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.
Showing posts with label BCI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BCI. Show all posts
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Sticker Up the QUDA Trailer
So the QUDA Trailer makes its first official outing this weekend.
Since the purchase was announced, the trailer now has a nice tool box on the front of it.
Which is just begging for your Ultimate Frisbee bumper stickers!
So if you've got any frisbee stickers sitting in the drawer at home, bring them down to the BCI and stick them onto the QUDA trailer.
Since the purchase was announced, the trailer now has a nice tool box on the front of it.
Which is just begging for your Ultimate Frisbee bumper stickers!
So if you've got any frisbee stickers sitting in the drawer at home, bring them down to the BCI and stick them onto the QUDA trailer.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
'Cause You Are Too Busy Being Fabulous
[If you're new to this blog and to Brisbane Ultimate - please check out the 'Useful Info' links on the right]
It's heck-busy here at the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion this week, and all around Brisbane Ultimate as a whole. If you step into the house, you'll be lucky to find a post-it note telling you what's up. But lets have a quick run through.
ITEM: So on Sunday it was lovely and we decided to step from the mansion and take my disc-golf-virgin-ass down to the Yeronga Disc Golf Course for a look-see. Under the careful tutorage of Master Bruce, I can now say my cherry is popped as the plastic hit the chains on the front nine. Entertainingly, we ran into two dudes (hi Luke and Rueben!) who'd seen the course and heard about disc golf and decided to give it a go. It was their lucky day to get the run down from Master Bruce. Disc Golf is on every Sunday from 3pm at the Yeronga Course. Its good stuff. Bring your mini-esky and a hat. Prams are also very useful.
ITEM: BUML started last night, and your blogger was at both Griffith Nathan and AJSC to enjoy some fantastic fields and watch some 'still a little bit rusty' Ultimate. It was great to see so many people back, and of course the lights shining at both venues. The BUML Organising Committee (BUMLOC) have found their feet for this season, but are looking ahead to the next, so if you've got any ideas or preferences, get onto them in the next month or so.
ITEM: It's the O-Week Market Day tomorrow at both UQ St Lucia and Griffith Nathan. Both groups will be armed with the fancy new recruitment postcards that QUDA/ BUDA/ WUFL/ UQ have arrranged. Helpers are still sought for Griffith Nathan, where we hope to establish a Club and get a late team into BUML.
ITEM: Thursday sees the start of this year's Brisbane Premier League, and what better way to start than with the inaugural BPL Launch Lunch in the Valley. Get in touch if you're keen to attend - tickets are selling fast. Meanwhile,IgorWetnose is down in the very bowels of the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion, working on this season's draw design and tipping comp rules. Expect to see these up here asap, here at your number one home of BPL coverage (accept no substitutes).
ITEM: Of course, this weekend sees the Brisbane-Canberra Invitational Tournament, featuring the best of the best out at the State Hockey Centre at Lytton. Heaps of people are heading along for a look. Keep checking out the Firestorm website for more updates.
Crikey! We'll be buggered by the end of this!
It's heck-busy here at the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion this week, and all around Brisbane Ultimate as a whole. If you step into the house, you'll be lucky to find a post-it note telling you what's up. But lets have a quick run through.
ITEM: So on Sunday it was lovely and we decided to step from the mansion and take my disc-golf-virgin-ass down to the Yeronga Disc Golf Course for a look-see. Under the careful tutorage of Master Bruce, I can now say my cherry is popped as the plastic hit the chains on the front nine. Entertainingly, we ran into two dudes (hi Luke and Rueben!) who'd seen the course and heard about disc golf and decided to give it a go. It was their lucky day to get the run down from Master Bruce. Disc Golf is on every Sunday from 3pm at the Yeronga Course. Its good stuff. Bring your mini-esky and a hat. Prams are also very useful.
ITEM: BUML started last night, and your blogger was at both Griffith Nathan and AJSC to enjoy some fantastic fields and watch some 'still a little bit rusty' Ultimate. It was great to see so many people back, and of course the lights shining at both venues. The BUML Organising Committee (BUMLOC) have found their feet for this season, but are looking ahead to the next, so if you've got any ideas or preferences, get onto them in the next month or so.
