Ah Believe Its Gonna Rain (Sometime)

For those who occasionally have a gentle moan about missing their frisbee because the fields getting closed due to rain, AJSC have posted their photos of the flooding last Tuesday, that helped push BPL back a week (a scan of the rest of the AJSC website is well worth it, for those interested in our regular field hosts).

Brisbane Ultimate has had a bit of a golden age over the last few years. Essentially, we've had enough of a drought that there hasn't been any rain to wash out many nights of Ultimate, but (unlike some of our friends down south) we've had enough rain to keep the fields green and open.

We here at the Brisbane Ultimate Blog copped a feel of Pallen's gammy twitchy knee and predict a lot of lost nights of Ultimate this year. Has your team got Plan B (eg meet at pub instead) ready to go?

Sticker Up the QUDA Trailer

So the QUDA Trailer makes its first official outing this weekend.

Since the purchase was announced, the trailer now has a nice tool box on the front of it.

Which is just begging for your Ultimate Frisbee bumper stickers!

So if you've got any frisbee stickers sitting in the drawer at home, bring them down to the BCI and stick them onto the QUDA trailer.

Welcome Griffith and UQ Folks

So yesterday, Ultimate Frisbee had stalls at both the UQ and Griffith Nathan O-Week Market Days, and they gave away heaps and heaps of those nice promotional postcards that feature both the official quda.org website and our most wonderful Brisbane Ultimate Disc blog here.

And going by the stats in the stately mansion's IT sub-basement, they're flocking here. So we say HELLO! and also "Scroll down or look right for more sensible information" and "please don't worry too much about the occasionally silly thing you'll see in the comments sections".

We hope to see you all on the fields soon, and hope you'll visit the blog here on a regular basis and become part of the fun.

Just those reminders:

Free Learn to Play at Griffith Uni Nathan AFL Field Kessels Rd at 7pm this Monday 1 March and next Monday 8 March, as well as 10am-12pm Saturday 6 March.

Free Learn to Play at UQ St Lucia Oval 7 Coleridge St at 6pm this Wednesday 3 March and Wednesday 10 March.

Come on down and have a go.

BPL 2010-1 Round 1 Draw

Well we're back into the swing of things. BPL starts again this Thursday night with the biggest number of teams ever seen (note: fact checking wasn't done, just a gut feeling). Get your tips in for the highly regarded tipping competition. Will Jdr attempt to shoot the moon again? Time will tell.

'Cause You Are Too Busy Being Fabulous

[If you're new to this blog and to Brisbane Ultimate - please check out the 'Useful Info' links on the right]

It's heck-busy here at the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion this week, and all around Brisbane Ultimate as a whole. If you step into the house, you'll be lucky to find a post-it note telling you what's up. But lets have a quick run through.

ITEM: So on Sunday it was lovely and we decided to step from the mansion and take my disc-golf-virgin-ass down to the Yeronga Disc Golf Course for a look-see. Under the careful tutorage of Master Bruce, I can now say my cherry is popped as the plastic hit the chains on the front nine. Entertainingly, we ran into two dudes (hi Luke and Rueben!) who'd seen the course and heard about disc golf and decided to give it a go. It was their lucky day to get the run down from Master Bruce. Disc Golf is on every Sunday from 3pm at the Yeronga Course. Its good stuff. Bring your mini-esky and a hat. Prams are also very useful.

ITEM: BUML started last night, and your blogger was at both Griffith Nathan and AJSC to enjoy some fantastic fields and watch some 'still a little bit rusty' Ultimate. It was great to see so many people back, and of course the lights shining at both venues. The BUML Organising Committee (BUMLOC) have found their feet for this season, but are looking ahead to the next, so if you've got any ideas or preferences, get onto them in the next month or so.

ITEM: It's the O-Week Market Day tomorrow at both UQ St Lucia and Griffith Nathan. Both groups will be armed with the fancy new recruitment postcards that QUDA/ BUDA/ WUFL/ UQ have arrranged. Helpers are still sought for Griffith Nathan, where we hope to establish a Club and get a late team into BUML.

ITEM: Thursday sees the start of this year's Brisbane Premier League, and what better way to start than with the inaugural BPL Launch Lunch in the Valley. Get in touch if you're keen to attend - tickets are selling fast. Meanwhile, IgorWetnose is down in the very bowels of the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion, working on this season's draw design and tipping comp rules. Expect to see these up here asap, here at your number one home of BPL coverage (accept no substitutes).

ITEM: Of course, this weekend sees the Brisbane-Canberra Invitational Tournament, featuring the best of the best out at the State Hockey Centre at Lytton. Heaps of people are heading along for a look. Keep checking out the Firestorm website for more updates.

Crikey! We'll be buggered by the end of this!

Welcome to Brisbane Ultimate - February 2010

Lots of new people seem to be finding out about Ultimate Frisbee in Brisbane at the moment, and finding this little website on their way.

So welcome to the Brisbane Ultimate Disc blog. Here we talk about ... Ultimate Frisbee in Brisbane. We do a range of news, views and just plain silly stuff, depending on the whims of the main poster. Yes, there's a few in jokes, and on occasion it ventures well beyond the limits of Brisbane and/or Ultimate Frisbee. Don't take it too seriously.

Here's the real info you need to get into Ultimate in Brisbane at the moment.

Ultimate is an easy, cheap and fun way to get fit.

New Leagues are starting all over Queensland, and in most cases new players are always welcome and able to get onto teams. Just get in touch with the organisers. You can usually learn on the go!

