Teams who stopped by the Savage tent at High Tide in March could enter to win free fully sublimated jerseys—and we just selected our winners!


Big congrats to Hartford Ultimate, and thanks to everyone who entered!

P.S. All of our leftover High Tide gear is on deep clearance now. Head over to the shop to get yourself some squid shorts or a crazy cheap T.

Exciting news from the world of quidditch today: Savage has officially renewed its partnership with Major League Quidditch, the highest level of quidditch in North America. We will be producing MLQ’s on-field team kits and managing the league’s online store. Check out all the details on the MLQ site.

We're a fan of any fun activity that takes us off the beaten path, and it's hard to think of anything that takes that concept more literally than the App(ugh)lachian Race Series. Savage is a proud sponsor of this wild event, scheduled for April 27-29 in the mountains of Virginia and Tennessee. 

One thing that makes this race unique is that the actual course will be a surprise to participants. "We believe there’s only so much of a challenge, or an experience, that can be had from running a 5k that you can drive the route of beforehand, or doing an obstacle race with obstacles you know about, or riding a Strava bike segment over and over again to get the best time," according to organizers. 

Sign up here, then read our Q&A with race director Adam Parks, who has some words of wisdom about stayin' alive while running through the mountains.

Savage: How does running in the mountains differ from running elsewhere? What do you like about it? 

Adam Parks: Running in the mountains, for me, is the purest form of running there is and is the greatest escape from the “human world” that I know of. I call it the purest because you’re always running in nature, and, with running in the mountains in particular, you get a chance to have a little bit of everything: seasons, terrain, flora, fauna, etc. What I would say most people recognize about what makes running in the mountains different though, is that it comes with the obvious difficulty of the terrain, running uphill, and running at altitude. For me, that, along with just being in woods, is why I prefer running in the mountains over running anywhere else.

I realize a lot of people would prefer easier, not harder, but when you run in the mountains you’re much more capable of running anywhere else, rather than vice versa. The terrain has prepared you to do so. That’s why I love it. I love it when I enter a race in a city, or somewhere outside of the mountains, and I hear people stressing about some hill (something I might consider a slight incline) in the race, because I know it won’t be an issue. I suppose it's a sense of pride, a mental lift, to know that the mountains have made me stronger. And that’s also what I love about running in the mountains, is that, I don’t have to go out and push myself incredibly hard to make sure I get a hard run in, I just let the mountains push me. There’s always a bigger mountain to climb. 

Savage: How do you train for the race? Do you have any pre-race rituals?

A.P.: Well, the beauty of the races in the App(ugh)lachian Race Series is that you don’t know exactly what to train for. We only give you just a little bit of info beforehand to ensure that you are aptly challenged in the races. We will let you know how far you have to go, but you won’t know where. And, around here, the where makes a BIG difference.

I usually just tell people to run a lot of hills. I want it to be up to the individual to prepare themselves for anything (or not), because there’s not really anything too impressive about running a 5k that you can practice on year after year. I want my races to be more closely related to life and the strength that comes through venturing into the unknown, or overcoming obstacles that you may not have expected beforehand. I want to test your grit, because that’s what we have in the mountains: grit.

As for my pre-race rituals, I always like to take 2-3 really good poops before a race. Just gonna be honest. Number one, it helps ensure I don’t have to poop while running, which is important, but I also feel much lighter and faster doing so. Aside from that, I usually eat an orange, a Clif bar, maybe something else, and I drink a lot of water. 

Savage: What do you wear when you're running in the mountains?

A.P.: It really just depends on the season. A lot of times I’ll have to layer up because it’s a big difference in temps based on the elevation and how open the trail is. I like to have zip-ups for that reason so I can adjust either way, and I prefer natural fabrics that breathe well because I sweat a lot regardless of the season. Other than that, I always run in minimalist shoes because I prefer the feel and I’m more conscious of my stride and foot placement when I do. I might add a pair of socks if the trail is pretty rough.

I’ve also learned that it’s a good idea to wear something long legged if you're on a trail you’re unfamiliar with because briars, stinging nettles, and other things can suck hard.

Savage: What's the best way to recover from a mountain run?

A.P.: Running in the mountains is much harder, and you’ll burn more calories, than a similar flat distance. Therefore, recovery is really important and prepping for your run, or having stuff after the run is equally important. As for myself, I’ve just learned to listen to my body and sort through the cravings to figure out what I need. Water and electrolytes are essential first, and then I like to usually get in something high in quality fats and protein; or, just eat a whole pizza. Depends.

