Ladies and gentlemen,
It was a beautiful, sunny weekend of Ultimate at Northern Regionals, upwards of 30 degrees with low wind. Here's the breakdown.
SATURDAY
The morning games saw Black Betty and Cherry Bomb setting themselves apart, taking easy wins over the less experienced Blackberries and Purple Llamas. The quality of all four teams' uniforms was outstanding, as was the fact that we had four teams at women's Regionals! An exciting outcome, and kudos to everyone who played, and everyone who made it happen.
After lunch, the Blackberries took a golden point thriller over the Llamas for third place, while the established force of Black Betty had their way with Cherry Bomb. I saw little of the game, but a 13-5 scoreline seems an emphatic victory. Both teams should qualify for Nationals without difficulty, and we're excited to see two Queensland teams competing in the women's division.
On the Open side, this day's results had no bearing on Nationals qualification/seeding; it was simply a long day of fun Ultimate. Kudos to all those teams who came together for this, especially those who fought through with low numbers on a hot day. Firestorm, reigning champions for several years, split their team into two squads for extra challenge and more game time. Congratulations to Fire, who swept through the day convincingly to take the win.
Congratulations to the Blackberries, who took out the women's Spirit win, and to the Griffith A-Team for taking Open Spirit. The spread of different finishing times meant we didn't have a chance to acknowledge you on the day, but well done.
Full Saturday rankings:
OPEN
1. Fire
2. Slamtown Flatball Club
3. BPL Retirement Village
4. Storm
5. Townsvillains
6. Griffith A-Team
7. UQ Lovers
OPEN SPIRIT
1. A-Team (51)
=2. Fire (48)
=2. Villains (48)
=2. Lovers (48)
5. Village (47)
6. Storm (44)
7. Slamtown (41)
WOMEN
1. Black Betty
2. Cherry Bomb
3. Blackberries
4. Purple Llamas
WOMEN SPIRIT
1. Blackberries (24.5)
2. Cherry Bomb (23)
3. Purple Llamas (22)
4. Black Betty (20)
SUNDAY
Sunday saw the Open competitive playoffs. With Ignition losing several players on Saturday to injuries or changed minds, a late decision was made to merge Townsvillains and Ignition and create a three team draw.
In the first two games, the composite Ignillains group (got any better ideas?) worked hard, but were outmatched by Slamtown and Firestorm, in that order. It set the stage for the match these teams had been looking forward to.
Slamtown have a number of big-time playmakers, and use these talents to play a high-risk, high-reward style on both O and D. In previous matches against Firestorm, this hadn't worked out in their favour, and a revamped Firestorm offence was able to score consistently as their defence generated turns. When the risks work out, though, Slamtown will be able to put points on any team in the country, and this game saw their throwers absolutely on point.
Firestorm's offence was put under big pressure by a hard-working Slamtown unit, and when they generated turnovers, Slamtown were unwilling to give back the disc. They forced early turnovers and converted, going up 6-3. Firestorm's time-out didn't change the direction, as Slamtown took half 8-4.
The second half continued in a similar fashion; Firestorm were struggling to generate turnovers as Slamtown continued to nail pinpoint hucks down tight sidelines and leading hammers in the back of the endzone. The lead continued to extend, and only a couple of late points brought Firestorm to double digits, as Slamtown handed out Firestorm's first ever Regionals loss.
It was a convincingly display from the Gold Coast/Brisbane mix, and one that will presumably be celebrated in true Slamtown style. To both teams' credit, the game was played in excellent Spirit despite the level of intensity and desire.
Slamtown will take the #6 seed to Nationals, while Firestorm is likely to attend in the #15 position, but must wait for confirmation of AFDA wildcard allocations. Townition (definitely not better...) will be heading to Div 2 Nats to represent the North.
It's extremely exciting to see a second strong club emerging here in Queensland, and we look forward to battling with others from around the country.
SUMMARY
Well done to our winners and our Spirit winners.
Thanks to Dom, Myles, Gary, Mat, Timocles, Luke for significant help with running the tourney.
The QUDA AGM was also held, and reports from that will come separately.
Cheers
John (TD)
Showing posts with label nats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nats. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
More Ramblings on Regionals 2008
So a month or so ago I had a ramble about Regionals. Today I forwarded off to the AFDA the formal bid to host Regionals again at Griffith Nathan (same as last year), and that got me thinking more about Regionals and Nationals.
Since the advent of Regionals, in the North, we've worked out how many teams we are allowed to send to Nationals, and then formed ourselves into the right number of teams (so in 2005 we had two plus one slots and went as Buggers, Dojo and Flood; and in 2006 we had three slots but only sent Firestorm and Thor). Its not clear yet as to whether we'll get 3 or 2 slots in 2008.
