From Luke Walden
The thing I remember most fondly about James is his enthusiasm and
excitement. At my first Ultimate Frisbee tournament we camped out at the
fields somewhere North of London, and I remember James being up early with
his campstove cooking up a lot of bacon and offering it around to everyone
who came by. He was so excited to be camping out with the team and so
pleased with himself for having the foresight and camp skills to get a good
hot meal cooked at 8 AM Sunday morning. He played very well tha day, and
all day he kept mentioning how the bacon breakfast was really doing him
good and keeping up his energy all day. That first tournament was terrific
fun and convinced me that this was the game for me. I think a lot of what
made it so fun to be with the team that weekend (in the rain of course) was
the warm enthusiasm and youthful energy and excitement of James. I believe
he was 15 years old. It was October of 1995 and I've been playing Ultimate
ever since.
James made another contribution to the team and to my ultimate experience
that I still wear at least every other week. In the Spring of 1997, the
team was in need of new kit. I was somehow responsible for this project
and when James mentioned a good idea for a T-shirt during a team practice,
I commissioned him to draw up a design. When he gave me some drawings and
I sent him back some suggestions for improvements, he impressed me by
replying that he knew he could make it better and that he would keep on
working. Sure enough, the next week he handed me several different versions
of a design that would eventually become my favorite T-shirt. He drew a
big "SB" in the style of the "S" on Superman's chest for the front. For
the back he wrote "Strange Blue" in a very convincing rendition of the
"Superman" typeface and the added "Cambridge Ultimate" in a simple yet
elegant typeface of his own invention. The royal blue shirts with red and
gold graphics were an instant hit with the team and with every team we
played that season. We believed that even if we weren't the best team at a
tournament, we were certainly the best looking! My favorite picture of the
team shows us all ripping open our coats (another rainy tournament, this
time in Leicester) to reveal our Superhero identities in the form of James'
fantastic shirt design. One of our smaller members is held aloft over our
heads, arms outstretched like our patron hero.
I have thought recently of retiring that t-shirt to my nostalgia
collection, but now I know that I can't. Another Autumn Ultimate season is
gearing up in America and I will need every bit of inspiration I can get
while I am trying out for a competetive team in New York. James' shirt
will always help me remember to be enthusiastic and energetic and have as
much fun as I can while playing hard and trying to fly like Superman. I
thank him for that. His playfull good spirit will remain with me.
My best wishes to James' family and friends in this extremely sad time.
Sincerely,
Luke Walden