Hot off the phone from a very proud Coach Bruce aka the Big Mac
Eastern Junior Nationals Results
1st Fresh Fries Upsized(Queensland/Byron Bay)
2nd Newcastle
3rd Acronym (Sydney)
Hosts Newcastle also took spirit!
Well done to the Fries!
Sarah de Leon
Paige Hutchinson
Torren Lamont
Jack Lilwall
Alexander Livingstone
Trevor Lovering
Dominique Simpson
Reece Stewart (Capt)
Sophie Stewart
Abraham Stone
Isaac Stone
Jordan Stone
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Sunday Pickup This Weekend
tomsteve is having a crack at resurrecting Sunday Pickup Ultimate this weekend.
Meet at Dorrington Park in Ashgrove, from 2pm, with your dark shirt and your light shirt.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Rego for Development Camp Closes Next Weekend!
Just a reminder that the Mens and Womens Development Camps are being held in Brisbane on the 27th-28th June.
Registration for the camps will close on Sunday 7th June. (This allows the coaches to be able to set the most appropraite training weekend for the players attending)
That's right - you don't have to be a 'gun' player - with such a high coach to player ratio, the coaches will be tailoring sessions to suit the abilities of everyone who wants to be a better Ultimate player.
Registration:
You can register at:
Women: http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=571
Men: http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=570
Costs - Interstaters/ Far North QLD:
Once you have registered please email your flight itinerary (with cost) to admin@afda.com
Purchase your flights asap to take advantage otf the cheaper airfares. Once the event is done, AFDA will look to refund to you as much as it can to bring the total cost of your attendence at the event down towards $200.
Registration for the camps will close on Sunday 7th June. (This allows the coaches to be able to set the most appropraite training weekend for the players attending)
That's right - you don't have to be a 'gun' player - with such a high coach to player ratio, the coaches will be tailoring sessions to suit the abilities of everyone who wants to be a better Ultimate player.
Registration:
You can register at:
Women: http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=571
Men: http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=570
Costs - Interstaters/ Far North QLD:
Once you have registered please email your flight itinerary (with cost) to admin@afda.com
Purchase your flights asap to take advantage otf the cheaper airfares. Once the event is done, AFDA will look to refund to you as much as it can to bring the total cost of your attendence at the event down towards $200.
Costs - South East Queenslanders:
Once you have registered, you need to deposit $200 into the AFDA bank account, mentioning your AFDA number.
A few people have mentioned things along the lines of "$200 is a lot for a weekend frisbee event". True, its more than a tournament. But its also got a lot more VALUE for your money.
Anonymous Confidential
So we’ve long allowed anonymous (and made-up-name) comments here at the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog manner, mostly because it gets us more comments which are often interesting or at least somewhat entertaining, and we’ve appreciated that the continuation of this policy has been dependent on people behaving themselves and so forth, which has been wonderful.
Well, we figured it was time to do a proper call out for anonymous comments, and this is the post to be slapping them on.
Is it possible too that one of the reasons there's the occasional anonymous post on an Ultimate blog is that ... anonymity is impossible in Ultimate? I mean, on the field, there's nowhere to hide, and you're making the calls and so forth. Off the field, the social community is so mobile that you're probably only one at most two degrees of separation from every Ultimate player in the country, and probably three for every Ultimate player in the World.
Anyway Anonymous readers – why not give us the answer to two questions (or you could ruminate on any of the above):
What’s the dumbest thing that’s gone through *your head* on an Ultimate field? Something that may not have been noticed by anyone else, but that you’ve long desired to confess. Now is your chance.
And what’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve done at an Ultimate party, that’s not something that’s otherwise known to a wide group of people? Have you ever done the “Look-I’ve-always-fancied-you-let’s-do-something-about-it” move, or injured yourself on the dance floor but managed to cover it up by hopping on the other leg? Now is your chance.
Now is your chance, Anonymous.
Well, we figured it was time to do a proper call out for anonymous comments, and this is the post to be slapping them on.
Is it possible too that one of the reasons there's the occasional anonymous post on an Ultimate blog is that ... anonymity is impossible in Ultimate? I mean, on the field, there's nowhere to hide, and you're making the calls and so forth. Off the field, the social community is so mobile that you're probably only one at most two degrees of separation from every Ultimate player in the country, and probably three for every Ultimate player in the World.
Anyway Anonymous readers – why not give us the answer to two questions (or you could ruminate on any of the above):
What’s the dumbest thing that’s gone through *your head* on an Ultimate field? Something that may not have been noticed by anyone else, but that you’ve long desired to confess. Now is your chance.
And what’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve done at an Ultimate party, that’s not something that’s otherwise known to a wide group of people? Have you ever done the “Look-I’ve-always-fancied-you-let’s-do-something-about-it” move, or injured yourself on the dance floor but managed to cover it up by hopping on the other leg? Now is your chance.
Now is your chance, Anonymous.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Thoughts on "On Field Officials"
Welcome back to "Thoughtful Tuesdays".
You know the main reason I’m not keen on adding on-field officials to Ultimate (whether they’re called referees, umpires, observers or whatever).
Sports that rely on volunteer (and even paid) on-field officials are in crisis - and its a crisis that isn't going to get better.
This I’ve had this general impression for a while – witness the weekly media meltdowns of ‘refs getting it wrong’, and this translating into officials being abused and attacked, and the desperate attempts of the professional sports to recruit and retain on-field officials.
But a couple of people I’ve met from other sports over the last few weeks have really brought this home for me.
I recently chatted with a middle aged fellow who works full time but also referees rugby league games in his spare time (he returned to the role when his last kid moved out of home).
The previous week his sport was so desperate for on-field officials that he refereed NINE (9) games!
He enjoys it and he knows that without people like him doing it then the sport he loves will fall over, and he is paid for his time on the field and travelling to games, but still, he conceded he’s not sure how long he can go on.
A bit earlier I was also talking to someone involved in little athletics, who mentioned that to properly run an athletics day for about 200 teenagers they needed about 40 volunteers to act as officials (this doesn’t count the volunteers who do support functions like food, venues, administration, etc etc).
I could only gape. They went on to tell me a litany of other reasons why athletics was in crisis and needed government support, but I was still stuck on the ratio – 40/200 = 1/5.
I really wanted to tell them that they were *doing it wrong*. That our sort of society had long abandoned an approach that have many many people both available and enthusiastic to volunteer. That the days of vast numbers of Mums and Dads having the time and motivation to do this kind of stuff were in decline (there will always be Mums and Dads doing the right thing of course, just not as many as there used to be). But I kept my tongue because I didn’t want to be rude.
All I could do was watch them gape back when I told them back that a 200+ player Ultimate tournament usually featured only one (1) official, and that person wasn’t on the field at all and was viewed as a necessary evil (but highly respected, nonetheless).
The lack of on-field officials in Ultimate will be a key part of the growth of Ultimate relative to other sports over the next 20 years, as the number of volunteers and people willing to be on-field officials (and if they need to be paid, this will come from the pockets of players) continues to decline.
You know the main reason I’m not keen on adding on-field officials to Ultimate (whether they’re called referees, umpires, observers or whatever).
Sports that rely on volunteer (and even paid) on-field officials are in crisis - and its a crisis that isn't going to get better.
This I’ve had this general impression for a while – witness the weekly media meltdowns of ‘refs getting it wrong’, and this translating into officials being abused and attacked, and the desperate attempts of the professional sports to recruit and retain on-field officials.
But a couple of people I’ve met from other sports over the last few weeks have really brought this home for me.