ITEM: It's the O-Week Market Day tomorrow at both UQ St Lucia and Griffith Nathan. Both groups will be armed with the fancy new recruitment postcards that QUDA/ BUDA/ WUFL/ UQ have arrranged. Helpers are still sought for Griffith Nathan, where we hope to establish a Club and get a late team into BUML.
ITEM: Thursday sees the start of this year's Brisbane Premier League, and what better way to start than with the inaugural BPL Launch Lunch in the Valley. Get in touch if you're keen to attend - tickets are selling fast. Meanwhile,
ITEM: Of course, this weekend sees the Brisbane-Canberra Invitational Tournament, featuring the best of the best out at the State Hockey Centre at Lytton. Heaps of people are heading along for a look. Keep checking out the Firestorm website for more updates.
Crikey! We'll be buggered by the end of this!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Rainproofing Your Tournament*
*as best as you can, anyway.
So you’re planning your big tournament, got lots of people flying in, all set to go. Yeah baby. Love that Ultimate.
Then the fear sets in.
“What if it rains?”
"The forecast is looking pretty bleak."
"Brisbane had lots of localised flooding yesterday!"
“What if the people hiring us the fields decide to shut the fields?”
“Oh craaaaaaaaap!” "Armaggedon!" "We're doooomed I tell you, dooooooomed!!!"
So, some thoughts based on our experience at running Nationals 2003 in Canberra, attending Worlds 2004 in Finland, talking to the folks who organised Nationals 2008 at Coffs (all major tournaments that dealt with heavy rain in the lead up and first day of the tournament), and reflecting on some years of dealing with field hirers.
Well, first things first. Sometimes it hits and it’s the shits. I mean, you can’t be responsible for an Act of God. God’s responsible for that (that's why they capitalise the Act bit), or the randomness of a chaotic and soulless universe, if you prefer it that way. (We here at the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion usually just stick to the occasional sacrifice to the Spirit Goddess in our pagan ritual temple out back).
So yep, if the field is flooded then ITS OFF and all you can do is nominate a decent sized pub and tell everyone that’s all you can do (although you might ring a few pubs and explain the circumstances and see if you can arrange to bring your own lunch in (or outside) in exchange for your patronage). You can also make suggestions of good things for tourists to do while visiting your town.
But what with the wonders of modern weather-forecasting, you generally know a few days or up to a week in advance if it is forecast for rain before or during your tournament. (if you haven’t been looking, just wait until those emails from players who do keep an eye on the weather forecast to start coming in … they’ll be shrill!)
So tip one – make sure your field hirers are aware of the nature of your event. – a one-off weekend EVENT with LOTS of people FLYING in (and quite possibly a national championship of some importance).
Most field owners primarily use their field for week-in, week-out sport. If you own a soccer field and you usually have soccer every weekend, then its often not such a big deal for you to shut your fields (I mean, it is for that week, but a week later its forgotten). Its an inconvenience, but generally worth it to keep the fields in good condition. So they’ve got a general approach of closing their fields. (Tangent – this is why I’m surprised when Ultimate players over-stress their League fields being shut occasionally. Yes, some field owners will shut fields to lower priority sports like Ultimate and prioritise their own sports, but that’s the way field ownership is. And – I mean, for Ultimate as for other users, its preserving the field you’ll be using the following week. Wouldn’t you rather play on good fields?)
This is a different mindset to people who run on-off-events. Talk to someone at the convention centre or the Winter Olympics and they’ll be completely in the headspace of ‘the show must go on!’ no matter what (although if necessary you change a few things, but I’ll come to that).
Ultimate tournaments aren’t quite that important of course, but make sure the uniqueness of the event, and the impact of closing the fields is clear in your field hirer’s mind.
Preferably give them this information far enough out that it’s relevant when they’re thinking about a decision (not after they’ve made it – because changing a decision is something people don’t like doing), but not so far out that they’ve forgotten it by the time it comes for them to make the decision.
