Monday, March 29, 2010

Integrity and Ethics in Sport Survey

Colmar Brunton has been commissioned by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) to conduct research about ethical and integrity issues in sport, and are looking to survey players, coaches and administrators Australia-wide.

To participate, start at http://surveys.cbr.com.au/htdocs/survey.php?job=Y41118

For Ultimate, this can be interesting for considering what our ethical and integrity issues may be, as well as considering what might set us apart from other sports. A bunch of us filling in the survey is also a way to get onto the larger stage.

Friday, March 26, 2010

BUML Draw for 29 March

Brisbane Ultimate Mixed League Monday Night 29 March (updated)

Division 1 - Annerley 8.40pm-9.40pm
Field 3A Mongo vs ExQUisiTe
Field 5 3B Chimichangas vs Wushi Finger Hold

Bye Crossover - Annerley 8.40pm-9.40pm
Field 3B 5 Frisky Time vs Plastic Scourgery

Division 2 - Annerley 7.30-8.30pm
Field 3A Discheads vs ExQUisiTe
Field 3B Bermuda Triangle vs Mellow Yellow
Field 5 Dyspnoeics vs Poachers

Division 2 - Griffith Nathan 7.15-8.15pm
Field 1 Baby Chimis vs Heroes
Field 2 Kelvin Grove Cougars vs Griffith Go Go's

Don't forget that you are in charge of starting your games on time.

If you would like to receive the draw via email, then send an email to yufl_intermediate-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

BPL 2010-1 Round 4 Results


Thursday, March 25, 2010

Slot Me In, 2011 Edition

So Queensland has survived another bruising (or not) Regionals process, and two teams are off to Nationals 2010.

Interestingly, based on the numbers at Northern, Eastern and Southern Regionals 2010, the North Region could have once again sent 3 teams if it wanted to. The Wildcard allocations went North, East, North, East, East. But as lots of people wanted to play Regionals, but nobody wanted to play Nationals, the third Wildcard slot went to NSW/ACT.

Its worth adding in to anyone's planning when South East Queensland is anticipated to host Nationals 2011. Assuming similar results to Nationals 2009 at Nationals 2010, the North Region will only have one guaranteed slot to its home Nationals. Its hard to say if Wildcards will be available, as Brisbane is more attractive to all comers. But its probably safe to assume there might be one wildcard out there for North to get, and an outside chance at a third slot.

If you're a Firestorm fringe player who wants to play Nationals, should you be signing up on Slamtown? Forming a new Brisbane club? Is Townsville too far to commit to?

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Cancellation Blues

So alas, Bashionals 2010, proudly brought to you by the Brisbane Ultimate Blog, has been cancelled.

Of the 10 teams that played Regionals but didn't qualify for Nationals, only one demonstrated its keen-ness by paying the small deposit by the due date. Three other teams had expressed an interest. Two had said they couldn't make it. Four others didn't show any interest.

Meanwhile, Chilly have also cancelled the proposed 2010 Border Classic.

Maybe people don't want tournaments?

We shall test this on a local scale soon ... be prepared for both shining light and blackest night.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Clubbin' the Squeals

Since blogging about blogging about Ultimate seems to be the top topic at the moment, we figure this is a timely time to get the chrome-plated fully-automatic whacking stick ("Oh whacking day, oh whacking day") from above the front door here at stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion, and take a look through the blog-roll that we cheerfully maintain down the right side of this here blog.

To help guide this periodic cull, we're even setting a poll over there on the top right too! Imagine the baby-seal eyes of Tiger or Simmo looking up at you as you vote and metaphorically bring the club down.

No, we're not power mad and overwhelmed with our own awesomeness at all!

Comments as always are welcome.

BPL 2010-1 Round 4 Draw

Monday, March 22, 2010

Champion Stuff

So a little while back the Brisbane Ultimate Blog was called out for inviting tips for BPL every week, and then not announcing the winners at the end of the season (see the comments below this post).

Now, let it be clear, the tipping thing is purely for people's own entertainment, and possibly that of a few other people. Its just something that happens when you have time to tip, and Wettie gets around to tallying them up when he gets a chance to take a break from helping the bunnies wax our gold plated hovercraft.

Nonetheless, we do care about the long term thrill power enjoyed by you, our faithful readers. And so a few weeks back, certificates to recognise true tipping quality were printed up, and presented to our first place getter, Stu (see photo) and our sixth place getter, Jules (not worth a photo).

Well done all.A happy champion tipper hols up his First Place Certificate.

Northern Regionals Report

For anyone who otherwise missed it, here's the gin from TD EB
Hello players!

Well what a week it's been! It was only last weekend that Northern Regionals was held at JF O'Grady park in Fairfield - with great attendance from the major playing centres in Queensland/Northern NSW. Whilst the weather provided us all with some challenging playing conditions, it was great to see all teams putting in the hard yards and playing some exciting, competitive ultimate!

The finals rankings for the Open competition are as follows:
1. Firestorm
2. Slamtown Flatball Club
3. Townsvillains
4. UQ Ultimate Lovers
5. Brisbane Barbarians.

As a result of this fantastic participation in the Open division, the Northern region has been allocated two slots for Nationals this year!! Congratulations to Firestorm and Slamtown Flatball Club for their invitation to participate in Nationals 2010, we know you will represent us well in Adelaide and do us proud!

In the Womens division, given that there was only one women's team vying for the Northern Womens's slot at Nationals, this year's competition was held as a hat tournament. This was open to all women in Queensland and a great day was had by all involved, with some evenly matched and competitive games. Congratulations to Black Betty who are also heading to Adelaide, representing the Northern women at Nationals! We are hoping that womens ultimate in Queensland will continue to grow so that we may soon be able to send two womens teams to Nationals.

Thanks to all who volunteered on the weekend, including TOC members Molly, Peta, Tati and Adilia, the Black Betty girls who came early to help set up each day, and to all the boys who helped us set up/down the tents and water coolers each day. It is the volunteer effort that really helps a tournament run smoothly on the day, and I really appreciate all of you who offered your help during the weekend! We look forward to another great year of ultimate in Queensland, and hope you will continue to be involved in the many leagues and tournaments that will be happening across the state this year!

