Dear Lei-Out,
This is my 2nd year as the TD for Lei-Out after working as the scheduler since 2004.
I love this tournament. I care about making it the best and I vow to improve it even more this year.
Lei-Out is one of the largest beach tournaments in the United States and in the world! We’re excited to be back this MLK weekend, January 18th and 19th. And for the third year in a row we will be in Huntington Beach.
The party will be hosted by Legacy Night Club and Lounge (formerly Envy). Last year the party was a huge success and this year it will be even better. Expect all the fun and games of last year with a few new surprises. We can’t wait to party with you!
We’ve made a lot of strides in the past two years to overhaul the experience. We’ve increased staff, shuttles, and environmental sustainability. We care about accountability and transparency.
We sent out a post-tournament survey last year and the responses showed us you were really happy with the changes. We hope to maintain that and hopefully surpass your expectations in 2020 and beyond.
I think you’re going to have an amazing time and I can’t wait to see you out on the sand.
Andy Bandit
Tournament Director
TOURNAMENT STAFF
Presenting the hard-working folks who bring this wonderful event to you
I’ve been enjoying Lei-Out since I first captained a team in 2003 and have been doing the scheduling since 2004. I’m also former President of LAOUT and currently sit on their Board. It’s a huge honor to be TD cause I love Lei-Out. My teams have had stripper poles, ice luges, pillow fights and put a bed on the field. I’m excited to see what we can do to continue to make this one of the best tournaments in the world.
I started playing Ultimate competitively at UCSD in 1999 and ever since, chasing the disc on beach or grass has been my go-to happy place. For me, a successful tournament is ALL about the party, and my goal is to deliver a kick-ass time that brings us all together. At a tourney party you’ll typically find me with a drink in hand on the dance floor, in costume, sporting sparkles and glitter while making out gratuitously… and I expect nothing less from all of you!
A little about me! I’m a proud Vermonter staying in Los Angeles indefinitely while I avoid the snow. I love to play most all sports, but ultimate and basketball I think are truly the best. I’ve been playing ultimate since 1999 and I’ve been playing Leiout with The Fat Unicorns since 2012 (FKA Disco). When I’m not in the office or playing some (flat)ball I like to go out on a hike and enjoy nature, or travel back to the northeast and hang out with my 12 siblings or 30 nieces and nephews (we’re starting an army). If you see me on the field stop by for a beer and ask me all these questions about my family.
Punky is a long-time member of the Los Angeles ultimate community. She attended her first Leiout in 2007, and doesn’t understand why anyone would ever leave LA or the magic that is beach ultimate in January. She’s super excited to be coordinating volunteers for Leiout. Known for her loud voice, big hugs, and crazy leggings, Punky loves new friends! Especially those who also want to set-up fields and refill water…
My first Leiout was shortly after I first arrived in LA, and I still remember the awe I felt seeing so many teams…and also how much my calves hurt after a weekend playing in the sand for the first time! I’m recently married to an Ultimate Muggle, and we live with our two furbabies in the South Bay. I’m excited to be part of the Leiout team this year, especially as part of the Medical Team, as it allows me to combine two of the biggest parts of my life into one amazing weekend!
We have been playing Ultimate for ages (don’t be fooled by our youthful demeanors) and we met on the beaches of Santa Monica. Since our college days (Enway at UCI and Ed at UCLA) we have been active in the LA Ultimate community as that is where we met a lot of our close friends. Helping with the registration process at Leiout for the past couple of years has been a joy because, in addition to facilitating the tournament itself, we get to meet and interact with all the teams. You may recall us yelling at you to register your teams and to remind you to turn in your score cards at the end of the day. Even if you’ve already registered your team come hang out with us at Frisbee Central! We are proud to act as the Directors of Registration and look forward to another successful Leiout.
I am so excited to join Andy in making LeiOut the tournament everyone has been dreaming about. I’ve worked with Andy and LAOUT in the past as treasurer of LAOUT, to organize St. Pat’s Hat, and to run some pretty awesome teams, most notably the food loving Animal Style. My passion for ultimate, food, friends, and fun, make me most pumped to be able to be able to bring all those things together for an awesome weekend. I promise to share the food and only bite if you get too close to my mouth!
I have been playing ultimate since my high school days in Pittsburgh. Organizing and helping run tournaments since 2005, I now design websites, logos, & jerseys for tournaments, teams, & organizations around the country. When I’m not working on design projects, you can typically find me playing ultimate at the beach.
I’m super excited to be a part of the Lei Out team after coming to the tournament (almost) every year since 2014. I started playing in college and played competitively for a while – but recently came to terms with being better at all things social. These days, you can find me at party tournies in South Africa to SoCal – I’ll be the girl covered in glitter, covering you in glitter, and drinking out of plastic flamingos. As a PR/social media guru IRL, I’ve often been tasked with the Tweeter machine for teams I’ve played on. This year, it gets real. Follow @LeiOutUltimate and let’s see where this journey takes us.