Savage: Where are some of your favorite places to run in the mountains? 

A.P.: Anywhere new. I love seeing new places and being in new surroundings. I also just really enjoy anything that’s challenging and that tests my grit and the shape I’m in. My favorite places to run, without giving away any race locations, are the trails at Steele Creek Park by my house in Bristol, TN, the plethora of ones around Damascus, VA (Appalachian Trail, Creeper Trail, Iron Mountain Trail, and Grayson Highlands State Park), and the ones connecting to Hidden Valley Lake outside of Abingdon, VA. We are blessed to have access to an immense amount of trails here and a variety of natural beauty to take in on them.

Here at Savage, we're big supporters of gender equity on the Ultimate field. And while the professional mixed United Ultimate League may not be moving forward, we're still committed to promoting more diversity on the playing field. To prove it, we're announcing a new sponsorship opportunity: Savage Adopt-a-Team. For this first round, we'll be focused fully on girls' youth Ultimate teams.

Starting today, we're accepting nominations for three YCC girls' teams to receive customized, fully sublimated jerseys for their youth club season. Besides providing these three teams with their jerseys, free of charge, we'll also be following their journey through the upcoming season. 

Why are we starting with girls' YCC teams? Because we want to see more girls playing Ultimate. We want to promote equal opportunities, but we recognize that there is still a long way to go to get the same amount of girls playing as boys. Our goal is to create more opportunities and eliminate barriers for girls to play Ultimate. 

To nominate a team, keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks for Adopt-a-Team posts and leave a comment with your nomination. You can also post anytime—just be sure to tag @savageultimate and use the hashtag #savagegirls. Include a photo or video as well as a note of why you think the team deserves to be recognized. You can also email sales@savageultimate.com with your nomination. The deadline for nominations is March 31, 2018, and winners will be announced in April. 

Not a member of a girls' team, but still want free jerseys? Not to worry—this is just the first time we're offering this opportunity, and it won't be the last.

Back in November, Vermont became the first state to recognize Ultimate as a high school varsity sport. After being sanctioned as an exhibition sport for the last three years, the change to varsity status will take place in the spring of 2019. We got a chance to pick the brain of Anne Watson, a coach and board member with the Vermont Youth Ultimate League (for which Savage is the official apparel provider). Here's her insight into how the league achieved this milestone, why it's so important, and how other organizations might do the same.

Savage: We know it was a very long process to get ultimate to varsity status, but can you tell us in a nutshell how you got here? What was the journey like?

Anne Watson: It really has been a process! It started out with the Vermont Youth Ultimate League (VYUL), the group that organizes scholastic youth ultimate for VT, figuring out what the process would even look like. We naively thought that we could get varsity status just through our individual schools. While we were right that some schools would incorporate ultimate into their athletic budgets and treat us with the same honors and responsibilities as other sports, we began to understand that that wasn't enough. There were many athletic directors that refused to support ultimate in that way. All the while, we were still cranking out huge amounts of money to pay for USAU memberships and pay for expensive tournaments, including our State championship. We knew that if schools were on board, we could have tournaments on school grounds basically for free. Our insurance could be covered by the school. We would no longer need to spend so many hours fundraising and asking poor kids to pay for memberships. There's a reason why so many schools with great ultimate programs are private schools. 

 I'm located in Montpelier, which is terribly convenient because the scholastic-sport governing body, the Vermont Principal's Association (VPA), is also located in Montpelier. I recall many years ago now inviting the head of the VPA, Bob Johnson, to a meeting with the VYUL at Montpelier High School, where we asked Bob some hard questions about what it meant to be a varsity sport. What would we likely give up? What might we gain? What would the process look like? Bob's statement then and consistently to this day is that if the VPA accepts a sport, it accepts the sport on its own terms. He couldn't guarantee nothing would change, but he could guarantee that we could be on the subcommittee that would be responsible for making any changes. The ultimate subcommittee would consist of ADs and coaches from around the state. 

From that conversation, we learned that any new sport has to go through two years as an "exhibition sport". It's sort of like dating, I suppose, where either party can say, "this isn't working" at any point. To achieve exhibition status we had to present nine letters of support from school administrators around the state. We got those letters, and the VYUL successfully petitioned the VPA for exhibition status back in 2014. 

As we anticipated petitioning for full varsity status, we wanted to get both a boys’ and girls’ division accepted from the start. The only trouble was we only had about five girls’ teams at the time. We could have requested varsity status two years in, but instead we requested an extension of our time as an exhibition sport, mostly so that we could increase the number of girls’ teams. 