Finally, the TOC have a couple of comments on the tournament that we would like to share with you all. As most of you would be aware, Black Betty ran Regionals this year as a fundraising exercise for their 2010 Nationals campaign. Unfortunately, the tournament has actually run at a loss, due to circumstances both on behalf of the TOC and the players. We feel it is important to let you know that this happened so it can be avoided in the future.

One problem we had was players registering to play but not turning up. A tournament’s final budget (particularly one this small) is largely determined by the number of players registered to play, which is why closing dates for items such as team and player registration are set. This means that if players register but don’t show up it instantly put the tournament organisers on the back foot in terms of their budgeting. If you register for a tournament and then for whatever reason are unable to play, please remove yourself from the AFDA rego page for that tournament as soon as possible.

Another problem was players registering to play two days and only playing (and thus paying) for one. The reason tournaments organisers offer the option to play only one day is that we realise people are often unable to commit to both days due to other commitments. Again, however, it is important for tournament organisers to know this prior to the start of the tournament.

Please bear these things in mind for future tournaments you may play - it will help your tournament organisers provide you with a better tournament.

Once again, the TOC would like to thank all of you for attending Northern Regionals, and wish good luck to those heading to Nationals. We certainly enjoyed playing host to Queensland and Northern NSW ultimate players and we hope that you enjoyed your weekend too!

Regards,
Emma - on behalf of the 2010 Northern Regionals TOC
(Emma, Molly, Tati, Peta and Adilia.)

Friday, March 19, 2010

BPL 2010-1 Round 3 Results


BUML Draw for 22 March

Brisbane Ultimate Mixed LeagueMonday Night 22 March

Division 1 - Annerley 8.40pm-9.40pm
Field 3A - Wushi Finger Hold vs Plastic Scourgery
Field 5 - Mongo vs Chimichangas

Bye Crossover - Annerley 8.40pm-9.40pm
Field 3B - ExQUisiTe1 vs Kelvin Grove Cougars

Division 2 - Annerley 7.30pm-8.30pm
Field 3A - Dyspnoeics vs Heroes
Field 3B - Poachers vs ExQUisiTe2
Field 5 - Discheads vs Frisky Time

Divison 2 - Griffith Nathan AFL 7.15pm-8.15pm
Field 1 - Baby Chimis vs Bermuda Triangle
Field 2 - Mellow Yellow vs Griffith Go Gos

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Full Hand

So with the relatively recent launch of the Heroes Ultimate Blog, we seem to have a full hand of BPL Clubs now blogging and covering the season (assuming you're feeling generous about the UQ Blog).

So the natural thing to do here at the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion, of course is start the fantasy blogging reviewing competition thingee.

Basically, we're going to go up and down the blogging street and bang on the doors and rate whatever shambles out onto the footpath. Here we go!!!!

Moreton Bay Buggers
Key Bloggers: Mike, occasionally MatR and Wetnose used to as well.
Posts over last seven days: 1. Generally a few posts per season.
Following (aka number of comments over last seven days): 1.
Layout: Currently seems to be getting a makeover, as its been stripped back to nothing.
Content: Does what is says on the can. Excellent sense of history and competition. One the one hand, we sometimes feel the need to get the red pen out on Mike for his atrocious spelling in the occasional title (we all fail in the body of course). He's a teacher! On the other hand, we know he's busy, keeping the kids off the street and all, so we forgive. We forgive!
Humour/Heckle Mix: No strained chuckles here, as the focus is on love of the game and the people. Matches the Bugger worldview. Straight up hard yakka.
Quote: "I love the start of a BPL season. The potential, the new tactics, the new team list, the fear and excitement and this league the new teams."
Name Dropping: Very rare. Possibly a tactic to prevent opponents gathering intel.
Appropriate Recognition of the Brisbane Ultimate Blog: Nil, although pointing elsewhere is not the nature of the Bugger Blog.
Final Comment: This is a blog that's more about the timeless historical record than weekly entertainment. Simple, straight-forward and a cornerstone of the BPL blogging scene. Still, we'd love to see more.

UQ Ultimate
Key Bloggers: Natman, Gref, Kaitlin
Posts over last seven days: 1
Following (aka number of comments over last seven days): 0 The only commentless blog under review.
Layout: Header seems to be busted again, which is a pity as the Unicorn logo remains a good one. The switch to pink on black last year at least makes this one distinctive.
Content: Surprisingly and sadly, for the best club in Queensland three year's running, and one that's full of students with IT skills and no doubt heaps of time on their hands, there's nothing there about the UQ BPL teams Passion and Lovers. Indeed, what is there is fairly brief.
Humour/Heckle Mix: Flat.
Quote: "Wednesday 03-03-2010 Rain has made UQ Sport closed the fields.... so we can't have our fun tonight."
Name Dropping: Zippo, which is surprising. You'd think this thing would be like chat roulette or something.
Appropriate Recognition of the Brisbane Ultimate Blog: We make their blogroll.
Final Comment: *sigh*

Gold Coast Ultimate
Key Bloggers: Squishy aka Stef
Posts over last seven days: 3. Not bad, but then they're covering a whole city ...
Following (aka number of comments over last seven days): 4. Not bad.
Layout: Ow. Much like Stef, the Slamtown blog hurts my eyes and general sensibilities, but then its a good match for the team and scene. There's great Slamtown and Gold Coast logos out there, but they're not to be seen as yet. Has tried to use a few pictures which is to be applauded.
Content: Match reports and general Coast stuff, although the new BPL Power Rankings are a welcome addition to the overall scene. Will be interesting to see if they can keep this up and entertaining over a long season. Reports from GC League have been strong in the past, and give a real sense of the competition.
Humour/Heckle Mix: Usually confined to the comments, I guess mindful of the blog representing the entire Gold Coast, rather than just some sort of fruity BPL team. Features a link to the Kenny Dobbins blog which is awesome - the linking I mean, although the blog has its moments too if you're interested. The adoption of the Mayoral voice could prove interesting and give some life to it.
Quote: "The plethora of memorable qoutes in addition to the hard work on the pitch, and a good night on the town will have this Regional tournament going down as a groundbreaker for the SFC. It will be used as a stepping stone in pursuit of our ultimate goal at this tournament. The Mayoral Assent has summoned for a Changing of the Guard."
Name Dropping: Frankly, most of us are still in the dark as to who's on this team, and indeed, who Gold Coast Ultimate really is.
Appropriate Recognition of the Brisbane Ultimate Blog: Appreciates what the BUB has done to build their readership. We get so little appreciation here sometimes.
Final Comment: Good stuff entertaining and informing a wide audience.

