2020 jul 1 > 5

The first BDP took place during the summer solstice weekend of 1997, from Thursday June 19th to Sunday June 22. Like most wonderful things in this world, “serendipity” was highly involved in the origin of what turned out to be a magical event. It all started with a push from an Italian Ultimate player (Peldi) to Michele Mengucci (Mik), who was living in Lisbon at the time. Considering that there were very few Ultimate players in Portugal at the time, the idea of having folk to play Ultimate with for a few days was highly inviting. The next step was to find the venue; a place to sleep and space to set up fields. Grass is not easily available in the Lisbon area, so it had to be a beach… preferably a big beautiful one.

The first priority was to find lodging close to a beach, so Patrick and I set out South of Lisbon where the sand bars and dunes are notoriously spacious. Eventually we got to Meco, and went to the largest campsite there to feel the vibes. Not cool. No noise after 12 am is going to result in some serious problems. We then went to a smaller campsite in Lagoa de Albufeira and found O Repouso… and it was the perfect place to “sleep”! No restrictions on noise, a helpful owner of a minimarket and staff, and a wonderful space where we could set up our “village”.

Next came the beach… so some weekends later Patrick and I headed back to the campsite accompanied by Mik, parked the car at the campsite, and started walking towards the sea. For all of you who have intentionally or non-intentionally made this walk, I don’t need to describe the geographical grandiosity of the place. When we got to the enormous sand bars where the lagoon meets the sea there was a bar. After talking to the owners, it was clear this was not the place… and the bar was too far from flat sand where we could set up fields anyway. So on walking, talking and smoking along the water break we went. Eventually, and I mean a delayed eventually, Mik saw a lifebuoy full of algae at the shore. It was a sign. He picked it up and started running, in his long legged Gazelle like way, up the beach away from the shore… and there was a small bar that looked like it had been dragged in by the sea- Bar do Peixe. We were immediately welcomed, encouraged, and supported to host our little event. This was it! Dates were set, bureaucracies taken care of, and people invited.

In June, a total of fifty eight players from all over came to from Austria (3), Belgium (1), Germany (4), Holland (1), Hungary (2), Italy (8), Portugal (7), Spain (10), Switserland (7), UK (13), and the US (1). All the tents were set up around a campfire (in the space we have the campfire now) and the fun began! Although we had a place to sleep and fields, the rest of the organization was ramshackle and funky at best. But it worked! No stresses! Loosely organized late dinners were taken care of, and lots of partying at the bar and at the campsite. The magic started before it started… if that makes any sense… and we had a full moon lighting up our village the whole weekend.

The shuttle service between the campsite and the beach was something to remember. An old Peugeot Station Wagon driven by Mik with tones of people in and on the car would make its way back and forth. On the beach, the wind was fierce! It was amazing how everyone adapted and 8 teams of 7 or 8 players had competitive games and lots of fun. The now traditional naked Ultimate game was played just before sunset on Saturday, the longest day of the year. What a great game! All these Portuguese families watching… high level Ultimate played by naked people!

And the parties… oh man! Every night, right after the games at the beach dancing on the tables, you know the scene! Then the campsite, campfires every night, guitar, Ultimate with torches as cones on the dirt field, and just hanging out getting nicely plastered until crawling into the tent. Saturday night’s party at the Bar was amazing! We still do not know who that local man was that ended up in his underwear on stage dancing with a naked Swiss player, who was desperately trying to take off the few clothes he had on. There was a traffic jam from the village to come see Sr. Whatever getting down and dirty! We all laughed our heads off :-) Since our shuttle driver was not in any condition to drive, most of us slept on the beach that night…

At the end of the tournament, there was a team Champion as well as a Spirit Of the Game winner. Peldi’s team won SOTG… and got the green algae covered buoy as a trophy!

So, as I said before, it was magical…. As it has continued to be for the many years and will be for many more.