John McNaughton let me know that there's thought that Firestorm will aim to get two squads to Nationals next year. This is good, and I’m glad to see people thinking about it all early for once. Presumably, Firestorm's goal will be to get the 44 or so best players in SEQ (if not all of Queensland and Northern NSW) together, training and working hard and down to Nationals.
The only problem with this though is it probably bollocks' up Regionals as an event worth having (particularly if the Region only gets two slots to Nationals). Players instead will focus on getting onto one of the Firestorm squads.
Under the rules, we have to have Regionals to ensure we get our full number of Nationals slots, but if the top 44 or so players are in two teams, I don't think the event will attract many other players, which makes it a bit of a dud (might as well just call it Firestorm Training Camp 2 and be done with it).
For growing the future though (and noting that as time goes by, the AFDA will start adjusting slot offers based on Regionals participation, so we will probably soon really need to make Regionals have more teams), I want Regionals to be a good event in itself, and I think this involves getting more teams involved.
So here's a vision for Open Regionals 2008 – six teams, based around:
1. Brisbane A (Firestorm Core A)
2. Brisbane B (Firestorm Core B)
3. Townsville
4. Byron Bay (plus Armidale?)
5. Gold Coast
6. Brisbane University Rookies / Pickup (can we use Regionals as part of UQs O-Week recruitment strategy?)
There could of course be some merging of two groups from 3-6. I'm also going to have a go an encouraging some folk from Darwin to come. We might also be able to generate another Brisbane/YUFL/Capalaba/pickup team.
To get these non-Firestorm teams to happen, particularly if the Northern Region only gets two slots to Nationals, would require some careful management by Firestorm.
This is the challenge, really.
What I'm getting at is that there are senior players in Townsville, Byron Bay, the Gold Coast and the Unis, who will want to go to Nationals and do well and will see the best way to do this is with Firestorm. But if they play for Firestorm at Regionals then teams from those areas won't happen, or will get thoroughly smashed by stacked Firestorm squads and not bother again.
Given that teams at Regionals must have minimum 10 players, but may take up to 28 to Nationals (although 18-22 are more usual), there's plenty of potential for use of the rule that players who's Regionals team do not qualify for Nationals may join other teams that do qualify for Nationals.
A way forward could be for Firestorm to select its teams (say 44 players (I assume that to develop us in long term, you'd agree North needs to start sending big teams to Nats as soon as possible)), but then release some players (10-12?) to organise and play for other teams at Regionals (with a gentlemen's agreement that if in the unlikely circumstance that one of these teams beat Firestorm A or B into 1st and 2nd place, they would not take up a Nationals slot).
There are obvious people from those locations who might do this (with enough support from Firestorm of course), but the Firestorm brains trust might also pass on some Brisbane fellas to increase the value of getting better teams happening.
All of the above is pretty much in the 'only two North slots' scenario. If the AFDA gives three slots to the North region, then I'd suggest:
- Gentlemen's agreement that Firestorm A, Firestorm B and Townsville/Byron would attend Nationals
- Firestorm release players to help generate Gold Coast and University teams for Regionals
- Byron and Townsville compete at Regionals separately, but merge into Thor for Nationals.
Since the advent of Regionals, in the North, we've worked out how many teams we are allowed to send to Nationals, and then formed ourselves into the right number of teams (so in 2005 we had two plus one slots and went as Buggers, Dojo and Flood; and in 2006 we had three slots but only sent Firestorm and Thor). Its not clear yet as to whether we'll get 3 or 2 slots in 2008.
John McNaughton let me know that there's thought that Firestorm will aim to get two squads to Nationals next year. This is good, and I’m glad to see people thinking about it all early for once. Presumably, Firestorm's goal will be to get the 44 or so best players in SEQ (if not all of Queensland and Northern NSW) together, training and working hard and down to Nationals.
The only problem with this though is it probably bollocks' up Regionals as an event worth having (particularly if the Region only gets two slots to Nationals). Players instead will focus on getting onto one of the Firestorm squads.
Under the rules, we have to have Regionals to ensure we get our full number of Nationals slots, but if the top 44 or so players are in two teams, I don't think the event will attract many other players, which makes it a bit of a dud (might as well just call it Firestorm Training Camp 2 and be done with it).
For growing the future though (and noting that as time goes by, the AFDA will start adjusting slot offers based on Regionals participation, so we will probably soon really need to make Regionals have more teams), I want Regionals to be a good event in itself, and I think this involves getting more teams involved.
So here's a vision for Open Regionals 2008 – six teams, based around:
1. Brisbane A (Firestorm Core A)
2. Brisbane B (Firestorm Core B)
3. Townsville
4. Byron Bay (plus Armidale?)
5. Gold Coast
6. Brisbane University Rookies / Pickup (can we use Regionals as part of UQs O-Week recruitment strategy?)
There could of course be some merging of two groups from 3-6. I'm also going to have a go an encouraging some folk from Darwin to come. We might also be able to generate another Brisbane/YUFL/Capalaba/pickup team.