Brisbane Monday Night Mixed League – Greenslopes and Nathan – buml@quda.org
Brisbane Tuesday Night Women’s League – Toowong – blog
Gold Coast Wednesday Night Mixed League – Miami – website
Brisbane Wednesday Night Uni League – St Lucia – website
Townsville Wednesday Night Mixed League – JCU – blog
Brisbane Thursday A-Grade Open League – Greenslopes – blog

For most of these leagues its smoothest to get in touch with the volunteer organiser via email to help get onto a team. It's also worth dropping by the fields at the right time to say g'day and have a look.

A number of special Learn to Play sessions are planned over the next few months. This is a great and free way to have a go and get your skills up before venturing to League. For information on these sessions, contact enquiries@quda.org

Wednesday 24 February – St Lucia – UQ Oval 7 (Coleridge St) from 6pm
Wednesday 24 February – Townsville - JCU AFL Field from 7pm
Wednesday 3 March – St Lucia – UQ Oval 7 (Coleridge St) from 6pm
Saturday 6 March – Nathan – Griffith AFL Field (Kessels Rd) from 10am
Monday 8 March – Nathan – Griffith AFL Field (Kessels Rd) from 7pm
Sunday 21 March – Clayfield – Kalinga Park (Diggers Rd) from 3pm
Sunday 11 April – Clayfield – Kalinga Park (Diggers Rd) from 3pm

For getting into Ultimate, bring along a filled waterbottle (there’s lots of running!), shoes for sport on grass, and a dark shirt and a light shirt.

Monday Night - Week 1 Draw

Here's the draw for the first round of the Brisbane Ultimate Mixed League aka Monday night.

Note we now have different times and different locations!

Division 2
Griffith Nathan - 7.15-8.15pm
Field 1 - Heroes vs DiscHeads
Field 2 - Frisky Time vs Baby Chimis
*Note - at Griffith lights are automatically on at 7pm and off at 8.30 (although last week they stayed on until 8.45 - please feel free to play a pickup game once the Div 1 players depart)

Annerley - 7.30-8.30pm
Field 3A - exQUisiTe vs Dyspnoeics
Field 3B - Mellow Yellow vs Kelvin Grove Cougars
Field 5 - Bermuda Triangle - Poachers Bye, but this field is available for training or pickup[edit]

Division 1
Annerley - 8.40 - 9.40pm
Field 3A - exQUisiTe vs Mongo
Field 3B - Plastic Scourgery vs Chimichanges
Field 5 - Wushi Finger Hold vs Team 6

Sweet Mother of All Get Out Crap Jebus!

Its less than six months until the second annual Brisbane Indoor Ultimate Championships!

Have you registered yet? Guess who has!

Important Overlooked Statistic

There's been a lot of chat over the years about whether Ultimate is good or bad at keeping statistics, records, results and its general history.

We here at the Brisbane Ultimate Blog try to do our little bit, but we're also aware that one day Blogger will go the way of geocities. Ah well.

But anyway, one of our spies noted an interesting statistic in the report on the 2009 WFDF Asia Oceania Ultimate Club Championships. Bear in mind these are the OFFICIAL results and all.

Have a look.

Go right down.

Keep going.

Yep.

Australia may not have done as well as it might have liked on the fields, but our own Jonathan Potts is the official 2009 WFDF Asia Oceania Ultimate Club Championships Saturday Party Best Male Costume Wearer, for his effort as "Undead Hooker".

Well done Pottsy. Can someone link us to a photo?

Undead hooker ... might be a good name for my next hat team ....

How's He Going to Carry 12 Frisbees? Just Give Him MORE!

Donations for JdR's charity run for the Royal Children's Hospital through the Clem7 tunnel have hit $250!

That means he's pledge to carry 12 frisbees on the 10km journey through the Brisbane underworld.

Special thanks to Ultimate community members and regular blog readers, aL 'the Don of Dons' Don, Stu 'Pants, as in "That's so pants"' Austin, Owen 'O-Shep' Shepherd, Andrew 'Mansauce, the World is Better with Mansauce' McKasker, and Adam 'Jangles' Beu for their donations. Please pat these guys (sadly, no gals) on the back when you see them.

If you need an extra reason to pull out that more of your Earth money ... JdR's non-Ultimate friends (are there such things?) are well ahead of the Ultimate community in making donations!

So c'mon Brisbane Ultimate (and beyond), lift your game!

Here's all those details again. Remember, you can donate as little as $2 ... it all adds up!

Ok everyone - there was some recent action in the stately mansion, which
has resulted in the Brisbane Ultimate Blog's own JdR deciding to take on the
challenge of the Clem7 Tunnel Charity Run. The charity bit for the run supports the Royal Children's Hospital - yep, its for sick kids (not "fully sick" like Trevor or
Paige, we mean "really ill").

You can sponsor JdR by going to: http://www.imworkingwonders.com.au/personalPage.aspx?SID=95751

To spice things up, for every $20 donated, JdR will carry a frisbee on the run. So if say he gets $200, he'll be carrying 10 frisbees (1.175kg of plastic), jovially waving them around to the other runners and such, (depending on his fatigue levels of course). [Edit - yes, you can just donate $5 - the $20 bit is the added up thing]
Yep, make a donation and you get to help kids, encourage JdR doing something silly, and promote flying disc sports, all in one go! Now, there's VALUE FOR MONEY.

Rainproofing Your Tournament*

*as best as you can, anyway.

So you’re planning your big tournament, got lots of people flying in, all set to go. Yeah baby. Love that Ultimate.

Then the fear sets in.

“What if it rains?”

"The forecast is looking pretty bleak."

"Brisbane had lots of localised flooding yesterday!"

“What if the people hiring us the fields decide to shut the fields?”

“Oh craaaaaaaaap!” "Armaggedon!" "We're doooomed I tell you, dooooooomed!!!"

