Young Fame

What ever happened to these fresh young faces?

History of BUML - A Long History!

During 2011, while I was Executive Officer of QUDA, I prepared a short history of BUML from 2004-2011. Most people I think have come across the highlights that were posted at http://buml.quda.org/hall-of-fame Alas, it never seemed finished and so didn't see the light of day. Until now!

Please enjoy a walk down memory lane. There are photos for those that can't be bothered reading.

How many seasons of BUML have YOU played?

Blimey, we're blogging about Disc Golf (Bout time?)

JdR has left the Pool Room and has sent this telegram:

"For the historical record and your children's children's interest (when know down disc golf dominates the universe), here are the results from the recent disc golf tournament the Queensland Big Bash. Looks like the gang from the Brisbane Disc Golf Club are starting to generate some solid numbers!"

If you look at it long enough, it starts to make sense. You need to focus but relax your eyes at the same time.

>
> Players Round 1 Round 2 Grand Overall
>
> First Surname Division C1 C2 Total C2 C3 Total Total
> Position
>
> Tim Marchbank MO 26 28 54 23 30 53 107 1
>
> Mat Adams MA 27 27 54 27 28 55 109 2
>
> Bruce McNaughton MG 28 26 54 26 30 56 110 =3
>
> Rick Kapalko MO 29 22 51 27 32 59 110 =3
>
> Aaron Moreton MA 26 28 54 30 26 56 110 =3
>
> Chris Pye MA 27 27 54 30 30 60 114 =6
>
> Brian Clevenger MO 29 26 55 29 30 59 114 =6
>
> Jason Glass MA 32 25 57 29 32 61 118 8
>
>
>
> Jason Vidot MR 34 31 65 31 34 65 130 9
>
> Nathan Lee MR 35 35 70 34 34 68 138 10
>
> Michael Caley MR 39 33 72 0 72 12
>
>
>
> Leo Caley MJ 48 41 89 0 89 13
>
>
>
> Carmen Crain WR 34 40 74 38 45 83 157 11

It Be the End of an Era

The Brisbane Premier League's Director, Stu Austin, announced yesterday that he will be stepping down from his position at the end of the season.

This is a great loss to the BPL, but equally, Stu leaves the role in such excellent shape that the League will have no trouble continuing to be excellent (and of course, he'll still be there playing every week! So no need to get too depressed!)

Stu took on the role of BPL Director back in September 2008, joining an elite group of suckers for punishment volunteers that included his predecessors Jon Good, Andy Lankowski, Stew McGlashan, Jason Ray - all of whom handed over good ships as Stu is now doing - and has managed the last five seasons (Seasons 17-21 for those who keep track).

Efficient and passionate are the two words which spring to mind in thinking about Stu's work and the style in which he approaches it. Stu's passion for elite Ultimate is outstanding. His efficiency in delivering that has been fantastic.

We should also add one element of Stu's directorship that isn't obvious or talked about but it unconsciously prized by players - consistency. Stu established how he was going to share information and run the league and delivered that, week in and week out for over two years - a challenge for any volunteer who's got other things to do.

This is not to say Stu hasn't had a willingness to change, reform and grow the League. Think of the introduction of portafields which brought a new 'professionalism' to the League. Add to that the commitment of two fixed seasons rather than the 'endless play' that players sought in the past, which made ladders and finals all the more climactic and enjoyable. BPL players now have a stronger understanding of competition rules, rostering and reporting, and their value in delivering exciting Ultimate. The League grew to its largest size ever at one point in his leadership, and the quality of the competition has never been higher.

This is not to say we haven't had controversy which we shall address humourously and remind everyone that we play for fun and it doesn't really matter - TomsteveMVP-gate, Passion-no-semi's-gate, 'goddamit the fields are closed'-gate(s), occasional-whiney-email-gate, anything-to-do-with-SteveC-or-Stef-gate - and no doubt heaps of things that anyone lacking omnipotence or an intimate relationship with Stu would be aware of.

