The weather was perfect all weekend, though a little windy on the first morning. Twelve teams made it to this year’s tournament, with teams from Perth, Adelaide, New South Wales and Canberra, making the trip north. In attendance were 3 teams who will be representing Australia at the World Ultimate Club Championships in Perth in the Mixed Division: Blokes & Sheila’s (ACT), Sublime (WA) and tournament hosts Bootius Maximus (QLD).
Games between those three teams were very close, with Sublime and Booty deadlocked in a draw, but the real powerhouse team for the weekend were the undefeated Bender, whose line up comprised 7 current/ex Australian representatives! (Tom & Anna Rogacki, Jonathon Potts, Chris Burwell, Piers Truter, Sandra Poon, Mat Ryan)
Bender led throughout the final versus Booty, and despite a late charge by Booty, were able to comfortably take it out 15-11. A highlight from the final was Jonathon Potts bringing down a huge grab amongst a big pack - having caught the disc with his broken arm (which was in a cast and wrapped in bubble wrap)!!
The return of the tournament to Brisbane also saw the return of State of Origin, although this year it was QLD versus The Universe! QLD, lead by Mike Neild, had a few first time players (James Larkin, Russell Johnson, Chris Cunliffe, Andy Lankowski and Brett Matzuka) as well as the old faithful crew. Unfortunately The Universe was without Tom Rogacki, but still boasted a strong line-up (JD, Piers, Adam Mortimer), and were able to take the early lead 6-3. A time-out was called and QLD clawed back to take the half 8-6. Some extra fresh legs made the difference for QLD as they continued their good work after half time to take it out 15-8.
Final Placings:
1 Bender (15-11 in Final)
2 Booty
3 B&S
4 Sublime
5 Shoot to Kill
6 Da Frizz
7 Lizards (Plate Winner)
8 Bond
9 Lovers
10 Gumby Magic
11 weaty Yeti's
12 Freeze
Spirit: Shoot to Kill
Female MVP: Lauren O'Conner (Armidale Freeze)
Male MVP: Jon Good (Lizards)
State of Origin: QLD (15 - 8)
Active Sportz was pleased to be in attendance at the Halibut tournament and congratulate the winners, Bender.
Please note that Active Sportz is the distributor for the GAIA in Australia and New Zealand so if you need any GAIA apparel for WWUCC06 or you local team please contact www.activesportz.com.au or sales@activesportz.com.au
Big thanks go to the Tournament Directors; Tegan Don and Ren Kuwahata, for another well run and fun QLD tournament!