So, some thoughts based on our experience at running Nationals 2003 in Canberra, attending Worlds 2004 in Finland, talking to the folks who organised Nationals 2008 at Coffs (all major tournaments that dealt with heavy rain in the lead up and first day of the tournament), and reflecting on some years of dealing with field hirers.

Well, first things first. Sometimes it hits and it’s the shits. I mean, you can’t be responsible for an Act of God. God’s responsible for that (that's why they capitalise the Act bit), or the randomness of a chaotic and soulless universe, if you prefer it that way. (We here at the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion usually just stick to the occasional sacrifice to the Spirit Goddess in our pagan ritual temple out back).

So yep, if the field is flooded then ITS OFF and all you can do is nominate a decent sized pub and tell everyone that’s all you can do (although you might ring a few pubs and explain the circumstances and see if you can arrange to bring your own lunch in (or outside) in exchange for your patronage). You can also make suggestions of good things for tourists to do while visiting your town.

But what with the wonders of modern weather-forecasting, you generally know a few days or up to a week in advance if it is forecast for rain before or during your tournament. (if you haven’t been looking, just wait until those emails from players who do keep an eye on the weather forecast to start coming in … they’ll be shrill!)

So tip one – make sure your field hirers are aware of the nature of your event. – a one-off weekend EVENT with LOTS of people FLYING in (and quite possibly a national championship of some importance).

Most field owners primarily use their field for week-in, week-out sport. If you own a soccer field and you usually have soccer every weekend, then its often not such a big deal for you to shut your fields (I mean, it is for that week, but a week later its forgotten). Its an inconvenience, but generally worth it to keep the fields in good condition. So they’ve got a general approach of closing their fields. (Tangent – this is why I’m surprised when Ultimate players over-stress their League fields being shut occasionally. Yes, some field owners will shut fields to lower priority sports like Ultimate and prioritise their own sports, but that’s the way field ownership is. And – I mean, for Ultimate as for other users, its preserving the field you’ll be using the following week. Wouldn’t you rather play on good fields?)

This is a different mindset to people who run on-off-events. Talk to someone at the convention centre or the Winter Olympics and they’ll be completely in the headspace of ‘the show must go on!’ no matter what (although if necessary you change a few things, but I’ll come to that).

Ultimate tournaments aren’t quite that important of course, but make sure the uniqueness of the event, and the impact of closing the fields is clear in your field hirer’s mind.

Preferably give them this information far enough out that it’s relevant when they’re thinking about a decision (not after they’ve made it – because changing a decision is something people don’t like doing), but not so far out that they’ve forgotten it by the time it comes for them to make the decision.

The most powerful piece of information that you can give the field owner is just how many people are flying in for the tournament, and from where. If you’ve got 30 people coming from NZ, 30 people from Sydney, 30 people from Melbourne, 15 people from Adelaide, etc etc flying in specifically to play a big tournament, then it’s a very big call for a field hirer to shut the fields. Maybe you can even quantify the costs. "All together people have spent $50,000 on flights to get here!" (200 people at $250 return)

Its often thought that its an option to ‘just find some other fields’. This is challenging because a) if one venue has shut their fields due to rain, most other venues in the region will be in the same state of sogginess and b) you probably had enough trouble finding a suitable venue in the first place, so finding a replacement that’s half as good at short notice could be really difficult. That said, if you’ve got good relationships with your usual field providers, it can be worth some quick cries for help. Often still this is a big challenge in terms of redoing a draw to suit a smaller number of fields, on the other side of town.

But if there’s obviously a wet weather problem with the fields, but you’ve convinced the owners that you have hundreds of people committed to flying in to play, then you need to consider some changes to the event, and start working cooperatively with the owners to get your tournament happening.

Have you already paid a deposit for the field hire?

This gives you a bit more leverage than if you haven’t. They’ve accepted a greater commitment from both parties.

Can you rejig your draw (or have two draws ready to use, depending on the final weather pattern) to use some fields and not others?

Many field providers have at least a mental hierarchy of their fields. Maybe you can stay off their best field(s) until they dry out a bit more (or not use them at all). Maybe you can also change your field layout plans, and fit an extra smaller field or two in the rougher field space to help you minimise byes etc. (Don’t forget to mention you’d expect a cheaper rate, although you don’t have to sort that straight away).

While it is hard to find a whole new venue, maybe you can find another field nearby that can fit one or two Ultimate fields on it, and use them to offset not using the best fields at the main venue.

Has the venue got lights?

If its been raining during the week but it stops for the weekend, you can move play back 2-3 hours to get things dried out – eg don’t start play until midday Saturday, and play through to 9pm. Try to suggest that you’re doing them a favour in helping to preserve the fields, so maybe they shouldn’t charge you too much for lights.

If the field owner is being very reticent, another option is to agree to no play on Day 1, but a commitment to full (or longer) play on Day 2 (in any conditions should of catastrophic). Maybe they’ll agree to the gamble – some people assess risk very badly.

Let them know you can provide manpower in the form of your local teams if they have any tools and techniques for drying fields out., or getting the covers on.


Leaving the field hire issue, also if you’re a TD and you’re looking at a rainy weekend:
- invite locals to bring tarps, tents, rope etc – whatever you’ve probably arranged for shade isn’t quite enough for rain;
- rain will annihilate temporary line markings, so be ready to forget about that (save yourself the money and effort if you can) and roll out the portafields. You’ve got cones anyway;
- go and buy a few hundred big garbage bags, and give them out to Capatains/ teams/ players / spectators. Plastic bags keep your stuff dry, and are also useful for shoving your wet gear into. And you can wear them;
- bring a hose, mops and buckets, to deal with all the wet grass that’s going to get dragged around Frisbee central, the toilets, and so forth;
- Ditch the iceblocks, but see if you can get a big pot of soup on the go - get a bunch of cans of soup, thin out with water, polystyrene cups and a ladle, and get on your BBQ. Your wet players will love you.