Stu has handled stressed out and upset people and irate (or just slightly snarky) emails with an air of confidence and clarity, and we hope he hasn't been too stressed and upset by such events. We suspect the positive relationships he cultivated with the League Captains and senior players (the key to any successful BPL Directorship) helped to ease some of these hassles on the relatively rare occasions they came along.

We in the stately mansion have long appreciated Stu's support for the Brisbane Ultimate Blog and our efforts to help make the Brisbane Premier League competitive and exciting. We (and we include our commenters here) may have occasionally irritated him, but he always seemed to grin back and add value to our enterprise.

So, regards and cheers to Stu. But most of all, WELL DONE and THANKS!

[the above has been edited to add J-Ray to the previous LD list - the fact checker will be punished]

Historical Documents - UQUDC

Deep down in the catecombs below the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion is the museum and file room.

Here are stored many relics and documents from bygone ages, remembered only by the wises and eldest of sages (eg Buzz, T-Ross, Gen)

Such as these disc designs, which we believe were used by the UQUDC (University of Queensland Ultimate Disc Club) back in the bright days of the 1990's.

Anyone who wishes to reminise, the comment lines are open.

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*

Townsville Bulletin 7 December 2002

Don't forget the Townsville coaching camp is only a few weeks away.

Gladstone Observer - 29 May 2003 (Gladstone Crusade)

More for the history buffs and those who like their men shiny.

History - Know Your QUDA Presidents

Here's the list of QUDA / QFDA Presidents since the "dawn of time" - corrections welcome!

Mat Boevink - 2009
Dustin Czok - 2007
Sandra Poon - 2005-2006
Emma Tickle / Matt Boevink - 2004
Roger Church -- 2003
Matt Boevink - 2000-2002
Mat Ryan - 1998-1999
Giles Deshon - 1997
Justin Cooper-White - 1995-1996
Cathy Keys - 1994
Jason Ray - 1992-1993
Emma Cole - 1991
Doug Bryers - 1987-1990

If you ever bump into any of these people, say thanks to them for what you have today.

Sunday Mail - 16 April 2001

History buffs should check this one out, as should those with an interest in "younger fruits".

Click to embiggen. I think there's a larger one to see over here to.

Bits O Bloggin' Business

Just a few bits and pieces today.

ITEM: Reckless, one of Brisbane's new women's clubs, have launched their funky new blog thanks to the efforts of one Super-Megzz. More on the evolving women's scene soon.

Reckless have already started regular training sessions, on Wednesday nights at 7pm at Toowong's Oakman Park.

ITEM: Gold Coast Ultimate continues to go from strength to strength, launching their new website, in between counting down the hours until the big Slamtown Invitational Tournament, which looks like featuring 10 very attractive teams. Now, what do we have to do to see a proper Townsville Ultimate site?

ITEM: Nathan League doubled in size in just two weeks, with a full game getting on on those sweet sweet green and well lit Griffith fields. Four newbies were there, with promises of them bringing more friends, so lets hope the seed is well and truly planted. Alas, with State of Origin in Brisbane next week, the decision was made to cancel the session planned for 24 June, but we'll be back with hopefully more two weeks from now.

ITEM: We've been slowly digging through the QUDA archives in recent weeks, and its turning into a bit of a Robert Langdon adventure. We'll hopefully be posting a few treats in the coming weeks, once we rinse the dust off.

Icons of Queensland Ultimate ... Your Suggestions

So 2009 is the 150th birthday of the State of Queensland, and after a long voting process etc, the 150 Icons of Queensland have been announced.

What do you think are the Icons of Queensland Ultimate?

Here's 20 off the top of my head - leave your suggestions in the comments or just email me and we'll try to get a bit of a proper list going.