Cobras
Key Bloggers: Reece and Wetnose
Posts over last seven days: 1. Acceptable if it can be sustained.
Following (aka number of comments over last seven days): 2. Not bad.
Layout: Needs its own header (flowers? wtf?). Don't like the ads.
Content: Detailed match reports. Some big chunks of text will scare off the Gen Ys though. Makes use of the wonders of the internet by including links too!
Humour/Heckle Mix: Ambitious but still needs work. That said, Wetnose loves the smack when he can, although this is most often in the comments of other blogs.
Quote: "Never fear devoted reader's and bored 9-5 workers. I will cover every single game I play. No need to worry about taking back previous comments (Hi Sensei). I won't let my blog's quality or quantity falter (Hi Sensei)."
Name dropping: Reasonable. Folks from home and away teams get mentions.
Appropriate Recognition of Brisbane Ultimate Blog: Ok (as Wetnose also helps run the BUB) and we're on the link list, but could step up. I mean, last Thursday JdR scored an awesome goal off a diamond cut from the front of the stack, but didn't get a mention (of course, this was against Neil's outrageous layout score).
Final Comment: A solid setup, so unlike everything else to do with the Cobras - I mean, there's no caps lock at all ....

Dojo Mojo
Key Bloggers: Sensei aka Steve
Posts over last seven days: 2. Not bad. Usually once a week.
Following (aka number of comments over last seven days): 15. Selection of a firey hot topic for a second post of the week has been very popular. Few people miss a chance to check the Dojo Blog.
Layout: Matches the team's aesthetic. Lots of detail and a sense of history. Dojo TV brings a certain uniqueness (although seems to be sadly missing this season) and occasional 'holy crap Japanese TV yeah?' moment.
Content: Fairly one eyed match reports, but isn't that the Dojo way as we in the West have come to understand it? Frequent mention of the garden and grounds gives the blog a sense of place (up the street from stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion). Occasional diversions into wider matters are high quality and worth reading. Good use of popular culture.
Humour/Heckle Mix: Oh so dry. It's easy to get the Dojo voice into your head. Might be time for the tinfoil beanie if you can't enjoy this stuff.
Quote: "Where's my quote?????"
Name dropping: Tends to only drop the big names and people they're desperately trying to get the attention of. Bit like Molly Meldrum.
Appropriate Recognition of Brisbane Ultimate Blog: Very good. Its clear Sensei and the Dojo appreciate the work and lead guitar of the BUB (to the Sensei's occasional drum solo of course).
Final comment: Highly recommended.

Heroes Ultimate Blog
Key Bloggers: Carl and Dan (thankfully no Jangles in sight)
Posts over last seven days: 3. Not bad. Let's see where this goes ....
Following (aka number of comments over last seven days): 2. Not bad.
Layout: Clean and nicely logoed.
Content: Presently heavy on the BUML match reports, light on the philosophy. A good place to establish a new blog with.
Humour/Heckle Mix: Gentle and generous, much like the Heroes themselves.
Quote: "Well last night saw the Heroes take on the Cougars. I liked our chances coming up against what seemed to be a very unfit team of teachers, however I did not take into account the crazy skills of their incredible player Mike. An impressive display of skill took the cougars to an early lead of 2-0 over the heroes. We were somewhat in awe of Mikes efforts, Laura was quoted during the game to say "WOW, he's good""
Name Dropping: Pretty good - lots of Heroes and friends rating a mention. Match reports attract the attention of other teams.
Appropriate Recognition of Brisbane Ultimate Blog: Good - they link to us, and post emails from JdR for general gratification. Sadly, the Cobras blog is inexplicably the first on their list.
Final Comment: Patiently awaiting some BPL commentary - particularly for the many old Thursday night hands, it'd be great to read the views from a newer BPL team.


And now for the no doubt highly controversial (we point you to the comments section to vent) and totally subjective (its Ultimate after all) scores!



So that's it - as a big picture, its outrageously awesome! So many people writing about the BPL this season. Views from every angle! So keep up the blogging and the commenting, people!

ps for those who have been asking about "the world outside Brisbane Ultimate" (well, Megs anyway), this week's bit of the internet we point you (and by you, we mean specifically Rob and Jon) to is "the taste of pain".

It Was 20 Years Ago Today ....

It was twenty years ago today
Little Pottsy met Jason Ray
Way over on Oval Six
Where he learned his first frisbee tricks

So may I re-introduce to you
The hack you've known for all these years,
Jonathan Potts, Frisbee Naked Maaannnn!

He's Jonathan Potts, frisbee naked man
He hopes that you'll be marking slow
He's Jonathan Potts, frisbee naked man
Sit back and let forehand go.

Jonathan Potts fris, Jonathan Potts fris, Jonathan Potts frisbee naked man.

Buzz Burwell yes he was there,
Flan, T-Ross, Kath as well.
Pottsy loves an audience,
He'd like to take you home with us,
He'd love to take you home!

I don't really want to drink that much,
And he's always been kinda butch,
But he's always going to wave his schlong,
And he wants you all to huck it long.

So let me re-introduce to you
The one and only Jonathan Potts
20 years he's been a frisbee maaaaaaannnnn.

With apologies to the Beatles and Sgt Pepper.

18 March 1990 - Jonathan Potts first plays Ultimate Frisbee at Oval 6, University of Queensland. 20 years later he's the President of the World! Drinks tonight at the RE.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Just One Fix

How many volunteers in Ultimate do you know who do just *one* job?

I don’t know many. Most volunteers I know are doing all sorts of things – they might organise a team, coach some kids, run a tournament, be a committee, write a blog, book a field.

This is partly because its fun to do all sorts of stuff, and volunteering is and should be fun.

Its partly because different things start and finish at different times and require different amounts of time and involvement.

Partly too, “one thing leads to another”, and there are lots of synergies that can sometimes be found in doing these various jobs.

Mostly its because of demand though – Ultimate players and groups and as a new sport has lots of ideas and things to do.