Foresightful insights

It seems like we have a special creature among us. One that has the power to foresee the unforeseen. One that can speak the future before it happens.

Jdr was ridiculed by many for his posting that BPL started this week. Due to the outcry calling for his blood by many (including yours truly), he withdrew his statement and bowed to the masses opinion of BPL starting next week.

Jdr has now been vindicated and returned to his thrown of Overlord Above All Others after the latest email from Stu confirming BPL's start date of this Thursday Feb 18th.


"See, I told you I was right all along!!" - Jdr

10 Days to the Brisbane-Canberra Invitational

The press releases are flying thick and fast from the BCI war-room. Imagine your best Churchillian voice (this one, not that one) and read on

Ladies and gents,

I hear reports that much love was shared on the weekend, and I hope it was enjoyable for all.

This brings us within a fortnight of the BC Invitational, so this is just a little reminder about how to follow the tournament for those who aren't playing.

IF YOU'RE IN BRISBANE - Get on down to the State Hockey Centre on Lytton Rd in Colmslie to watch all the action live. You're welcome at any time. The draw is on the website (link below), if you want to see particular teams or games. This will be, without question, the highest standard of Ultimate played in Brisbane this year.

IF YOU'RE FOLLOWING ONLINE - We intend to update the results page of the website after each round: http://firestorm.quda.org/?page_id=395We will also be updating scores and results through Twitter, hopefully live as each round progresses.

They'll be coming out on the Firestorm Ultimate feed, @firestormulti, but you should watch the #bci2010 hashtag, where we'll be encouraging all players and spectators to speak up: http://twitter.com/search?

For all those sitting at home, feel free to make comment or ask questions on bci2010 as well.

FOR MORE TOURNAMENT INFORMATION - The tournament website is at: http://firestorm.quda.org/?page_id=211 This is where you should be able to find out everything about what's going on, including competing teams and the tournament draw.

Cheers all.
John - BCI TD - Zero411 835 750

We Retract the Call

So yesterday we were getting excited about the BPL training night this week.

Of course, the BPL training night isn't until NEXT week, 25/2.

Hundreds of posts, occasionally we get something wrong.

BUML out at Griffith last night was great though. So many new faces running around. Its rained.

One question is how the Brisbane Ultimate scene will deal with the return of 'normal Brisbane weather'? With the drought we've had a dream run really, in terms of not having many nights rained out. But now we're heading back to weather patterns last seen around 2005 or so. Wise TD's will have either 2-3 catchup/replay nights included in their draws, or a flat 'if its rained out, then that's that, the seasons are long enough as it is' policy.

Back on Green

So yesterday the senior member of the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion's household decided it was time to get out the cleats, shake off the hot hot summer, and get back onto the Ultimate field, in preparation at least for tonight and this Thursday, and headed on down to Sunday Pickup at Kalinga Park.

In sum, Sunday pickup at Kalinga Park is very cool, and you're a fool to miss out. We were impressed by the number of new players having a crack, and am glad that a future move to a 4pm start may be more attractive to those of us with slightly less sweat available for our bodies to exude. This event will only grow through the year, as the weather gets a bit cooler.

Tonight sees the start of BUML (rego and info), with some pickup at Griffith Nathan AFL Fields (map) (where we've been previously for Regionals 2007 and 2008). Gaining and keeping this venue to a big step for BUML (after the loss of Yeronga due to its being redeveloped into the new QAFL headquarters), so get on down there and have a run. This is the time to bring along your mates for a go, or recruit a few newbies to flesh out your team.

While we're talking BUML - what's the frickin' deal with the 70 people who want to play Division 1 forming themselves into only 5 teams??? Do they love their buddies so much that they want to have a bye every few weeks????? Madness ....

[Edit - its actually next Thursday 25 February for the warm up night!] Thursday sees the warm up night for BPL (you've been down to the Gold Coast blog to check out the second half of their season preview, haven't you?), assuming the lights at AJSC have been repaired as was hoped (otherwise it'll be fitness work in the dark for some teams, for others, it'll be some strategy sessions over at the Greenslopes Bowls Club).

Of course, the forecast for rain this week could stuff it all up!

Queensland Lands Four in Australian u23 Women's Team

Congratulations to Queenslanders Terri Morgan, Bree Edgar, Blair Sheard and Simone Ryan for being named in the Australian u23 Women's team to take on all comers at the World u23 Ultimate Championships, to be held in Florence, Italy in July.

Go Aussies!

Black Armbands

So we'll be bringing the black electrical tape down to Leagues this week and next, to acknowledge the passing of the inventor of the flying disc, Walter Frederick Morrison, at age 90 following a battle with cancer.

Here's the ABC's take. The Wall Street Journal. The Independent has a fun photo. The Times. Wikipedia.

The local Utah TV news has a bit of coverage (sit through the advertisement on the video first, alas).

Inventing the frisbee.

*sigh*

Wedgienals - Wegister Wu Wascally Wabbits!

Aha! Here's the reason Simmo has been so quiet on the blogging front.

Nobody seems to be regoed for Regionals yet! There's nothing for him to do his stock-in-trade analysis from!

Regionals is less than 5 weeks away, after all. 13-14 March ....

Northern Regionals is in Brisbane: http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=791 As we speak, only three Open teams regoed. Ladies? Slamtown??Firestorm???

