Note: The structure of this FAQ and much of its text has been lifted directly from Jim Pistrang and Tiina Booth's every so succinct Amherst Invitational 2007 FAQ.

If you have a question that isn't answered in this faq, contact Josh.

How do I submit a bid?
Which teams have been accepted into the tournament?
What's the tournament format and schedule?
When is the tournament?
Who is allowed to play in the tournament?
Do players need to be USA Ultimate members?
Who is in charge of this tournament?
How do you decide which bids to accept?
Where is the tournament?
What do we get for our money?
Where will we stay in St. Johnsbury?
Do we need an adult chaperone?
Who's submitted a bid?
When are bids due?
When will accepted teams be notified?
What happens if it rains?
What happens if my team needs to drop from the tournament?
I want to submit a bid but I don't know how many players I will be bringing to the dinner!


How do I submit a bid?
Please visit the bid submission page.


Which teams have been accepted into the tournament?
Accepted teams will be notified by Monday, February 13th, 2011.


What's the tournament format?
The girls tournament will consist of two 8-team divisions (A and B). The open division will consist of three 8-team divisions (A, B, and C). Each division will be divided into two snaked pools: 1,4,5,8 and 2,3,6,7. The tournament will start with three rounds of pool play spread across 4 rounds. Pools will take their bye rounds together. After pool play there will be one cross over round in both the open and the girls tournaments where the highest placed finishers of the B pools will play the lowest placed finishers of the A pools. The winners of those games will be placed in the A division and the losers in the B division. The same type of cross over games will be run between the B and C divisions of the open tournament. The cross over games make is possible for anyone in the A or B division to win the A division and for anyone in the B or C division to win the B division. Game play will end on Saturday after the cross over round. All teams will play three or four games on Saturday. On Sunday game play will continue with five, 8-team championship brackets. All teams will play at least three games on Sunday.

Note: For 2012, the open division will most likely be expanded to 16-team A and B divisions along with an 8-team C division.


When is the tournament?
The tournament will be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 19th and May 20th, 2012.


Who is allowed to play in the tournament?
Like at the Amherst Invitational, we will (for the most part) be using the USA Ultimate Juniors Team Guidelines for Easterns and Westerns to determine if your team is eligible to attend our tournament. The guidelines state that ALL members of a team in the Open or Girls Division must attend the same high school. We may consider an exception to the rule for a team in the Girls Division, a newly created team, or for a team traveling a great distance to the tournament. If you'd like to be granted an exception to the single-high school rule, please ask.


Do players need to be USA Ultimate members?
The St. Johnsbury Academy Invitational is USA Ultimate sactioned. This means that all players must be USA Ultimate members. You can sign up on the USA Ultimate web page. Accepted teams will need to submit a roster for USA Ultimate membership verification by Friday, April 8th. (Note: Make sure you are signing up for a 2012 membership. The Youth (high school) yearly membership rate is $29.) All teams will be REQUIRED to use USA Ultimate's online rostering system to submit their roster.


Who is in charge of this tournament?
The tournament coordinator is Josh Seamon. All decisions regarding eligibility, acceptance of bids, seeding, and rules will be made by the tournament coordinator. He can be reached via email at


How do you decide which bids to accept?
Our goal is to create a geographically diverse tournament made up of organized, enthusiastic teams. We are also specifically looking for teams that have contributed to the growth of Ultimate in their school, town, or area. We are also impressed by organized teams that respond to emails promptly and get their bids in early.


Where is the tournament?
We have secured fields at St. Johnsbury Academy and at Lyndon Institute, about 15 minutes up the road from SJA. Directions can be found here. The girls divisions will be playing at SJA and the boys will be playing at LI.


What do we get for our money?
The money we collect goes towards team boxes, trophies, lunches, trainers, field fees, discs, program printing fees, tents, as well as many other miscellaneous costs.


Where will we stay in St. Johnsbury?
Housing will be provided for all teams that travel a distance to the tournament and need to stay overnight on Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday night. Your hosts will be St. Johnsbury Ultimate team members and their families. Teams must indicate in their Bid Form whether or not they need housing, and how many people are on the team. Some teams will be able to stay together at one house, others may be split between two houses. Visiting teams must bring sleeping bags, pillows, etc. Most likely you will be sleeping on a floor. All showers will be taken at St. Johnsbury Academy, not at host families houses. After you are accepted into the tournament you will be contacted by our Housing Director. All teams that are assigned hosts must stay with their host(s).


Do we need an adult chaperone?
Absolutely. You must have an adult chaperone if you want to play in the tournament, and the chaperone must be with your team for the entire weekend. Failure to have a chaperone may result in expulsion from the tournament. It is HIGHLY recommended that each team have at least two chaperones. (If a player is sent to the hospital, a chaperone MUST travel with that player. A second chaperone MUST be present at the tournament for the team to continue to play while the first chaperone is away at the hospital.)


Who's submitted a bid?

Girls teams:
St. Johnsbury Academy Varsity Girls, VT (webpage)
St. Johnsbury Academy JV Girls, VT (webpage)

Open teams:
St. Johnsbury Academy Varsity Boys, VT (webpage)
St. Johnsbury Academy JV Boys, VT (webpage)

+ = bid not complete. Contact me to find out what you're missing.


When are bids due?
Bids must be arrive in St. Johnsbury by Friday, February 10th, 2011.


When will accepted teams be notified?
Accepted teams will be notified by Monday, February 13th, 2011.


What happens if it rains?
The SJAI has never been rained out. We have been rained on, but our fields are pretty resilient and our AD isn't as jumpy as some. That being said there is always a chance that some sort of terrible weather will roll in. As it says on the bid form: "As with all outdoor sporting events, the St. Johnsbury Academy Invitational can be canceled or shortened due to weather. The tournament is held on athletic fields used by many teams during the spring and cannot be permanently damaged. Because of the size of the tournament, it is impossible to arrange a rain-date and many of the items needed to run the tournament must be paid for well before the event. If the tournament has to be shortened or canceled due to inclement weather we will not be able to provide full refunds. We will make every effort to provide as much of a refund as possible but no specific refund amount is guaranteed. It is possible that no refund will be possible."


What happens if my team needs to drop from the tournament?
If you need to withdraw from the tournament after you have been given a spot (2/13/11) you will only be given a refund if another team can take your place and you notify the tournament coordinator of your withdrawal before Friday, April 6th. After April 6th, no refunds will be given. If you need to withdraw your bid before 2/13/11 you will be given a full refund. Bid checks are not cashed until the week of 2/13/11.


I want to submit a bid but I don't know how many players I will be bringing to the dinner.
If you don't know how many players you'll be bringing to the dinner, put down an estimate on your bid form with a note saying you'll be sending in your check for the dinner at a later date. Dinner checks are due by Friday, April 6th.