Northern Champions Trophy

So its taken a while for it to move to the top of the priority tree, but I've finally gotten the new Northern Regionals trophy updated with the 2009 results. Here's a few pictures (good thing I wasn't naked taking that first one). Is there someone from Firestorm O+ who wants to pick it up from me?

This is also a good time to give a bit of background and answer a few questions.

The trophy came about as, after running Regionals 2007 (at a loss) and 2008 (at a surplus), I had about $200 left over.

After lots of umming and ahhing, I figured it would be good for us to have something to play for at Regionals.

I looked around for a while trying to find something as unique and iconic and 'Ultimate frisbee' as the Halibut or BPL trophies. Alas, no luck, and I didn't have the time and talent to make something, nor a friend who had the time and talent to do it. And I was pretty keen for the whole thing to be a bit of a surprise at its enveiling.

After a bit more thought, I started to think that maybe a traditional style trophy might stand out as being somewhat unique and iconic within the Ultimate Frisbee circle. And something to drink out of sounded like a good idea too (Bundy or XXXX being the appropriate choice for a Northern Regionals trophy).

I also wanted to get the extra engraving done to 'back-date' the trophy and include all the winners since Northern Regionals started in 2005.

Hence the cup as you see it.

Now to answer a few questions:

What's the story with having 1st, 2nd and 3rd on it? Isn't it the Champions trophy?

There's a few answers there. Partly its an effort to recognise participation a bit, as much as success. But also it reflects the form of the competition. For much of its existence, and I suspect for a while yet, Northern Regionals will be dominated by whatever "Brisbane superclub" is in existence (aka Firestorm). Including 2nd and 3rd gives an added incentive for other clubs to work hard and attain eternal recognition. Thor, the Barbarians, 74 Flood, Byron Bay, Dojo Mojo and the Moreton Bay Buggers are as much part of the story of Northern Regionals as Firestorm are.

Won't the trophy run out of space for new winners, real soon?

That's an easy one - you just add another, larger base on the bottom. For the best known example of this, check out ice hockey's Stanley Cup.

Hey, there's only Open teams here - what about a trophy for Women?

Well, there's a few answers here too. Partly, its that I only had the money for one trophy. But also, the first four Northern Regionals (2005-2008), only ever featured one or two Women's teams. So when I was planning this trophy, I didn't think there was yet a competition that needed a trophy (in contrast to the Open division, which had been hard fought for four years).

Then of course, 2009 blew us out of the water with four genuine Women's teams playing hard at Regionals. If this is expected to continue in the future, I suspect a matching Women's Northern Regionals trophy will soon appear - hopefully donated by someone else carrying a surplus from a tournament or league, or maybe provided by QUDA. Remember, it took five years for one to turn up for the Open division.

Who were those great teams again?

2005 Moreton Bay Buggers (over Dojo Mojo, Byron Bay, Fringe (Pickup), Sultry)

2006 Dojo Mojo (over Moreton Bay Buggers, '74 Flood, No Panda, Nice Shoes Wanna Huck (Pickup)

2007 Firestorm (over Thor, Firefighters, UCup (Pickup))

2008 Firestorm Troopers (over Firestorm Zippo, Thor, The Pass, Brisbane Barbarians, Firefighters (Pickup))

2009 Firestorm 0+, Firestorm D+, Brisbane Barbarians, Thor, Slamtown Flatball Club

So there you have it, something to be aiming towards!