Monday, April 29, 2013

BUML Preview Round 9

No Div 1 this week due to all your favourite rep players live Goose, Dom, Briggsy, Gio (but not Reece) and Trevor having Post Tournament Depression. The normal cure for this is to 'play some frizza' as I heard George say once. When he was talking into a loudspeaker. Instead I hear all the Nats players are having a shindig and watching this all night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBIjjQNvcY4
Div 2

BT v GAT
After not getting a win for 3 weeks, BT hammered Agents last week to get back in the groove. GAT meanwhile are having their own little streak, losing the last 2 weeks in tight ones. Ultimate is a game of momentum and Triangle have it again.
BT by 6

Tsunami v Heroes
Is Chris Brown backing up after helping Slamtown to an 11th place finish at Nationals? All of the fashionistas are certainly hoping so. That kid can dress. Even without Brisbane Ultimate's own Gok, I think Heroes will be too good for a Tsunami team that seems to have lost it's mojo from previous seasons.
Green Tide by 4

Chimichangas v Agents
These teams have very similar records, but those of the loud shorts have a far superior points differential. This says to me that Agents have more problems scoring than Abra at.... anything with ladies. If Chimi's can apply pressure on D, they'll walk away with this one.
Mexican food by 8

GG v WTH?
Another game with potentially another huge name missing. Will Trevor Lovering, youtube sensation, debonair pilot and hammer catcher extraordinaire, play? Or will WTH? be without it's paparazzi magnet? Only time will tell.....
Look the Guardians haven't been very good at guarding their endzone this season and WTH? are undefeated. This should continue.
WTH? by 9

Discheads v Quties A
Both teams are led by Firestorm handlers and both have big rosters. How a draining Nationals campaign has effected the 2 inspirational leaders is anyone guess. The one thing we do know is that JMac can and will hammer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBIjjQNvcY4
Tho can he do it accurately enough that a monster layout isn't required? A telling question indeed. Let's be honest, this game isn't about the big names, but the more than capable supporting casts of both teams. People like Peter Truss, Jessie Henders, Rory Dodd, Calvin Tang and Carl Behrendorff. Cos I like orange and Quties has someone named Tang on their team, I've gotta go with them.

Quties by 2

Div 3

DD v FC
This one looks straight forward on paper. Which would be great if I was using paper. Instead I'm using a computer. So it looks more pixellated. Player to watch: Samantha Lavery on Disco Disco.
DD by 7

MY v BriKAG
I remember when Mellow Yellow were a force to reckoned with in BUML. Led by Jon Good, they dispatched teams in a less than mellow fashion. That was a while ago though, probably before most of BriKAG were born, or at least knew about Ultimate. The lowest AFDA on Brick is 19604. By contrast, that's how many beers Rolo has drunk prematch over the course of his playing career.
BriKAG will do it in a cantering canter by 6

Dump and Burn v Team Lift
Team Lift might not be able to score much on the scoreboard, but they certainly know how to score a good spirit point. The Burners will win this, but Lift will stay atop the spirit ladder.
D&B by 5

GGY v SI
I'm gonna pick Space Invaders for this one purely cos Craig Behrendorff is more likely to read this post than someone from Griffith Go-Yeahs. Hi Craig! Srsly tho, both these teams have very similar records and this should be a tight game. SI have a better defensive record and that's where you win games.
SI by 2

YCTD v Quties B
If Jangles plays he'll be tired and that won't be good for Quties. If he doesn't play, it also won't be good. Based on that and the fact that I like You Can't Touch Disc's name better any of the other puns, they'll win here.
YCTD by 3



Monday, April 22, 2013

BUML Preview Round 8

Div 1

Drop Bears V Dyspnoeics
This game might be closer than one might originally think. The Bears are missing a few people due to OS holidays and Nats road trips, leaving their roster to depend even more on the likes of Musty, Pete and Brianna. The Blue Ds got an upset last time and will fancy their chances again if they can get enough troops on the field.
DBs in a tight one.

Poachers v UQ Lovers
It's 1 v 4, with plenty of exciting match-ups. What everyone is talking about though is Brisbane Ultimate's most exciting Power Couple 'Mylique' being on opposing teams. The twittershpere is going nuts with followers of the couple choosing sides. Hashtags that have popped up are #teamdom #teamatlas #mylique4eva #whoismylique #amishbeardsareawesome and #nevermindatlaswhataboutgoose.
Poachers should win this by 5



Div 2

What the Huck? v Tsunami
This looks pretty straightforward. WTH are 5-0 and leading the comp while Tsunami are struggling to keep their head above water back in eighth. I think WTH will be far too strong and win by 8

Agents v Bermuda Triangle
It's second vs ninth in another Div 2 mismatch. This match should follow the usual 'Bermuda play zone and stifle the Agents handlers, causing a turnover near their end-zone, resulting in an easy Bermuda score'. I'd love to tip an upset here, but I can't.
BT by 10.