The most powerful piece of information that you can give the field owner is just how many people are flying in for the tournament, and from where. If you’ve got 30 people coming from NZ, 30 people from Sydney, 30 people from Melbourne, 15 people from Adelaide, etc etc flying in specifically to play a big tournament, then it’s a very big call for a field hirer to shut the fields. Maybe you can even quantify the costs. "All together people have spent $50,000 on flights to get here!" (200 people at $250 return)
Its often thought that its an option to ‘just find some other fields’. This is challenging because a) if one venue has shut their fields due to rain, most other venues in the region will be in the same state of sogginess and b) you probably had enough trouble finding a suitable venue in the first place, so finding a replacement that’s half as good at short notice could be really difficult. That said, if you’ve got good relationships with your usual field providers, it can be worth some quick cries for help. Often still this is a big challenge in terms of redoing a draw to suit a smaller number of fields, on the other side of town.
But if there’s obviously a wet weather problem with the fields, but you’ve convinced the owners that you have hundreds of people committed to flying in to play, then you need to consider some changes to the event, and start working cooperatively with the owners to get your tournament happening.
Have you already paid a deposit for the field hire?
This gives you a bit more leverage than if you haven’t. They’ve accepted a greater commitment from both parties.
Can you rejig your draw (or have two draws ready to use, depending on the final weather pattern) to use some fields and not others?
Many field providers have at least a mental hierarchy of their fields. Maybe you can stay off their best field(s) until they dry out a bit more (or not use them at all). Maybe you can also change your field layout plans, and fit an extra smaller field or two in the rougher field space to help you minimise byes etc. (Don’t forget to mention you’d expect a cheaper rate, although you don’t have to sort that straight away).
While it is hard to find a whole new venue, maybe you can find another field nearby that can fit one or two Ultimate fields on it, and use them to offset not using the best fields at the main venue.
Has the venue got lights?
If its been raining during the week but it stops for the weekend, you can move play back 2-3 hours to get things dried out – eg don’t start play until midday Saturday, and play through to 9pm. Try to suggest that you’re doing them a favour in helping to preserve the fields, so maybe they shouldn’t charge you too much for lights.
If the field owner is being very reticent, another option is to agree to no play on Day 1, but a commitment to full (or longer) play on Day 2 (in any conditions should of catastrophic). Maybe they’ll agree to the gamble – some people assess risk very badly.
Let them know you can provide manpower in the form of your local teams if they have any tools and techniques for drying fields out., or getting the covers on.
Leaving the field hire issue, also if you’re a TD and you’re looking at a rainy weekend:
- invite locals to bring tarps, tents, rope etc – whatever you’ve probably arranged for shade isn’t quite enough for rain;
- rain will annihilate temporary line markings, so be ready to forget about that (save yourself the money and effort if you can) and roll out the portafields. You’ve got cones anyway;
- go and buy a few hundred big garbage bags, and give them out to Capatains/ teams/ players / spectators. Plastic bags keep your stuff dry, and are also useful for shoving your wet gear into. And you can wear them;
- bring a hose, mops and buckets, to deal with all the wet grass that’s going to get dragged around Frisbee central, the toilets, and so forth;
- Ditch the iceblocks, but see if you can get a big pot of soup on the go - get a bunch of cans of soup, thin out with water, polystyrene cups and a ladle, and get on your BBQ. Your wet players will love you.
So you’re planning your big tournament, got lots of people flying in, all set to go. Yeah baby. Love that Ultimate.
Then the fear sets in.
“What if it rains?”
"The forecast is looking pretty bleak."
"Brisbane had lots of localised flooding yesterday!"
“What if the people hiring us the fields decide to shut the fields?”
“Oh craaaaaaaaap!” "Armaggedon!" "We're doooomed I tell you, dooooooomed!!!"
So, some thoughts based on our experience at running Nationals 2003 in Canberra, attending Worlds 2004 in Finland, talking to the folks who organised Nationals 2008 at Coffs (all major tournaments that dealt with heavy rain in the lead up and first day of the tournament), and reflecting on some years of dealing with field hirers.
Well, first things first. Sometimes it hits and it’s the shits. I mean, you can’t be responsible for an Act of God. God’s responsible for that (that's why they capitalise the Act bit), or the randomness of a chaotic and soulless universe, if you prefer it that way. (We here at the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion usually just stick to the occasional sacrifice to the Spirit Goddess in our pagan ritual temple out back).
