Staff report

VERSAILLES — In 1982, a group of friends (Mark Simons, Brice Schieltz, Chuck Blinn, John Pohl, Wade Barga, Dan Young, Jeff Warrick, Rob Berger, Randy Bey, Bob Batty and Dale Wilker) from Versailles and the surrounding communities organized the first Poultry Days Ultimate Frisbee Championship with the hometown Blue Meanies beating the Diamond Dawgs of Dayton to win the title. The annual Poultry Days tournament has grown to become a top tournament and one of three “bucket list” tournaments drawing several thousand players and friends to Versailles each year. Players from around the nation and international teams visit Versailles where residents and businesses take pride in giving them a warm welcome.

The Ultimate Tournament has developed its own traditions including an Egg Eating contest for charity and strong connection to the Miss Chick Pageant. The Ultimate players vie for Miss Chick to choose them as “Mr. Cluck”. After Jeff Warrick and Dan Goubeaux were both lost to leukemia, the tournament has raised money to donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America. In 2012 after 30 years, Dale Wilker moved on to running USA Ultimate events including College Nationals and the US Open. Rodger Oakes of Oshadega has successfully taken over the tournament for the last ten years. Congratulations to the past and present organizers, volunteers, and teams, on 40 years of Ultimate in Versailles. Consider Versailles your home the second weekend in June.

This year’s Poultry Days Ultimate Tournament event will be held at 10200 Klipstine Road in Versailles.

Versailles will host an Ultimate Frisbee match between Teams USA and Canada as they prepare for the World Games to be hosted by the United States in 2022. The World Games is an 11-day international multi-sport event organized with the support of the International Olympic Committee. Held the year following the Summer Olympic Games, The World Games showcase a new generation of sports. An anticipated 3,600 elite athletes from over 100 countries will compete for gold in more than 30 of the fastest growing sports in the world.

Team USA will compete against Team Canada at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 11 during the Poultry Days festival. The match will be held inside the high school track on festival grounds. The event is FREE and open to the public. This match is part of the weekend’s Poultry Days festivities including the 50 team Poultry Days Ultimate Tournament drawing over 2,000 of the best players from across the United States.

Team USA is made of up 20 men and women from across the USA including Scott Taylor from Columbus, Ohio. Scott currently resides in Charleston, North Carolina and attended Carleton College in Minnesota. These athletes are the best in the United States and have earned the right to compete in the largest stage on which ultimate players compete.

Team Canada is bringing back four veteran World Games members (who won Bronze in 2017 Poland) but is new to this level of competition and very young. While the youngest player is only 21, all team members have been a part of previous Team Canadas including 2 members of the U20 Women’s team which won gold in Poland. The team includes players from British Colombia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. For coaches, both Carla and Matty have both coached and played at the highest level, with both being part of the Bronze-medaling WUGC teams in Japan and winning 2019 Canadian Nationals as head coaches of Toronto 6ixers and Vancouver Furious George respectively.

The event will be held at 459 Center Street, Versailles, Ohio with parking on nearby streets. First time visitors to the festival will want to avoid entering the village from the south on State Route 185 as that is the famous drive thru chicken line serving over 30,000 chicken dinners over the weekend.

Bleacher seating is available but visitors are welcome to bring lawn chairs. Visit VersaillesPoultryDays.com for full festival details or follow us on Facebook for live updates. Serving up summer fun since 1952.