On January 13^th GUPA held its first ever Rules Clinic at the Albion.  There was a great turnout, which means an open door for more people to feel more comfortable and confident when calling/discussing rules.  Many specific rules were talked about in length, like picks, states of play (disc live, in play, dead), strips and receiver fouls, travels and more.  Without getting into specifics, here are some important overarching themes:

1. Learn and teach the rules as it will allow everybody to play the game safely.
2. Empathy goes a long way in resolving disputes.
3. Articulate your reasoning behind a call and if after 10 or 15 seconds there’s no resolution then send the disc back and play.
4. Play in more tournaments, it’s the best way to have a lot of fun in one weekend as well as learning quite a bit.
5. Regardless of what level you are playing in, spirit/sportsmanship still counts.  Rules may be enforced differently at different levels, but it is still up to each player to play within those agreed rules to make the game fair and enjoyable for everyone else playing.

Our many thanks to Bryanne Root, Tushar Singh, and Gerry Marsico for leading us along the narrow path of rules know-how.  More rules clinics like this one will be scheduled later in the year.

To better acquaint yourself with the Rules by which GUPA runs all its league and tournament play, click here.