So yep, if the field is flooded then ITS OFF and all you can do is nominate a decent sized pub and tell everyone that’s all you can do (although you might ring a few pubs and explain the circumstances and see if you can arrange to bring your own lunch in (or outside) in exchange for your patronage). You can also make suggestions of good things for tourists to do while visiting your town.
But what with the wonders of modern weather-forecasting, you generally know a few days or up to a week in advance if it is forecast for rain before or during your tournament. (if you haven’t been looking, just wait until those emails from players who do keep an eye on the weather forecast to start coming in … they’ll be shrill!)
So tip one – make sure your field hirers are aware of the nature of your event. – a one-off weekend EVENT with LOTS of people FLYING in (and quite possibly a national championship of some importance).
Most field owners primarily use their field for week-in, week-out sport. If you own a soccer field and you usually have soccer every weekend, then its often not such a big deal for you to shut your fields (I mean, it is for that week, but a week later its forgotten). Its an inconvenience, but generally worth it to keep the fields in good condition. So they’ve got a general approach of closing their fields. (Tangent – this is why I’m surprised when Ultimate players over-stress their League fields being shut occasionally. Yes, some field owners will shut fields to lower priority sports like Ultimate and prioritise their own sports, but that’s the way field ownership is. And – I mean, for Ultimate as for other users, its preserving the field you’ll be using the following week. Wouldn’t you rather play on good fields?)
This is a different mindset to people who run on-off-events. Talk to someone at the convention centre or the Winter Olympics and they’ll be completely in the headspace of ‘the show must go on!’ no matter what (although if necessary you change a few things, but I’ll come to that).
Ultimate tournaments aren’t quite that important of course, but make sure the uniqueness of the event, and the impact of closing the fields is clear in your field hirer’s mind.
Preferably give them this information far enough out that it’s relevant when they’re thinking about a decision (not after they’ve made it – because changing a decision is something people don’t like doing), but not so far out that they’ve forgotten it by the time it comes for them to make the decision.
The most powerful piece of information that you can give the field owner is just how many people are flying in for the tournament, and from where. If you’ve got 30 people coming from NZ, 30 people from Sydney, 30 people from Melbourne, 15 people from Adelaide, etc etc flying in specifically to play a big tournament, then it’s a very big call for a field hirer to shut the fields. Maybe you can even quantify the costs. "All together people have spent $50,000 on flights to get here!" (200 people at $250 return)
Its often thought that its an option to ‘just find some other fields’. This is challenging because a) if one venue has shut their fields due to rain, most other venues in the region will be in the same state of sogginess and b) you probably had enough trouble finding a suitable venue in the first place, so finding a replacement that’s half as good at short notice could be really difficult. That said, if you’ve got good relationships with your usual field providers, it can be worth some quick cries for help. Often still this is a big challenge in terms of redoing a draw to suit a smaller number of fields, on the other side of town.
But if there’s obviously a wet weather problem with the fields, but you’ve convinced the owners that you have hundreds of people committed to flying in to play, then you need to consider some changes to the event, and start working cooperatively with the owners to get your tournament happening.
Have you already paid a deposit for the field hire?
This gives you a bit more leverage than if you haven’t. They’ve accepted a greater commitment from both parties.
Can you rejig your draw (or have two draws ready to use, depending on the final weather pattern) to use some fields and not others?
Many field providers have at least a mental hierarchy of their fields. Maybe you can stay off their best field(s) until they dry out a bit more (or not use them at all). Maybe you can also change your field layout plans, and fit an extra smaller field or two in the rougher field space to help you minimise byes etc. (Don’t forget to mention you’d expect a cheaper rate, although you don’t have to sort that straight away).
While it is hard to find a whole new venue, maybe you can find another field nearby that can fit one or two Ultimate fields on it, and use them to offset not using the best fields at the main venue.
Has the venue got lights?
If its been raining during the week but it stops for the weekend, you can move play back 2-3 hours to get things dried out – eg don’t start play until midday Saturday, and play through to 9pm. Try to suggest that you’re doing them a favour in helping to preserve the fields, so maybe they shouldn’t charge you too much for lights.
