Not convinced that Philly Classic will be the next big thing in the Metro East?  Don't take our word for it.  Hear firsthand from players and coaches who have attended tournaments that we've run.  These tournaments include the most competitive college women's tournament of the spring season, Women's College Centex, in Austin, TX; the premiere early season tournament, Pres Day, in San Diego, CA; and the two tournaments that have changed ultimate in the South and Midwest, Midwest Warmup and Midwest Throwdown, in St. Louis, MO.  Below are testimonials from some of the best players and coaches in college women's ultimate:

"When a tournament is hosted on your home turf, you observe the amount of effort that goes into making sure the tournament runs smoothly. It increases your appreciation of the individuals and groups behind the experience. Not only was I impressed with the hard work put forth by Michelle Ng, but also by the dedicated individuals she surrounded herself with. The tournament was not just the result of organizational efforts of Texas and Michelle, but also the Texas men, the Austin Ultimate community, and countless players from teams such as Wisconsin and Washington University. This only adds a dimension to the already impressive experience produced by Michelle.  Another notable aspect of these tournaments is the emphasis placed on the growth of Women’s Ultimate. It is apparent that the cause is very dear to Michelle’s heart. It is taken into consideration when assembling top competition, supplying teams with travel aid and housing aid, and planning extra tournament activities. It would be difficult to find someone who so successfully puts their passion into action."
- Rachel Hokanson, former Texas Ultimate Fundraising Coordinator and current Texas Ultimate President and player


"In my four years of competitive ultimate at the University of Kansas and my two years in the club scene, I firmly believe that Midwest Throwdown 2009 and Centex 2009 (tournament director—Michelle Ng) have been the highest quality tournaments I’ve attended. Michelle was awesome to work with—I always had up-to-date information about the tournament progression from the day it was announced to the results and wrap-up after the tournament had concluded. Any captain or team President can agree with me that communication between tournament staff and participants is vital.  Beyond that, there is so much about the tournaments that really makes for a great experience—the fields are the best around and there are always back-ups, the competition level is typically higher but with a good bracket schedule to give teams the best opportunities possible to really make the weekend count, and the TD/host team have gone out of their way to help make our trip affordable with housing and/or travel discounts when possible. Tournament “givens” like food, water, and trainers are provided, but then there plenty of fun “extras” such as the captains gift bags at Centex and the Ultivillage DVD. Both tournaments had a good number of sponsors to donate to the tournament and the experience, and the merchandise is always pretty hot. All of this is awesome, but I also really valued these tournaments because I felt like they were truly promoting our sport in a great light at both the local and national level. These tournaments are fun too—that’s what it’s all about after all. Bids to these tournaments are worth fighting for. And if you’re going to Centex in 2010, get ready to get your dance on!"
- Tasha Parman, former University of Kansas captain and All-Region selection, current Threat Level Midnight player

"Women's College Centex 2009 was a turning point for my team last year.  Flying to the tournament was the highlight of our regular season, and most of my teammates had never seen such high level Ultimate before.  Playing well against the top teams in the country gave us the confidence and motivation to work hard to be competitive at Regionals and qualify for Nationals.  The Friday night mixer and Saturday night dance-off also added a lot of fun to the tournament and made it a truly unique experience in women's college Ultimate.  The TD's communicated superbly to teams, had full-sized fields with large sidelines, created a schedule packed full of quality matchups, and offered awesome extras such as Vitamin Water, Clif bars, and free housing.  We can't wait to return next spring!"
- Abby Stephens, former Washington University captain and All-Region selection, current One Trick Pony player

"Centex was overall my favorite spring tournament while playing college ultimate, and this last season was especially great.  It was awesome to be able to travel to a cool place like Austin and not only have a well organized and well run tournament, but also a sense of community among the teams that attend.  Thanks for a great tourney experience!"
- Darragh Clancy, former UC Berkeley captain and All-Region selection, current San Francisco Fury player

"College Centex was one of the most organized and well executed tournaments that I have attended. The TDs were able to capture the interest of the nation's elite teams and bring them to one location. It was definitely worth leaving Michigan to attend! Great tourney, great teams, and great post game activities."
- Kim Sabo, former Michigan State captain and All-Region selection, current Michigan Hooptie player

"Women's College Ultimate would be a much weaker scene without tournaments like Centex and Throwdown. Remember the fall of 2008? We saw a messy, frustrating attempt to focus the resources of the entire College divison on the glamourous Top 25 Open teams, which sent a message to the thousands of athletes who don't play for one of those teams that their hard work and passion and love of the game don't really matter. Thankfully, Ultimate players - espcially Women's Ultimate players - weren't ready to let that attitude take over.  Three tournaments in 2009 particularly demonstrated the commitment and investment of College Women's players across the country: Pres Day, Throwdown, and Centex. All three events were well-organized with great facilities, directions, and, most importantly, food (here I'm remembering the 2 free large pizzas that Michelle delivered to our sidelines after our last game at Throwdown).  The match-ups were fun and the schedules made sense and the TDs made it possible for us to go to all the tournaments by arranging free housing with players and supporters (way more fun than sterile, expensive hotel rooms) (Lorig's house in Austin is bomb).  And it was really exciting to be at tournaments that were run BY women's players, exclusively FOR women's players.  Don't get me wrong, and any of my teammates will back me up on this: I am unashamedly boy-crazy and love hanging out with guys at tournaments.  But after 4 years in the sport I got real sick of the men's quarterfinal drawing five times the crowd of the women's final, even if the men's game was a chippy, screaming mess.  Centex and Throwdown reminded us that we can play hard, classy Ultimate and then bust moves for each other on the dance stage after the games. These events were focused on SOtG at every level: between individual players, between teams, and within the Ultimate community as a whole. I'm reluctant to say that that was the MOST important aspect of these tournaments, because we also played a shit-ton of kickass Ultimate, but that was what made them such memorable and positive experiences for our team."
- Julia Busiek, former Carleton College captain and All-Region selection

"Out of the four non-series tournaments that Kali attends in the spring, Centex is by far the collective favorite.  The team loves road tripping down to Austin and is always greeted by beautiful weather.  For the past two years the Texas women's team has graciously provided housing which makes the tournament more affordable and accessible for the team. Their houses are close to the fields and the girls always make enough room for our 20-plus sleeping bags, pads, field bags etc which has been awesome.  The tournament itself always features great competition, and especially with last years extended format, we were very impressed with the number of teams from across the country that attended.  Organizationally, we have always been impressed with how seamlessly the tournament seems to run and have never been disappointed with the number or quality of games that we've played.  The dance off is also a really fun way to end Saturday play that allows all of the womens teams to come together in a really fun environment--it always turns into a hilarious, entertaining time."
- Courtney Verhaalen, current Colorado Kali captain, All-Region selection, and Boulder Rare Air player