To get these non-Firestorm teams to happen, particularly if the Northern Region only gets two slots to Nationals, would require some careful management by Firestorm.
This is the challenge, really.
What I'm getting at is that there are senior players in Townsville, Byron Bay, the Gold Coast and the Unis, who will want to go to Nationals and do well and will see the best way to do this is with Firestorm. But if they play for Firestorm at Regionals then teams from those areas won't happen, or will get thoroughly smashed by stacked Firestorm squads and not bother again.
Given that teams at Regionals must have minimum 10 players, but may take up to 28 to Nationals (although 18-22 are more usual), there's plenty of potential for use of the rule that players who's Regionals team do not qualify for Nationals may join other teams that do qualify for Nationals.
A way forward could be for Firestorm to select its teams (say 44 players (I assume that to develop us in long term, you'd agree North needs to start sending big teams to Nats as soon as possible)), but then release some players (10-12?) to organise and play for other teams at Regionals (with a gentlemen's agreement that if in the unlikely circumstance that one of these teams beat Firestorm A or B into 1st and 2nd place, they would not take up a Nationals slot).
There are obvious people from those locations who might do this (with enough support from Firestorm of course), but the Firestorm brains trust might also pass on some Brisbane fellas to increase the value of getting better teams happening.
All of the above is pretty much in the 'only two North slots' scenario. If the AFDA gives three slots to the North region, then I'd suggest:
- Gentlemen's agreement that Firestorm A, Firestorm B and Townsville/Byron would attend Nationals
- Firestorm release players to help generate Gold Coast and University teams for Regionals
- Byron and Townsville compete at Regionals separately, but merge into Thor for Nationals.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
2007 Queensland Club of the Year
You'll have to forgive me for another long and wordy post, but here's the info backing up the 2007 Queensland Club of the Year.
*Update – now edited with further Halibut results*
The objective was to recognise the growth of ongoing clubs in Queensland and Northern NSW – both in terms of doing well at tournaments, but also in terms of just getting themselves to tournaments in the first place. So not just looking at who won, but being able to compare the clubs on a somewhat objective scale, and possibly motivate people from year to year in getting to more tournaments and invoking a club identity more often.
Before we get into the results, here were the ground rules:
Qualifying Elements
1. Clubs must play two tournaments, or have travelled over 700km for one tournament.
2. Club must be majority Qld or NNSW players.
3. Players may play for multiple clubs through the year, but only one club per event.
4. Clubs may accrue additional points via multiple teams in the same event.
5. A tournament must have at least four teams to be included, and be by open invitation/qualification (hence, NUFL not included, as only certain clubs can compete).
Determining Points
1. Points are given for placing in relation to the size of the tournament. Last place gets 100 points, each placing above that gets 100 points, but to 10 teams.
2. If there are more than 10 teams, the maximum points are 1000, and the points per placing distributed down to 100 points for last.
3. Spirit points are given as 20 points per team at the tournament - so for example, winning spirit at a 8 team tournament is 160 points.
4. There is a travel bonus to recognise that getting a team a distance takes more effort. 50km-700km is 100 points, 700-1400km is 200 points, more than 1400km is 300 points
5. Bonus points up to 100 for miscellaneous at the discretion of the award organiser.
So how'd Queensland's Clubs do in 2007? Lets go in reverse order, and hope that my math is roughly right:
10th on 735 points – GU-nit (Gold Coast Griffith Mixed)
Sprang onto the scene this year under the leadership of crazy Stef Rapazzo and got themselves to Halibut (15th of 16* for 160 points), Lovefest (equal 5th of 6 for 150 points) and AUGs (18th of 20 for 200 points). Travelling up to Brisbane twice got two lots of 100 travel points, plus an extra 25 points for the ridiculously good outfits at the Halibut party.
Concrete Donkey quality for getting themselves together and down from Townsville (so 200 travel points for that) to play, and play well at that (8th of 16* is 580 points). Down from Shoot To Kill's 1112 points of 2006.
Did a lot of travel (to Brisbane for Regionals (200 points) and then to Melbourne for Nationals (300 points), and had a great time, although results on paper (2nd of 4 at Regionals for 300 points, then 15th of 16 at Nationals for 160 points) held them steady.
Byron have really amped up their profile this year, with the Pass getting to both Halibut (
6th on 1030 points – QUTies (QUT Mixed)
Up from 680 points in 2006, QUTies picked up well with a good result at AUGs (11th of 20 for 530 points) and Lovefest (3rd of 6 for 400 points). Travel to the Gold Coast gets another 100 points. QUTies being one of the dominant YUFL teams is one of the reasons we should try to work out a way to integrate points for Leagues into this Club of the Year thing.
5th on 1380 points – Firestorm (Brisbane Open)
Two teams at Regionals (Firestorm 1st of 4 for 400 points and Firefighters 3rd of 4 for 200 points), was followed by 8th at Nationals (for 580 points) and the Melbourne travel bonus of 200 points.