And sadly, its often because once you have a bit of a track record in doing a good job as an Ultimate volunteer on one activity, people look to you to help them with everything else, and the volunteer becomes sucked in by the vacuum that’s there.

But maybe Ultimate volunteers should rethink this. Maybe they should just do one job, and do it really well? In fact, often the best jobs done in Ultimate are done by someone who’s dedicated to that one role or task, and not juggling a bunch of different things.

Can you simplify what you do for Ultimate, and thereby do what you do very well, and get a sense of achievement from that and model what we want everyone to be doing?

Have We Got a Video? Yes, We've Got a Bloody Video!

Lots of email flying around at the moment about useful video resources - figured we'd post the links here so we can remember them for next time.

This looks pretty impressive - maybe we should buy a few copies to support the effort these guys have made - http://www.howtothrowlikeapro.com/ (thanks to Pete L for his recommendation)

Four minutes of general Ulti-highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-6mHYXyd9s recommended by Dan C.

The Australian Crocs at the World Games: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR3WP8V-gHY - recommended by Stef who shows it to all the kids at school. Can't believe we haven't seen this one before in the stately mansion!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Congratulations, Bashionals Qualifiers!

By virtue of not qualifying for Open Nationals, the following lucky teams have qualified for Bashionals!

East: Hills; Newcastle B

South (to be finalised): Chilly B; Bad Apples; QFC ; Gfuc

West: FEAR; Happy Pig

North: Townsville; UQ Ultimate Lovers; Some sort of Barbarian mutant local team

Of course, if you didn't play Regionals, or don't feel like Nationals (hello Fyshwick B), you're still welcome to put together a team to contest Bashionals. We pride ourselves in a much simpler qualification route than Nationals, after all.

Send in your team deposit by the end of the week - if we have six confirmed teams, Bashionals is on!

April 17-18, here in Brisbane.

Blogging About Blogging Is A Sin, But Only If Its Auto-Blogging About Blogging

*can't quite pull thoughts together to blog effectively today ... Regionals, QUDA AGM, BPL, BUML, recruitment, all sorts of stuff milling around in mind ...*

Hey everyone, check out the latest posts on the Gold Coast, Buggers and Dojo blogs! Plus the UQ website. And Reece said he was going to put something on the Cobras blog too, so keep your eye out. And surely the Firestorm blog is soon to be updated ....

*points down and to the right to the blogroll, then hides in cupboard for some auto-blogging*

Friday, March 12, 2010

BUML Draw for 15 March

Brisbane Ultimate Mixed League

Monday Night 15 March

Division 1 - Annerley 8.40pm-9.40pm
Field 3A - ExQUisiTe vs Wushi Finger Hold
Field 3B - Mongo vs Plastic Scourgery

Bye Crossover - Annerley 8.40pm-9.40pm
Field 5 - Chimichangas vs Bermuda Triangle

Division 2 - Annerley 7.30pm-8.30pm
Field 3A - Baby Chimis vs Mellow Yellow
Field 3B - Discheads vs Kelvin Grove Cougars
Field 5 - ExQUisiTe vs Heroes

Divison 3 - Griffith Nathan AFL 7.15pm-8.15pm
Field 1 - Dyspnoeics vs Griffith Go Gos
Field 2 - Poachers vs Frisky Time

BPL 2010-2 Round 2 Results




None of the tipsters have been able to figure out this season's form to date. The best of the tippers is currently a massive 6-way tie on 67% between Gref, Stu, Julz, Jmac, Jack & Reece. Stu and Jmac get props for maintaining this level over 2 rounds, with the rest of the 67% gang only having tipped 1 round.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Sexy Sexy

We don't blog about sex here. We leave it on the field.

That is all.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Regionals Preview and Your Invitation to Tip

So after a bit of a cull, it looks like the Open Division of Northern Regionals has settled into five teams.

Lets go through the teams, and you can put your tips in below. Rosters can be viewed here.

Firestorm
The A1-AlphaDog-DominantLifeform-TopoftheFoodChain-ArnoldSchwarzenegger-ZombieLich-Galactus-CitizenKane-DalekEmperor of Northern Regionals. They laugh at this tournament (usually this is followed by a crack of thunder), and have started lobbying to skip it in future. And probably rightly so - once you've harvested the best talent and cut the chaff, as well as trained for months like the crazy eager buggers they are, what can you expect, aside from seeing Firestorm at the top of the trophy for another year.

Northerns Form: 2009 1st and 2nd (O/D squad); 2008 1st and 2nd (Troopers/Zippo), 2007 1st.

Player to Watch: All of the tricky beggars. Whoops, they've scored on you again. The one guy who probably hasn't flogged you before is named Rob. He'll flog you too apparently. And for the sake of Queensland pride at Nationals, please don't break any of them (treat Buzz like he's your mother, which he is (spiritually)).

Towns-Villians
Evil, evil people from the True North, who will no doubt thrive in the hot and humid conditions this weekend. Like mould. Rumour has it that the Villians consider this a warmup tournament for coming again to smash and grab the inaugural Bashionals title. We shall see. The roster may be a little short, but they've picked up a dark lord in the form of Vinko of the Sith, and as usual some dudes will just appear out of the blue. Looking forward to seeing the new outfits. Expect a forfeit on Sunday morning if tradition holds up.

Northerns Form: 2009 4th (as Thor); 2008 3rd (as Thor); 2007 2nd (as Thor); 2006 4th (as No Panda).

Player to Watch: Hugh Osborne will occasionally blog on you. Mike Larson keeps getting better (at what, we're not sure). Hamish.

Slamtown Flatball Club
Slamtown have had some highs and lows in their short modern existence. This year's squad has been hardened up by a game or two in the BPL, and boasts a very strong Byron Bay/Channon flavour. Expectations will be high, but if the gang similar to last year then day two could be tough again. If Northerns were Survivor Heroes and Villains, these guys would be Coach. Will likely take the second Northern slot to Nationals, in some form or other.

Northerns Form: 2009 5th; 2008 4th (as The Pass)

Player to Watch: Stef Rappazzo of course. You can't help but look at him. Like a car wreck on legs. This guy is so tough he sweats blonde playgirls, craps steel I-beams and wees boiling tequila, lemon and salt - and that stuff doesn't have to fall far to hit the ground. Daughters should also be hidden from several members of this team. Jords will be much bigger this year, as will Dr Phil.

