Frequently Asked Questions

What's rule #1 of the tournament?

Spirit of the game and good sportsmanship for all. This is a fun tournament for couples to play together with other couples. The prizes are big enough to be fun to win, but small enough that no one needs to take the games too seriously.

How much does it cost?

$99.17 per couple, plus $15 insurance for each non-USAU player. The fee covers both players on an expensive indoor fields on a winter weekend, pizza for lunch, and $300 of restaurant gift card prizes.

What restaurants are the gift cards for?

There are a variety of gift cards, each one has several national chain restaurants listed on it. They will be couples' choice to pick the card they want, in order of their performance ranking. Four $25 gift cards to the top couples in the speed rounds, then four $50 gift cards to the four couples on the winning team.

How do I sign up?

Each couple signs up as one unit. One player has to make an account and just follow the steps from there. You enter your names, contact email, sign the waiver, USAU IDs, choose an available alliteration couple name (you have more choices the earlier you sign up), and pay to reserve the name.

What should I bring?

Cleats are not allowed on the field, so once sneakers or turf shoes allowed. Everyone should bring a white shirt and a dark shirt. It would be great if your shirts matched your significant other’s to really set yourselves apart as a couple. Water bottles are always a good idea as well. There is a water fountain at the fields.

What if we register and then later found out we can't make it?

Refunds may be given up until February 8. The tournament is built on a format that requires exactly 24 couples and cancellations or changes in the last week could cause issues.

We’re an ok skill-level couple. Do we stand a chance to win?

Yes! After the speed rounds the top 2/3 of the players are all placed on semi-finals teams with relatively equal chances of winning finals.

Are same-sex couples allowed?

Yes. It’s a fun, inclusive tournament. Just be proactively aware of the confusion that may arise when subbing or matching up with someone of the opposite gender. The tournament is officially two guys / two girls per team on the field. Exceptions are made for couples where that gender ratio is an impossibility.

What "confusion" may arise when subbing with same-sex couples?

The official on-field tournament gender ratio is 2/2. The rosters for the speed-dating rounds consist of three couples and the final round teams have four couples each. Members of a same-sex couple can play for either a male or female position in the 2/2 gender ratio. They and the other team should be aware that this will cause periods of mixed-gender match ups on the field. Also when subbing off, the players need to know that after the sub, the gender ratio needs to remain 2/2. This seemed like the best solution to be as inclusionary and fair as possible, while keeping confusion to a minimum.

What if both teams have a same-sex couple?

If the roster genders for both teams match, and they're something like 2M4F, the on-field ratio will be 1M3F. In short- if there's a way to have genders match, and not require someone to "play" the opposite gender, and not make anyone play savage, that's the best option.

Are non-romantic couples allowed?

Yep! Though they should be aware of the romantic theme of the tournament- it’s like taking a friend to prom.

Is there an advantage to being the first to sign up?

Yes! Because of math, only one couple in the tournament gets to play with or against every other couple in the tournament. The first couple to sign up gets that honor.

Why are games and halves 14:30?

Because “143” means “I love you”!

$99.17 seems like an oddly specific fee.

Wanting to give the tournament as much romantic vibes as possible, and the cost would have to be about $100 per person. There's nothing super romantic about $100. But the TD did marry his frisbee partner (and of course had a mini ultimate tournament) on his wedding day- September 9, 2017.

How are teams made?

Each couple has a letter/alliteration when signing up. The alliterated name (“Lucky in Love”, “Flirtatious Flicks”, “Romantic Runners”) corresponds to their letter. The schedule will show things like “AKW vs GJT”. The schedule is already made, just waiting for couples to pick their letters to fill it in.

What if we want a different alliteration name?

If you have an appropriate alliteration name that you want to use that corresponds to an available letter, just email dan@honeypassny.com and I'll change it for you. The sooner you sign up, the more options you have!

If the teams are made randomly, doesn’t that mean there’s a chance a really strong team could play a really weak team?