4th on 1480 points – Sultry (Brisbane Women's)
A second great year for Sultry and up from 1280 points in 2006. Two teams at Nationals coming in at 9th (520 points) and 10th (460 points) of 16, plus two teams times 200 travel points for getting to Melbourne, and 100 discretionary points for the one day event at Regionals, all gave a big score.
3rd on 1640 points – Lounge Lizards (Brisbane Mixed)
A big second year for the Lizards, taking two teams to Halibut (6th of 16* for 700 points, and 14th for 220 points), one to Lovefest (4th of 6 for 300 points) and 21st at Mixed Nats for 220 points, plus the travel bonus to Sydney (200 points).
2nd on 1700 points – Bootius Maximus (Brisbane Mixed)
Probably Queensland's best known club thanks to a fantastic 2006 campaign (where it would've been club of the year with a huge 2991 points), Bootius scored again with a maximum 1000 points for winning Mixed Nationals (in Sydney so a further 200 travel points), plus 500 points for coming 2nd of 6 at Lovefest.
1st on 2040 points – UQ Lovers (Brisbane Mixed)
Won AUGs for 1000 points, plus 100 points for travelling to the Gold Coast. Won Lovefest for 600 points. 12th of 16* at Halibut for a further 340 points and the Club of the Year 2007 title. Well done!
Final thoughts – I am sure people will see different ways to weight the points, but I can say I made my best estimate for rewarding turning up, travelling and playing well, and then ran the team results through it. I was pleased to find total points that seemed about right, and that certainly gave Clubs some encouragement for 2008! Good luck to you all, and as usual, comments and corrections welcome.
*Most Halibut results are estimates – final results have yet to be confirmed – however these results do not appear likely to influence placings a lot?
*Edit – well, the fine folk of the Pass emailed me to say they came in 9th at Halibut rather than my poor guess of 13th – while slides them up the rankings to 7th. Fixed now!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Thunking Up the Queensland Club of the Year Award
Hey people,
In getting everything just right for the upcoming QUDA BASH, Maylin (bless her) asked a few people if a bit of award presenting would be appropriate.
Yes I said! And so I got to thinking, and decided that one thing that would be quite cool would be a "Queensland Club of the Year" Award.
But rather than the higher-effort approach for the AFDA Club fo the Year (which involves nominations addressing several on and off-field critera, then voting by the AFDA Board), I'd pinch some of Potty's work on Walkabout, which was about giving points for attending and succeeding in tournaments, and modify it to suit our Queensland environment.
A key thing I also want to do is that, aside from recognising the overall top club, is to recognise all the other clubs and what they've been up to. Perhaps they can aim to improve from year to year to generate some bragging rights.
So I've done my thinking and this is what I've got. I figured comments from the readers here might be useful, so your thoughts welcome. But I ask that you not spoil the surprise for the QUDA Bash by trying to work out the results for 2007 (which of course I will post here eventually)!
Guidelines - Qualifying Elements
- Clubs must play two tournaments, or have travelled over 700km for one tournament (we don't want "one-off" groups involved, but do want to ensure non-Brisbane efforts are recognised).
- Club must be majority Qld or NNSW players (to include Byron).
- Players may play for multiple clubs through the year, but only one club per event.
- Clubs may accrue additional points via multiple teams in the same event.
- A tournament must have at least four teams to be included, and be by open invitation/qualification (hence, NUFL not included, as only certain clubs can compete).
Guidelines - Determining Points
- Points are given for placing in relation to the size of the tournament. Bottom place gets x points, each placing above that gets x points, but to 10 teams.
- If there are more than 10 teams, the top points are 10x, and the points per placing distributed down to x points for bottom.
- Spirit points are given as y points per team at the tournament - so for example, winning spirit at a 8 team tournament is 8y points.
- There is a travel bonus to recognise that getting a team a distance takes more effort. 50km-700km is z points, 700-1400km is 2z points, more than 1400km is 3z points. (So you can see, Gold Coast/Byron/Townsville get recognised for getting to Brisbane, while all teams get recognised for travelling to Sydney/Adelaide/Perth/etc).
Test: Last Year's Club of the Year
Applying this to the *2006* results (with some small pieces of subjective judgement in the input stage), here's what I get:
In getting everything just right for the upcoming QUDA BASH, Maylin (bless her) asked a few people if a bit of award presenting would be appropriate.
Yes I said! And so I got to thinking, and decided that one thing that would be quite cool would be a "Queensland Club of the Year" Award.
But rather than the higher-effort approach for the AFDA Club fo the Year (which involves nominations addressing several on and off-field critera, then voting by the AFDA Board), I'd pinch some of Potty's work on Walkabout, which was about giving points for attending and succeeding in tournaments, and modify it to suit our Queensland environment.