Brisbane Barbarians
The team named after this blog. A horde of unknown size, made up random Brisbane residents, who's idea of training is taking the Beenleigh line to the Muddy Farmer and going for a run involves dealing with last night's curry. Somehow both the Dave Lister and the german speed metal scene of Queensland Ultimate. As with last year, depth and having local beds/meals/women to go to may be the difference over travelling teams, particularly on Day 2. Planning to win Bashionals.

Northerns Form: 2009 3rd; 2008 5th.

Player to Watch: The Barbarians are a mix of knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. Amongst the knowns, Rob Lowe will wave the QUDA credit card in front of you while cutting long. Amongst the unknowns, Fiji Ultimate's Neal Radcliffe is making the transition from dickin' around on the beach with bikini babes and a frisbee to some hard running Ultimate. How will he go? Amongst the unknown unknowns ... well, there's some dudes we met at BUML on Monday night who reckon they're coming down.

UQ Lovers Go with Trevor to Northerns
Only six registered as we type, but we're assuming UQ will get it together as it usually does (ie the last minute). While named the Lovers, this team will likely be very angry. Angry with having been cut from Firestorm. Angry with the GFC screwing up their plans of well paid easily-done GenY world travel and jobs. Angry with their flatmates, the women who say no to them, their parents. Angry at the whole damn world. And so they'll throw a lot of hammers. Should be planning to win Bashionals, but it might be a bit close to when assignments are due.

May we add though that its a great thing that members of best Ultimate Club in Queensland have finally removed themselves from the Firestorm teet and recognised that they should be playing at Regionals and driving towards Nationals in their own right. But we disgress). Is a home Nationals 2011 campaign on the cards? Expect their plays to be copied from Wikipedia.

Northerns Form: Unbelievably, UQ has never entered a team in this event. Unless you count Firestorm.

Player to Watch: Hard to say without knowing the full squad. Can Brenton, the star of AUGs, continue his upward trajectory?


Note for tipsters - since you'll all (except maybe for Crazy Pete) be putting Firestorm at the top of your list, we suggest you also tip the round robin goal difference. Assuming four games to 15 and time cap of 80 minutes against the other teams, how many points will Firestorm score against how many will they let in?

Also, why not try tipping the winners of Easterns and Southerns?

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

So What Would a "Brisbane Ultimate Stategic Plan" Involve?

Stepping out of the normally impersonal stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion here - yes, its a chat on the street with JdR.

So following this post and associated email and talking to folks, I was asked by a couple of people as to what this might look like.

The most important thing that I want to see if a *process*. Even if this thing comes up with things I completely disagree with, I will be happy if we've done something through a good process.


This strategic plan thing is about deciding as a *volunteer* group where we want Ultimate in Brisbane to go in the future, what we think we should prioritise to make this happen, and by implication, what sacrifices we’re willing to make to make this happen (by sacrifice, I mean “instead of putting my volunteer effort into doing solely what I think we should do on my own, I will aim to cooperate and put my volunteer effort towards the things the group (of which I am a part) is keen on.”)

Ie – this is about generating a collective agreement about what we want and what we want to do about it, and the volunteer group committing to it, and in particular not revisiting it unless things change drastically.

To try to get people to abstract from their personal commitments to the present (or the current status quo), its also typical of a strategic plan that it doesn’t start for a while. Hence, my thinking for this one is that we do the work in the second quarter of 2010, and implement for 2011-2013.

A plan like this is also desirably consistent and relatively simple. Consistent so that a new person can pick it up and understand it, and also to harmonise people’s effort over time (ie not waste effort doing something that doesn’t fit, distracts people or just plain goes against the effort of other people). Simple so that you don’t over-do it.

Committing to it is also about conserving effort. If we agree now our plan for the next three years, then we’re also saying we’re not going to spend time and effort doing this again until its done or something drastically unexpected changes.

I’m not really wed to what the Plan should involve – the important bit is that we have a process and that people are willing to give and take and agree to something that is “best for Ultimate in Brisbane”.

I could leave this post here, because as I've written above, the important thing to me is that we do it. Its secondary what it contains. But then I'm willing to offer some ideas on that too, to sketch out some things that I think people might want to address.

What is the goal of Ultimate in Brisbane? We need to discuss this and see if we all have a common goal. Personally, I think it is ‘growth’ in player numbers. Other possible goals – doing well on the National stage, developing quality play, having fun, increasing legitimacy of the sport, establishing stability/consistency in administration/fields/etc, giving existing players more opportunities to play – all of these can be interpreted in terms of growth

What is the scope of such a plan? I’d suggest the focus of the plan be about Leagues in Brisbane - things that are conceivably under the control of a single administrative structure (hopefully BUDA). Tournaments and other things that happen within the Brisbane geographic area are things that are accessible to non-Brisbane players, or need to be consistent with things that are done outside of Brisbane. So these other things can be left to QUDA or AFDA to concern themselves with. So we're talking here about BPL, WUFL and BUML and possibly local pickup. UQL could be in if the UQ Club wants to.

What are some of the key issues? If people are agreed that growth of League play is the goal, then this leads us into a variety of issues.

Do we grow the existing Leagues, or do we establish new Leagues, or do we do both?

I think in reality we do both. A “League” is to a degree an administrative construct. What we need to do to grow though is to establish new playing centres in time and space – these may well be part of a larger administrative structure (eg part of a larger League like BUML) or be a separate League sitting under BUDA.

Growing existing Leagues is easiest, as you’ve got the administration in place, you just need to cope with more people. Currently, we don’t really try very hard to grow our existing Leagues in my humble opinion. League growth has really just come from “Ultimate is a good product” (aka word of mouth aka people liking it and bringing their friends along).

To grow existing Leagues at a speed or rate beyond this, you can prioritise (ie pick one or two to focus on):
- effort on advertising/promotion (eg recruitment)
- effort to ensure the existing League is well run (eg clear start and finish dates)
- effort to support the creation of new teams (eg incentivise experienced players to help)
- effort to develop the quality of play (eg coaching, establish divisions, recognise on field success)

I’d also say that in Brisbane we do a poor job of establishing new Leagues. There is a sense that if someone wants to establish a new League, then they’re sent off into the wilderness on their own to make a go of it. Unsurprisingly, they fail or recognise its not even worth trying. Its very very hard to do everything on your own - find fields, recruit new players, try to persuade experienced players to come over, actually run the League - all while still trying to play your own Ultimate and do whatever else you do with your time.