I recently chatted with a middle aged fellow who works full time but also referees rugby league games in his spare time (he returned to the role when his last kid moved out of home).
The previous week his sport was so desperate for on-field officials that he refereed NINE (9) games!
He enjoys it and he knows that without people like him doing it then the sport he loves will fall over, and he is paid for his time on the field and travelling to games, but still, he conceded he’s not sure how long he can go on.
A bit earlier I was also talking to someone involved in little athletics, who mentioned that to properly run an athletics day for about 200 teenagers they needed about 40 volunteers to act as officials (this doesn’t count the volunteers who do support functions like food, venues, administration, etc etc).
I could only gape. They went on to tell me a litany of other reasons why athletics was in crisis and needed government support, but I was still stuck on the ratio – 40/200 = 1/5.
I really wanted to tell them that they were *doing it wrong*. That our sort of society had long abandoned an approach that have many many people both available and enthusiastic to volunteer. That the days of vast numbers of Mums and Dads having the time and motivation to do this kind of stuff were in decline (there will always be Mums and Dads doing the right thing of course, just not as many as there used to be). But I kept my tongue because I didn’t want to be rude.
All I could do was watch them gape back when I told them back that a 200+ player Ultimate tournament usually featured only one (1) official, and that person wasn’t on the field at all and was viewed as a necessary evil (but highly respected, nonetheless).
The lack of on-field officials in Ultimate will be a key part of the growth of Ultimate relative to other sports over the next 20 years, as the number of volunteers and people willing to be on-field officials (and if they need to be paid, this will come from the pockets of players) continues to decline.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Wrap for the Phat
First things first.
Jangles is great.
Few other people these days seem willing and able to take on a bit of volunteer responsibility and singlehandedly run something. Plenty of people will lend a hand, its true (and those to those who did), but sadly, few will take the lead.
So thanks heaps to Jangles for an extremely smooth and fun day at yesterday's Fight the Phat 2009.
After a week of flooding rains, the JF O'Grady Fields had held up well, and the weather was pretty good (particularly after us all having been shut inside all week). A few light showers and the occasional breeze broke up the sunshine and kept us entertained.
The morning saw three games with hat teams switching around every match. Then a great BBQ lunch, followed by some fun (see below) and the final fourth game. 39 players had a great run around! 24 prizes were handed out, just to show that Hot Chocolate almost knew what they were singing about.
Congratulations to the Phat Queen Tammy Bacon, and the Phat King Piers Truter, who were undefeated across four games on the Sunday.
The day also featured the seemingly spontaneous Brisbane Individual Disc Discipline Championships. Individual Disc Disciplines are efforts at demonstrating personal strength and ability with a frisbee. We'll call the results official for the Brisbane area, because they've been posted on the Brisbane blog, so there.
Jangles is great.
Few other people these days seem willing and able to take on a bit of volunteer responsibility and singlehandedly run something. Plenty of people will lend a hand, its true (and those to those who did), but sadly, few will take the lead.
So thanks heaps to Jangles for an extremely smooth and fun day at yesterday's Fight the Phat 2009.
After a week of flooding rains, the JF O'Grady Fields had held up well, and the weather was pretty good (particularly after us all having been shut inside all week). A few light showers and the occasional breeze broke up the sunshine and kept us entertained.
The morning saw three games with hat teams switching around every match. Then a great BBQ lunch, followed by some fun (see below) and the final fourth game. 39 players had a great run around! 24 prizes were handed out, just to show that Hot Chocolate almost knew what they were singing about.
Congratulations to the Phat Queen Tammy Bacon, and the Phat King Piers Truter, who were undefeated across four games on the Sunday.
The day also featured the seemingly spontaneous Brisbane Individual Disc Discipline Championships. Individual Disc Disciplines are efforts at demonstrating personal strength and ability with a frisbee. We'll call the results official for the Brisbane area, because they've been posted on the Brisbane blog, so there.
- The male and female Long Distance Throw champions were Andrew 'Goldie' Goldstiver and Jen Campbell.
- Maximum Time Aloft (throw and one handed catch) champions were John McNaughton and Maylin Chuah.
- Throw-Run-Catch (throw the disc as far as possible while still catching it yourself) champions were Piers Truter and Megan Barnes.
- Hammer Distance champions were John McNaughton and Maylin Chuah.
- Cutest Baby was a tie between Eddie Goldstiver and Rohan de Rooy (ok, we made this last one up).
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Nathan League Starts on 10 June
The first new Ultimate League to start for a few years now will be hucking off in just a few short weeks.
When: Wednesday 6.45pm 10 June, 2009 will be Learn to Play + Pickup
If we get lots of newbies, then we will run a second Learn to Play session a week later on 17 June, before starting the season (to get them up to speed).
With both BPL and UQL on a break around this time, we're hoping for a good roll up to help get the game established at Nathan.
Where: AFL Field, Nathan campus of Griffith University - near the corner of Kessels Rd and Griffith Rd. Many regulars will recognise this as the venue of Regionals 2007 and 2008.
When: Wednesday 6.45pm 10 June, 2009 will be Learn to Play + Pickup
If we get lots of newbies, then we will run a second Learn to Play session a week later on 17 June, before starting the season (to get them up to speed).
With both BPL and UQL on a break around this time, we're hoping for a good roll up to help get the game established at Nathan.
Where: AFL Field, Nathan campus of Griffith University - near the corner of Kessels Rd and Griffith Rd. Many regulars will recognise this as the venue of Regionals 2007 and 2008.
Cost: The season proper will be $40 for 10 weeks (Learn to Play weeks will be free).
Register: Let us know you're coming, and ensure that you are properly insured and stuff by registering at: http://www.afda.com/rego/showdivision.php?divisionid=1112
Help? Can you help? We are particularly after people to help us over the next few weeks to promote the League to new players.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Philippines to Host Asia-Oceania Ultimate Club Championships
The World Flying Disc Federation has announced that the Philippines Ultimate Association has been selected to host the 2009 WFDF Asia-Oceania Ultimate Club Championships from November 6th - 8th. The Event will be called the Manila Spirits Asia Oceania Ultimate Championships.
Wonder if any Aussie clubs are looking at it? Perhaps there's a good chance of a medal? Aussies were certainly popular at Taipei. And of course the tournament will only get bigger as time goes by.
Return flights from Brisbane to Manilla run at about $1000-1200.
Wonder if any Aussie clubs are looking at it? Perhaps there's a good chance of a medal? Aussies were certainly popular at Taipei. And of course the tournament will only get bigger as time goes by.
Return flights from Brisbane to Manilla run at about $1000-1200.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Two to Hold You Over
Most of our typing time is taken up elsewhere at the moment, so here's a few pics we've pinched from elsewhere on the internet (sorry, can't remember where).
Sure, Ultimate players hate to see dogs on their discs, but then again this guy does have beer. And extra geekgasm.
This one goes out to the Townsville Ultimate team - its Thor, its a horse - of course, it's THORSE!
Sure, Ultimate players hate to see dogs on their discs, but then again this guy does have beer. And extra geekgasm.
This one goes out to the Townsville Ultimate team - its Thor, its a horse - of course, it's THORSE!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Noah Was a Brave Man to Sail with Two Termites
Its raining a llloooottttt, fields are closed, so BPL Semi-Finals are deferred until next week. Stay home with your honey.
LD Stu has also given us some clarity - if fields are closed next week (and the rain is forecast to be here for a while yet), then there will be no Semi-Finals, and the highest ranked teams following the home and away season will go direct to the Final on 4 June.
