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I Played Ultimate Under A Volcano

I Played Ultimate Under A Volcano
There are a few perks to working at Savage — like cool coworkers, a pinball machine, and occasional doughnut deliveries. Plus, every year, one team member (along with one lucky Savage contest winner) heads to Costa Rica for the Volcanic Tournament over Memorial Day weekend. This year, sales coordinator Eugenia Witherow headed south for the event. Here are her highlights, according to Eug:
{{Didn't make it to Costa Rica this year? You can still get some cool tournament jerseys in our store.}}

Highs: Ziplining and the Tarzan swing, hot springs after a long weekend of ultimate, eating amazing food, playing with locals and learning about the ultimate seen there, seeing iguanas up close.

Lows: Sunburn + hot springs together, missing breakfast on the last day, and leaving such a beautiful place full of amazing memories and wonderful people (two of these three things were definitely my own fault)

Top 7 Moments from Volcanic Tournament in Costa Rica (in no particular order)

1. Ziplining through the forest, and facing my fears on the Tarzan Swing
2. Seeing a sloth and a toucan!
3. Hot springs!!!!
4. Playing ultimate with Team White Not
5. Meeting so many people that I've worked with in person
6. FOOD (gallo pinto and paella specifically)
7. Seeing a volcano for the first time in my life!
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5 Reasons Why We Love the Volcanic Tournament

5 Reasons Why We Love the Volcanic Tournament

Savage has been an enthusiastic participant at the Volcanic Tournament in Arenal, Costa Rica since 2011. Every year, a lucky Savage staffer gets to go soak in the jungle atmosphere and play Ultimate—along with a lucky Savage fan! Keep reading to find out why we love this tournament so much, and how you can win a free bid to check it out for yourself.

1. It's in Costa Rica.

Enough said. The Volcanic Tournament is held in the beautiful country of Costa Rica. With the Pacific on the west and the Caribbean sea on the east, this is a hot travel destination for anyone. You can submerge yourself in the local culture or go adventuring in their protected jungles.

2. Zip-lining through the jungle.

The Tournament Director, Carlos, does a great job of offering numerous activities for Volcanic Tournament-goers. One of the highlights: zip-lining through the jungle. Almost everyone from the tournament ends up going, but don't worry—if zip-lining isn't your jam, there are other activities available.

3. Hot springs, hot springs, hot springs.

This is possibly the best post-tournament activity on earth, and something we think USAU should require at all tournaments. There are awesome local hot springs that tournament participants are welcome to use to soothe aches and pains in the most luxurious way possible.

4. Sloths for days.

Costa Rica is home to lush jungles that are teeming with exotic wildlife. A fan favorite year after year: the numerous sloths found hanging out in the canopy. You're also sure to see a lot of Iguana selfies going around, as well as some spider monkey sightings.

5. Awesome people.

One of the best parts of this trip: All of the amazing, fun-loving people you get to meet and play Ultimate with. The opportunity to play your favorite sport in a beautiful country with awesome people is so unique, and the main reason we love sponsoring this tournament year after year.

Check out our Facebook and Twitter to enter to win a FREE bid to the Volcanic Tournament this May!

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Volcanic 2017

Volcanic 2017

SAVAGE is excited to announce the 2017 Volcanic Tournament, taking place May 25th-May 29th. One lucky winner will get a free bid covered by SAVAGE! All you need to do is go to our Facebook page and share the post about the tournament. Get a second and third chance by sharing on Twitter & Instagram too! 7 lucky contestants will win this year's Costa Rica jersey and 1 grand prize winner will win the trip to Costa Rica!

The main feature of the trip is the hat tournament, where players from around the world are randomly placed on teams to compete against each other. Other highlights include playing ultimate under the lights with the locals, zip lining through the jungle, and learning about different wildlife from Carlos, the tournament organizer. 

We're excited to once again partner with Volcanic Tournament, and hope to see you there!

Rules 

Open to US legal residents aged 18+. Winner will be randomly chosen from a shared post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at 6pm EST on March 15, 2016. Winner must accept winnings within 48 hours of announcement. 

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Iguanas, Sloths, and Frisbee, Oh My! Recap on the 2016 Volcanic Tournament

Iguanas, Sloths, and Frisbee, Oh My! Recap on the 2016 Volcanic Tournament
Sloth
The Volcanic tournament down in Costa Rica just wrapped up its 9th year this past Memorial Day weekend and SAVAGE was lucky enough to be able to not only provide gear for the tournament, but also got to send one of our own to play in the tournament. Volcanic is a great way to not only enjoy a weekend full of good Ultimate, but also allows those from out of the country to delve into the Costa Rican culture through way of exploring some of the beautiful rainforest, tasting some of the traditional cuisine and of course by developing friendships with some amazing people.
Every year this tournament is comprised of a group of ultimate players from around the world. Each team (this year had the tournament's largest turnout with 7 teams) is made up of a mixture of half Costa Ricans and half foreigners of all skill levels and backgrounds. The first game, as in any hat tournament, is definitely the most difficult as you learn how to play with the people on your team, except now there is also the added struggle of a language barrier. Fortunately for non-Spanish speakers, most of the Costa Ricans can speak high-level English, and if not, there’s typically at least one person on your team who can get away with their Spanish speaking skills.
The first day, after everyone arrived, was spent seeing some of the country as the group was taken on In the rainforest canopy during the Ecoglide zip line toura nature walk through the rainforest. Carlos and his brother, Fico, who put on the tournament every year, were very informative, sharing all sorts of information about the different plants and wildlife that were crossed throughout the hike. After the hike, there was an optional treetop zip line tour followed by a traditional Costa Rican lunch of Casado, which is a plate of rice, beans, choice of meat, and fried plantains. That evening, the Costa Ricans joined the rest of the group for a late night pickup game before the tournament was to start the next day.

Saturday morning everyone was up bright and early to get started on pool play games. Each team played four games to 13, with only one team making through the day undefeated. The first several games had beautiful weather, albeit a bit hot and humid, but as you should expect in the rainforest, a heavy rainfall shortened the last round of games. That evening, after everyone was showered and rested, the tournament party was held in a covered outdoor area at the resort. Everyone got together to drink some of the local Imperial beer (or tequila if that was your preference), dance, play drinking games, and even do a bit of human bouldering.
It was a late night for some, but everyone (well, almost everyone) was up again the next morning to get a start on bracket play of the tournament.Hanging out at the hot springs Sunday had only two rounds of games; the first round had the top 4 teams from Saturday compete in the semi finals. The Red team, who was seeded first, won handedly in their game, while the Gold and Lime Green teams, the 2nd and 3rd seeds, battled it out in a game that went to universe. Gold came out on top to play Red in the championship game but in the end, Red ended up winning it all. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and hanging out with everyone at the Hot Springs nearby to rest sore bodies and get ready to head back to the real world.
The Volcanic experience is one to be had; anyone who has attended would highly recommend going, as there are many who go every year. It is a great chance to see a new place, take in a new culture and play ultimate with a bunch of new friends. It truly was amazing to see how all of these different teams quickly morphed into one big family as the week went by and I’m thankful that I was able to be a part of it. Until next year Costa Rica, until next year...
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