This year was our fourth Halloween Hat Tournament, held at the parade grounds of Fort Douglas on Saturday, October 27. We had a lot of new things to try, since for the first time we decided to run it as a charity event. We charged a few bucks a head and in return we gave people a more organized experience while keeping it relaxed and all in fun. We also had to worry about fieldspace since our emergency fourth field has been appropriated by the National Guard until the Olys are over. But in the end all our worries were for naught and it was a huge success.

The attendance was just over 60 people (about 20 gals and 40 guys). This is a little less than the previous year, probably because we put folks in Nationals this year and they skipped the Hat – all the better with no access to that fourth field. Participants included some serious out-of-towner action, with folks in from Cedar City and from Vegas. We made six teams and with the blazing sun and temps near 70, it’s safe to say everyone got in all the exercise they could want. Everything ran smooth as silk, from food to beverage to the port-o-johns that were there for some reason. We didn’t even get hassled too badly by the Fort Museum guy (an annual tradition).

After three pool play games, there were two undefeated teams. They were each allowed to pick up a few extra subs from other teams in their pool, and a final was held. In the end, The A Team All Stars won a bruising final something like 15-10. Congratulations to the members of the winning team: Heather, Helen, Lauren, Pete, Chris, Neil, David, Andy, Dave, Mega, and whoever they picked up for the final. We saw maybe a little more of the Las Vegas guys than we needed to, but what the heck? It’s not the kinda halftime show you’re likely to see at any of them Olympic finals, I’ll tell you what!

Stacey Luoma strutted away with the Best Costume prize for her eerily compelling wig / shiny pants combo. As she had predicted, there are certain outfits you can wear that’ll make it so no one cares that you’re not really dressed up as anything...

After much frantic searching for a volunteer, Stacey Collett and her s.o. Pete hosted the evening’s party. A good time was to be had and hopefully most of the Lost ‘n Found stuff made its way back to the right owner.

From the beginning this year, we’d talked about using the tournament proceeds to make a donation in memory of Natalie Smith’s dad, who was lost in the Pentagon attack. When I reached her, Natalie suggested keeping the money working locally, with a charity similar to the ones her dad had supported. She mentioned YouthCity, which supports afterschool and other programs for at-risk youth, especially first-generation Americans. After the tournament I got in touch with YouthCity and they were very happy for our support. We also talked about arranging a frisbee clinic for the kids sometime in the future. We presented YouthCity with a check from Salt Lake Ultimate for $160. Thanks to you all for helping us with a great cause!!

Let’s close with a sample of the wonderful feedback we got back from some of the players....

Thanks for the great Hat tournament – that was a blast! I am looking forward to next year. We should have won, Monkey picked up really good players, damn him. Why can't he not win a tournament for once?

- Jill