If the field owner is being very reticent, another option is to agree to no play on Day 1, but a commitment to full (or longer) play on Day 2 (in any conditions should of catastrophic). Maybe they’ll agree to the gamble – some people assess risk very badly.
Let them know you can provide manpower in the form of your local teams if they have any tools and techniques for drying fields out., or getting the covers on.
Leaving the field hire issue, also if you’re a TD and you’re looking at a rainy weekend:
- invite locals to bring tarps, tents, rope etc – whatever you’ve probably arranged for shade isn’t quite enough for rain;
- rain will annihilate temporary line markings, so be ready to forget about that (save yourself the money and effort if you can) and roll out the portafields. You’ve got cones anyway;
- go and buy a few hundred big garbage bags, and give them out to Capatains/ teams/ players / spectators. Plastic bags keep your stuff dry, and are also useful for shoving your wet gear into. And you can wear them;
- bring a hose, mops and buckets, to deal with all the wet grass that’s going to get dragged around Frisbee central, the toilets, and so forth;
- Ditch the iceblocks, but see if you can get a big pot of soup on the go - get a bunch of cans of soup, thin out with water, polystyrene cups and a ladle, and get on your BBQ. Your wet players will love you.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
BCI Less Than Four Weeks Away
What's likely to be the biggest tournament in Queensland this year (although there are rumours circulating about some ambitious Halibut action coming), the Brisbane-Canberra Invitational (great how Brisbane is first in that name there, like its an old fashioned sexist thing with Brisbane as the boy and Canberra is the girl or something) is on soon.
Tournament Director John McNaughton recently stepped out from the dodgy timber Firestorm share-house to face the assembled Ultimate media and read the following statement*.
*Which we have fleshed out a bit - the tape recorder we found in the desk drawer at stately Brisbane Ultimate manor kept playing up.
Tournament Director John McNaughton recently stepped out from the dodgy timber Firestorm share-house to face the assembled Ultimate media and read the following statement*.
So there you have it folks. John McNaughton's State of the BCI address. Expect more news to come. Now back to you in the studio.Ladies and gents of the press, and curious observers,
Thank you for joining me for this media conference. May I first acknowledge the traditional owners of this land, the Moreton Bay Buggers. I will beat you at BPL yet, you scurvy dogs.
I'm afraid I am pushed for time and there will be no questions, I shall instead read a short statement. George, the statement please. Thank you.
"The Golden City Classic has been run and won, which means that the 2010 BC
Invitational is less than 4 weeks away!
TOURNAMENT INFO
So here's the basics.
The BC Invitational is the Brisbane/Canberra Invitational, alternately hosted by Firestorm and Fyshwick United. It is an elite invitational tournament for the best teams in the country, and created with the goal of making it the premier Open/Women's tournament on the Australian Ultimate calendar, outside of
Nationals itself.
2010 will be the second time the tournament has been run, and Firestorm's
first year hosting.
It will be held at the Queensland State Hockey Centre in Brisbane on 27-28
February.
Let's talk Teams.
We've had a great response from invited teams this year, which will make for an intense and competitive tournament with the best clubs from around the country:
In the Open Division, we have of course Firestorm (from Brisbane, and the best and most good looking team), Fyshwick United (Canberra), Chilly (Melbourne), Heads of State (Melbourne), I-Beam (Newcastle), Karma (Adelaide), Sydney Men (I like that name - simple and to the point), and Auckland Open (ditto).
In the Women's Division, we have of course Black Betty (from Brisbane, and the most charming and well groomed team), FACTory Girls (Canberra), Sporting Team Box Athletico United (Melbourne), Honey (Melbourne), Indies (Perth), Sydney Women and Black Betty 2: Electric Boogaloo (Brisbane of course).
Instead of asking me silly questions, why not check out the website which has all the key information: http://firestorm.quda.org/?page_id=211
Or you could try meeting us privately to ask questions or do other things that consenting adults do together in private - use the Contact Us page if you have any questions, or email me directly. Note that I'm afraid our rubber-wear expert has left the country.