Eastern Regionals is in Tarro (near Newcastle): http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=786 Only four Open and three Women's teams so far.

Southern Regionals is in Narre Warren (west of Melbourne): http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=797 Only one Open team (yeah Gfuc) and tow Women's regoed so far.

Western Regionals is at Macgilvray in Perth: http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=790 One Open, two Women's teams so far.

More Lovin''for Your Finger Shovin'

UQ has the most versatile and best logo.

It'll Be Our Women and Children Next!

Well, we can't believe it!

It's bad enough that we here at the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion have to keep the moat to the north of the estate well stocked with savage Dom Venturas and whatnot in readiness for the annual invasion season from the wild norsemen (and women) of the North (usually around the time of Northern Regionals - coincidence? I think not).

But now we have to get boost our rear defences, if a recent view of the CCTV footage covering the southern end of the compound is to be believed.

Now, you'll all know that normally around this time of year, as is right and proper, the stately mansion spends a bit of time dissecting the upcoming Brisbane Premier League season.

So imagine our surprise to see that the upstarts from the Gold Coast have gone ahead and done their own preview!

Now of course, we here at the ORIGINAL AND BEST home of online BPL coverage are confident that, much like the Cobras before them, this effort will soon faulter and fade down to the bottom of the blogging pile.

Back to the CCTV footage. Someone's picked up a few tricks after their time with the Sensei, wethinks. While the ninja outfit is doing a remarkable job of covering up the orange shirt, the crazy grin on the fellow we see, slipping into the stately mansion's computerised analysis centre and rifling through and photographing our notes on the next season, give the game away.

For many, this could mean war. And not any woosy government War On Something Unpopular (although we're comfortable that the QI of the Slammers is going to start low and stay there). But real war.

But you know, what the heck. We here at the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion are people of peace. So go on over and see what the GCers have to say about the upcoming season. Just lock up your wives and children before you go.

UQ League Info Out

The UQ Club and Global Octopus has announced details of this year's League.

What: Mixed UQ Social League
When: Wednesday nights all UNI semester, 6.00 PM for a 6:30 start - 8:30 PM.
Where: Oval 7, corner of Coleridge Street and Sir Fred Schonell Drive, St Lucia
Cost: $70 includes a disc.

Check out the UQ website.

Monday Night League Starting Soon

Well, folks have been impatiently (but politely of course) for the return of Leagues. Last Tuesday of course saw the start of WUFL at Toowong, but problems with the lights and bookings at the ARC fields at Greenslopes has led to a few delays for BPL and BUML.

BUML is starting to move though, starting with this update from the new BUMLOC (BUML Organising Committee):

Well, there is some good news and some bad news ... and then some more good news.

Good News : Our new League Director has an even bigger Iron Fist than Notty and looks ready to take us to the next level over the next 12 months.

Bad News : Annerley will not let us use the fields on the 8th and we are not sure about the 15th yet. Jason has been working hard trying to negotiate something for us.

Good News : PICK UP IS ON THIS SUNDAY and every Sunday at Kalinga Park Clayfield 3pm. Bring a white shirt and a black shirt. ALL WELCOME, even beginners. Get your frisbee fix.

More Good News : Jason has just secured some field space at Griffith for Monday nights from the 22nd so keep your eye on the BUDA mail group for news of what will be happening. Nice work Jason !

League Committee
League Director : John Coorey (buml@aanet.com.au)
League Assistants : Chris Fox (remington_fox@yahoo.com) and Adilia Murabito 0411873743
League/Fields Advisor : Jason deRooy

Rough Plan for BUML 2010 Season 1

2 weeks of Pick-Up and Learn to Play
Once we have secured some fields there will be approximately 2 weeks of Pick-Up and Learn to Play - Date and Location to be advised. ALL WELCOME - Bring your friends First timers are encouraged to come and try it out. This will be a great night to meet people and recruit for your league team, or form a new team.

Field Space
- Field space at Annerley is an issue every year. Jason is working hard to secure some options for us. We will advise when location(s) for the league has been decided.
- The number of fields and locations available affects how many teams we can have and how we structure the league so stay tuned for more details.
- You can help by finding out about any fields you think we could use in the future (on any night).

League Format
- Start date to be confirmed
- 8 - 10 week season
- Div1/Div2 or other format and timeslots to be confirmed

Team Registration
- Given that we have not confirmed the location and format of the league, it is difficult to confirm teams but more information should be available next week. At this stage just use the current Div1/Div2 registration format and we will go from there.

- All players must be registered on AFDA under their team. http://www.afda. com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitioni d=763. If you do not already have a free AFDA number, go to afda.com and press 'join'.
- If you do not have a team, please register under "I Need a Team"
- If you are playing in more than one division, register in BOTH divisions and put your alternate team name in the "Team name in other division" field. (The ability to play in two divisions may be subject to change depending on format/location of league.)
- Div 2 teams must have a minimum of 7 "Div 2 only" players (This could change as well)
- All teams must have a minimum of four people of each sex registered. Aim for at least 12 people in total.

Pick-Up Players
- Pick-Up will now be held on weekends thanks to Jangles.
- BUML is not a pick-up league.
- Players who are not registered under a team are considered pick-up players and will not be permitted to play for that team. All Pick-Up players are to report to League Director on the night and may be required to pay a fee.

Fees
- Fees will be team based. Total fee to be advised.
- A deposit will be required prior to draw being issued. Cut-off date will be advised.
- Remaining balance will be due by week 3 of the league.

Playing Rules
- Timeouts, points cap, half time, time cap, gender split etc to be advised,
depending on length of time-slots and number of women registered.