Setting up a new League in my mind requires more effort, support and possibly sacrifice from the wider Ultimate community. This could include:
- survey existing players to find out where and when they would commit to a new League. Essentially, who is sick of driving the distance they do to play in a new League, or who would prefer to play on a different night?
- use existing League money to subsidise the new League to help it establish itself. This may be controversial but we generally agree we all benefit from more Ultimate. Making the new League a lot cheaper while it gets established (this may take several seasons) is essential, really, and making existing Leagues slightly more expensive to do this is reasonable if growth is the aim.
- change existing Leagues to make ‘space’ for the new League, so that it can attract existing teams and players. Eg, change a night, delay the start date of an existing League so that existing players will go try the new League

This brings me to a common point of discussion at the pub is that if only BPL and WUFL (which have separate player pool in Open and Women) were on the same night, then that would create a spare night for a new league to start and prosper in. Exactly true. People find this quite hard to approach though, as we’re pretty comfortable with the way things are.

The challenge for putting both on the same night is a) inertia - which can be countered by agreeing now that this change desirable, but also agreeing that the change wouldn’t come in to force until some time later (eg early 2011) and b) fields - for which I’d put in the plan that if we can find enough fields to put BPL and WUFL on the same night (it’d be nice if they were near each other, but not necessary), then that’s the night they’d move to – ie if someone can find 5-6 Ultimate pitches worth of space on Tuesday night, then both Leagues can be on Tuesday. If someone can find the same space on Thursday, then move to Thursday. Those who don't want to move are now motivated to find fields on their prefered night ....

I think most people agree that BUML can and will grow, and the long term goal is to increase the number of divisions so that people can get quality games. Having individuals just play one division, and establishing promotion/relegation in this League would improve competition. Having a goal of standard maximum number of teams per division also would help manage seasons and support levels of quality (eg max 6 teams in Div 1, max 12 in Div 2, any number in Div 3).

I've also written and spoken elsewhere of where I think BPL could go in terms of working towards two divisions, clubs where individuals compete and are developed, and where those clubs compete in areas outside BPL.

I say a "goal" here, and this is an important point throughout - that we're setting a general place we want to get to, without necessarily saying how we'll get there or when, or even what the goal will look like in detail.

A further challenge for Brisbane Ultimate is I think generating the desired level of volunteer resources. In one element, there is competition for these resources as many volunteers in Brisbane are attracted and able to act on the state (QUDA) or national (AFDA) level. Many people have recognised that establishing a ‘club structure’ can help resolve this. People will generally volunteer for something that is ‘close’ to them. At the moment, not many people feel close to the 400 or so regular players in Brisbane. But they would feel closer to the 10-50 or so people in their club. Other cities have been very successful in establishing formal clubs to motivate people to help and make their competitions easier to manage. Brisbane should consider this closely, and work out what might be best suited to it.

A more formal Club structure can also improve the quality of Ultimate played. Eg people are more willing to help develop a fellow clubmate than they are a random stranger. On the other hand, we need to balance this with our roots of being welcoming to everyone, and the strength that we get from being one large common and friendly community.


So there's some of the things I think I'm talking about in terms of a Brisbane Ultimate Strategic Plan.

a) Its a record of lengthy discussion amongst interested people, followed by an agreement about how to move forward on our shared desires and goals.

b) And I've gone ahead and sketched some of the things I'd like to see discussed - that I think we want to grow, and how we want to grow by giving more support to new Leagues, enhancing our existing Leagues, and establishing clubs more clearly to take the volunteer load of recruiting and developing players and managing competiton.

Thanks for reading, and having an interest in more than "I just want to play."

BPL 2010-1 Round 2, Take 2


After the rained out week last week, we have a 2nd chance at this round. Repost any tips here.

Portafield Redux

So Northern Regionals 2010 (aka Queensland Open and Women's Ultimate Championships 2010) this weekend will be played on portafields.

BPL players have had six months to get used to portafields, and picked up a few tips and tricks on the way (check the comments too for more wisdom).

But there will still be a lot of folks playing on Saturday and Sunday who may find this a new experience.

Here's a few extra thoughts going in to the weekend.
  • BPLers - the Black Betty TDs will need our help on Saturday morning in setting up the portafields. Many of you will recall your first go at setting up a portafield, and finding it a bit tricky. So lend a hand for the good of all. Its always good to have that ladies of Brisbane Ultimate appreciate you.
  • The portafields lines can sometimes get a little 'bowed' (ie not be a direct line between two points) - the tightness you can get on the line to make it straight depends a little on the conditions, and on a very flat/frictionless field they can slide a little in the middle. I think generally its ok to try to straighten them up during games if possible. But in terms of what's in and out, I think its more spirited to use the portafield line, rather than the imaginary line between two cones.
  • Interestingly, I heard that recently a player caught the disc and found their foot *under* a portafield line. There was some discussion about whether this was "on" the line or not. I'd have to say that yes, if your foot is under the line, you are indeed on the line, and hence are "not in".
  • At the moment the JFOG field is pretty long in the grass. The grass is mown by the Council according to its own schedule (it tries to mow everything as soon as possible after weeks of rain, but its got hundreds of parks and fields to do). So it is in "the hands of the gods" as to whether we'll have short or long grass this weekend. Of course, a chalk line would be highly impractical in high or wet grass, so the portafield is a good thing.
Any other learnings from folks who've now played on portafields for a while?

Monday, March 08, 2010

Townsville Just Over 24 Hours Away from Top 3 Place at Regionals 2010

The TD's for Northern Regionals 2010 (aka the Queensland Open and Women's Ultimate State Championships) have reminded the Open Captains about the registration rules.

For a team to be included in the Open draw, they need to have 8 players registered here by Tuesday.

At this stage, only the Gold Coast's Slamtown Flatball Club, the Brisbane Barbarians and the Towns-villans meet that criteria. Don't forget the top three teams get their names on the trophy! Plus this could be a 2 in 3 chance for any of these three Clubs to be booking their tickets to Nationals!