A key thing I also want to do is that, aside from recognising the overall top club, is to recognise all the other clubs and what they've been up to. Perhaps they can aim to improve from year to year to generate some bragging rights.
So I've done my thinking and this is what I've got. I figured comments from the readers here might be useful, so your thoughts welcome. But I ask that you not spoil the surprise for the QUDA Bash by trying to work out the results for 2007 (which of course I will post here eventually)!
Guidelines - Qualifying Elements
- Clubs must play two tournaments, or have travelled over 700km for one tournament (we don't want "one-off" groups involved, but do want to ensure non-Brisbane efforts are recognised).
- Club must be majority Qld or NNSW players (to include Byron).
- Players may play for multiple clubs through the year, but only one club per event.
- Clubs may accrue additional points via multiple teams in the same event.
- A tournament must have at least four teams to be included, and be by open invitation/qualification (hence, NUFL not included, as only certain clubs can compete).
Guidelines - Determining Points
- Points are given for placing in relation to the size of the tournament. Bottom place gets x points, each placing above that gets x points, but to 10 teams.
- If there are more than 10 teams, the top points are 10x, and the points per placing distributed down to x points for bottom.
- Spirit points are given as y points per team at the tournament - so for example, winning spirit at a 8 team tournament is 8y points.
- There is a travel bonus to recognise that getting a team a distance takes more effort. 50km-700km is z points, 700-1400km is 2z points, more than 1400km is 3z points. (So you can see, Gold Coast/Byron/Townsville get recognised for getting to Brisbane, while all teams get recognised for travelling to Sydney/Adelaide/Perth/etc).
Test: Last Year's Club of the Year
Applying this to the *2006* results (with some small pieces of subjective judgement in the input stage), here's what I get:
- Bootius Maximus 2991 points (success at Halibut and Mixed Nats + WUCC make it big)
- UQ Lovers 2076 points (Halibut, Lovefest and AUGs success in Adelaide)
- Dojo Mojo 1400 points (Regionals and Nationals success)
- 74 Flood 1390 points (Regionals, Nationals, WUCC + spirit at Nats)
- Sultry 1200 points (special for Regionals, Nationals + spirit at Nats)
- Buggers 1150 points (Regionals and Nationals)
- Shoot to Kill 1112 points (travelling and a good result at Halibut helps!)
- Crikey 1065 points (travelling and a good result in Ballarat helps!)
- Lounge Lizards 890 points (Halibut and Lovefest, but stayed in Brisbane)
- QUTies 500 points (Lovefest and AUGs, but low results)
- No Panda 400 points (travelling to Regionals gets them on the board)
Sound good?
I'm looking forward to announcing the 2007 result (pending Dusty getting me the Halibut results! C'mon Dusty!!). Clubs in the running seem to be the Pass (Byron), GU-nit, Bootius, Lovers, Firestorm, Sultry, QUTies, Lizards, Thor, Armidale Freeze and Concrete Donkey.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Northern Regionals 2008
So I've been meaning to put my hand up again to run Northern Regionals. I'm assuming nobody will complain ;)
What this means at this stage is booking some fields - so check out the new poll function on the right there.
But I also wouldn't mind fostering a bit of thinking beforehand about what the Northern Region wants out of this event (Northern Region being North Queensland, South Queensland and the Northern Territory, plus folk from Northern NSW (Byron, Armidale) who have the option of qualifying for Nationals via either Northern Regionals or Eastern Regionals.
Officially, Northern Regionals, like the other Regionals events, is required by the national body to enable the qualification of teams (and players) to attend Nationals. In practice, the Northern Region produces two teams that get to go to Nationals, and for players, if you played on one of those teams at Regionals, you must play with them at Nationals. If you played with some other team at Regionals, you can play with any team that will have you at Nationals.
For our region though, we've generally been able to organise ourselves to ensure we have the two teams to fill the two slots (in both Open and Women's). Hence, Northern Regionals has been about having an event to satisfy AFDA - and of course, its good for us to have an Open/Women's event on the calendar in Brisbane [note assumption that Northern Regionals will be in Brisbane for the foreseeable future].
Assuming that we're going to continue this way in 2008, I figure we should ask ourselves if there's a better way to do it than in 2007.
In 2007, the Open Division featured five regoed teams, which became four at the start of day 1. Two of the teams intended to go to Nationals and featured most of the stronger players in the region. The third was a small number of stronger players who weren't going to Nats, and the fourth was a fairly weak pickup team.
The event did its job in generating two teams for Nationals, but it was pretty lop-sided. I can't help thinking that perhaps we couldn't do it differently, although I guess at least the Nats-bound teams benefited from two days running around together, even if against some weaker opposition.