Communication
After the draw is issued, all communication regarding Monday night league/draw/ results will be via the YUFL_intermediate yahoo mail group.

Warmly
League Committee

February QUDA Newsletter

Just in case you aren't on the right email lists (and you should be if you want to keep up to the minute), here's the February 2010 QUDA Newsletter, cut and pasted from email (apologies for lack of full formatting transition).

Yes, you know you can rely on the Brisbane Ultimate Blog to keep you up to date!

Hi everyone, happy new year,

Here's a whole heap of info about what's coming up. Sit back, relax and read all about it!

1. Northern Regionals 2010 - 13-14 March, J.F. O'Grady Fields, Fairfield , Brisbane

QUDA is pleased to award hosting rights for Northern Regionals 2010 to the Black Betty team, who plan to host the tournament in Brisbane . The national association, AFDA, recently devolved responsibility for Regionals to the local state associations. QUDA has approved Black Betty using the event to raise funds to support its nationals campaign.

Northern Regionals has two divisions - Women's and Open - and is used by some teams to qualify to attend the corresponding National titles, which will be held in Adelaide at the end of April.

Northern Regionals has traditionally been a high participation event - everyone is welcome at whatever level of skill they choose to bring. For many mixed players, Northerns provides a great change of pace in just playing with the boys or the girls. We hope everyone can attend.

2. Brisbane Northside Pickup Starts this Sunday 7 February - Kalinga Park , Clayfield.

If in Brisbane and you're fangin' to play some Ultimate, Jangles has generously offered to take the lead in getting regular Sunday pickup games played. Pickup is a great way to bring new people down to have a go at Ultimate, while also stretching yourself and playing with different people. Its free, just bring a white shirt and a black shirt, a waterbottle and some sunscreen. Arrive about 3pm, and leave when people are to pooped to play on (or it gets dark).

Location: http://www.whereis.com/qld/clayfield/149-diggers-dr?id=2DC59F2FCC2873

3. $200 grants for under 18’s going to major tournaments this year

The Queensland State Government has a grant program that provides a $200 rebate to under 18’s who must travel more than 200km to compete in a State, National or International Championships. The grant can only be applied for after the event.

So if you are an under 18 who is travelling more than 200km to attend Northern Regionals, Nationals, Halibut, Mixed Nats, Youth Nats or World Juniors, please get in touch and we’ll help you out.

More info at: http://www.sportrec.qld.gov.au/Funding/Ourfundingprograms/YoungAthleteAssistanceProgram.aspx

4. Brisbane Canberra Invitational - 27-28 February, State Hockey Centre, Colmslie

Its Brisbane 's turn to host the Brisbane Canberra Invitational (aka the BCI) at the end of the month. Teams and players are already sorted, but this is probably the highest quality Ultimate you'll see in Brisbane this year. 16 of the best Open and Women's teams from Australia and New Zealand will be attending. The Firestorm team are leading the charge in running the event, but if you want to lend a hand, let them know. But otherwise, get your spectating gear on (including your Firestorm and Black Betty fan supporter's merchandise)and get along.

Full info is available at: http://firestorm.quda.org/?page_id=211

5. QUDA Gets a Trailer!

After many years of relying on the good nature and general roadworthiness of the McNaughton family trailer (thanks Bruce!), Ultimate in Queensland now has its own piece of registered on-road hardware - the QUDA Trailer - with which to cart its gear around in.

There's even a photo on line at: http://brisbaneultimatedisc.blogspot.com/2010/01/quda-gets-trailer.html

Did you know that QUDA also now stores most of its tournament gear (marquees, water containers, BBQ, etc) at JF O'Grady Field, in Fairfield ? If you need to borrow the gear, now including trailer, for your Ultimate event, get in touch. Oh yeah, and we need a volunteer Equipment Manager to handle this baby - see below.

6. Leagues Starting Up Around the State

For those in the know (and on the right emailing lists):

The Brisbane Women's League (WUFL), starts tonight, Tuesday 2 February, at Oakman Park , Toowong;

The Brisbane Mixed League (BUML), held on Monday nights has been delayed slightly while fields get finalised, but hoping to start in the next week or two - news soon on the BUDA and YUFL email lists;

The Brisbane Premier League (BPL) for A-Grade Open players, is programmed to start on 18 February, with some training nights beforehand, field availability pending;

The Townsville League for all comers, is getting going on Wednesday 24 February at the JCU AFL Oval - keep an eye on Townsville Ultimate at: http://townsvilleultimate.blogspot.com/

The Gold Coast League (GCL) is set to go on Wednesday 17 February at Pizzy Park . Email gcultimate@gmail.com or keep an eye on http://goldcoastultimate.blogspot.com/

7. North Queensland - Fee Free QUDA Events and Local Travel Grants

Two bits to this. First, QUDA has agreed that in 2010 and 2011, any players from North Queensland who travel to South-East Queensland to play the Northern Regionals or Halibut tournaments, will be able to play these QUDA-run tournaments for free. This is to support those players who must spend a lot on travel to get to these events, and folks in the south certainly benefit from having extra teams attend.

Second, Townsville City Council provides occasional travel funding of $150-200 to people from Townsville heading to the SEQ or interstate for a State or National titles (so Regionals, Nationals, Halibut, Mixed Nats, or Youth Nats). Ideally, people would apply for this as a group. http://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/services/departments/cip/grants/sport-rec

Also Cairns Regional Council also provides travel funding of $100-$300 for under 18’s travelling to State and National titles. http://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/content/grants/files/Young%20People%20In%20Sport%20Application%20Form.pdf

8. Halibut 2010 and Regionals 2011 - Invitations to Regions to Bid

To support and reflect the growth of Ultimate on the Gold Coast, QUDA has invited Gold Coast Ultimate to prepare a bid to host Halibut 2010. It is hoped to announce the success of this bid by the end of March at the latest. Halibut had previously been held on the Gold Coast in 2004 and 2005.

