The global flying disc community celebrated the 7th annual International Spirit of the Game Day on the first Saturday in December, which fell this year on December 5, 2020. In a year marked by pandemic, the Spirit of the Game Day organizers have created a global and safe way to celebrate and practice Spirit of the Game: the iSOTG Day Global Virtual Scavenger Hunt.
And the community responded: 605 players registered on 136 teams from across 50 countries before or on iSOTGDay. They could choose to be part of the RED or the BLUE CREW. Over a frantic 48 hours (while it was December 5th somewhere on this globe), a total of 1,769 point-scoring social media posts were submitted across the internet to score points for their crew.
In the end, the BLUE CREW narrowly beat the RED CREW, 4908 to 4747 points (a 1.7% margin). Thanks to our amazing sponsors, there are also prizes for the top teams and players, which will be distributed in the coming weeks.
Here some stats about the event:
- Competitors from 12 disc games and sports were represented: Beach Ultimate, Beersby, Box, Disc Golf, Double Disc Court, Elimination 8s, Freestyle, Frickets, Goaltimate, Indoor Ultimate, Maximum Time Aloft, and Ultimate
- Players spoke no fewer than 26 different languages, representing 37 countries across all continents except Antarctica
- Italy, Canada, and Turkey scored the most points in total.
- Italy, Canada, and the USA fielded the most teams.
- Finland, Uruguay and Austria fielded the most effective teams (points per team).
- The most popular challenges, with over 60 submissions each, were:
- #ThanksCoach: Call a disc sport coach or role model in your life and thank them for everything that they do. Leaving a voicemail does not count. After you’ve spoken to them, share a picture or video of them.
- #IceBoxedOut: Empty your refrigerator of everything but one disc. Take a selfie in front of the open refrigerator to prove it only has a disc inside. Must be a full-size fridge.
- #TeaParty: Set up a doll / stuffed animal tea party and include at least one disc.
“It has been amazing seeing the creativity in the submissions, see the outpour of gratitude the community showed with their role models in the #ThanksCoach challenge, and the overall excitement everybody had!” said Wolf Maehr, chairperson of WFDF’s Spirit of the Game committee. “It felt like everybody was happy to not just touch a disc in their own little bubble, but finally again feel like they were part of a global community of like-minded disc heads. We consider this year’s scavenger hunt a roaring success and it gave us, the SOTG committee and all of WFDF, so much joy and energy!”
A huge thank you goes to our sponsors, who contributed prizes despite facing a tough year: Friction Gloves, Greatest Bag, HuckBucket, Layout Ultimate, Universe Point, Tokay and VC Ultimate.
Ultimately, the winner was Spirit of the Game and all the players having fun doing the challenges.
Interested in more?
- For more details on the challenges, prizes and stats, visit the official iSOTGDay 2020 results page.
- If you have five minutes, help us by filling this 2020 SOTG Survey.
- If you are keen on getting involved with the SOTG Committee on WFDF or regional level, get in touch via email. We’re always looking for spirited and keen folks.
Maehr concluded “Be spirited, stay safe and spread the (disc) joy in the new year!”
About Spirit of the Game (SOTG)
Spirit of the Game is the mindful behavior practiced by players worldwide in a mutual effort to protect the basic joy of play. It makes self-officiation possible, encourages personal responsibility, and encompasses attitudes and skills such as good knowledge of the rules, fair-mindedness, safe play, clear and calm communication, and a positive and respectful attitude.
#iSOTG Day, organized by the World Flying Disc Federation, encourages disc sport communities around the world to celebrate and reflect on Spirit of the Game, a core and unique tenant of the sport of Ultimate and other disc sports, by safely hosting events, clinics and activities where players can discuss and demonstrate good spirit.
As no WFDF events were happening in 2020, the other staple of iSOTG Day, the publishing of international SOTG Scores, is skipped this year, The 2019 scores can be found here.
For more information about International Spirit of the Game Day, and how you can be a part of this global and growing movement, visit www.spiritofthegameday.org.