As a healthy guy who had never previously spent the night in the hospital other than to attend the birth of my son, I was pretty darn surprised to wake up last Monday in the Intensive Care Unit after a long, hot Saturday of Ultimate. Apparently I had gone into a seizure shortly after coming home and had been on life support for the following 48 hours. My nephrologist diagnosed my condition as Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia, otherwise described as a severe case of overhydration in which other factors were also at play. The condition is somewhat rare, but can most often be seen in super-endurance athletes and military recruits. It can also be fatal.

Basically, I had prepared for the ridiculous 105 degree heat index of the first day of the Cornhusker State Games as I knew I should, with plenty of water and sports drink. I drank a ton. Over the course of four long games, I drank four 32 oz bottles of sports drink and probably an equal amount of water. Turns out that was a bit too much, and the ibuprofen I took after the second game didn't help things. I actually felt great while we played, but after finishing, my body wouldn't calm down. Once at home, I could not stop breathing heavy, I became light-headed, and my muscles began cramping. Mistaking my symptoms as heat exhaustion and/or dehydration, I drank more water. Then I vomited uncontrollably, seized, and passed out.

The doctors later told me that the amount of water I drank (despite the amount of sports drink), in combination with the sweating and the very little amount of food I had that day, caused my sodium levels to drop. The ibuprofen had apparently prevented what electrolytes I had from being properly absorbed and processed into my body as well. I spent the next week confined to a hospital bed being flushed by multiple IVs to make sure my kidneys were functioning and my muscle enzymes, which were continuing to destroy my muscle fibers all week, were going down to an acceptable level. That sucked, man.

Now, many of us Ultimate players have been aware of recent articles such as this which state that ibuprofen does not necessarily help as a preventative measure, but this situation takes it a step further. I know this is a very common practice in the Ultimate community. Further, while it is obviously important on long sweaty days such as an Ultimate tournament to stay hydrated, take care to replace what you are losing, with an adequate level of electrolytes, without going to excess on the water. Not everyone's body will react the same way, and I certainly wasn't in my finest condition prior to that hot day, but I've also always paid attention to my body and tried to stay educated on health issues. This was new to me, and quite frightening. My wife appreciated it none too much, either. Be careful out there, everyone.

More info on Hyponatremia here and here.

-Baer

LUDA's second annual LollapaLUDA (free) hat tournament is just around the corner!

LollapaLUDA II will take place on Sunday, November 8th at Woods Park (33rd & O St.) in Lincoln, NE. We'll kick things off with the drawing of names to form teams around 10am or so and start competing shortly thereafter. Depending on the number of teams we end up with, we'll play until 4pm or so.

After a hearty day of ultimate, we'll declare a champion, eat huge burritos supplied free of charge by Chipotle, and adjourn to a local (all ages) establishment for further fellowship and the legendary awards ceremony.

The grand prize of course, presented to the tournament-winning team, is the coveted Bradford Franklin Award For Outstanding Achievement In The Field Of Excellence, but there will be other prizes and trophies given out, as well. These other honors may include but are not limited to the Spirit Award, Greatest Award, and any others the Minds of LUDA come up with.

Bananas, water, and bagels will be available at the fields. Come with a pair of cleats, sufficient clothing, and as many friends as possible.

Be sure to sign up online so we know you're coming! It'll just take a minute, we promise.

Feel free to visit the LollapaLUDA II page and/or the facebook event page.

LUDA is proud to welcome guest blogger Tim Hoarty. In addition to being instrumental in Omaha's Rigor Mortis and SOUL (Omaha's summer league), Hoarty organizes the annual Battle In The Bluffs tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa every August. Because most of us LUDA folks were busy playing with Fire At The Circus at BitB instead of tracking the event as a whole, we asked him to break down the tourney for us.

Although we had aimed to attract more teams this year, we held strong at 9 teams for the second year. A lot of young tournaments die off, and I believe that with the work we've put in over the last two years Battle in the Bluffs has a strong foundation. The date of the tournament may change in the future to attract more teams, possibly on a weekend with no competing tournaments and earlier in the summer.

I thought things ran smoothly, although I realized this year that if the tournament gets any bigger I will not be able to run it alone. I received a lot of help from my teammates and friends of Nebraska Ultimate, including volunteers picking up fruit and water for the teams, transportation of tournament necessities, setting up and taking down the fields and Frisbee central area.

We really appreciate the generosity and hospitality of Diane and Rachael Green. For the second straight year they have allowed ultimate players to camp and swim at their house in Iowa, which is 15 minutes from the fields and a place that I have effectively used as home base for Battle in the Bluffs. Dennis Hopp is also an invaluable asset to our tournament, bringing his large tent and massage therapy for all players and spectators.

Council Bluffs Parks and Recreation treated us well again this year, and we had a great water setup and lined fields, which are two perks that I think may help draw teams back in the future. The party was a success, held at the Spillway Grill and Bar. Pulled pork and free cold beer are also two things I will not sacrifice - necessities of a successful tournament!

I was also happy with the way the storm on Sunday was handled. We played for as long as we could, and when we had to suspend play due to lightning concerns, everyone dealt with the inconvenience positively, and luckily we were able to get back underway within about 20-25 minutes and finish all games before the real storm rolled in.

Thoughts on different teams:

Rigor Mortis performed well, losing 15-12 in the finals to archnemesis Gnarwhal from Des Moines, IA. Rigor Mortis and Gnarwhal have an interesting history, going back to last year's Battle in the Bluffs I when Gnarhwal defeated Rigor in an epic 17-15 comeback victory. Rigor will most likely see Gnarwhal again next weekend at Cooler Classic in Milwaukee, which will be the third time in four weekends for the two teams. Gnarwhal had a few close games, but as expected returned to the finals and this time won, finishing 6-0.

Silage, UNL's alumni team, played well, as did Fire at the Circus, Lincoln's club open team. The depth at the club level in Nebraska is rising as there are now three legitimate club teams - Rigor Mortis, FatC, and Silage.

FatC had arguably its best tournament to date, defeating Cornfed but losing a heartbreaker to Stud Muffins to be eliminated from contention. FatC is now undeniably prepared to play against anyone in the region, and not a team to underestimate.

Cornfed played well, scoring plenty of points although it finished with a losing record. They played tough opponents all weekend, and lost several players to Silage and the other Nebraska teams.

Minor Offense, Nebraska's youngest team, got several new players' feet wet and was able to beat Atticus Flick, a new team from Kansas City, Kansas. Omaha Club was unable to knock off the higher seeds but held strong against the lower seeds, finishing around middle of the pack. Stud Muffins, from the Twin Cities, had a good first tournament together, reaching the Semifinals before falling.

-Tim Hoarty

Editor's note: BitB is a well-run tournament and is increasingly fun due to the many local and regional rivalries that play out all tournament long. If you have a team located anywhere within driving distance of Council Bluffs, you won't regret submitting a bid for next year.