We will be aiming to keep the website up to date with everything over the coming weeks, as much as possible, and posting score/game updates throughout the tournament. Yes, you can follow along at home with your mates, and bet matches or something on the games. We also intend to provide frequent score/game updates at the tournament on the Firestorm Ultimate Twitter feed:http://twitter.com/firestormulti
We hope to share some footage and hopefully overwhelm the media, so it doesn't look too hard for dodgy party photos. We are hoping to capture a reasonable amount of footage from the tournament, and possibly even make some form of lightly-edited DVD available for sale afterwards. No guarantees on this though - it's a bonus that we'll organise if everything else is well covered.
Finally, let me personally invite anyone in Brisbane to come down and see the best teams in Australia going at it. Please wear your Firestorm and Black Betty fan gear of course. The tournament draw will be posted on the website, including timeslots, so you can pick your match-ups if desired.
Looking forward to it. Thank you for your time media scrum. Please get out of the way now Simmo so that I may return to my regularly scheduled program."
*Which we have fleshed out a bit - the tape recorder we found in the desk drawer at stately Brisbane Ultimate manor kept playing up.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tournament Season - Looking GREAT!
In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s the good news about the 2010 Open/Women’s season, all in one place (and we're happy to edit if you've got some extra stuff to tell us ... [which we now have!].
Since the introduction of Regionals in 2005, there has been an occasional moan from folks who remember the days of leading into Nationals with a few warm up tournaments – Seeds of Doom, the Border Classic and so forth.
Regionals was a necessary addition to the season, but it seems its only been in the last year or two that folks have looked up from organising their clubs and aiming at Regionals/Nationals, and started to organise a few events and plan for their club to make it more of a season again.
This is great news, recalling as we have ranted elsewhere that some clubs were getting to the point of having 40+ training sessions to play a handful of games at Regionals and 6-7 games at Nationals!
So here’s how the calendar is playing out:
30-31 January – Golden City Classic – Ballarat, Victoria
http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=744
While its hard to callan inaugural the second year of an event a ‘classic’ as yet, Simmo and the mob in Ballarat have led the charge with getting the Open and Women’s season going, and that's classy. This tournament is going to make a name for itself, with strong support from the Victorian clubs (Chilly, Heads of State, Honey and Sporting Athletico all sending two teams), and the clever enticement of some interstate teams (Brisbane’s Sultry in the Women’s Division, and Adelaide’s Ultimate Evolution in the Open) will make the event all the more attractive for any last minute local and interstate gangs to get together.
[late edit] 14 February - Share the Love - Sydney, NSW
http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=722
Late mail - the Sydney-siders figured they'd better do something ... this one-dayer has a maximum 10 mens and 6 womens teams. Registration will open in January 2010. More info to come. Be there to become the "most loved player"!
[end edit]
27-28 February – Brisbane-Canberra Invitational – Brisbane, Queensland
http://firestorm.quda.org/?page_id=211
Now in its second year (after 2009 in Canberra), the BCI is probably now the primary warmup event for the elite going in to Nationals. The eight Open teams who’ve accepted the invitation (Firestorm (Brisbane), Fyshwick United (Canberra), Chilly (Melbourne), Heads of State (Melbourne), I-Beam (Newcastle), Karma (Adelaide), the new Sydney club, and Auckland) will in all likelihood fill out the top eight or nine at Nationals. Six Women’s teams have also been confirmed, equally talented: Black Betty (Brisbane), fACTory Girls (Canberra), Honey (Melbourne), KAOS (Perth), Indies (Adelaide) plus a new club from Sydney. This will likely be the biggest tournament in Queensland in 2010, and a great opportunity for Brisbane locals to get down and do some spectating.
13-14 March – Northern / Southern / Eastern /Western Regionals
The largest weekend in the Australian Ultimate calendar, as upwards of 50 Open and Women’s teams descend on four venues around the country, all vying for an increasingly tighter number of slots for Nationals 2010. Simmo has done a full rundown of the slots available and his tips on who's likely to go.