In April 2011, Brisbane is due to host the National titles, so QUDA has invited Townsville Ultimate to prepare a bid to host Regionals 2011, along with a two year plan to further develop Ultimate in Townsville. This will be a big step for this event. It is hoped to confirm this arrangement by October 2010 at the latest, to allow for SEQ-based players to get organised.

9. QUDA Annual General Meeting

The QUDA Annual General Meeting will be held over the weekend of and at Northern Regionals (13-14 March). The meeting involves reports from the President and Treasurer on the state of the Association, as well as elections for positions on the Executive. Members are also welcome to propose items of general business - please get in touch if you think there's anything you'd like to see discussed. More to come.

10. Play in Cairns

Do you know any Ultimate players in Cairns ? There seem to be plenty around, and we're trying to link them up so they can start playing more officially. Spread the word, and send us your contacts.

11. Other Weekend Disc Fun to Mark on Your Calendar

There are a few more announcements to come, but here's a few to salivate over:

Disc Golf - every Sunday from 3pm, at the Yeronga Disc Golf Course! Enjoy a round of relaxed or competitive disc golf (whatever suits you, really).

Beach Ultimate - The Beach Ultimate Series (BUS) is still running, with play planned for the weekends of 20-21 February and 20-21 March (will probably be one day events). Keep your eye on the blog at: http://adbuc.blogspot.com/

Bashionals - 17-18 April 2010 "The Nationals you have when you don't qualify for Nationals!" Bashionals is a new tournament we're hosting in Brisbane , open to all the many teams who don't qualify to attend Nationals (which will be in Adelaide the following weekend). We're hoping a few local Queensland teams will line up against the best B teams from around the country, so lock it in, Eddie.

Fight the Phat - 9 May 2010 - The hat for cool cats, returns. Jangles wants you for a day of Ultimate fun.

11. Volunteer of the Month

QUDA's Volunteer of the Month is Ms Notty Nott! If you haven't heard otherwise, you'll be saddened to know that the long-standing Director of Brisbane's biggest League, BUML, is leaving our fair State, as her employer is sending her off to steely Woolongong.

Notty has been a fantastic and dedicated League Director for Monday nights, as well as being one fo the first to put her hand up whenever there's any Ultimate-related work to be done around Brisbane .

Hope we'll see you back here a lot for tournaments and stuff, and moving back here permanently in 12 months!

12. Yes, and You too Can Help!

As you may guess, there are lots of volunteer jobs currently looking for someone to take on - maybe you can make 2010 your year to lend a hand and give something back to the sport?

BUDA (the Brisbane Ultimate Disc Association) is looking for committee members (particularly a Secretary). Elections will be held at the QUDA AGM. Want to help develop the strategic direction of Ultimate in Brisbane ? This is your chance.

QUDA is looking for a new Equipment Manager, when Jangles retires at the AGM. Like to buy stuff and keep records of what we've got and who's borrowing it? Go to lots of tournaments? Get in touch.

QUDA is also on the lookout for a new Universities Coordinator, with the upcoming retirement of Nathan. Perhaps you're into the Uni scene but don't think your particular club needs all your attention. Maybe we want to help spread Ultimate to new University campuses. Maybe you like to party, hard.

Griffith Nathan O-Day - QUDA is putting on a stall at the Griffith Nathan O-Day on Wednesday 24 February. We're trying to encourage a club to form. Let us know if you can come and give us a hand!

Really, any time you feel like putting your hand up, there'll be something for you to do. Or we can work out what you might want to do, so that you can put your hand up! There's so much going on building our sport larger and better, and we rely on your help so get in touch with someone who's doing something, and offer them your time, hands and brains.


Well that's it - a big year coming for Ultimate in Queensland ! See you on the field.

Frisbee, Fatboy, Frisbee!

Ok everyone - there was some recent action in the stately mansion, which has resulted in the Brisbane Ultimate Blog's own JdR deciding to take on the challenge of the Clem7 Tunnel Charity Run.

The charity bit for the run supports the Royal Children's Hospital - yep, its for sick kids (not "fully sick" like Trevor or Paige, we mean "really ill").

You can sponsor JdR by going to: http://www.imworkingwonders.com.au/personalPage.aspx?SID=95751

To spice things up, for every $20 donated, JdR will carry a frisbee on the run. So if say he gets $200, he'll be carrying 10 frisbees (1.175kg of plastic), jovially waving them around to the other runners and such, (depending on his fatigue levels of course). [Edit - yes, you can just donate $5 - the $20 bit is the added up thing]

Yep, make a donation and you get to help kids, encourage JdR doing something silly, and promote flying disc sports, all in one go! Now, there's VALUE FOR MONEY.

BCI Less Than Four Weeks Away

What's likely to be the biggest tournament in Queensland this year (although there are rumours circulating about some ambitious Halibut action coming), the Brisbane-Canberra Invitational (great how Brisbane is first in that name there, like its an old fashioned sexist thing with Brisbane as the boy and Canberra is the girl or something) is on soon.

Tournament Director John McNaughton recently stepped out from the dodgy timber Firestorm share-house to face the assembled Ultimate media and read the following statement*.

Ladies and gents of the press, and curious observers,

Thank you for joining me for this media conference. May I first acknowledge the traditional owners of this land, the Moreton Bay Buggers. I will beat you at BPL yet, you scurvy dogs.

I'm afraid I am pushed for time and there will be no questions, I shall instead read a short statement. George, the statement please. Thank you.

