I'm not sure how many people know this, but Ottawa has the largest summer ultimate league in the…read moreworld. With over 5000 members, many Ottawa residents partake in this sport that's continuously gaining popularity around the world. After many years of an organized sports hiatus, I started playing ultimate two years ago and just finished my last fall game today. It's a fun sport with many tiers for different competitive levels, so everyone can find a team they fit with. Other than its astounding popularity, I also would call this "Local Flavour" because I think it expresses some part of Ottawa's culture and appeal. For example, it's a sport that is able to flourish because of Ottawa's extensive amount of green spaces. Players travel all over Ottawa and as far as Manotick to play games. Also, ultimate frowns upon boisterous competitiveness and bluntness and embraces polite non-confrontation: sound familiar, Ottawa? In an active city with many organized teams, OCUA seems to be one of the most popular. For me, there's nothing like playing a game in a muddy field in the middle of a July rainstorm or playing at 10pm in the middle of nowhere with 20 other people who may not otherwise hang out with each other. On that note, it's also a great way to meet new people.

Located at the corner of Hunt Club and Greenbank in the middle of a field is a slug. Well, no it…read moreisn't a slug, but it looks like it. the Super Dome is a big, beige inflatable dome in Nepean. It is absolutely ugly from the outside. On the inside, however, it is a multi sport indoor field area. Golf, soccer, football, frisbee, you can do them all in this dome. A certain amount of time is rented to teams each week, and a certain amount is dedicated to golf, so getting in isn't easy. It is a nice and badly needed facility for year round play

I've had a chance to play a few sessions under Ottawa Footy Sevens and they're a pretty solid…read moreleague. My problems with the league are still there and I find their prices are still very solid. They have started offering some football sessions for beginners which is pretty neat. I don't know the prices but have had some friends who have never played soccer sign up. Their turf leagues are still pretty good prices compared to some of the other leagues. They run a league at Carleton that is a little expensive and you play on some weird carpet. You can sign up for a Carleton league directly bypassing OFS for a bit of a discount. It's a fun workout but they really need to push up competitive players/teams in the recreational divisions. Some other sports leagues in Ottawa are able to do this, I hope OFS can figure a way to do this at some point.

I had a pretty rough experience. The co-ed team had a female captain who was very rude and…read morestandoffish. She would answer everyone's emails but mine. God forbid I could not make it to the 10 pm game, she hated me after that. LOL. I am thinking this is going to be a good experience, you know as an amateur player to get the love of the game, this woman made me hate it now. I eventually broke my ankle playing tennis and emailed them/her about it, she never responded to my emails (could be my race too). BUT she did respond to everyone else (not my race) who was not going to come. So at the end of it all, I have no idea what her problem with was, she was rude and super detached. IF that is the captain then gosh I don't know about the rest of the teams. I am not sure if I will be back to the team next time but I am definitely going to request to NOT have her in my team. She is not a team player AT ALL.

I went to the Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex to attend a music class, but checked out all the…read morefacilities while I was here. This is a great centre for anyone in Orleans, but would still be great even if you could get to it from farther away, since this complex has a lot to offer. There is an extensive program listing in the City of Ottawa catalogues including sports instruction, music, art, fitness and other classes. I had a friend who taught here and she got full access to all the facilities as a benefit. The gym here is great and so is the pool. Weekend mornings are busy with kids hockey, figure skating and swimming.

It's a top quality facility. I go there to play squash every week and the quality of the squash…read morecourts is better than other places I have seen at other places in Ottawa (such as Carleton U) and the price of admission is cheaper too ($8.00 for adults and $6.15 for students). For indoor racquet sports they have both squash and racquetball courts, including squash courts with a sort of staging area behind the court, which is a nice touch. They also have a pool, arena, fitness equipment, and a large number of other facilities. I haven't used the pool yet but I have heard good things about it while the fitness equipment looks nice (although I am not exactly an expert in judging the quality of fitness equipment). Changing facilities are on the small side, but the washrooms and shower area in the men's area are nice and clean, including a hot tub. Also parking is free, which is an added bonus compared to university owned recreation facilities.