May 03 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
Andover High School (MA)
ARHS Girls JV
ARHS Girls JVB
ARHS Girls Varsity
Beacon School (NY)
Longmeadow High School (MA)
St Johnsbury (VT)
Stuyvesant High School (NY)
Girls Wait List
Northfield Mount Hermon (MA
Open A Division
Andover High School (MA)
ARHS Boys JVA
ARHS Boys V
Beacon School (NY)
Columbia High School A (NJ)
Longmeadow High School (MA)
Newton North (MA)
Nipmuc High School (MA)
Northfield Mount Hermon (MA)
Pennsbury High School (PA)
Open A Wait List
Lexington High School (MA)
Open B Division
ARHS Boys JVB
ARMS (MA)
Fieldston High School (NY)
Four Rivers (MA)
Greely HS (ME)
Lincoln-Sudbury (MA)
Needham High School (MA)
Phillips Andover (MA)
St Johnsbury (VT)
Stuyvesant High School (NY)
Open B Wait List
Vermont Commons (VT)
About
the Tournament
This spring we will be celebrating the 17th 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
The tournament will take place on Saturday, May 03, and Sunday, May
04, 2008.
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 2008 membership.) The Youth (high
school) membership rate for 2008 is $20. NOTE: tthis year there is also an $11 Youth Intro membership rate if you have never been a member in the UPA and never played in UPA events in the past.
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 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 (all day)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 to be determined. On Sunday afternoon, 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 $325, 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.
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.
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 $350,
made out to 'ARHS Ultimate'. The deadline for receiving
bids is January 31, 2008. Teams will be notified by February
17, 2008 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:
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 Eaglebrook School from Amherst High School: