On behalf of the family and friends of the late Amir Lopatin, the founder of NYCPUL (New York City Public Ultimate League), we are pleased to announce the annual Amir Lopain "Spirit of the Game" memorial ultimate "frisbee" tournament in Central Park on Sunday, March 23rd, 2008. Over the past four years, we have gathered for an afternoon of friendly, spirited and competitive ultimate, encouraging players of all levels to play in this special hat tourney with the primary motivation to encourage a fundamental principal of ultimate, the "spirit of the game," a paramount value that places mutual respect among players above all, something Amir Lopatin cared deeply about.

Excerpted from UPA Official Rules of Ultimate: "Spirit of the Game. Ultimate relies upon a spirit of sportsmanship that places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect among competitors, adherence to the agreed upon rules, or the basic joy of play. Protection of these vital elements serves to eliminate unsportsmanlike conduct from the Ultimate field. Such actions as taunting opposing players, dangerous aggression, belligerent intimidation, intentional infractions, or other 'win-at-all-costs' behavior are contrary to the Spirit of the Game and must be avoided by all players."

Each year, we also release the latest NYCPUL/Amir Lopatin disc design, a UPA regulation 175g ultrastar, which will be available to players who register for the tourney. This year's design consists of an original "ambigram" design submitted by Matt Kushner . Over the past years, we have raised thousand of dollars for the Amir Lopatin fund and the Central Park Conservancy. At the request of the Lopatin family, this year, all proceeds will go toward the ongoing development and funding of the New York City Ultimate League, to provide for ongoing sports permits and other ultimate activities.

So please "SAVE THE DATE" and plan to come to Central Park's East Meadow at 98th St and 5th Av. Games start at noon and will run throughout the day, with a special "Spirit Awards" presentation at the end of the afternoon, around 4:30 p.m. Stay tuned for online registration announcements.

For some photos of past years tournaments see the following links:

http://www.nycpul.com/nycpul/AMIR_TOURNEY_2005/ 

http://www.nycpul.com/nycpul/amir_2006/ 

http://www.nycpul.com/nycpul/amir_lopatin_2007/ 

http://www.nycpul.com/nycpul/amir_lopatin_2007_2/ 

http://www.nycpul.com/nycpul/AMIR_TOURNEY_2005/