Out with the old in with the young old man

In a move akin to asking Gref to give me a haircut I have agreed to take over the master bedroom of the BUB mansion. I have turned the nursery into a gym and look to start working my journalistic muscle on the Brisbane Ultimate Scene. My views on Journalists and the lack real research are no secret, so I hope to bring the facts and some fun along the way. 

So now for my first post. The only way I could think to start was to get some thoughts of the out going BUB owner and get his thoughts about Brissie Ultimate. So with out further ado I give you the "Supreme Administrator" JdR Himself.  

Welcome JdR. So when and where did you start playing Ultimate? Also when did you become addicted?

I was first introduced to Ultimate in the mid 1990’s.  I was playing soccer for UQ at the time, and Stew McGlashan was looking for able bodies to increase the numbers on the Fluid Druids.  So I played a handful of games on the sacred Oval 7, but had other things to do.  Then in February 2001 I moved to Canberra and was looking for a new sport, and Stew suggested I drop by Dickson Fields.  I arrived in Canberra on a Monday, started work on Tuesday, and then after work on Wednesday walked to Dickson in my work clothes.  I decided to sit on a fence and watch play from a distance when a guy jogged about 100m over to me and asked me if I wanted to play ... and well that hooked me.

How did you get into this blogging business?

I find writing easy, and for some years posted regularly on afda.com and ran the Australian Ultimate Magazine.  But I don’t have any particular interest in learning how to do websites and such.  I moved to Brisbane in 2005 and in early 2006 Rubes started a blog.  I thought it cool and asked for access, and found it very easy (back then, online editing was pretty new).  I set myself the goal of posting almost every day for a year to see if I could be creative enough to generate that much content, but of course with a community like Brisbane Ultimate it turned out well!

Brisbane has a number of promising team names, however if you had to pick one team name from your tenure in Brisbane what would it be and why?
That’s a toughie.  I think I’ll have to go with Dyspnoeics, as it took me some years to learn how to type is quickly and correctly.

We will agree that no one can say it properly and move on. With all our sunshine and warm weather there is plenty to love about Brisbane, but what is your favourite thing about Brisbane ultimate?
Well yes, playing all year around, particularly in Winter, plus the comparative lack of rain.  Brisbane-ites do feel the cool but they also don’t know how good they have it.  And then obviously there’s the people.  But I think something I’ve really liked about Brisbane Ultimate over the last few years has been the sense of growth and continuing improvement.  Ultimate in Brisbane isn’t static, and new volunteers aren’t having to reinvent the wheel.

Many Readers may not be aware of the amount of behind the scenes work that you have done for Brisbane Ultimate with the AFDA, QUDA, Griffith and wherever else you could get your hands dirty. You have definitely left your mark on this city, but what do you see as your biggest legacy in Brisbane Ultimate?

You’re very kind to say.  I’ll have to leave questions of legacy for the karmic judges, but I hope Griffith will continue to grow in numbers, but perhaps more importantly continue to lift its quality and start challenging other UQ and other teams on the field.  QUDA has an amazing amount of things it could be doing, so it was great to be able to do some of these.  As for AFDA, well, that was a long haul, and its interesting to be starting to do things for them again.

From your wealth of experience do you have any advice for Ultimate administrators?

It is better to try stuff than not, and better to get going now than wait.  Let volunteers make their own decisions and feel ownership of things.  If you have money, get out there and use it, preferably in ways that excite or make it easier for volunteers and members.  You can generate more money – but time only goes forward.  Some people might not agree with what you do, but its better to do than to do not.

Experienced administrators or people who have been active volunteers in the past – think about some small thing you can do routinely, like hosting an annual tournament or liaising with a field providers or whatever.

You have driven much change in Brisbane. When you return to Brisbane in five years time after losing 3 toes and a thumb to frostbite from the cold Canberra winters, what changes would you like to see in the Brisbane Ultimate Community?
Ooo – crystal ball time!  But its pretty simple really, I’d like to see growth in all ways.  Monday night League play could easily be double its present size.  BPL too.  A second major mixed League.  After-school pickup every day of the week.  I hope Regionals and Halibut will continue to grow.  And that volunteers have found long term grooves they want to be in.

We know you have good reasons for leaving and we wish you well, but what is it you will miss most about Brisbane Ultimate?
Its hard to pick a ‘most’.  Playing I guess - I’ll miss chugging around for the Griffith Go-Go’s, and catching up with people at tournaments like Halibut, Badmans, Regionals, Indoor and whatever they do up in North Queensland.  And hanging shite on the self-important (including myself at times!)

Do you have plans to implant yourself as dictator in the Canberra ultimate scene and become the mayor of Fyshwick? And for those who will miss JdR Tournaments will we have the chance to travel to one?
It’s tricky here as Winter and Worlds has made the scene here quite quiet.  It seems that Canberra Ultimate has many chiefs and its thinking about at a lot present, but I’m offering to run a new League for them, and am looking around for the opportunity to run a tournament.  There is also talk about a bid to host Mixed Nats 2013 here, for the 100^th Anniversary of Canberra.  And I’m also talking to AFDA about doing some work for them. 

So we’ll see.  It is kind of nice to take a break at the moment.

This interview is going really well, if I do say so myself. Will this young upstart be able to keep the BUB mansion running smoothly and remember to walk wetnose once a week at BPL?
All I can say is the best of luck.  The blog was at its most successful when it posted something new every day – even if it was ‘merely’ a photo or a cut and paste of an email.  Don’t forget you can automatically schedule stuff, and get some other regular contributers (Mansauce has offered to write a BUML preview each week, and Wettie might be able to get back to posting the BPL draw in pictoral form).  The readers came and then came regularly when they knew stuff was going up regularly, and the comments built the sense of community.

Also, please tell Mike S to update the Hall of Fame over at buml.quda.org before this season’s results get forgotten!

I will see what I can do a daily post may be a bit much but weekly posts and previews is my aim. Any final words or funny stories to leave with us with?

Exit stage left?

Thank you JdR and we look forward to your continued commenting on this Blog.