At this stage, this Sunday's Fight the Phat is on - its early days yet and the field owners at JFO (the hard men of League Refereeing) are less nervous (than woosy soccer Juniors) about stuff like rain ;)
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
What's an Ultimate Captain For?
I note over on the essential-to-read blog of Rueben, he’s finished his reflections on Nationals with a call for a formal position of ‘rules advisor’. This is partly a reflection of Rubes’ experience of being one of the most knowledgeable people in the country as far as the new rules go. This also follows up his call last year for teams to have an official Spirit Captain.
My initial thought was "Isn't that stuff what we have Captains for?"
Now before I go too far, I think just about every Ultimate Captain I've observed has been awesome in their dedication etc etc.
Anyway, I was thinking about this again on the train this morning and realised that there's a lot of different views on what we have Captains for.
One point Rueben has made to me in the past (iirc) is that Captains have a lot to do, so they could use the help of a Spirit Captain and presumably a Rules Advisor and who knows what else (I see 'leadership groups' as an increasingly common phrase too, along with Coaches and Managers and such).
But Captains really have a lot to do?
If you check out the rules of Ultimate (WFDF 2009 edition), there are five (5) mentions of Captains.
Three simple ones first:
1. the Captains determine which team will make the first pull and which ends the teams will start the game at (Rule 6.1);
2. the Captains agree what sort of flying disc will be used in the game (Rule 3.1); and,
3. during a break between points, a Captain may call a time-out (Rule 20.5);
None of this seems particularly onerous.
Next is:
4. Captains also have a role in the double negative with regards how people off the field help apply the rules to play - that is, SOTG formally involves only those players involved or those with best perspective to make and contribute to calls - non-players, except Captains, should refrain from being involved (Rule 1.10).
All this really says is that it is generally spirited for those on the sideline not to get involved in calls, although a Captain may do so (etiquitte in Australia though is to largely accept comments offered from the sideline that are delivered in a calm and respectful manner; and to consider comments that are asked for).
The final mention of Captains is:
5. Each team will nominate a Captain to represent the team (Rule 5.3).
This is perhaps the broadest job of the Captain as described in the rules - to represent the team. In essence, this means applying the rules above, representing the team when dealing with another team, and representing the team when dealing with administrators.
But even 'represent' isn't that big a role.
The reality is that teams and clubs have made assumptions about what Captains should be doing - assumptions I think that are drawn from other sports.
Remember, Ultimate is a sport based on putting responsibility on all the individuals involved - this is one of its great beauties.
Looking at the rules - an Ultimate Captain is at least 80% just a necessary administrator - when you just need one person to do something simple.
So in my garbled away I think maybe I'd like to see Captains thinking about how to make their role as outlined in the rules more of a priority, and keep pushing as much as they can back onto the individuals who make up their team.
My initial thought was "Isn't that stuff what we have Captains for?"
Now before I go too far, I think just about every Ultimate Captain I've observed has been awesome in their dedication etc etc.
Anyway, I was thinking about this again on the train this morning and realised that there's a lot of different views on what we have Captains for.
One point Rueben has made to me in the past (iirc) is that Captains have a lot to do, so they could use the help of a Spirit Captain and presumably a Rules Advisor and who knows what else (I see 'leadership groups' as an increasingly common phrase too, along with Coaches and Managers and such).
But Captains really have a lot to do?
If you check out the rules of Ultimate (WFDF 2009 edition), there are five (5) mentions of Captains.
Three simple ones first:
1. the Captains determine which team will make the first pull and which ends the teams will start the game at (Rule 6.1);
2. the Captains agree what sort of flying disc will be used in the game (Rule 3.1); and,
3. during a break between points, a Captain may call a time-out (Rule 20.5);
None of this seems particularly onerous.
Next is:
4. Captains also have a role in the double negative with regards how people off the field help apply the rules to play - that is, SOTG formally involves only those players involved or those with best perspective to make and contribute to calls - non-players, except Captains, should refrain from being involved (Rule 1.10).
All this really says is that it is generally spirited for those on the sideline not to get involved in calls, although a Captain may do so (etiquitte in Australia though is to largely accept comments offered from the sideline that are delivered in a calm and respectful manner; and to consider comments that are asked for).
The final mention of Captains is:
5. Each team will nominate a Captain to represent the team (Rule 5.3).
This is perhaps the broadest job of the Captain as described in the rules - to represent the team. In essence, this means applying the rules above, representing the team when dealing with another team, and representing the team when dealing with administrators.
But even 'represent' isn't that big a role.
The reality is that teams and clubs have made assumptions about what Captains should be doing - assumptions I think that are drawn from other sports.
Remember, Ultimate is a sport based on putting responsibility on all the individuals involved - this is one of its great beauties.
Looking at the rules - an Ultimate Captain is at least 80% just a necessary administrator - when you just need one person to do something simple.
So in my garbled away I think maybe I'd like to see Captains thinking about how to make their role as outlined in the rules more of a priority, and keep pushing as much as they can back onto the individuals who make up their team.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Brisbane to Host National Development Camps
That Brisbane is to again host the AFDA's National Development Camps on 27-28 June 2009 is great news for Brisbane and Queensland Ultimate. The camps will be held in the convenient location of JF O'Grady Fields, Fairfield (location of Regionals 2009).
Everyone who attended the inaugural camp last year reported it was an "excellent event", "great fun", "met lots of people" and "excellent value for money". (If you don't believe me, go ask Emma B, Maylin, Adele, Bree, Suz, Steph, Tati, Peta, Adilia, Notty, Sarah S, Blair, Danielle, Molly and Carla).
The end of the last sentence is bolded up because in the build up to this year's event, a few people have baulked at the $200 cost of the weekend.
While it is true that $200 is a fair chunk of cash, there seems to be a sense that $200 is a lot more than the typical $40-80 you'd pay to attend a typical weekend Ultimate activity (ie, a tournament).
But these Development Camps are entirely different creatures.
At the Development Camp, there will be 8-10 of the best coaches from around Australia totally focused on improving your personal game, (as well as all the stuff you get for a typical Ulti-weekend). This is a big contrast to a tournament where your play is largely left to your own devices.
If you think you can improve your Ultimate, and you plan on playing Ultimate for some time yet, then you might want to consider this $200 as an investment in you getting more out of every future dollar you spend on Ultimate.
And of course, the more people who come, the fees will be adjusted accordingly and the cheaper it will get for everyone.
Register for the Men's event. I can only think of a couple of BPL and BUML males who wouldn't benefit from this camp (and that's because they're too old to learn new tricks).
Register for the Women's event. Any woman playing Ultimate in Queensland will find this camp rewarding.
You don't need to be an elite player. You just have to want to improve.
Everyone who attended the inaugural camp last year reported it was an "excellent event", "great fun", "met lots of people" and "excellent value for money". (If you don't believe me, go ask Emma B, Maylin, Adele, Bree, Suz, Steph, Tati, Peta, Adilia, Notty, Sarah S, Blair, Danielle, Molly and Carla).
The end of the last sentence is bolded up because in the build up to this year's event, a few people have baulked at the $200 cost of the weekend.
While it is true that $200 is a fair chunk of cash, there seems to be a sense that $200 is a lot more than the typical $40-80 you'd pay to attend a typical weekend Ultimate activity (ie, a tournament).
But these Development Camps are entirely different creatures.
At the Development Camp, there will be 8-10 of the best coaches from around Australia totally focused on improving your personal game, (as well as all the stuff you get for a typical Ulti-weekend). This is a big contrast to a tournament where your play is largely left to your own devices.
