For a Limited Time Only

I can be a sulky sports player (among other things). It doesn't generally come out these days, in my mellower old-age.

But I'm still not liking a few things about Ultimate Frisbee culture (other than the spirit games that make me cringe).

Today's point is the culture of assertive subbing. I have played other sports and this is unique to me. Other sports have two subbing scenarios, from my experience.

1. Competitive

If the team is reasonably competitive, you tend to put the best players in the game. Or at least the players who match up well. So, players who aren't as good can expect to get a bit less time. We have a little bit of this at basketball, but I generally do alright out of it because I'm tall. I can often get almost whole games. I am used to playing long periods at a time in competitive teams and only getting subs when I look like I'm about to keel over.

2. Social

Other teams are social and have a fairness policy. Take indoor netball - everyone gets maybe three quarters each. We all pay the same amount of money to play and sacrifice the same things to be there each week, so get the same time on court.

The girls on our Cows Go Moo Frisbee team had a great two-points-on-two-points-off rotation going, to keep it super-fair and organised. I liked this. You can't complain about a system.

If it's less formal, it takes a certain level of altruism and everybody keeping an eye on how much everyone else has been involved. Some people don't like to push themselves forward (especially if they're not confident in their ability yet), but are quietly keen to have a go. And you get the feel for who is keen to get extra time on the field (read: Dave and Jon) and who is actually happy to have a bit less without getting shirty about it (read: uh, nobody.... maybe Justin).

It's kinda like being a teacher and making sure everybody has a go, not just the loud kids.

And then there is.......

3. Assertive Social Subbing

Frisbee is not quite one of these scenarios. It's closer to the second one, but there's a need to kinda force your way on the court, or else people beat you to it. And I'm not the temperament that I'm going to force my way on over anybody else.

I could maybe do that if everyone on the court was a good friend of mine, so we could harrass each other and trip each other up if it came down to a foot race to the line....

But I'm not on a team where I feel like doing that. I'm very polite around people I don't know so well.

Besides which, I quite like sitting down when I'm subbed off.... isn't that what sub time is for? And this seems to be a signal to everybody that you don't want to go back on the court ever..... I think I'm being very slow to pick up on this physical signal. I'm used to basketball, where when you want to sub on, you walk over to the scoring table to put your sub in.... then while you're waiting, they have special chairs for you to sit in, right by the table. Very considerate. Basketball is all about sitting down. At higher levels, the ref may even tell you off if you are standing up at the sub-bench. It is proper to sit.

As a result I seem to miss my turn in the rotation (which maybe doesn't actually exist to anyone but me, which is why nobody else adheres to it quite as earnestly....).

The other girls on my team will stay on for ages, sub off for each other, then sub back on again..... and I'll be sitting down, making the odd half-move to get up, but then having to sit down again because some other female ran on in front of me, and then having to try and look cool like I didn't really wanna go on anyhow (my students would say, 'Buuuuuurn!').

I'll be counting in my mind who's been on and thinking, 'Ok, Girl A went on after me, and Girl B subbed her off..... so I'll wait another point or two, then I'll get to go on again, since Girl A has been on since I've been off....' but while I'm making my silent calculations, Girl A has jumped on ahead of me, still sweating and puffed from the last time she was on, while I'm starting to slowly shiver and put layers back on in the corner.

I had a goodish game tonight, match-up wise. Got three points and passed for one (that's 1/4 of our points), but only played a few short stints. The other team's girls were really quick and short. This seems an odd match-up for me, but on our team I'm sometimes one of the quicker girls and being a foot taller than them made me a good target in the zone. So tonight I think I was a good match-up to have on court.

It frustrates me to go somewhere at god-awful times of night, like 9.10pm, in winter, with a cold, when I could be doing work.... and only get to play 15 odd minutes and not even build up a sweat. That would be ok, if it was what everyone else was getting... but it often feels like less.

It is my own fault, but it maybe shows that it's not the sport for me. I don't quite get the culture.

And I don't wanna have to get all jumpy and pushy in order to play more. I don't feel comfortable doing that with people I don't really know. That's not fun to me.

I know the solution is for me to take a can of harden-up and start standing up on the sidelines rather than sitting, and jumping on more assertively when the time comes, rather than sitting back and assuming someone will say, 'Kate - your turn' each time, or that there'll at least be a knowing look in your direction or that other players are mentally tallying how many points they've been on, like I do (I try not to stay on more than three, usually).

But I don't know if I can be bothered.

It's on the con side of my weighing up whether I want to play next season, anyhow.

I like when I'm actually on the court, but all season there have been maybe two ocassions where I've actually been puffed enough that I've wanted a sub. Every other time I've been just getting warmed up, and someone else has jumped on, or I've looked guiltily at the side-line and seen all the people eagerly waiting, and I've walked off to give them a go. It's a curse having too many subs, sometimes. I only agreed to play in the first place because I thought they were short of girls (and so assumed I'd get to play a reasonable amount of court-time - not the case).

I have theories as to why this assertive-subbing culture exists and why the usual social sports etiquettes aren't quite as dominant. But they may sound harsh.

* * *

I can also concede that I'm wrong and that everyone is getting roughly equal time and that I'm a self-centred egomaniac :) But I have a sore wisdom tooth, so I'm allowed to moan tonight.

Done.