From britdisc-owner@csv.warwick.ac.uk Fri Mar 2 13:56:20 2001 Received: (from daemon@localhost) by pansy.csv.warwick.ac.uk (8.10.1/8.9.3) id f22DqcN03389 for britdisc-outgoing; Fri, 2 Mar 2001 13:52:38 GMT Received: from daffodil.csv.warwick.ac.uk (root@daffodil [137.205.192.30]) by pansy.csv.warwick.ac.uk (8.10.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id f22DqZh03369 for <britdisc-real@pansy.csv.warwick.ac.uk>; Fri, 2 Mar 2001 13:52:36 GMT Received: from mail6.svr.pol.co.uk (mail6.svr.pol.co.uk [195.92.193.212]) by daffodil.csv.warwick.ac.uk (8.10.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id f22DqSF23367 for <britdisc@csv.warwick.ac.uk>; Fri, 2 Mar 2001 13:52:35 GMT Received: from modem-79.oxygen.dialup.pol.co.uk ([62.136.7.79] helo=ben) by mail6.svr.pol.co.uk with smtp (Exim 3.13 #0) id 14Ypyp-0005Oq-00 for britdisc@csv.warwick.ac.uk; Fri, 02 Mar 2001 13:52:23 +0000 Message-ID: <004801c0a321$010f44c0$4f07883e@ben> From: "British Ultimate Federation" <buf@ultimateweb.co.uk> To: "BRITDISC" <britdisc@csv.warwick.ac.uk> Subject: Bringing the game into disrepute. Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 13:59:21 -0000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4522.1200 Sender: owner-britdisc@warwick.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Dear all, Bongs as prizes. Whilst this in itself is not illegal - and yes there is a mildly funny side to it - we cannot afford the risk of having the sport associatied with this sort of thing. As someone pointed out there has always been a certain amount of this going on at tournaments. This is in no way unique to the 'culture' of ultimate. However, that does *not* mean that it is acceptable. Because we are such a very small entity, each of us must really be an ambassador for the sport. That means players must think carefully about whether their actions are going to harm the sport they love. Its very easy to think that there isn't a problem when you're surrounded by people who probably haven't got a problem with cannabis or offensive language (or whatever it is.) However, we *must* open our eyes and see how we appear to parents, non-players, junior players, the press, etc. Just because the Nottingham event was not an 'official' BUF tournament does not make it any less potentially damaging. Were we to implement sanctions this would not be an issue. In this instance we will not be taking any action against the Nottingham team or the individual concerned as I doubt they will make the same mistake again. In the forthcoming association we would seek to outlaw the following with potential barring from tournaments or even expulsion as penalties:- A) Openly using illegal substances on the premises at tournaments B) Endanger the safety of others by playing whilst intoxicated (he says trying to avoid the obvious UTI gag) It seems necessary to also include a catch-all:- C) Engaging in any activity which brings the game into disrepute. This could mean, substance abuse (BTW, please-oh-please change your name guys!), offensive language on the pitch, intimidation, offensive team names, dangerous play, etc. Clearly so many of these things are difficult to police and we would most likely have to consider their occurances case by case. Its a shame to have to lay down the law on a game which is supposed to referee itself, so: You're the referee - impose these rules yourself. In case anyone has any doubts about the need for this stance, recall that we lost a fantastic venue at Lydney in Shropshire some years ago due to a team being arrested for possesion. This pales in comparison to what might happen if a tabloid newspaper were to get hold of the story. Ben Ravilious Secretary British Ultimate Federation