If you think you can improve your Ultimate, and you plan on playing Ultimate for some time yet, then you might want to consider this $200 as an investment in you getting more out of every future dollar you spend on Ultimate.
And of course, the more people who come, the fees will be adjusted accordingly and the cheaper it will get for everyone.
Register for the Men's event. I can only think of a couple of BPL and BUML males who wouldn't benefit from this camp (and that's because they're too old to learn new tricks).
Register for the Women's event. Any woman playing Ultimate in Queensland will find this camp rewarding.
You don't need to be an elite player. You just have to want to improve.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Makes a Man Think Things Over
A dude emailed asking we post about his new blog, and well I guess we fell for the implication that somehow something advertised on our blog would be considered meaningful.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Slam it down to Slamtown
Upon checking the mail today, we received notification from the GC's most famous Canadian, Stefan "The Stef" Rappazzo, of an upcoming tournament being held on the Gold Coast. In the words of Stefan:
So get onto it we say, and get welcomed to Slamtown by the best.
"You're Invited.
Gold Coast Ultimate has been on the rise for the last few years, in that time ultimate has developed at a uni level, a tournament play level, and a city league level. But until now, Gold Coast Ultimate has not had an opportunity to share the fruits of their labour with the surrounding communities.
Slamtown cordially invites you to take part in the Slamtown Invitational.
A two day weekend tournament to be held at Pizzey Park on July 4-5. We have a cap of 10 teams for this the innaugural.
This tournament will be geared towards university development, as we encourage the local, and even interstate uni's to register a team. However, it is not exclusively for Universities. As it is our first tournament to host, we would like to encourage everyone and anyone to send in a team, both to test and develop our university sides, as well as for the love of the game, and all else that the coast offers.
Teams can register here:
http://afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=655
The tournament will feature all the regular fixins, and a party that will be sure to knock your sox off.
Don't miss out on the first annual.
Get pumped, and get registered.
Welcome to Slamtown."
So get onto it we say, and get welcomed to Slamtown by the best.
Dadman!
Congrats to Byron Bay Ulti-kids Andrew 'Bads' Badman and Alex Taylor on the arrival of a baby girl on Friday 8 May. Byron Bay, Byron Baby, eh?
Names are still under discussion. We here at the Mansion suggest "Ultrastar" be in there somewhere.
Send your suggestions to the "Dadman" himself at waveoflife at hotmail dot com
Names are still under discussion. We here at the Mansion suggest "Ultrastar" be in there somewhere.
Send your suggestions to the "Dadman" himself at waveoflife at hotmail dot com
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Into the Valley of Ultimate, Rode the Six Hundred
We almost missed it, but following the Townsville Hat on the weekend, the number of QUDA members edged over 600 on the weekend.
There's currently 607 people with a Queensland postcode who have registered on the AFDA website (and paid) for a tournament or league that's been held in the last 6 months.
Groovy eh?
Around 472 are in the greater Brisbane area (postcodes 4000-4199 and 4300-4399), 67 on the Gold Coast (4200-4299), 16 'in between' (postcodes 4300-4799), 32 in Townsville (postcodes 4800-@4869) and 21 in Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands (4880+ - the latter are mostly temporary UQ international students who attended the Mission Beach tournament a few weeks ago).
242 are Women and 365 are Men.
The most common postcode was 4067 (St Lucia), followed by 4068 (Indooroopilly/Taringa). Only one Ultimate player is known to live in Kingaroy, but she's in love with another man.
The most popular ladies name to yell when you're throwing some random crap is "Catch it Emma", as eight Queenslanders will respond - or try the 8 Sarah/Saras.
For guys, aim for one of the 12 Matt/Matthews, 11 Ryans or 10 Dave/Davids. Calling "Catch it Dustin" will of course only return a single lazy grin.
There are 3 Stefans, 3 Stephens, 2 Steves and 1 Stephanie. Only two Jason's.
There is only one Tony Ross, but this is a well known fact.
Ignoring those birthdates that are obviously wrong (mostly people using 'todays date' rather than their birth date), the youngest current member is 14 year old Ollie (son of Tony). GO OLLIE!
There's currently 607 people with a Queensland postcode who have registered on the AFDA website (and paid) for a tournament or league that's been held in the last 6 months.
Groovy eh?
Around 472 are in the greater Brisbane area (postcodes 4000-4199 and 4300-4399), 67 on the Gold Coast (4200-4299), 16 'in between' (postcodes 4300-4799), 32 in Townsville (postcodes 4800-@4869) and 21 in Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands (4880+ - the latter are mostly temporary UQ international students who attended the Mission Beach tournament a few weeks ago).
242 are Women and 365 are Men.
The most common postcode was 4067 (St Lucia), followed by 4068 (Indooroopilly/Taringa). Only one Ultimate player is known to live in Kingaroy, but she's in love with another man.
The most popular ladies name to yell when you're throwing some random crap is "Catch it Emma", as eight Queenslanders will respond - or try the 8 Sarah/Saras.
For guys, aim for one of the 12 Matt/Matthews, 11 Ryans or 10 Dave/Davids. Calling "Catch it Dustin" will of course only return a single lazy grin.
There are 3 Stefans, 3 Stephens, 2 Steves and 1 Stephanie. Only two Jason's.
There is only one Tony Ross, but this is a well known fact.
Ignoring those birthdates that are obviously wrong (mostly people using 'todays date' rather than their birth date), the youngest current member is 14 year old Ollie (son of Tony). GO OLLIE!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
To Do is To Be
So since the middle of last year, QUDA has been naming a Volunteer of the Month (most months, anyway).
Here’s the list of those great volunteers QUDA has recognised so far:
May 2009 – Matt Boevink
April 2009 – Rowena Eastburn
November 2008 – Sam Bird
October 2008 – Maylin Chuah, Peta McNaughton and Stephanie Levasseur
September 2008 – Jon Good
August 2008 – Bruce McNaughton
July 2008 – Blair Sheard
Good on 'em!
Here’s the list of those great volunteers QUDA has recognised so far:
May 2009 – Matt Boevink
April 2009 – Rowena Eastburn
November 2008 – Sam Bird
October 2008 – Maylin Chuah, Peta McNaughton and Stephanie Levasseur
September 2008 – Jon Good
August 2008 – Bruce McNaughton
July 2008 – Blair Sheard
Good on 'em!
National Volunteers Week!
This week is National Volunteers Week.
Ultimate is run almost entirely by volunteers, some who put in insane hours and put up with surprising (but thankfully rare) hassles in doing so.
We're usually pretty good at saying thanks to people - but usually in routine ways (during end of season presentations or at the end of a tournament), but why not go the extra yard this week?
Make a phone call "out of the blue" to someone from QUDA who volunteers doing something, email members of the AFDA Board, send a SMS, take 2 minutes at League to say thank you to the league director, bring a little present (a cold stubbie always goes down well) and give it to the Fight the Phat TD in two weeks.
Ultimate is run almost entirely by volunteers, some who put in insane hours and put up with surprising (but thankfully rare) hassles in doing so.
We're usually pretty good at saying thanks to people - but usually in routine ways (during end of season presentations or at the end of a tournament), but why not go the extra yard this week?
Make a phone call "out of the blue" to someone from QUDA who volunteers doing something, email members of the AFDA Board, send a SMS, take 2 minutes at League to say thank you to the league director, bring a little present (a cold stubbie always goes down well) and give it to the Fight the Phat TD in two weeks.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Learn to Play Week?
It seems by happy confluence that this week has turned into Brisbane Learn to Play Ultimate Week!
