Ultimate Comes to Jekyll Island
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Jekyll Island and the Golden Isles will be glad to see flying objects this March. High Tide Ultimate, the south’s largest college Ultimate tournament will take over the recreation fields of Jekyll Island and Glynn County. Over 160 teams and 2500 students will compete in this positive athletic alternative for college spring breakers.
Ultimate is a limited-contact team sport played with a 175 gram flying disc. The object of the sport is to score points by passing the disc to a player in the opposing end zone, similar to American football or rugby. Players may not run while holding the disc. While originally called Ultimate Frisbee, the sport is now officially called Ultimate because Frisbee is the trademark for the line of discs made by the Wham-O toy company.
Due to the size of High Tide Ultimate, the Jekyll Island Authority has partnered with the Glynn County Recreation Department to host the month-long event. Competition will take place at both the Jekyll Island Soccer Complex and the North Glynn Recreational Fields.
“This is the one of the largest events we have ever seen at our Recreational Fields,” said Wesley Davis, Recreation Director at the Glynn County Recreation Department, “We are glad to partner with the Jekyll Island Authority to help bring High Tide Ultimate and its sizeable economic impact to the Golden Isles.”
Tournament directors were attracted to Jekyll Island because of the island’s pristine soccer complex in close proximity to the beach, numerous amenities, and variety of lodging options. “We are excited about being on Jekyll Island,” said Ed Pulkinen, tournament director. “We have access to some of the most beautiful fields and facilities in the country. In addition, between games, our teams can relax on the beach and cool off with a quick swim.”
Hotels and rental cottages are quickly booking on Jekyll Island. Teams already registered include Ivy league schools, Yale and Cornell University; and players will come as far away as Colorado State and Iowa State University. The event will generate over 3000 hotel room nights and is expected to generate over $1.25 million in economic impact.
“Villas by the Sea is proud to be the host hotel for the tournament,” said Ryan Merritt, Director of Sales for Villas by the Sea. “This business is great for the island and the entire area.”
Likewise, CJ Jeffries of Jekyll Realty commented that his phones are ringing off the hook as participants book rental cottages.
High Tide Ultimate is just one example of the numerous sporting events coming to Jekyll Island. The soccer complex, home to the Golden Isles Soccer Association, hosts many tournaments and camps throughout the year and has become renowned for its quality facilities. Also this spring, Jekyll Island will host the U.S. Kids Golf(R) Jekyll Island Cup and the Oglethorpe University Invitational golf tournament.
“This event is a perfect fit for Jekyll Island. We host everything from lacrosse camps to cross country events to cheerleading competitions,” said Kevin Udell, Director of Sales for the Jekyll Island Authority. “Jekyll Island is safe, affordable and very laid back. It’s hard to get in trouble, and easy to have a great time”
Why Frisbee? In the 1930s and 40s, the Frisbie Pie Co. of Bridgeport, Connecticut, sold pies to several colleges. The students quickly discovered the empty pie tins were great for tossing around campus. In 1948, two Los Angeles businessmen invented a plastic version of the pie tin. They called it the Pluto Platter and sold the design to Wham-O. A few years later, Wham-O dubbed it the Frisbee. Oddly, the discs made by Wham-O competitor Discraft are the standard discs for the Ultimate [Frisbee], because they are more streamlined and have a softer curved edge for easier handling. For this reason, the sport is called “Ultimate” or “Ultimate Disc” by many teams and clubs.
More information is available at www.disc-iple.com or www.jekyllisland.com.