27-28 March – New Zealand Nationals – Christchurch, New Zealand
http://www.ultimate.org.nz/pages/tour/2009-10/OpenWomen.htm
Becoming a great and fun way for Aussie clubs to prepare for Nationals, and generally delivering quality games against unfamiliar faces. There’s also the NZ South Island Championships on 20-21 February in Christchurch, and the NZ North Island Championships on 6-7 March in Hamilton – these latter two are also great tips for the burgeoning ‘B-Team’ season.
[late edit] 3-4 April - Border Classic - Albury NSW/Vic
http://vfda.asn.au/index.php/Clubs-Men-s/Chilly.html
Late mail - Victorian Club Chilly have announced the return of this fine tournament. Mostly a date claimer, with interested teams asked to get in touch by 21 February, with more info to come. [end edit]
17-18 April – Bashionals – Brisbane, Queensland
If you missed out a Regionals, there’s still a season to be played and a trophy to be won, as we here at the Brisbane Ultimate Blog bring you Bashionals (which we’ll be blogging separately about).
24-27 April – Nationals – Adelaide, South Australia
That big tamale, with the 32 qualifiers from Regionals in the Open and Women’s division heading south south south for battle and the finale to the season.
Some might say “that’s a lot of Ultimate”, to which we reply “EXCELLENT!”. They may then add “it’s expensive to get to all that!”, to which we reply in three parts:
Since the introduction of Regionals in 2005, there has been an occasional moan from folks who remember the days of leading into Nationals with a few warm up tournaments – Seeds of Doom, the Border Classic and so forth.
Regionals was a necessary addition to the season, but it seems its only been in the last year or two that folks have looked up from organising their clubs and aiming at Regionals/Nationals, and started to organise a few events and plan for their club to make it more of a season again.
This is great news, recalling as we have ranted elsewhere that some clubs were getting to the point of having 40+ training sessions to play a handful of games at Regionals and 6-7 games at Nationals!
So here’s how the calendar is playing out:
30-31 January – Golden City Classic – Ballarat, Victoria
http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=744
While its hard to call
[late edit] 14 February - Share the Love - Sydney, NSW
http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=722
Late mail - the Sydney-siders figured they'd better do something ... this one-dayer has a maximum 10 mens and 6 womens teams. Registration will open in January 2010. More info to come. Be there to become the "most loved player"!
[end edit]
27-28 February – Brisbane-Canberra Invitational – Brisbane, Queensland
http://firestorm.quda.org/?page_id=211
Now in its second year (after 2009 in Canberra), the BCI is probably now the primary warmup event for the elite going in to Nationals. The eight Open teams who’ve accepted the invitation (Firestorm (Brisbane), Fyshwick United (Canberra), Chilly (Melbourne), Heads of State (Melbourne), I-Beam (Newcastle), Karma (Adelaide), the new Sydney club, and Auckland) will in all likelihood fill out the top eight or nine at Nationals. Six Women’s teams have also been confirmed, equally talented: Black Betty (Brisbane), fACTory Girls (Canberra), Honey (Melbourne), KAOS (Perth), Indies (Adelaide) plus a new club from Sydney. This will likely be the biggest tournament in Queensland in 2010, and a great opportunity for Brisbane locals to get down and do some spectating.
13-14 March – Northern / Southern / Eastern /Western Regionals
The largest weekend in the Australian Ultimate calendar, as upwards of 50 Open and Women’s teams descend on four venues around the country, all vying for an increasingly tighter number of slots for Nationals 2010. Simmo has done a full rundown of the slots available and his tips on who's likely to go.
27-28 March – New Zealand Nationals – Christchurch, New Zealand
http://www.ultimate.org.nz/pages/tour/2009-10/OpenWomen.htm
Becoming a great and fun way for Aussie clubs to prepare for Nationals, and generally delivering quality games against unfamiliar faces. There’s also the NZ South Island Championships on 20-21 February in Christchurch, and the NZ North Island Championships on 6-7 March in Hamilton – these latter two are also great tips for the burgeoning ‘B-Team’ season.
[late edit] 3-4 April - Border Classic - Albury NSW/Vic
http://vfda.asn.au/index.php/Clubs-Men-s/Chilly.html
Late mail - Victorian Club Chilly have announced the return of this fine tournament. Mostly a date claimer, with interested teams asked to get in touch by 21 February, with more info to come. [end edit]
17-18 April – Bashionals – Brisbane, Queensland
If you missed out a Regionals, there’s still a season to be played and a trophy to be won, as we here at the Brisbane Ultimate Blog bring you Bashionals (which we’ll be blogging separately about).