Places:
- University of Queensland Oval 7
- 308 Brisbane Corso, Yeronga
- Kedron State High School
- 8/47 Newcomen St, Indooroopilly

People:
- Chris 'Buzz' Burwell
- Sandra Poon
- Sean Flanagan
- Gen Healy
- Jenny Beard
- Jason Ray
- Joel Smith

Teams:
- The Moreton Bay Buggers
- Bootius Maximus
- The Barrier Reefers
- Sultry
- The Bond Girls
- UQ Lovers
- Mellow Yellow

Events:
- Halibut
- Brisbane Premier League

In Case You Are Bored

Why not cast your mind back to our sport's national website, circa 2001?

Thanks to Rubes for the tip.

Early Leaks from Queensland Club of the Year Calculations

So this morning we fired up the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion's own "Enigmuck" calculating machine, and pushed in a few brightly coloured punch cards covering results from earlier in the year (we thank Auscert for its recent technical advice).

After some chuffing and churning, Enigmuck forwarded some results so far for teams which are in the running for Queensland Club of the Year. You might recall the 2007 winners were the UQ Lovers (followed by Bootius and the Lounge Lizards), while 2006 was year of the Bootius Maximus (followed by UQ and Dojo Mojo).

The spreadsheets rolling off the dot matrix referenced a number of teams based out of Queensland (and Northern NSW) who've played at tournaments so far this year, including Firestorm, Mind the Gap, Slamtown Flatball Club, Minx, Sultry, Thor, the Pass, UQ, Mellow Yellow, iCarrot and Not Sure Yet. All well and good - all of these Clubs made it to something like Regionals, Nationals or Halibut, and we expect to insert results from the QQ/AMUC reps the Lounge Lizards and Great!Sugoi! before the year is out, along with any other Clubs that get themselves to Lovefest and AUGs.

As we perused and then prepared to burn the pages (we don't want any surprises leaked before the annual QUDA bash at the end of the year), we noticed Enigmu continuing to blow steam and sparks, before some more pages rolled out!

Suddenly, League teams were appearing before our eyes!?! The Moreton Bay Buggers, Chimichangas, Bermuda Triangle, Rawhide, Plastic Scourgery, Dyspnoeics, Dojo Mojo, Poachers, QUT RiverRats and the Heroes were added to the mix. These were teams that had played at least two reasonably sized Leagues this year ....

We weren't sure what to think.

So we'd figure we'd ask you.

Do you think that League teams should be included in the Queensland Club of the Year calculations? And if so, do you think winning a League is about as excellent (or more excellent or less excellent) as winning a tournament?

Dopefish

Most of you won't be aware, that in a darkened cavern deep below stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion, just near the hovercraft hangar, across from the Deep-U supercomputer, is our state of the art Ultimate frisbee listening station.

The listening station picks up all sorts of snippets, and normally we keep them to ourselves (isn't that right, Dusty - just keep the payments coming).

But here's a bit we thought we'd share, because when we wandered over to the Deep-U supercomputer to follow up, there wasn't much information to be gleaned.

Here's the snippet:

".... frisbee had been played at UQ for many years, and they established a club
maybe around 1990 in order to secure fields ...."

I'm sure most of you weren't even born around then, so perhaps a few readers could share some memories of this dark age and the hallowed past of Brisbane Ultimate? Or perhaps there's other memories, like Halibut 1997 producing the first Australian University Ultimate champions?

Comment lines are open - tell us the history of UQ Ultimate.

Further Historical Imagery for Education of Masses

Recent excavations at a site along the Brisbane Corso in Yeerongpilly unearthed a small rusted metal chest containing several documents and pictorals showing the Brisbane Ultimate scene circa 1976. We are pleased to present these to a recent audience to further understanding of the glorious history.

The Lovers of Ultimate at the University of Queensland was one of the most ancient and respectful orders of frisbee in the province. Note the cultural change - while the rules of Ultimate have usually involved 'seven-a-side', the macho culture of the times dictated that only four or five players would take the field - UQ players celebrate this still today, by 'throwing to nobody'. Historians suspect the 'wandler' on the left with hands on hips is a young Mattias Boevink.