Tuesday Night at Oakman Park at Toowong, there will be a Women's Learn to Play session from 7pm-9pm.
Then on Thursday at the AJSC field at Greenslopes, there will be an 'all comers' Learn to Play session from 7.30pm-9pm.
Both are FREE FREE FREE, so let everybody know. And if anyone says "I can't do Tuesday night as I have hopscotch", you can reply "Well, then there's Thursday!"
Tuesday Night at Oakman Park at Toowong, there will be a Women's Learn to Play session from 7pm-9pm.
Then on Thursday at the AJSC field at Greenslopes, there will be an 'all comers' Learn to Play session from 7.30pm-9pm.
Both are FREE FREE FREE, so let everybody know. And if anyone says "I can't do Tuesday night as I have hopscotch", you can reply "Well, then there's Thursday!"
Yarning About Elite Development in Queensland with John McNaughton
Now that the Nationals 2009 campaign is complete, we at the Brisbane Ultimate Blog spent some time hiding in the grass down by the river at Yeronga, waiting for QUDA’s new Elite Development Coordinator, John McNaughton, to wander by. Taking a break from assignment writing, John didn’t quite know what hit him when our crack team of Black Ops specialists tranquilised, bound and gagged him and brought him back to BUB headquarters, where he awoke, wild eyed and confused, and the interrogation began.
Well, not really, but anyway here’s a chat with John.
Brisbane Ultimate Blog: So John, Firestorm got a pretty good result at Nationals 2009 …
John McNaughton: Yeah, we're pretty happy with where we ended up. It was a rough first day, losing to Karma after leading the whole game, and when we were out of contention by the end of day one, it had potential to get ugly. However, we managed to make the most of our time in the lower pool, getting up some confidence and sorting out some things, and were stoked to take it all the way back to 5th place.
BUB: So what’s next on the FS agenda?
JM: At the moment, a bit of time to chill out – the Open season is a pretty long slog, so after Nationals, it's nice just to kick back for a bit. We're already looking towards the future though – 5th was all well and good for this year, but cracking into the top 4 is a clear goal for a Southern Nationals in 2010.
BUB: And don’t forget we’re due to host Nationals in the North Region in 2011.
JM: Yeah, someone better go book some fields for that – can we get the Grammar fields out at Northgate? I'm glad we don't have to directly follow Perth's act in that regard... they were pretty special.
BUB: Anyway, the real reason we were sitting down to chat was to talk about your new role at Elite Development Coordinator for QUDA. For those who don’t know, QUDA has a structure with an Executive who make general decisions and stuff, and then a series of Coordinators with responsibility for different areas. But Elite Development can seem a bit vague – what’s your ‘realm of action’?
JM: I believe that Elite Development is not so much an area unto itself, but mostly about working with other groups and areas, with a focus on generating the best outcomes for elite-level Ultimate in/among Queenslanders. Basically, I reckon the aim is to set things up so that we develop the best players and teams possible at the higher end. "Higher end" isn't necessarily strictly defined – while it's clearly inclusive of the national and international level, it can also filter down to local level, because local players are the Nationals/Worlds players of a few years' time.
This means I'll be working with clubs in Queensland aiming to take teams to Nationals (e.g. Firestorm and Sultry), Mixed Nationals and Australian Uni Games, for a start; working with some league directors to see what can be done on local levels; working with the Youth coordinator to develop our young guns, including those heading to Newcastle for Youth Nats pretty soon; working with the Coaching Coordinator (once we've got one) to set up elite coaching structures; and sometimes maybe just striking out on my own occasionally, if something comes up.
First thing on the agenda, though, is the mixed season.
BUB: Got some more details there?
JM: There are a few things on the cards. The S&M league from last season was quite a success, and though the enthusiasm was driven by a Brisbane-hosted Mixed Nats where we sent a number of teams, I think it would be well supported again. We've just got to find the best way to fit in with the Women's League, to allow those players to get involved in both.
I understand QUDA and AFDA have been encouraging organisers in Victoria and NSW to announce their Mixed Qualifier events soon, to give Qld teams aiming for Mixed Nats a chance to play an extra interstate tournament in the lead-up to Hobart. We’ll probably slot the Queensland Qualifier into our calendar based on how that looks.
I'm told Townsville are talking about whether they’ll have the numbers for a tilt at Mixed Nats. Hobart is a long way for them to go, but fingers crossed they'll be able to make the trip – it's been a bit of a rough year for them, between Nats in Perth and now this. I don't know about Gold Coast plans, but there's been some good action down there of late, so maybe they're tossing it up as well, which would be sweet.
Obviously, Halibut will be kicking it all off – it's a bit of a stalwart on the Australian tourney calendar... Actually, just looking now, I think Halibut may be the 3rd longest running tourney in the country (after Nats and Melbourne Hat), which is a fantastic effort. Can anyone verify this?
And obviously, on a related note, it's uni season as well as mixed season, but we'll come back to this.
BUB: One thing I know QUDA is talking about is providing support for bona fide non-playing Coaches to develop and travel with Queensland teams.
JM: Yeah, this has been looked into on a casual basis before, but there's consideration to making it more official and public. There are definitely advantages to having non-playing coaches with a team, and it may be a very positive use of resources. Having this support structure known ahead of time could really encourage people to take on coaching roles, which would be a forward step.
I view coaching as a very important part of Elite Development – while many of us have learned the game on quite an ad hoc basis, picking up little things here and there, time spent under a coach can really accelerate learning. There's also plenty of talk at AFDA level about elite coaching at the moment, which could have trickle-down effects.
BUB: You said we should come back to AUGs??
JM: It's a really positive time for Queensland unis at the moment, I think – Griffith GC are coming along really well (nice work Stef); QUT seem to be continually growing, putting in more teams to more competitions every year; I believe JCU may have had a revival this year; and UQ are obviously a major player as always. There's also talk of movement at USC (Sunshine Coast), which would be fantastic.
In addition to that, the deal that will be seeing AUG on the Gold Coast every odd year until 2015 is as good as things will ever get for us, in terms of accessibility.
From an elite perspective, I will be trying to work with the Uni Coordinator and with the uni teams to get the most from each AUG campaign. Unis are obviously a great breeding ground for exciting new players, and so I'll be looking to help the unis achieve their best possible result, but also help keen players from those teams to find opportunity in other areas of Qld frisbee.
BUB: Off in the distance is the 2010 Open season – thoughts there?
JM: Obviously, I have a double interest in the Open season, between my Elite Development hat and my role in Firestorm. While this will take plenty of my time, though, there are other things we'll be looking at in the mean time. BPL has restructured this year, after 2008 saw it slip off a little in some ways, and we'll be looking at this to see whether it's worked, and what else can be done. This was set up as our development ground for elite Open players, so this is a pretty major focus of my area.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this. We often get quite comfortable in BPL, doing the same things season after season, and don't like the idea of radical change (e.g. to team/club structure). This means that meetings to discuss BPL's future can get pretty intense when suggestions are made, but these things happen, and we need those ideas to come out so that we can really consider whether we're doing the best thing for what we're after.
If nothing else, I'm keen to get back to 6 teams and get rid of that bye. That'd be cool.
BUB: I can see we should interview Stu and some of the BPL captains soon to see what they think.
JM: They're all yours – my captain is in your stately mansion somewhere, I believe...
BUB: Anything else?
JM: We're weighing up some possibilities at the moment, like maybe holding an Open and Women's hat at the end of this year to help kick off the season. That's all up in the air for now, though – we'll have a look at the mixed season first, and get on top of that.
BUB: What about Firestorm’s 2010 campaign?