24-27 April – Nationals – Adelaide, South Australia
That big tamale, with the 32 qualifiers from Regionals in the Open and Women’s division heading south south south for battle and the finale to the season.
Some might say “that’s a lot of Ultimate”, to which we reply “EXCELLENT!”. They may then add “it’s expensive to get to all that!”, to which we reply in three parts:
The great thing too, is that in between all this, there are still u19 and u23 Australian team training camps, groups preparing for World Clubs 2010 in Prague, plus some other great tournaments like the Terrigal Towel http://afda.com/showtournament.php?tournamentid=630, and whatever else we can come up with.“a) Having a club of upwards of 25 regular players (many clubs how have 40-50
players) means that the Club should aim to go to as many events as it can – its
not about fielding the same players at every event, its about your Club having a
great time and building all your players and waving your Club’s flag. You only
need 11 people to go. Be ambitious! Follow your dreams! You can reach your
goals!b) Instead of relying on player’s back pockets, why not fundraise –
making money as a group strengthens your club tooc) Playing tournaments is a seemingly forgotten but great way to prepare your team for Nationals – far more valuable (and fun) than training!”
Monday, December 14, 2009
Its Gonna Be Huge
It occured to us here at stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog manor, that there's going to be some huge Ultimate events occuring in our neighbourhood over the next 18 months.
The Brisbane-Canberra Invitational is scheduled for 27-28 February, here in Brisbane. The tournament's goal is to invite 8 Open and 8 Women's teams to compete. This makes this baby bigger than any Halibut, particularly as you'd anticipate teams bringing large squads, as they're usually serious groups preparing for Nationals glory. Less than 10 weeks away. TD John McNaughton probably needs your help!
Halibut 2010 on 31 July and 1 August will of course be the usual large affair, even with some of the national elite having been occupied in Prague earlier that month. I'd expect at least 12 teams, same as last year, particularly if a TD gets on board soon as is able to start promoting the tournament.
Then in less than 18 months time, the Northern Region is due to host the Australian National Ultimate Championships 2011 over the Anzac Day long weekend in April of that year. A massive 32 teams are anticipated to descend on Brisbane to fight it out - this will be the biggest Ultimate event ever held on Queensland soil. Are we up to it?
Perhaps one thing that will make life easier for the Brisbane organiser types will be the suggestion that Townsville bid to host Northern Regionals 2011. What an exciting thought!?! After all the years of Townsville teams treking down to play in the South East corner, the flow may go in the other direction. But just like the folks in Brisbane who will need to put their hand up to make Nationals happen, the Townsville folks will also have to grab the TD hats and tie them on tight ... and soon!
The Brisbane-Canberra Invitational is scheduled for 27-28 February, here in Brisbane. The tournament's goal is to invite 8 Open and 8 Women's teams to compete. This makes this baby bigger than any Halibut, particularly as you'd anticipate teams bringing large squads, as they're usually serious groups preparing for Nationals glory. Less than 10 weeks away. TD John McNaughton probably needs your help!
Halibut 2010 on 31 July and 1 August will of course be the usual large affair, even with some of the national elite having been occupied in Prague earlier that month. I'd expect at least 12 teams, same as last year, particularly if a TD gets on board soon as is able to start promoting the tournament.
Then in less than 18 months time, the Northern Region is due to host the Australian National Ultimate Championships 2011 over the Anzac Day long weekend in April of that year. A massive 32 teams are anticipated to descend on Brisbane to fight it out - this will be the biggest Ultimate event ever held on Queensland soil. Are we up to it?
Perhaps one thing that will make life easier for the Brisbane organiser types will be the suggestion that Townsville bid to host Northern Regionals 2011. What an exciting thought!?! After all the years of Townsville teams treking down to play in the South East corner, the flow may go in the other direction. But just like the folks in Brisbane who will need to put their hand up to make Nationals happen, the Townsville folks will also have to grab the TD hats and tie them on tight ... and soon!
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