The step toward varsity status required that we have at least nine letters of support stating that school intended to have a varsity ultimate program the following fiscal year. We didn't (and still don't) have nine girls’ teams in Vermont. Fortunately, we learned that another new varsity sport had had a similar plight. Volleyball was only approved as a scholastic varsity sport in Vermont within the last couple of years. They had enough girls’ teams, but not enough boys’ teams. It turned out that both boys’ and girls’ volleyball was approved contingent upon there being nine boys’ teams two years into the future. Aha! We could do that. As of this coming spring, we have six girls’ ultimate teams and we're hoping for a seventh. We currently have 21 boys’ teams. Just for reference, there are 89 high schools in the state of Vermont. 

With that strategy in mind, we went back to the VPA last November and asked for full varsity status for FY19 (spring of 2019) for both a boys’ and girls’ division, contingent upon there being nine girls’ teams in FY21. It was unanimously approved. 

It's hard to capture how delightful that day was. It was the culmination of years and years of work and patience. It was very emotional for me and other coaches and players with us. 

What was the journey like? It took a lot of patience and long-sightedness. It took some strategizing. It took phone calls to athletic directors to hear their concerns. It took intra-organizational wrestling about what's best for the future of the sport. It took hearing feedback from coaches and incorporating those ideas or concerns into our dialogue. It's been a long process, but it hasn't been overly difficult, mostly because the vision of scholastically supported ultimate across the state is a powerful motivator. 

Savage: Why is it important for ultimate to achieve varsity status? 

A.W.: We want ultimate to be accessible for every student. This means that ultimate should not be a pay-to-play activity. Sanctioning allows us to lift that burden from students and their families. It means that tournaments can be super cheap or free when held on high school campuses. It means that ultimate players have the support of their school's athletic trainers. We get field space for practice. Those fields are lined for ultimate. Coaches are required for each team. Coaches are background checked by schools. Those coaches get the same training and support as every other coach in terms of concussion training, first aid, and fundamentals of coaching and the costs for those associated courses are reimbursed by the school. We get buses to travel to games. Oh gosh, that's a big one. We don't have to worry about kids driving other kids—what a relief! Our state tournament is paid for through the Vermont Principal's Association, so it's free for schools to participate. 

This might seem like a weird side note, but in addition to all that, I appreciate that we get to have a legitimate conversation about what is healthiest or safest for young athletes. Is playing five 90 minutes games in a day healthy if you're savage? Oh my gosh, normal people (adults or youth) just aren't properly trained for that. I love tournament culture, but there probably need to be better guidelines about injury prevention in a tournament context.   

Savage: Do you have any advice for other states that want to have ultimate in their schools (either as varsity or rec)? 

A.W.: If you want to have ultimate in schools, consider making it free for teachers to play in adult leagues. Teachers have the most contact with students. They can talk it up with their classes. They also are the most available for regular practice times, most consistent year-to-year coaches, relative to other professions. They'll also be the best advocates with athletic directors to leverage ultimate's admission into the athletic budget. Get more teachers playing ultimate. Do you have a teacher friend? Invite them to play ultimate.

For organizations, I'd encourage a dialogue with your statewide sanctioning body. One of the reasons we were so successful is because we included the head of the VPA in our dialogue early on. It's been really important that we had an advocate on the inside from the start. 

To organizations that have petitioned but been denied, I'd say Vermont is paving the way. There's a precedent now that didn't exist before. Don't give up!

Savage: Are there any negatives associated with ultimate becoming a varsity sport? 

A.W.: There are three main limitations. 

1. No out-of-season coaching. You can't train as a team year-round, but there are plenty of other opportunities for kids to play. 
2. We are limited by the number of days we can play. Each team is only allowed 16 competition days. My school will be filling that up with 10 regular season games and three tournaments. That does not include States.
3. (And this is probably the biggest.) Decisions about the season will be made by the ultimate sub-committee of the VPA. This could mean a lot of different things. They could decide to change our state championship tournament entirely into a series of one-off games. They could decide that we do indeed need refs. That's unlikely, though, as the rhetoric from the VPA was fully in support of our not having refs. On the one hand, we're giving up some control. On the other hand, many members of the VYUL (or former members) intend to be a part of this subcommittee. So it's more like we're adding different voices to the decision-making body, specifically the voices of athletic directors. Frankly, I'm delighted to include them and more generally, each of these trade-offs are certainly worth the benefits.