Perhaps we could make the event more of a hard-training and/or even selection event? Players register as individuals, indicating whether they also want to go to Nationals (but certainly lots of not-Nats players welcome, as its our ONLY Open tournament of the year). The Brains-Trust pick teams with an eye to generating two teams for Nationals (whether thats A/B or X/Y or something else is up to them) but also to making sure we have a good hard tournament (ie with reasonably even teams where possible). If there are more players wanting to go to Nats than there is space on two teams, then the event also becomes a selection event.
This may be an event that's inviting particularly to newer players, for example from the Universities (including now Gold Coast Griffith). And it should ideally also link to BPL, with BPL teams 'scouting' for players at this event.
I think this is what Sultry did with their one day of Regionals, and in addition they were very open to new players (I suspect for an Open tournament people wouldn't be keen for rank-beginners).
Anyway, enough rave. What do YOU think?
What this means at this stage is booking some fields - so check out the new poll function on the right there.
But I also wouldn't mind fostering a bit of thinking beforehand about what the Northern Region wants out of this event (Northern Region being North Queensland, South Queensland and the Northern Territory, plus folk from Northern NSW (Byron, Armidale) who have the option of qualifying for Nationals via either Northern Regionals or Eastern Regionals.
Officially, Northern Regionals, like the other Regionals events, is required by the national body to enable the qualification of teams (and players) to attend Nationals. In practice, the Northern Region produces two teams that get to go to Nationals, and for players, if you played on one of those teams at Regionals, you must play with them at Nationals. If you played with some other team at Regionals, you can play with any team that will have you at Nationals.
For our region though, we've generally been able to organise ourselves to ensure we have the two teams to fill the two slots (in both Open and Women's). Hence, Northern Regionals has been about having an event to satisfy AFDA - and of course, its good for us to have an Open/Women's event on the calendar in Brisbane [note assumption that Northern Regionals will be in Brisbane for the foreseeable future].
Assuming that we're going to continue this way in 2008, I figure we should ask ourselves if there's a better way to do it than in 2007.
In 2007, the Open Division featured five regoed teams, which became four at the start of day 1. Two of the teams intended to go to Nationals and featured most of the stronger players in the region. The third was a small number of stronger players who weren't going to Nats, and the fourth was a fairly weak pickup team.
The event did its job in generating two teams for Nationals, but it was pretty lop-sided. I can't help thinking that perhaps we couldn't do it differently, although I guess at least the Nats-bound teams benefited from two days running around together, even if against some weaker opposition.
Perhaps we could make the event more of a hard-training and/or even selection event? Players register as individuals, indicating whether they also want to go to Nationals (but certainly lots of not-Nats players welcome, as its our ONLY Open tournament of the year). The Brains-Trust pick teams with an eye to generating two teams for Nationals (whether thats A/B or X/Y or something else is up to them) but also to making sure we have a good hard tournament (ie with reasonably even teams where possible). If there are more players wanting to go to Nats than there is space on two teams, then the event also becomes a selection event.
This may be an event that's inviting particularly to newer players, for example from the Universities (including now Gold Coast Griffith). And it should ideally also link to BPL, with BPL teams 'scouting' for players at this event.
I think this is what Sultry did with their one day of Regionals, and in addition they were very open to new players (I suspect for an Open tournament people wouldn't be keen for rank-beginners).
Anyway, enough rave. What do YOU think?
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Brisbane Ultimate 101
Greetings and welcome to the Brisbane Ultimate Scene.
This post is a set of information (as at September 2007) to help you find your way.
Although I'll try to update this every once in a while, you should know that Ultimate in Brisbane is pretty fluid. Your best bet for current information is to check out the various email groups that comprise the main source of communication for Brisbane (and Australian) Ultimate. At the very least, they should help you find a current contact (and people are very friendly, so don't hesitate to call or email)
General announcements, particularly regarding new seasons, upcoming events and pickup games are generally made via the Brisbane Ultimate Disc Association list - BUDA. Get yourself on that.
Leagues
There's a range of options for playing Ultimate on various weeknights in Brisbane.
Monday sees an intermediate mixed league at Yeronga AFL Club off Cansdale St - YUFL - this League is pretty full, but individuals can usually get themselves onto teams before or during a season by contacting the League Director. While its a League for people who know how to play, teams are sometimes willing to take beginners under their wings. Teams are generally the same from season to season, although some players move around and come and go. Regular teams include Bermuda Triangle, Mellow Yellow, Red Peppers, Dispoenics and the Chimichangas. University teams from UQ and QUT also regularly compete, as does the Brisbane Women's Team, Sultry.
Tuesday sees a Womens League at Toowong's Oakman Park off Union St - WUFL. This League is extremely welcoming of Women players from rank beginners through to World-class. There is generally some skills training as a group each evening before games. Teams are generally formed hat-style at the start of each season, to foster general fun and development.
Wednesday features UQ mixed league at the University of Queensland at St Lucia, on Oval 7 off Coleridge St - UQL. Generally for UQ students, but non-students are welcome. The League generally runs to match the University semester, although there is often pickup between seasons. Teams are usually formed at the start of each season, with experienced players spread across them to support beginners.