JM: Semis minimum. Back it.
BUB: Thanks for your time, John. See you on the field.
JM: Thanks – can you undo the handcuffs now?
BUB: You just have to remember the safeword, young fella.
Well, not really, but anyway here’s a chat with John.
Brisbane Ultimate Blog: So John, Firestorm got a pretty good result at Nationals 2009 …
John McNaughton: Yeah, we're pretty happy with where we ended up. It was a rough first day, losing to Karma after leading the whole game, and when we were out of contention by the end of day one, it had potential to get ugly. However, we managed to make the most of our time in the lower pool, getting up some confidence and sorting out some things, and were stoked to take it all the way back to 5th place.
BUB: So what’s next on the FS agenda?
JM: At the moment, a bit of time to chill out – the Open season is a pretty long slog, so after Nationals, it's nice just to kick back for a bit. We're already looking towards the future though – 5th was all well and good for this year, but cracking into the top 4 is a clear goal for a Southern Nationals in 2010.
BUB: And don’t forget we’re due to host Nationals in the North Region in 2011.
JM: Yeah, someone better go book some fields for that – can we get the Grammar fields out at Northgate? I'm glad we don't have to directly follow Perth's act in that regard... they were pretty special.
BUB: Anyway, the real reason we were sitting down to chat was to talk about your new role at Elite Development Coordinator for QUDA. For those who don’t know, QUDA has a structure with an Executive who make general decisions and stuff, and then a series of Coordinators with responsibility for different areas. But Elite Development can seem a bit vague – what’s your ‘realm of action’?
JM: I believe that Elite Development is not so much an area unto itself, but mostly about working with other groups and areas, with a focus on generating the best outcomes for elite-level Ultimate in/among Queenslanders. Basically, I reckon the aim is to set things up so that we develop the best players and teams possible at the higher end. "Higher end" isn't necessarily strictly defined – while it's clearly inclusive of the national and international level, it can also filter down to local level, because local players are the Nationals/Worlds players of a few years' time.
This means I'll be working with clubs in Queensland aiming to take teams to Nationals (e.g. Firestorm and Sultry), Mixed Nationals and Australian Uni Games, for a start; working with some league directors to see what can be done on local levels; working with the Youth coordinator to develop our young guns, including those heading to Newcastle for Youth Nats pretty soon; working with the Coaching Coordinator (once we've got one) to set up elite coaching structures; and sometimes maybe just striking out on my own occasionally, if something comes up.
First thing on the agenda, though, is the mixed season.
BUB: Got some more details there?
JM: There are a few things on the cards. The S&M league from last season was quite a success, and though the enthusiasm was driven by a Brisbane-hosted Mixed Nats where we sent a number of teams, I think it would be well supported again. We've just got to find the best way to fit in with the Women's League, to allow those players to get involved in both.
I understand QUDA and AFDA have been encouraging organisers in Victoria and NSW to announce their Mixed Qualifier events soon, to give Qld teams aiming for Mixed Nats a chance to play an extra interstate tournament in the lead-up to Hobart. We’ll probably slot the Queensland Qualifier into our calendar based on how that looks.
I'm told Townsville are talking about whether they’ll have the numbers for a tilt at Mixed Nats. Hobart is a long way for them to go, but fingers crossed they'll be able to make the trip – it's been a bit of a rough year for them, between Nats in Perth and now this. I don't know about Gold Coast plans, but there's been some good action down there of late, so maybe they're tossing it up as well, which would be sweet.
Obviously, Halibut will be kicking it all off – it's a bit of a stalwart on the Australian tourney calendar... Actually, just looking now, I think Halibut may be the 3rd longest running tourney in the country (after Nats and Melbourne Hat), which is a fantastic effort. Can anyone verify this?
And obviously, on a related note, it's uni season as well as mixed season, but we'll come back to this.
BUB: One thing I know QUDA is talking about is providing support for bona fide non-playing Coaches to develop and travel with Queensland teams.
JM: Yeah, this has been looked into on a casual basis before, but there's consideration to making it more official and public. There are definitely advantages to having non-playing coaches with a team, and it may be a very positive use of resources. Having this support structure known ahead of time could really encourage people to take on coaching roles, which would be a forward step.
I view coaching as a very important part of Elite Development – while many of us have learned the game on quite an ad hoc basis, picking up little things here and there, time spent under a coach can really accelerate learning. There's also plenty of talk at AFDA level about elite coaching at the moment, which could have trickle-down effects.
BUB: You said we should come back to AUGs??
JM: It's a really positive time for Queensland unis at the moment, I think – Griffith GC are coming along really well (nice work Stef); QUT seem to be continually growing, putting in more teams to more competitions every year; I believe JCU may have had a revival this year; and UQ are obviously a major player as always. There's also talk of movement at USC (Sunshine Coast), which would be fantastic.
In addition to that, the deal that will be seeing AUG on the Gold Coast every odd year until 2015 is as good as things will ever get for us, in terms of accessibility.
From an elite perspective, I will be trying to work with the Uni Coordinator and with the uni teams to get the most from each AUG campaign. Unis are obviously a great breeding ground for exciting new players, and so I'll be looking to help the unis achieve their best possible result, but also help keen players from those teams to find opportunity in other areas of Qld frisbee.
BUB: Off in the distance is the 2010 Open season – thoughts there?
JM: Obviously, I have a double interest in the Open season, between my Elite Development hat and my role in Firestorm. While this will take plenty of my time, though, there are other things we'll be looking at in the mean time. BPL has restructured this year, after 2008 saw it slip off a little in some ways, and we'll be looking at this to see whether it's worked, and what else can be done. This was set up as our development ground for elite Open players, so this is a pretty major focus of my area.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this. We often get quite comfortable in BPL, doing the same things season after season, and don't like the idea of radical change (e.g. to team/club structure). This means that meetings to discuss BPL's future can get pretty intense when suggestions are made, but these things happen, and we need those ideas to come out so that we can really consider whether we're doing the best thing for what we're after.
If nothing else, I'm keen to get back to 6 teams and get rid of that bye. That'd be cool.
BUB: I can see we should interview Stu and some of the BPL captains soon to see what they think.
JM: They're all yours – my captain is in your stately mansion somewhere, I believe...
BUB: Anything else?
JM: We're weighing up some possibilities at the moment, like maybe holding an Open and Women's hat at the end of this year to help kick off the season. That's all up in the air for now, though – we'll have a look at the mixed season first, and get on top of that.
BUB: What about Firestorm’s 2010 campaign?
JM: Semis minimum. Back it.
BUB: Thanks for your time, John. See you on the field.
JM: Thanks – can you undo the handcuffs now?
BUB: You just have to remember the safeword, young fella.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Halibut History
Halibut has been Queensland's (if not the nation's) premier Awesome-Fun-Mixed Ultimate Tournament in the Sunshine for many years now. Fields are just about finalised, and its set for 25-26 July. Rego over here if you're keen
Here's a few tid-bits of Halibut history, drawn from the AFDA Event Rego Database and the qld-ultimate yahoogroup. No doubt there is a lot more history out there (and some detail below might not be right) - if you want to send it in to us or slot something into the comments and we'll repost with better info.