Yes. That’s by design. After 7 games there needs to be enough differences in the games to rank the couples for the semi-finals teams.

Why does only the first honey point per couple per game count as an extra point?

There will be a variety of skill levels among couples. If a high-level couple is paired with a weaker couple, we don’t want the high-level couple encouraged to hog the disc to keep throwing honey points. We want them to be encouraged to have the weaker couple make a honey point as well. This is also part of the reason why every couple on a team gets an extra point for a honey point on their team.

What are the byes, etc in the speed rounds like?

Each couple will play 7 games and have 7 byes. No couple will have more than two games in a row or two byes in a row. Also every couple is guaranteed to be on at least three home teams and at least three away teams.

How are speed round couples’ ranks tallied?

How do you measure love? If you really want to know the algorithm- each couple gets a point for every time their team scored, another point for each couple on their team that scored a honey point, another point for every game they themselves scored a honey point, plus two points for each time they won a game, plus 50% of the “won by” points, 1/3 point for a tie, minus 50% of the total times they were scored against. Through the law of averages, at the end of the speed rounds, there will be a diverse range of couples’ scores for tallying. If there is a meaningful tie in the rankings, the couples would play the cross toss for a tie-breaker.

What is a “meaningful tie”?

A tie where the result would effect the order of the top 4 pairs (who will become captains of the semi-finals teams) or 16th place, if it will determine whether or not a couple makes it into the semi-finals. Any ties 5th through 15th place will just be ordered however the computer decides to output them (insider tip: it’s the order that couples sign up).

What is the “cross toss”?

To resolve a meaningful tie, a pair of couples stand on either sideline across from their partner and without stepping onto the field space, try to throw as many completions as possible in less than a minute. This can be done simultaneously or consecutively, whichever makes the most logistical sense at the time. Whoever throws the most, wins.

Hey, it’s one of the last speed rounds and I already played against two of the couples on the other team but there are several couples that I haven’t played against yet.

Chances are at least one of your couple teammates, who you’ve never played with yet, hasn’t played against any of the couples on the other team, and/or they already twice played some of the couples you never matched up against. It's just how the math works out when trying to get everyone to play with everybody else.

Will we be fed?

There will be pizza delivered during the afternoon that you can help yourself to during your byes. Toppings will be chosen based on player preferences as chosen on the pizza page.

Hey it’s game time and one of my teammate couples isn’t here yet. Do we have to play savage?

Bad news- yes. Good news- this would only happen during the speed rounds where the halves are only 435 seconds long. AND if you play a game missing a player or two, you get an extra point for each player missing. Note- if they come late, the players who were there on time get to decide whether to let the late players play or take the extra point(s).

What factors were considered in organizing the teams for the speed rounds?

A lot! Teams were designed so that no couple would play on the same team with no other couple more than once; no couple could play against another couple more than twice; no couple would play more than two games in a row; no couple would have more than two byes in a row; and every couple would be on a home team either 3 or 4 times. There are trillions upon trillions of team combinations, and only a microscopic percentage would meet these requirements. Of those found, the one that had the fewest repeat opponents and fewest couple pairings who never share a game, that was the chosen one.

What are some strategies to do well in the speed rounds?

Score as many points as possible. It’s not just about wins vs losses… it’s about how much you win by. Score a honey point each game- those are worth 3 points to you. Help your teammates score a honey point each game- those are worth 2 points to you. Don’t let your opponents score points… and watch out for their honey points as they could add up against you.

What about ultimate-specific rules of the tourney?

Pretty standard indoor ultimate fare. Stall 7, continuous play (make a point, drop it, the other team picks it up and plays), sub-on-the-fly (must touch hands), no time-outs, gender ratio officially 2M-2F on the field (exceptions made for teams with same-sex couples), general USAU rules, home/white team pulls from the office side to start, nets and ceiling are out, have fun. Speed-round games can end in a tie, finals keep going until next point.