Also on Wednesday, some pickup has also begun at the Griffith University Nathan Campus on the rugby field near the corner of Kessels Road and Griffith Road. Non-students are especially welcome as the Griffith Club look to build their profile on campus. Its likely this pickup will be quiet during University breaks.
Thursday night features the Open A-League (known at the Brisbane Premier League) at Annerley Junior Soccer Fields off Victoria Terrace, Greenslopes - BPL. This is a six team League that demands a high level of experience and/or athleticism. Hence, experienced players new to Brisbane and looking for a solid run will be welcomed onto teams throughout the season. Current teams include Dojo Mojo, Buggers (two squads - Crusty and Fresh), Rawhide, and UQ (two squads - Passion and Lovers).
There are often pickup games on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons, but they can vary. Notification is typically via the BUDA list.
Brisbane Representative Clubs
At present, Brisbane is represented at the National Ultimate Frisbee League (NUFL) by Firestorm in the Open Division, and Sultry in the Women's division. These clubs also tend to form the core of teams attending Open/Women's Nationals in April of each year, although other teams also for that event (most recently, Thor and Dojo Mojo).
Groups of Brisbane players also routinely form for Mixed Nationals in October, and various other tournaments around Australia.
Tournaments
March traditionally sees Disc Del Mar, a five-a-side mixed beach hat held on the Gold Coast.
March also sees a tournament held as the Northern Regionals - the qualifier for Nationals in Open and Womens division (although its not taken too seriously in these parts).
April is dominated by Nationals, which rotates around the nation. The Northern Region is next due to host Nationals in 2013.
May traditionally features the Fight the Phat mixed hat.
May and June also feature Brisbane teams playing in the NUFL events held in Sydney and Melbourne.
At the end of August, Brisbane hosts Halibut, the Australia's largest Mixed Ultimate tournament outside of Mixed Nationals (many southern teams come north to enjoy some sunshine during Winter). The highlight of the Brisbane Ultimate calendar, and the traditional start of the Australian mixed season.
In September, the UQ Club hosts Lovefest, a mixed tournament that works as a warmup for both Mixed Nats and the Australian University Games.
During the mid-semester holidays in September, the Australian University Games are held at a site rotated around Australia. In recent times, Ultimate has become the largest sport at the Games. In the past UQ and QUT have sent teams, while Griffith's participation generally depends on how far away the Games are.
October is dominated by Mixed Nationals. The Northern Region is due to host in 2008 (expected to be Brisbane).
There are also various smaller tournaments held throughout the year. And many Brisbane folk travel to various tournaments in other cities (and love to take people with them).
This post is a set of information (as at September 2007) to help you find your way.
Although I'll try to update this every once in a while, you should know that Ultimate in Brisbane is pretty fluid. Your best bet for current information is to check out the various email groups that comprise the main source of communication for Brisbane (and Australian) Ultimate. At the very least, they should help you find a current contact (and people are very friendly, so don't hesitate to call or email)
General announcements, particularly regarding new seasons, upcoming events and pickup games are generally made via the Brisbane Ultimate Disc Association list - BUDA. Get yourself on that.
Leagues
There's a range of options for playing Ultimate on various weeknights in Brisbane.
Monday sees an intermediate mixed league at Yeronga AFL Club off Cansdale St - YUFL - this League is pretty full, but individuals can usually get themselves onto teams before or during a season by contacting the League Director. While its a League for people who know how to play, teams are sometimes willing to take beginners under their wings. Teams are generally the same from season to season, although some players move around and come and go. Regular teams include Bermuda Triangle, Mellow Yellow, Red Peppers, Dispoenics and the Chimichangas. University teams from UQ and QUT also regularly compete, as does the Brisbane Women's Team, Sultry.
Tuesday sees a Womens League at Toowong's Oakman Park off Union St - WUFL. This League is extremely welcoming of Women players from rank beginners through to World-class. There is generally some skills training as a group each evening before games. Teams are generally formed hat-style at the start of each season, to foster general fun and development.
Wednesday features UQ mixed league at the University of Queensland at St Lucia, on Oval 7 off Coleridge St - UQL. Generally for UQ students, but non-students are welcome. The League generally runs to match the University semester, although there is often pickup between seasons. Teams are usually formed at the start of each season, with experienced players spread across them to support beginners.
Also on Wednesday, some pickup has also begun at the Griffith University Nathan Campus on the rugby field near the corner of Kessels Road and Griffith Road. Non-students are especially welcome as the Griffith Club look to build their profile on campus. Its likely this pickup will be quiet during University breaks.