Nightmare Scenario

Since the Brisbane Monday night Mixed League started using two venues, there's always been the nightmare scenario for organisers - what if one field is closed and the other is open?

Well, tonight we're in it. Griffith has shut, but Annerley is open (barring a heavy shower this afternoon).

To complicate matters a little, we've currently got a few spare riches in terms of field space this season. Options options. Also challenging is a short timeframe.

Some people are going to be inconvenienced by this.

But deep down though, we assume people want to just play and accept that decisions will be made to make that happen. So let's go with that.

Anyway, here's the revised draw for tonight.

7.30-8.30pm
Annerley 3A (closest to bridge) – Heroes vs Kelvin Grove Cougars
Annerley 3B – Dyspoeics vs Mellow Yellow
Annerley 5 – Poachers vs Discheads
Annerley 2A (next to creek) – ExQUisiTe vs Baby Chimis
(note, this game was originally programmed for Griffith)

8.40-9.40pm
Annerley 3A – Plastic Scourgery vs ExQUisite
Annerley 3B – Chimichangas vs Wushi Finger Hold
Annerley 5 – Bermuda Triangle vs Frisky Time
(note, this DIV 2 game was originally programmed for Griffith)
Annerley 2A – Mongo vs Pickup Team 6

Ultimate Needs A Ball. Yeah, That's It!

We heard or read recently the old line "Ultimate would be more legitimate if it had referees."

The issue of what is legitimacy and what such thing means for Ultimate is perhaps a topic for a much longer post, and you'll forgive us if we don't go there today.

But this kind of thinking seems to come from a mindset of "What do sports that seem to be more legitimate have that Ultimate doesn't? THAT must be the reason Ultimate doesn't seem as legitimate", and of course one of the more obvious things is a lack of on-field officials.

The easiest way to give the one-line slap down to anyone who runs the line "Ultimate would be more legitmate if it had referees" is to say "Yeah, and a ball. All the legitimate team sports have balls in them. Ultimate should use some sort of ball."

Ultimate needs referees like it needs a ball.

That should sort them out.

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

The title of this post was so lame, we donated $20 to Colette's Shave for a Cure effort in support of Leukaemia research. Why don't you?

Hi everyone,
I'm taking part in the Leukaemia Foundation World's Greatest Shave this year! So in exactly one week I'll be a true egg-head - EEK!!! Now that the initial buzz of signing up has worn off, it's actually rather intimidating. Be awesome and help to inject a little courage into my campaign by supporting my shave online:

http://my.imisfrien draising. com.au/personalPage.aspx? SID=102684

For those sadistic freaks among you who want to see the removal of my mane in person (you sick puppies!), I'll be shaving it on Saturday after the last game at the
regionals tournament
(~5pm at JF O'Grady fields in Fairfield).


Your support means a lot to me, and to the thousands of people affected by Leukaemia every day:- Every hour of every day, at least one person in Australia is
diagnosed with leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma.- Every two hours, someone loses
their life to blood cancer. Please help me raise as much as I can for the Leukaemia Foundation. Their vital work provides patients with practical support during their long and tough treatment, as well as funding important research (which I see quite a lot of as the Health RAO!).


Thanks for your
support!Colette

Friday, March 05, 2010

Bashionals 2010 Update #1

Over the next two weeks, many teams will be going to Regionals, and if they aren't successful in qualifying for Nationals, deciding if they'd like to play the fab new event, Bashionals. Details at the bottom of this email.

Teams wanting to play Bashionals 2010 (17-18 April in Brisbane) will need to send a $150 team deposit by Friday 19 March (the Friday after Regionals).

If we have received 6 deposits by this date, then Bashionals will go ahead - we need 6 teams to commit so that people can start booking flights etc. We have space for up to 12 teams.

It is anticipated that after team deposits have been paid, the player fee will be approximately $35. This will depend a bit on the number of teams regoed, and there will be some consultation with Captains as to the details of the event (eg if all the Captains want a Bashionals disc, then we'll get one and raise the fees to something like $50).

For the "mid-range" players out there, with all the "top-range" players off worrying about boring-old-traditional Nationals, Bashionals may well be your big chance to make a splash on the Australian stage and bring home some bling! So fire up!

Registration: http://afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=779
Website: http://brisbaneultimatedisc.blogspot.com/search/label/Bashionals

Thursday, March 04, 2010

BCI Windup

Those fab fellas at Firestorm have wound up the last on-field info for last weekend's Brisbane-Canberra Invitational. Check it out. Great job.

What did you think of it? Should we use this venue again? What about the results - any surprises (like what was the story with FU on Day 1, and is the Women's game still too small to produce 8 quality teams)? And what does this say about form for Regionals and Nationals? And does Canberra have any chance to improve when they host in 2011, or will they be like Athens after Sydney?

Answers in the comments, please.

No BPL Tonight - Fields Closed

Well, you probably didn't need a crystal ball to predict this one. Despite the torrential rain converting into occasional light showers today, the fields at Annerley remain closed.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

BPL 2010-1 Round 2 Draw



More than likely will be rained off, but just in case it isn't then here it is.

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

No WUFL Tonight - Fields Closed

The ongoing torrential rain that you may have noticed has closed Oakman Park.

Future of Brisbane Ultimate - Upcoming BUDA AGM

So JdR posted the following email to the BUDA-yahoogroups list this morning. As the Brisbane Ultimate Blog loves discussion, have a read and post your comments below (click on the word "comments".
Hi everyone,

I am writing to you to invite you to take an interest in the future of Ultimate in Brisbane.

The QUDA/BUDA AGM will be held during the Northern Regionals tournament on Sat/Sun 13-14 March (exact date and time to be advertised).

For couple of years, the BUDA (Brisbane Ultimate Disc Association) has been relatively defunct (bar the sterling efforts of Adilia Murabito as BUDA Treasurer and the League Directors of BUML, WUFL and BPL).

While many people assume QUDA "runs" the Leagues in Brisbane, at present it is limited to providing general support to League Directors much in the same way it supports Townsville and Gold Coast Ultimate. QUDA does provide specific assistance to Leagues in terms of field provider liasion (that's been my job), but generally, League Directors have run their Leagues independently (and done a very good job, I might add - this email isn't about the way Leagues are run - this is about the future).