Quties A v Grove Guardians
Yet another mismatch. Quties have been getting some good wins in the last few weeks, accounting for Bermuda and Chimis by a single point margins. On the other side, the Guardians have had some heavy defeats. The question I have is will Jmac be using this game to brush up on his Gary skills before Nats?
Quties by 8

Heroes v Chmichangas
Finally a game that, on paper, should be close. Both teams are toward the bottom of the logjam that is Div 2 and a win here will go a long way to potentially securing a finals berth. I'm finding it hard to go against Heroes as they seem to have better depth across the board.
heroes by 2

Griffith A-Team v Discheads
This is another game that will be very important for a finals spot at the end of the season. The A-Team have been doing nicely, sitting in the top 4 and leading spirit. Discheads are Behrly performing at their peak given their roster contains players with Nationals level experience as well as Laura 'the best' Behrendorff. I think the result will be a draw! The talking point from this game will be why coffee tampers are so expensive and who has won the Heroes Disc Design comp.



Div 3

Team Lift v Disco Disco
I really hope Team Lift's cheer is 'Do you even?'. That'd be rad. i think Disco Disco's on field moves will be too slick for their opposition who would need to lift considerably to win this game. Using my secret formula for calculating results, I'm saying a DD win by 7.

Flying Circus v Mellow Yellow
Poor Flying Circus. Not only are they at the bottom of the ladder, but they are also coming last in spirit :'( Given they are a team of newbies, the results aren't a surprise, but the spirit is. With a win here, Mellow Yellow are a still a slim chance to make the finals.
MY by 14

Dump and Burn v You Can't Touch Disc
It's YCTD vs Yet Another Undefeated Div 3 Team. Dump and Burn are yet to taste the bitterness of defeat this season (going off of the most up-to-date ladder I have access to) and I don't think this will change this week.
D&B by 5

Brick Killed a Guy v Griffith Go-Yeahs
What is it with long names Div 3?!?! There's not a team in the division that doesn't have a space in their name. Anywho, this should be a rather entertaining clash. BriKAG are doing really well this season and the G-Yeahs are also kicking goals. I think BriKAg gets the win in a high scoring affair. BriKAG by 3

Space Invaders v Quties B
The final game of the round and potentially a close one. Both teams are mid table and looking to get some momentum heading into the finals. The leaders of both teams (Craig and Jangles) are usually injured so this will come down to the supporting cast. I think Space Invaders by 3.

Friday, April 05, 2013

Rep Selection Process Brouhaha

While waiting for Jangles to finish using the BUB's microwave so I could make some popcorn to eat while watching old ULTI-mates videos, I decided to see what was happening on the AFDA website. What I discovered was an interesting article relating to the World Games Selection Process http://www.afda.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=1327&task=view&Itemid=

The article is in response to a blog post by well known Ultimate player and ginger Tiger Webb http://forcereturn.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/australian-exceptionalism.html

Tiger's post questions the selection process for the World Games Squad, in particular the late addition of Mike Neild and Jonno Holmes, as well as issues with transparency and trust in the Selectors.

The AFDA article written by 3 Selectors goes into reasonable detail in addressing Tiger's concerns and explaining the rationale behind their selection decisions. All well and good.

The interesting point that I took from all of this, that was alluded to by Tiger but not addressed by the AFDA post, is how impartial selectors are and can be when, as stated by Tiger, "all the personnel involved tend to be friends, armchair commentators or fellow players - and usually all three".

I want to state now that by no means am I implying that the selection process of this team, or any rep team for that matter, is unfair or biased and favours the selectors friends/family/team-mates. I have trust in the selection process and the selectors.

It does bring up the question however: How impartial can a selector be if they have a pre-existing relationship with some of the people they are potentially selecting?

Selection panels in Ultimate are often current players who have played with many of the people trying out before and are also often friends with them as well. Does this mean it's harder for new players who don't have a history with the selector to be picked? Especially if the selector takes into account previous playing experiences of the player?

Unfortunately there is no easy answer to this issue. The ideal situation in my opinion would be a panel of selectors who have minimal ties with any of the players trying out. This is the case in many professional sports, where selection panels are often made of ex coaches, administrators and players, who have not been directly involved in playing the game for a number of years. I realise that often in those examples the selectors do have friendships with current players as oft happens in professional sport, however they are usually removed enough from the game to be considered impartial.

Do you think this should be the case for Ultimate team selection panels? Or is there simply not enough depth in the sport to find a panel who could be considered completely impartial?

Let us know what you think in the comments.

Halibut TD EOI

Straight from our glorious QUDA prez to you:


Ladies and gents,

Halibut will be back in 2013, fresh from its Tournament of the Year award, and it needs some help! Stefan Rappazzo has done a great job with it for a couple of years, but has stepped back in light of other commitments this year.

This is a call for Expressions of Interest for a Halibut Tournament Director (TD).

You're welcome to nominate as an individual, or as a group or club (with a key contact person).
The TD's job is to arrange the event from the ground up, and ensure it runs smoothly.
You will have support from the QUDA committee, whether this be in decision making, administration, budgeting, etc. There are plenty of people with considerable frisbee & TD experience that you'll be able to draw on.

This year's Halibut will serve as the AMUC (Mixed Nationals) qualifying tournament for Southern Queensland.
After considering the timing of various events that affect local players, the date is now August 24-25.
The location may be either Brisbane or the Gold Coast, to be decided once the TD is appointed.

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for the Halibut TD role are due by midnight next Friday 12 April.
Your EOI does not need to be long, but should describe your Ultimate background, your experience in running tournaments/events, and the reasons why you want to do it/would be suited to it.

EOIs should be sent to quda-executive@yahoogroups.com
Questions can also be sent to the same address.

Cheers all.
John
(QUDA prez)