, focused, and intelligent. Just the type of athlete you love to have on your team."

Nels' nomination will now be considered by the National Congress of State Games (NCSG) for the National Athlete of the Year Award. The male and female who best exemplify these qualities will have the opportunity to be the guest of the NCSG and travel to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for the NCSG symposium where they will be awarded this distinction.

Congratulations, Nels! To read more about Nels and the award, click here.

For the second year, DiscNW is hosting the Seattle Ultimate Coaching Series, this time in partnership with Seattle Public Schools. The Seattle Ultimate Coaching Series teaches the skills necessary to coach beginning and intermediate Ultimate. Participants may attend any or all of the five 3-hour sessions, which begin Sunday, September 12. The Series has been approved by Seattle Public Schools for up to 15 clock hours.

The Series will consist of five 3-hour sessions. Sessions will include both classroom and active drill components, taught by expert coaches from the Seattle Ultimate community. Each session will focus on a different aspect of the game. Topics of the Series include the following:

• Teaching rules and the intricacies of self-officiating
• Throwing
• Receiving the disc and offensive footwork
• Individual defensive fundamentals
• Identifying and employing the ideal offensive and defensive strategies for your team
• Selecting and implementing appropriate drills
• Various specialty topics from a panel of experienced coaches.

Refreshments will be provided. For more details or to register for the Seattle Ultimate Coaching Series, click here.

 
DiscNW fall leagues begin this month!

Adult Leagues

• Fall Hat League
  The Fall Draft/Hat League is a variation on the traditional hat league in which half of each team is drafted and the other half is selected at random. It's a fun league for players of all skill levels, and is a great way to meet new people.
• Fall Team League
  The Fall Team League is for new or established teams. Teams are divided into four divisions based on ability so that opponents exhibit a similar level of play. Bids must be in by 5pm, PST on 8/31/2010.
• Tacoma Hat League
  The Tacoma Fall League is a coed hat league played on Mondays and Tuesdays (one game a week) under the lights, with one day of playoffs at the end of the season.

Youth Leagues

• Fall High School Hat League
  This coed league has a focus on fun and learning or teaching Ultimate. Players sign up as individuals and are placed on a team. Games are Friday nights September 10 through November 12, 6:30-8:30 pm at Hamlin Park in Shoreline.
• Fall Seattle Public Middle School League
  This coed league is sponsored by, officially sanctioned by, and limited to the Seattle Public Middle Schools. All games will occur on Saturdays between 9am and 4:30pm at Ingraham High School.
• Fall High School Open Team League
  This is a new league for high school based teams. It is an open league, meaning that there is no gender ratio. The league will run from September 11 through November 3. Games are Mondays and Wednesdays 3:30-5:00 pm at View Ridge Playfield, and Saturday mornings 9-11 am at Hamlin Park (except October 2, which will be 12-2). Bids must be in by 9/2/2010.

Several one-day hat tournaments are on the fall calendar...

• Field Day Tournament
  DiscNW is excited to partner with Pyramid Breweries to host the second Field Day one-day hat tournament to take place at the Starfire Sports Complex.
• Turkey Bowl
  This one-day hat tournament hosted by DiscNW is a Thanksgiving tradition that gives Ultimate players the opportunity to run off some of those second and third helpings of stuffing while giving something to charity. Proceeds go to NW Harvest, an organization focused on helping disadvantaged families with a basic necessity: food.

 
Announcing the first DiscNW disc golf tournament....

There will be a super class disc golf tournament on Saturday, September 25, 2010. All participants will play one round at Lakewood Park.

 
The event is a fundraiser for the Youth Development Fund.

We want to have a fun, social event for the ultimate community. It will be a fun way to get ultimate players to try disc golf. And it is all in the name of promoting youth ultimate.

For more information or to register, check out the event page.