But it has been frustrating to me as a player and administrator that Brisbane Ultimate has lacked anyone taking a long-term and Brisbane-wide view to supporting the existing Leagues, and developing new Leagues and playing opportunities. Other cities are powering forward to bring new players in and improve the quality of play, but I feel Brisbane is lagging.

The coming AGM is a chance for the membership to discuss whether and how to correct this. The BUDA part of the AGM will involve electing a BUDA General Committee. The General Committee includes a BUDA President, BUDA Treasurer, BUDA Secretary and BUDA Vice President, as well as the Directors of BUML, BPL and WUFL (who are technically appointed by the Committee). There is also room for people to be elected as General Members of the BUDA Committee.

I hope there are people out there who will step up into these roles for 2010-2011.

If we are successful in electing a BUDA General Committee, then, to make the will of the membership clear to the new Committee, I will propose a motion that the BUDA General Committee:
- meet at least bi-monthly over the coming year;
- develop and implement policy and arrangements to provide support and oversight to the BUML, BPL and WUFL Leagues and Directors;
- agree an Memorandum of Understanding with QUDA to demarcate responsibilities for Ultimate in the Brisbane area; and,
- draft, consult on, and approve (by September 2010), a strategic plan, covering the growth and development of Leagues in Brisbane for the period 2011-2016.

If we are unsuccessful in electing a BUDA General Committee, then I will instead propose a motion to the membership that the QUDA Executive take on the role of the BUDA General Committee for 2010-11, and that the QUDA Executive provide support and oversight to the BUML, BPL and WUFL Leagues and Directors, and prepare the strategic plan outlined above.

I am not very keen for QUDA to take on this role, as it has a lot of other work to do. But I would rather make it clear that someone is taking responsibility on behalf of everyone in Brisbane, for the future of Brisbane Ultimate.

I should add that it is equally valid for people to vote against these motions, and leave us with the status quo. At the least, we will have had the debate and come to an agreement, rather than continued with the present ambiguity of people assuming that someone else being responsible.

Thanks for reading this. I would welcome further discussion, either via email direct to myself, email to everyone on this list (if you think your points are of interest to the hundreds of people on the list), or on the various internet discussion areas, including the Brisbane Ultimate Blog.

JdR

Cheesy Grins and Winey Wins

The Brisbane Ultimate Blog heartily endorses the upcoming Black Betty Women's Ultimate Club fundraising Wine and Cheese night, to be held this Friday 5 March.

When: Friday March 5th (6:30-9:30pm)
Where: Brisbane's Ukrainian Community Centre, 70 Cordelia Street, South Brisbane
How much: $20 per person
What's included: beer, wine, and nibbles
Who: Betties, Friends, Workmates, Teammates, Family ... anyone who would like to support women's ultimate and enjoys great wine and beer!

How can you get in on this fantastic event? Speak to your local Betty and ask them to hook you up with a ticket! We need to know numbers for catering purposes, so get your ticket today!

From a wise Betty:
Yes, we Betties are super keen on fundraising, so get ready for what
promises to be a great night! We have three wine reps featuring various wines
from throughout Australia and New Zealand, as well as our very own Little
Creatures rep for those beer fiends among you. If you've never been to a wine
tasting, the evening will be quite relaxed and you'll be able to try out a
variety of different wines and a selection of Little Creatures beers. If you
like something that you try, head back for more!

Northern Regionals aka Queensland Open/Women's State Championships - Less Than Two Weeks Away!

Holy moly - with all the attention given to the BCI on the weekend, some folks are realising with surprise that Northern Regionals aka the Queensland Open/Women's State Championships, are on next weekend 13-14 March!

Get the scoop at the official website. More coverage here when we get the chance!

Don't forget - this tournament is open to EVERYONE. Its not an elite event. For many League players, this is their annual 'just playing with the boys or girls' weekend, rather than the usual Mixed fun. So get yourself on a team!

Monday, March 01, 2010

No BUML Tonight - Rain Has Closed Fields

Just in case you don't have an advanced meteorological device in your abode, both Annerley and Griffith have closed their fields and there will be no BUML tonight.

For those pondering a year of rain, generally what happens with regards League night cancellations is:
- Annerley and Oakman let us know as early as they can, but by 4pm at the latest.
- Griffith generally have a groundskeeper inspect the fields at 2pm, and then let us know.
- Generally, admin people will wait until they get info from the field owners, and then email closer info out to everyone (at the latest, soon after 4pm). Hassling field owners early generally just encourages them to default towards closing the fields, rather than waiting to see if they will dry out through a day.
- The fields may well get closed after 4pm, or when we arrive at the fields, we might cancel the night ourselves (rule of thumb is if it is currently pouring, or there is surface water visible on the field, then we don't play).

Rain is an inexact science, remember kids.

Use your common sense - if its been raining a lot, anticipate that the fields may be closed or open. Then keep your eyes out for an email after 4pm.

People might moan about missing a night of Ultimate, but its better to have good fields all-year around.

First Frisbee Over the Line

So instead of attending the BCI (full news over at the Firestorm site here), JdR decided to do the Clem7 Fun Run, carrying 12 frisbees.

The 12 frisbees reflected his commitment to carry a disc for each $20 he raised for the Royal Children's Hospital Charity. $250 rolled in. Well done to those who donated!

The run was amazingly tough. Even with the cool morning, the humidity generated by 5,000 runners in the tunnel made for some draining conditions. Then there were the hills - the start was a steep downhill for 1.5km to get 60m under the Brisbane River, then it was a solid uphill for 3.5km to Woolongabba. Then about face for a long down hill, and then a complete bastard of a final 2km uphill to the Finish. Most runners found themselves 5-10 minutes off their usual time for the distance.

As he passed the finish line, JdR was mentioned over the PA system as the "First Frisbee Home ... and probably the only Frisbee too. And what's with the backpack!?"

Photos are sadly sparse, despite JdR being seemingly the only runner who'd done something unusual by waving a frisbee around - but this was an event for serious runners, after all. But if you look closely at this photo, you might spot him getting ready to go, backpack on (alas, the fluro disc he waved about a lot isn't visible). Look near the lady in pink.

For the records, JdR came in at 1358th of the 4361 people who completed the event, and 398th of Males in the 30-39 age group with a time of 1hour 2 minutes and 8 seconds for the 10.456km run.

BPL 2010-1 Results