1999: Halibut 3 - TD Tim Marchbank - Annerley Juniors, Greenslopes
2000: Halibut 4 - TD Mat Ryan - Perry Park and Kedron State High School
First - Welcome to the Jungle, Second - The Collective
2001 - Halibut 2001: A Fish Odyssey - TDs Dave McDonald, Tim Ferguson and Stewart McGlashan - Commercial Hockey Club, Newmarket
2002 - Halibutmunchen - TD Mat Ryan - Kedron State High School - 8 teams, 110 players First - Marooned, Second - Schlit Pizzer
2003 - Halibut VII - TD Mat Ryan - Kedron State High School
2004 - Halib8 - TD Jonathan Potts - The Southport School - 6 teams, 55 registrations First - Mind the Gap, Second - Right Cheek, Third - Bondage, Spirit - Fish Fingers
2005 - Halibut 9 - TDs Chris Finney and Adrian Gepp - The Southport School - 12 teams, 112 registrations
2006 - Halibut the 10th - TDs Rena Kurawata and Tegan Don - Shaw Sportz Wooloowin - 13 teams, 170 registrations
2007 - Halibut: It Was THIS Big! - TD Peta McNaughton - Kalinga Park - 16 teams, 214 registrations
2008 - Halibut: Here's Looking at You, Fish - TD Bruce McNaughton - Kalinga Park - 11 teams, 145 registrations First - Plan B, Second - Mind the Gap, Third - Slamtown Flatball Club, Spirit - The Pass
Who will put their hand up to help run Halibut 2009?
Here's a few tid-bits of Halibut history, drawn from the AFDA Event Rego Database and the qld-ultimate yahoogroup. No doubt there is a lot more history out there (and some detail below might not be right) - if you want to send it in to us or slot something into the comments and we'll repost with better info.
1999: Halibut 3 - TD Tim Marchbank - Annerley Juniors, Greenslopes
2000: Halibut 4 - TD Mat Ryan - Perry Park and Kedron State High School
First - Welcome to the Jungle, Second - The Collective
2001 - Halibut 2001: A Fish Odyssey - TDs Dave McDonald, Tim Ferguson and Stewart McGlashan - Commercial Hockey Club, Newmarket
2002 - Halibutmunchen - TD Mat Ryan - Kedron State High School - 8 teams, 110 players First - Marooned, Second - Schlit Pizzer
2003 - Halibut VII - TD Mat Ryan - Kedron State High School
2004 - Halib8 - TD Jonathan Potts - The Southport School - 6 teams, 55 registrations First - Mind the Gap, Second - Right Cheek, Third - Bondage, Spirit - Fish Fingers
2005 - Halibut 9 - TDs Chris Finney and Adrian Gepp - The Southport School - 12 teams, 112 registrations
2006 - Halibut the 10th - TDs Rena Kurawata and Tegan Don - Shaw Sportz Wooloowin - 13 teams, 170 registrations
2007 - Halibut: It Was THIS Big! - TD Peta McNaughton - Kalinga Park - 16 teams, 214 registrations
2008 - Halibut: Here's Looking at You, Fish - TD Bruce McNaughton - Kalinga Park - 11 teams, 145 registrations First - Plan B, Second - Mind the Gap, Third - Slamtown Flatball Club, Spirit - The Pass
Who will put their hand up to help run Halibut 2009?
The logo from 2002
Your Rego History
Something new(?) I noticed on afda.com today.
If you look at your 'personal details' page, there's now a feature called "show competitions played", which then seems to list every tournament and team you've ever registered through afda.com for!
For some of us, this is potentially a very interesting trip down memory lane.
If you look at your 'personal details' page, there's now a feature called "show competitions played", which then seems to list every tournament and team you've ever registered through afda.com for!
For some of us, this is potentially a very interesting trip down memory lane.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Mission Complete
We forgot to pass on Super-Keith's Mission Beach Tournament report - but given the Townsville Hat is on this weekend (its surely not too late to find a cheap flight and fly up with Notty and Tomsteve), we figured we'd better catch up on our records!
"The Mission Impossible Tourney was played on Easter Sunday at Mission Beach. 38 hardened souls from Atherton’s SFS (School of Field Studies) and Townsville’s JCU strapped on cleats, runners or bare feet for games of high standard Ultimate. Games were played in good spirit in hot, humid and damp conditions. The tourney was run as a Hat format with team C running out undefeated. Congrats to team C who won all three games; I would like to say they did not look like the stacked team of the tourney, yet played a running style which wore teams down, good work.
The final game was the classic grudge match of SFS v JCU. JCU nudged out SFS 7 to 3 in the shortened but tough game.
The MVPs for the tourney were Erin Ridley and Nathan Coppock, both of SFS.
So ends another tourney against our great rivals SFS from the northern region!"
Thanks to all who attended (especially Rowena Eastburne who certainly likes clocking up frequent flyer points).
Keith
PS. Don’t forget Townsville Royalty Hat on 9th May, next Saturday.
"The Mission Impossible Tourney was played on Easter Sunday at Mission Beach. 38 hardened souls from Atherton’s SFS (School of Field Studies) and Townsville’s JCU strapped on cleats, runners or bare feet for games of high standard Ultimate. Games were played in good spirit in hot, humid and damp conditions. The tourney was run as a Hat format with team C running out undefeated. Congrats to team C who won all three games; I would like to say they did not look like the stacked team of the tourney, yet played a running style which wore teams down, good work.
The final game was the classic grudge match of SFS v JCU. JCU nudged out SFS 7 to 3 in the shortened but tough game.
The MVPs for the tourney were Erin Ridley and Nathan Coppock, both of SFS.
So ends another tourney against our great rivals SFS from the northern region!"
Thanks to all who attended (especially Rowena Eastburne who certainly likes clocking up frequent flyer points).
Keith
PS. Don’t forget Townsville Royalty Hat on 9th May, next Saturday.
Today's New Learning - Cones and Lines and Kicking Cones
So I picked up and clarified for myself at least, a few things about lines and cones and ins and outs, in looking at the rules today, in response to a discussion over at Ulti-talk, and figured I'd share my rules-nerdery.
Which Cones Do You Use to Determine if You're In or Out?
If you're playing on an unlined field, and you have to decide if you are in or out, you need to establish the line between the two cones that form the end points of line in question.
So typically, if you're near the sideline in the middle of the field and you want to confirm if you're in or out, you need someone to chug off down to an endzone, and look down the line between the cone at the front of one endzone, and the cone at the front of the endzone at the other end.
What's the Story With People 'Kicking' Cones Off the Line
It used to bother me that on a lined field, if a player was bringing in a disc that had gone out over an endzone sideline, they'd kick the cone out of the way so as to establish their pivot foot.
To me, it'd be good spirit if you do move a cone, to put it back before running off. At the least, if you're on the sideline, you'll do this for a team-mate or opponent.
But checking the rules today, when you bring a disc back into play from out-of-bounds, your pivot foot should actually be inside the line, rather than on it (as the line itself is out-of-bounds).
So, assuming a cone is where we usually place it - on the line - there's no need to move it.
So you'll be able to call violation (admittedly, an undefined violation) on anyone who moves a cone for a pivot foot. Explain the rule to them and ask them to put the cone back before commencing play. [Update You could also try calling travel and most would accept that kind of a call and explanation, although the rules aren't 100% clear on that one, imho.]
Half Way Cones
Remember too that 'half way cones' don't count. I don't know why people put them out.
Which Cones Do You Use to Determine if You're In or Out?
If you're playing on an unlined field, and you have to decide if you are in or out, you need to establish the line between the two cones that form the end points of line in question.
So typically, if you're near the sideline in the middle of the field and you want to confirm if you're in or out, you need someone to chug off down to an endzone, and look down the line between the cone at the front of one endzone, and the cone at the front of the endzone at the other end.