Back in 2004, at the University of Michigan, I almost quit playing ultimate after my first tournament, because the weather conditions were too cold for my liking. Little did I know, that I was destined to live in Southern California, where Winter League is actually Beach League. My love of beach ultimate grew immensely and I quickly discovered LeiOut weekend is like no other. I’ve seen great strides in the tournament (and party!) over the past 8 years and I look forward to being part of the team to continue to make LeiOut the best beach tournament in the world.
Lance has been both playing and filming Ultimate since 2011, first with promotional videos for his church’s college ministry, and now with the AUDL, Los Angeles Angeles Aviators, Los Angeles Ninety-Nines, and for various events around Los Angeles (LAOUT, USAU, and CUA). For the past several years, he has been heading up and organizing Ultimate events in Santa Clarita, and is currently working with the city to get better recognition for the sport, and to form adult programs. Outside of Ultimate, Lance enjoys hiking, the beach, time with friends, loves coffee, and most of all, enjoys his walk with Christ. 2019 was his first time at LeiOut. He is excited to be the Director of Media, and to see the sport of Ultimate continue to grow.
Travis F. Smith is the owner of Hop Studios, a socially progressive-esque graphic design and tech development company that strives to undertake ever-more meaningful projects. Travis has been building elegant and content-rich Web sites since 1994 — he was one of the creators of the Los Angeles Times website, the editor of Variety.com, and a lecturer at USC and BCIT. In his “spare” time, he spreads joy by serving the World Flying Disc Federation as chair of the Spirit of the Game Committee. He currently lives in Calgary, Canada.
I’ve been playing Lei Out for… aww, well before you kids were born! I’ve had the unique privilege of playing with our illustrious tournament director and the awesome TASAITY/TSA/Doctors Without Boundaries team for years. Lei Out has given me some of my fondest ultimate memories, so I’m excited to help make it an even better tournament by making it a sustainable one. These days, the environment needs all the help it can get, so we’re going to do our best to make Lei-Out an eco-friendly event with an eye towards making it a carbon-neutral one in the years to come. There’s a lot of work to do, but I’m excited to be a part of it. Go Pats!!
Kelsey is new to the Leiout scene, debuting in 2017 during the Sunday downpour, but had enough faith to return in 2018 with the visit that ultimately convinced her to move to the west coast. She began her ultimate career in Philadelphia shortly after graduating college, and is still trying to get used to the fact that “winter league” is played on the beach, and that many players compete on beach with no intention of drinking! Kelsey is here to answer your website and registration questions, and to offer any unsolicited sarcasm she can sneak into an e-mail.
MER has been playing ultimate for 25+ years. She is also the Secretary of SCYU (Southern California Youth Ultimate) and coaches the Los Angeles Wildfire, a U20 youth ultimate team. She used to hate beach ultimate until she first played at Leiout. Leiout is a special tournament that combines the beauty of the beach, competitive play, with just the right amount of spirited silliness. It’s what brings her back to play year after year. This is her second year as Leiout staff.
Lauren Hill (pronouns: she/hers) has been playing ultimate in LA since 2005 and has been wearing this shit-eating grin about it ever since. As a teammate and friend of Andy Bandit’s (and fellow cat-lover) it’s her honor to work with Lei Out to help make it a wonderful experience for everyone!
Christi first started playing ultimate when a friend convinced her to sign up for a Women’s Beach League in 2012, and she hasn’t stopped since. What was first just a fun, weird sport to play has since turned into becoming an active LAOUT Board member and now helping with her favorite beach tourney, LeiOut.
I have been playing Ultimate for several years (or 25+) and still can’t spin a disc on my finger, but I can help make Lei Out more awesome, by bringing great companies to the beach for you to learn about, love and enjoy.
James Erdmann (pronouns: he/his) has been playing ultimate in LA since 2012 and it’s his second year working to get everyone free stuff. James partners with a variety of ultimate non-profits, but this year he’ll be playing with Ultimate Peace. (www.ultimatepeace.org/donate)
I’ve been playing Ultimate since 2000, when I started playing summer league in Chicago. I’m the VP of LAOUT and the National Mixed Director for Club Ultimate for USA Ultimate. I sit on USAU’s Competition Committee & Club Working Group, helping to organize and plan each upcoming club season with an emphasis on big picture growth for the future of our sport. When not at the office, I’m probably playing Ultimate, organizing Ultimate, or Crossfitting.
I’ve been playing ultimate in Illinois but moved to LA in 2010. I first started off as a “program” in the world of ElecTRONica at Disneyland California Adventure throwing discs for a living and now I am but a humble math teacher in West Hollywood. I play in the LA leagues and help run our youth organization, SCYU. SCYU helps bring the love of ultimate to future generations while spreading the spirit of the game.
Greta is the orange juice to Chelsea’s champagne to make the perfect mimosa.
They also love frisbee.
LeiOut