History of the team? That's quite an undertaking, and despite my older than dirt status, I'm not even close to the beginning for getting the full history. There were Wombat shenanigans of epic proportions going on a full decade and more before I ever showed up in Saratoga. And what little knowledge I ever had of those times has been mostly wiped clean by a healthy diet of booze. But, here's what I think I know: (a caveat; some of this might be COMPLETE bullshit, unsubstantiated, unfounded and untrue).
The team was founded sometime in the late 70's early 80's. I once met a guy at one of the Wombabashes named Broc, who was reported to be one of the original founders.
Apparently 'Wombat' was the mascot of all of Skidmore at some point before they changed it to the hoidy-toidy 'thoroughbreds'. The ultimate team re-established the old name.
When I joined in 1998, the team was predominantly co-ed. Almost ALL tournaments were coed, and we even often played coed at 'open' tournaments (except the college series). The stabmoW contingency was strong, with plenty of guys I'd never gone to school with involved, coming to the Fests and Bashes, partying hearty. Dana Warren, John Willamen, Justin Caplicki,.. More names than I can remember. Mike Rozinsky plays for Slow White now, he was my captain my freshman year.
First team spring break was my freshman year ('99). The team entered into two tournaments on the weekends of spring break. We drove down to South Carolina on Friday night, showed up at 8:00am at the fields and played. During the week, most of the guys went camping in the Smokey Mountains, I bailed and went to Atlanta on a booty call with an ex-girlfriend from high school. I met up with the team later in Georgia somewhere for the second tournament.
In 2000, we did the Tybee island/Savannah style spring break that we still do today. At that point most teams stayed in these 'camps'. We were the only team that had rented a house for the week, and what a freaking decision.
The idea of forming a separate women's team bounced back and forth for a long time during my tenure. They entered a few tournaments one year, but then couldn't get the leadership and numbers together the next. That was pretty much the story from 98-05 or so.
Who knows what traditions you still adhere to these days, but a ton were either going strong when I was there, or were created when I was there. Two home coed tournaments, kegs on the fields, Wombafest and Wombabash were the norm. The 'draft' for the teams came into play my Junior year (01) I think, and only for one of the tournaments.
Flip cup was the party game of choice before I got there; Beirut supplanted it around '98. Beer Die was a one year wonder my senior year ('02). A speed quarter came into the fray on my senior Spring Break and still has a foothold it seems.
Cornell is our mortal enemy and is the target of our loathing hatred. WombaGiving was started my senior year, and I'm freaking PSYCHED it's still going on.
Rookie night is as old as dirt and has undergone many permutations. Senior night was started the year after I graduated. Drinking, smoking and partying has always been central to this team. Hell, its college. You've got the rest of your life to play serious club ultimate if you want and do sprints, weight lifting, conditioning... Fuck that, it's not worth it, have fun while you’re in school.
Nudity was a HUGE part of team tradition when I got their. We would pronounce naked points frequently. Almost every tournament was graced by at least one. Streaking the green and campus events was normal and expected. The Wombats even got a mention in the Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue’s "Traditions in Nudity" expose. We were well known to the college president and even had our nudity mentioned by her a couple times in speeches. There was no reason ever to NOT take your clothes off at a party and run through it. What a bunch of prisses the team has become, in that regard.
Every year, another dozen ridiculous and epic stories of shenanigans would crop up. We all have our favorites from the time we were there. After every tournament, someone used to issue a 'scribe report'. Basically a team e-mail that would document the tournament, both ultimate-wise, but also after party and other road-trip stories. It's a HUGE shame that those have mostly stopped. There were some EPIC write-ups, some of which I still have in my old mailbox. It was a great way for the team to stay connected. Younger players would read about the tournaments, and want to go on the next one, alumni who couldn't make it could find out what happened at WombaFests.
- Matthew Christie |