What's the Story With People 'Kicking' Cones Off the Line
It used to bother me that on a lined field, if a player was bringing in a disc that had gone out over an endzone sideline, they'd kick the cone out of the way so as to establish their pivot foot.
To me, it'd be good spirit if you do move a cone, to put it back before running off. At the least, if you're on the sideline, you'll do this for a team-mate or opponent.
But checking the rules today, when you bring a disc back into play from out-of-bounds, your pivot foot should actually be inside the line, rather than on it (as the line itself is out-of-bounds).
So, assuming a cone is where we usually place it - on the line - there's no need to move it.
So you'll be able to call violation (admittedly, an undefined violation) on anyone who moves a cone for a pivot foot. Explain the rule to them and ask them to put the cone back before commencing play. [Update You could also try calling travel and most would accept that kind of a call and explanation, although the rules aren't 100% clear on that one, imho.]
Half Way Cones
Remember too that 'half way cones' don't count. I don't know why people put them out.
It's Time To WUFL!!
Click to embiggen and see all the wonderful details for getting into women's ultimate.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Post Nats Depression?
Are you having PTD from Nationals? Even if you're not, you should get into Fight the Phat. The Phat is a one day hat tournament being run by Jangles "Adam" Beu. "Hat tournament?" we hear you say, well a hat tournament is where all players place themselves into levels based on skill level, then all names are put into a "hat" (more likely to be Jangles pants) and teams are pulled out at random. More details have been released and are as follows:
When: 24th May 2009, 9am-4pm
Where: JF O'Grady Park, Fairfield
How Much: approx $20 (TBC)
What: Hat tournament, with BBQ lunch & prizes.
Who: YOOOOOUUUUU!!
Why: Because it's frisbee baby!
Register here: http://www.afda.com/rego/showdivision.php?divisionid=1062
When: 24th May 2009, 9am-4pm
Where: JF O'Grady Park, Fairfield
How Much: approx $20 (TBC)
What: Hat tournament, with BBQ lunch & prizes.
Who: YOOOOOUUUUU!!
Why: Because it's frisbee baby!
Register here: http://www.afda.com/rego/showdivision.php?divisionid=1062
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Sultry at Nationals
Hope you've been checking out the Brisbane Women's Ultimate site for details of Sultry's Nationals 2009 adventure.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Nationals 2009 - A Tournament in Review
Having spoken to some people regarding their Nationals experiences this year, we felt it was our place to state both our experiences that other people's experiences.
Fields = A+
The fields were amazing. The fact that there was no rain also helped, but even then they probably would have held up. All the fields were also close to each other so watching the other games after finishing your game was easy to do. Great, even, thick grass cover cut to the perfect length for Ultimate.
Lunches = C+
While achieving a passing grade, the lunches left much to be desired. They were the standard frisbee lunch of rolls and roll inserts. However some inserts were missing and some were unusual. We haven't before seen capsicum and broccoli included in many sandwich packs before. Also, there was often not enough food to go round. No chocolate or lollies and no dips some days were unfortunately as well. On one day, Firestorm resorted to a trip to McDonalds to pick up 12 Big Macs and 6 Large Fries, which caused some unpleasant looks from the McDonalds staff.
Dinners = B
The main issue with the dinners was the fact that they ran out on the first day. Then ordered pizza, which the people who had managed to have dinner already seemed to end up with most of anyway. Also, the stinginess really rose after the shortfall on day one. Often players were allowed 1 sausage, some Caesar salad (which was mainly just lettuce) and some potato salad (3 bits of potato) and told if they wanted more then they had to wait for seconds. Although, better that than running out.
Draw = A-
While the draw was a fairly standard 2 hard pools and 2 cusp pools, the best thing about the draw was the semi finals being the only games played at 3:30pm on day three, with all other games starting at 2:00pm. This gave the other players a chance to watch/cheer/heckle the games, including the HoS/Chilly derby which included a number of "We hate you coz you're Victorian" chants.
Player Packs = B-
No discs?! WTF?! The hats are pretty cool though. And the new cleat bag isn't bad either. But the lemon flavoured V? No thanks.
Facilities = B-
The facilities themselves were fine; what you would expect. The main problem was the lack of available water. On at least 2 occasions, the water from the field that Firestorm were playing on was taken away to be refilled, and wasn't returned for over an hour.
Beer Tent = B+
A great meeting place for the players after the days games and whilst having dinner. The only issue was that they didn't extend the beer tent to down the hill until the last day during the finals, but was a very popular decision when it was done.
Party = C+
This has nothing to do with the Tim Booth incident, more to do with the beer and the lighting. The beer was rank, but then that could be just a personal choice. Also, if you are encouraging people to dress up then the lighting should be sufficient that people can actually see each other.
Overall = B
While there were some little things that weren't good, overall the tournament was a success. The fields really were the saving grace that made the whole thing worthwhile. And before people say "one thing doesn't make a tournament", fields really are the first thing you remember (everyone remembers Coffs last year) and the main part of the tournament is to play frisbee, and the fields allowed for good frisbee to be played.
Any other thoughts out there?
Fields = A+
The fields were amazing. The fact that there was no rain also helped, but even then they probably would have held up. All the fields were also close to each other so watching the other games after finishing your game was easy to do. Great, even, thick grass cover cut to the perfect length for Ultimate.
Lunches = C+
While achieving a passing grade, the lunches left much to be desired. They were the standard frisbee lunch of rolls and roll inserts. However some inserts were missing and some were unusual. We haven't before seen capsicum and broccoli included in many sandwich packs before. Also, there was often not enough food to go round. No chocolate or lollies and no dips some days were unfortunately as well. On one day, Firestorm resorted to a trip to McDonalds to pick up 12 Big Macs and 6 Large Fries, which caused some unpleasant looks from the McDonalds staff.
Dinners = B
The main issue with the dinners was the fact that they ran out on the first day. Then ordered pizza, which the people who had managed to have dinner already seemed to end up with most of anyway. Also, the stinginess really rose after the shortfall on day one. Often players were allowed 1 sausage, some Caesar salad (which was mainly just lettuce) and some potato salad (3 bits of potato) and told if they wanted more then they had to wait for seconds. Although, better that than running out.
Draw = A-
While the draw was a fairly standard 2 hard pools and 2 cusp pools, the best thing about the draw was the semi finals being the only games played at 3:30pm on day three, with all other games starting at 2:00pm. This gave the other players a chance to watch/cheer/heckle the games, including the HoS/Chilly derby which included a number of "We hate you coz you're Victorian" chants.
Player Packs = B-
No discs?! WTF?! The hats are pretty cool though. And the new cleat bag isn't bad either. But the lemon flavoured V? No thanks.
Facilities = B-
The facilities themselves were fine; what you would expect. The main problem was the lack of available water. On at least 2 occasions, the water from the field that Firestorm were playing on was taken away to be refilled, and wasn't returned for over an hour.
Beer Tent = B+
A great meeting place for the players after the days games and whilst having dinner. The only issue was that they didn't extend the beer tent to down the hill until the last day during the finals, but was a very popular decision when it was done.
Party = C+
This has nothing to do with the Tim Booth incident, more to do with the beer and the lighting. The beer was rank, but then that could be just a personal choice. Also, if you are encouraging people to dress up then the lighting should be sufficient that people can actually see each other.
Overall = B
While there were some little things that weren't good, overall the tournament was a success. The fields really were the saving grace that made the whole thing worthwhile. And before people say "one thing doesn't make a tournament", fields really are the first thing you remember (everyone remembers Coffs last year) and the main part of the tournament is to play frisbee, and the fields allowed for good frisbee to be played.
Any other thoughts out there?
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