"The Golden City Classic has been run and won, which means that the 2010 BC
Invitational is less than 4 weeks away!

TOURNAMENT INFO

So here's the basics.

The BC Invitational is the Brisbane/Canberra Invitational, alternately hosted by Firestorm and Fyshwick United. It is an elite invitational tournament for the best teams in the country, and created with the goal of making it the premier Open/Women's tournament on the Australian Ultimate calendar, outside of
Nationals itself.

2010 will be the second time the tournament has been run, and Firestorm's
first year hosting.

It will be held at the Queensland State Hockey Centre in Brisbane on 27-28
February.

Let's talk Teams.

We've had a great response from invited teams this year, which will make for an intense and competitive tournament with the best clubs from around the country:

In the Open Division, we have of course Firestorm (from Brisbane, and the best and most good looking team), Fyshwick United (Canberra), Chilly (Melbourne), Heads of State (Melbourne), I-Beam (Newcastle), Karma (Adelaide), Sydney Men (I like that name - simple and to the point), and Auckland Open (ditto).

In the Women's Division, we have of course Black Betty (from Brisbane, and the most charming and well groomed team), FACTory Girls (Canberra), Sporting Team Box Athletico United (Melbourne), Honey (Melbourne), Indies (Perth), Sydney Women and Black Betty 2: Electric Boogaloo (Brisbane of course).

Instead of asking me silly questions, why not check out the website which has all the key information: http://firestorm.quda.org/?page_id=211

Or you could try meeting us privately to ask questions or do other things that consenting adults do together in private - use the Contact Us page if you have any questions, or email me directly. Note that I'm afraid our rubber-wear expert has left the country.

We will be aiming to keep the website up to date with everything over the coming weeks, as much as possible, and posting score/game updates throughout the tournament. Yes, you can follow along at home with your mates, and bet matches or something on the games. We also intend to provide frequent score/game updates at the tournament on the Firestorm Ultimate Twitter feed:

http://twitter.com/firestormulti

We hope to share some footage and hopefully overwhelm the media, so it doesn't look too hard for dodgy party photos. We are hoping to capture a reasonable amount of footage from the tournament, and possibly even make some form of lightly-edited DVD available for sale afterwards. No guarantees on this though - it's a bonus that we'll organise if everything else is well covered.

Finally, let me personally invite anyone in Brisbane to come down and see the best teams in Australia going at it. Please wear your Firestorm and Black Betty fan gear of course. The tournament draw will be posted on the website, including timeslots, so you can pick your match-ups if desired.

Looking forward to it. Thank you for your time media scrum. Please get out of the way now Simmo so that I may return to my regularly scheduled program."

So there you have it folks. John McNaughton's State of the BCI address. Expect more news to come. Now back to you in the studio.

*Which we have fleshed out a bit - the tape recorder we found in the desk drawer at stately Brisbane Ultimate manor kept playing up.

Sunday Pickup Returns to Kalinga Park

Sunday Pickup is starting this weekend (Sunday 7 February) at Kalinga Park on the Northside of Brisbane.

For those unfamiliar with "pickup" - Ultimate around the world is characterised by semi-organised games made up of random individuals. Pickup is a great way to make new people, have a no-pressure run around, and bring new people down to have a go at Ultimate without their having to commit to a team, pay a league fee, etc etc.

Just remember to bring a white (or light) shirts and a black (or dark) shirt, as with pickup you never know which team you'll be on or needs you the most!

Starts: Sunday 7th February and running weekly after that.
Time: Arrive about 3pm and play through to whenever we want to pack up.
Cost: Free
Bring: Light and Dark Shirts, waterbottle, sunscreen and a frisbee.
Where: Kalinga Park, Clayfield - http://www.whereis.com/qld/clayfield/149-diggers-dr?id=2DC59F2FCC2873

Get onto the Brisbane Ultimate yahoogroup to get updates (see the right hand side of this blog). Subscribe by sending an email to: BUDA-Ultimate-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Thanks to Jangles for taking the initiative to get things going. I reckon many Brisbane Ultimate players have some kinks that have developed over the lazy Summer that they'll need to get out, so why not head on down?

iPad's for Ultimate?

So last week there was a lot of excitement amongst technical geek types (many of whom of course are or should be Ultimate players) about the new Apple iPad.

We imagine the conversation going something like this:

Technogeek: "Wow - the new iPad looks AWESOME! What do you think it will mean for Ultimate?"

Ultimate Player: "I dunno mate - it doesn't look like it'll fly real well."

Leagues of Justice

All is quiet on the Brisbane Premier League (BPL – aka Men’s Thursdays) and Brisbane Ultimate Mixed League (BUML – aka Monday Mixed) while we wait hopefully for good news about the lights from our field providers at Annerley. They’ve booked the repair work to be done on Tuesday, so hopefully we’ll have some news later this week and there’ll be announcements of play starting next week …. but we’ll have to see I guess. BUML also has a new League Director in John C, and there may be some format changes to BUML due to field availability issues, but there's a bit of a wait in solving that.

But meanwhile, tomorrow (Tuesday) night sees the first night of the Women’s Ultimate Frisbee League (WUFL) over at Oakman Park, Toowong (corner of Moggill Road and Union St). Weather permitting (it’s looking rainy this week in Brisbane, but Oakman Park drains remarkably well), play will run from 7-9pm. The full season will run for 8 weeks until 23 March (just before Easter) and cost a bargain $30!

Register now at: http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=784
(remember – registering helps organisers heaps! Do them a favour and take a few minutes to do it)

And if you aren't already signed up to the WUFL yahoo group, send an email to WUFL-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to keep up to date with the Women's League.