Thursday night features the Open A-League (known at the Brisbane Premier League) at Annerley Junior Soccer Fields off Victoria Terrace, Greenslopes - BPL. This is a six team League that demands a high level of experience and/or athleticism. Hence, experienced players new to Brisbane and looking for a solid run will be welcomed onto teams throughout the season. Current teams include Dojo Mojo, Buggers (two squads - Crusty and Fresh), Rawhide, and UQ (two squads - Passion and Lovers).
There are often pickup games on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons, but they can vary. Notification is typically via the BUDA list.
Brisbane Representative Clubs
At present, Brisbane is represented at the National Ultimate Frisbee League (NUFL) by Firestorm in the Open Division, and Sultry in the Women's division. These clubs also tend to form the core of teams attending Open/Women's Nationals in April of each year, although other teams also for that event (most recently, Thor and Dojo Mojo).
Groups of Brisbane players also routinely form for Mixed Nationals in October, and various other tournaments around Australia.
Tournaments
March traditionally sees Disc Del Mar, a five-a-side mixed beach hat held on the Gold Coast.
March also sees a tournament held as the Northern Regionals - the qualifier for Nationals in Open and Womens division (although its not taken too seriously in these parts).
April is dominated by Nationals, which rotates around the nation. The Northern Region is next due to host Nationals in 2013.
May traditionally features the Fight the Phat mixed hat.
May and June also feature Brisbane teams playing in the NUFL events held in Sydney and Melbourne.
At the end of August, Brisbane hosts Halibut, the Australia's largest Mixed Ultimate tournament outside of Mixed Nationals (many southern teams come north to enjoy some sunshine during Winter). The highlight of the Brisbane Ultimate calendar, and the traditional start of the Australian mixed season.
In September, the UQ Club hosts Lovefest, a mixed tournament that works as a warmup for both Mixed Nats and the Australian University Games.
During the mid-semester holidays in September, the Australian University Games are held at a site rotated around Australia. In recent times, Ultimate has become the largest sport at the Games. In the past UQ and QUT have sent teams, while Griffith's participation generally depends on how far away the Games are.
October is dominated by Mixed Nationals. The Northern Region is due to host in 2008 (expected to be Brisbane).
There are also various smaller tournaments held throughout the year. And many Brisbane folk travel to various tournaments in other cities (and love to take people with them).
Monday, May 21, 2007
Spirit Scores - Winners, Losers and Everyone Else
There's been a bit of discussion over at http://groups.google.ca/group/aus.sport.frisbee/topics?lnk=rgh&hl=en about the 'spirit guide' that was given to everyone at Nationals.
The idea of the guide was to give people, if not an objective base, a common basis for giving spirit scores. The view goes that, as we don't play everyone at a tournament, we can't rely on our own subjective standard, so we need something that's reasonably common to ease out the vagarities (for example, of a team in one pool giving spirit scores in the 8-10/10 range, while a team in another pool gives scores in the 4-6/10 range).
Using a spirit guide is a good idea, but I hope people don't forget you don't really need it at smaller events where each team plays against a majority of other teams - I reckon for those events the old 'give the first team you play against 7, and then rate every other game against that' approach works best (particularly if you have a range of players in your team - you all have the same first game to rank against).
The discussion back at aus.ultimate was prompted by the release of the overall spirit scores for Nationals.
Its pleasing on the one hand that this causes some angst. Spirit scores remain a useful tool for reminding people that their spirit is on display, and for most of us it can always be improved upon (at least in terms of the teams we play with).
But on the other hand, I tend to think that the overall rankings only really tell you about the top few teams (who had to have kept everyone happy) and the bottom few teams (who, if the distance between them and the top teams is large, had to have made at least a few opponents unhappy.
Everything in between doesn't say much in my mind - spiritwise I don't think the difference between 4th and 12th is much (compared to on-field placings).
The idea of the guide was to give people, if not an objective base, a common basis for giving spirit scores. The view goes that, as we don't play everyone at a tournament, we can't rely on our own subjective standard, so we need something that's reasonably common to ease out the vagarities (for example, of a team in one pool giving spirit scores in the 8-10/10 range, while a team in another pool gives scores in the 4-6/10 range).
Using a spirit guide is a good idea, but I hope people don't forget you don't really need it at smaller events where each team plays against a majority of other teams - I reckon for those events the old 'give the first team you play against 7, and then rate every other game against that' approach works best (particularly if you have a range of players in your team - you all have the same first game to rank against).
The discussion back at aus.ultimate was prompted by the release of the overall spirit scores for Nationals.
Its pleasing on the one hand that this causes some angst. Spirit scores remain a useful tool for reminding people that their spirit is on display, and for most of us it can always be improved upon (at least in terms of the teams we play with).
But on the other hand, I tend to think that the overall rankings only really tell you about the top few teams (who had to have kept everyone happy) and the bottom few teams (who, if the distance between them and the top teams is large, had to have made at least a few opponents unhappy.
Everything in between doesn't say much in my mind - spiritwise I don't think the difference between 4th and 12th is much (compared to on-field placings).
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
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