Frequently Asked Questions

How do I sign up?

Visit the registration section of the website here.

What does it cost?

$100, $120 or $150 depending on how early you pay - see the registration page for more details.

What is a hat tournament?

A hat tournament is where individuals enter rather than teams, and on the first morning each person's name is drawn out of a hat to allocate them to a team. You then play with that team for the rest of the weekend. (For information on Ultimate Frisbee see here.)

What is the Melbourne Hat?

The Melbourne Hat is the largest hat tournament in Australia. It is one of the oldest and biggest tournaments in the country, drawing players from all over the world, with all levels of experience. Beginners are especially welcome!! We make every effort to ensure that all the teams are balanced, so it is a great way of getting tournament experience in a very spirited environment.

What's all this about "spirit"?

Ultimate is one of the few sports that requires all players to play with sporting spirit. In fact it is integral to the game as there are no umpires. The organisers of The Melbourne Hat have always encouraged good spirited play: we give an award to the most spirited team, the main tie-breaker is team spirit points, and those points are also used to select the tournament MVPs. So a team's spirit will even affect the individual awards. Sadly declining over the last few years, cheers at the end of the game will be a necessary component for this Hat.

How does the draw work?

The draw this year will have 24 teams playing in pools on the first day (4 pools of 6). The second day will see the top sixteen (16) teams aiming to get to the final while the bottom 8 teams will have playoff games for ranking brackets.

How are the games organised?

Games are time-capped 70 minutes, with mirrored half at 8 and two 2-minute time-outs (the final is 70 minutes, first to 15, with mirrored half at 8. At the siren, finish the point and the winner is decided. If the scores are level, next point wins). Time-cap: the game ends at the completion of the next two throws after the siren. If the score is then tied, this score stands. No time-outs after time-cap. Team ranking (in order): games won, spirit points (out of 10, no half points), WFDF tie-breaker, Pistols at dawn (but we won't wait for that), and disc flip. WFDF rules apply. Are you still reading?

What happens next?

Once you have registered and paid your fee, simply make your way to Melbourne. You can turn up to the golf on the Friday night, or just arrive at the fields on the Saturday morning. We publish a list of those registees who have paid their fees: once your name is on that list you will go into the Hat.

What do I do if I've registered and I can't get to the Hat?

Please email the TD. They will refund your fee. Even if you haven't paid please let us know. The registrations are used to plan for how many people are attending the tournament.

What if I can only play Saturday or Sunday?

Due to the popularity of this year's Melbourne Hat, we are not catering for 1 day players at this stage. If you have registered and can only play one day of the tournament, please contact John Hempel immediately.

Who can I contact about important dietary requirements?

If you have specific dietary requirements that you would like the TOC to be aware of, please email Cath Matthews.