Old even when the chest was buried, this photo is the earliest evidence of the Moreton Bay Bugger team. Ultimate teams in Brisbane were originally formed around occupations and ethnic groups rather than via the modern 'random' approach. The Buggers were state champions in 'Ultimate Fish' for an amazing twelve years from 1935 to 1947 (the outbreak of war not disrupting play in the slightest). Their run came to an end with the invention of the modern flying disc and the phasing out of the traditional 'throwing flounder'. Many Buggers still today have difficulty catching plastic items, but the naming of the Halibut tournament harks back to olden times. 'Mind the Gap' also has its origins in the fishermen of the time punching each other's front teeth out.

Brisbane has long been a destination for Frisbee-tourism, as is proved by the discovery of this "Player-Card" from Adelaide's Fertile Ultimate Evolution grouping, seated on rocks at Toowong Reach.

The Hard, Nutty Core of Open Chocolate

I was wondering the other day … has anyone played EVERY season of Open League in Brisbane? I mean the BPL, plus its predecessors MAL and the Dog Cup.

That’s fifteen seasons including this one, stretching back to mid-2002.

Working it out without any real knowledge, I guess you’d start with the stalwarts of the BPL today and maybe look at a few AFDA numbers, and then thin the herd. Maybe you'd exclude the relatively young (Johnny Mac) and those who have retired (Roger, Bruce). People who’ve left town for periods of time (Piers, Rueben) or had some new kids on their block to distract them here and there (Stew McGoo, Sean Flan, Joel). Injuries have had an effect too (Buzz).

I suspect Fergs, J-Ray, Andy McL, Steve C and Mr Ryan might make a list of the hard, nutty core that's at the centre of the BPL's chocolatey history. What do you think?

Comments are open – who has played every season of Open league in Brisbane’s history?

Where in the World is Dom Ventura?

A picture from the files to share with you.

Click to make bigger.

A while back, the wonderful Andrew Olennick had a bit of a muck around with the AFDA Member Database and some mapping programme, and I ended up with this here map showing the distribution of Ultimate players around Brisbane.

You can see that lots of Ultimate players have addresses in St Lucia (Black), Auchenflower (Orange), Toowong, Indooroopilly, Red Hill and Ashgrove (all Yellow). But just as interesting is the wide spread of other people, shown by the White tages (indicating 1-5 people in the postcode playing Ultimate). Yes, that's Dom you can see out at Margate on the Redcliffe Peninsula.

I'll have to remember to ask Andrew for an update in a while. The geographic story of Ultimate in Brisbane used to be that the centre was at UQ. I think its spread a lot since the old days - will it be more dispersed in the future?

Death of Richard Knerr - Populariser of the Frisbee

Richard Knerr, co-founder of Wham-O Inc., which unleashed the granddaddy of American fads, the Hula Hoop, on the world half a century ago along with another enduring leisure icon, the Frisbee, has died. He was 82.

Full obituary here. And the Wham-O story, over at Wikipedia, includes some Ulti-history.

I don't remember why, but when I first started playing Ultimate my first disc was a Wham-O, much to the amusement of the Ultimate-kids. But today I look back at that frisbee and wonder what I did with it in the end.

If you could have half as much fun in your life as this guy seems to have had, you'd be doing well. Wake at the UQ Staff Club this afternoon.

Back to the Beach

Badman has been in touch. He's looking to book the Lennox Heads venue for a tournament early next year - likely to be one of the last two weekends in January as the place is largely booked out Feb-April.

There's been some talk about running the event as an Men-Only one, to kick off the season leading up to Nationals. Maybe as a hat, maybe using say four of the BPL teams as cores, with other players added. Let me or Bads know what you think asap.

While we're at it, here's the other photos that Sean sent me a few weeks back. As usual, click to make bigger.

Famous faces (and not so famous fashion) on the line:


The closing ceremony:


More Freestyle Flanstyle: