Aussie Frisbee Blogs

None of the tipsters have been able to figure out this season's form to date. The best of the tippers is currently a massive 6-way tie on 67% between Gref, Stu, Julz, Jmac, Jack & Reece. Stu and Jmac get props for maintaining this level over 2 rounds, with the rest of the 67% gang only having tipped 1 round.

Sultry require more women to play WUCC, 5 have just quit. Without these number's we're going to have to cancel our tournament registration and miss out. Please help support this team.

Last nights action the the SFC come out very fired up, and seemed ready to continue their winning ways with an early 5-2 lead. Though the lead was only momentary as an MBB timeout prompted a 3 poit run, before SFC took one of their own.

Slamtown seemed to have stopped the weathered the early storm, and though giving up the lead in the first half, they fought back and took half in what was a very tight 8-7 game.

In the second half it was all MBB, the GC boys only managed another two points while the buggers used full time to put on the max points of 15.

Though credit is definitely due to Buggers hard working defence, the SFC did a good job in ending their possessions on their own accord with mental lapses causing very weak turnovers.

This will be counted as a stepping stone towards greener pastures and fuel to aspire to be better.

The SFC go into the bye week with a .500 record, and will be ready to take on the heroes after a good week of training.

Power Rankings to be released by the end of the weekend.

We don't blog about sex here. We leave it on the field.

That is all.

While the rest of adelaide is getting their bogan on for the clipsal karma and ultimate evolution are heading down to the always sunny melbourne for the 2010 southern regionals. and lets be honest; this is not the most prepared karma have ever been, and definitely not the most fired up - though we were never ones to get over-excited by our sport :)

with big loses like the middleton brothers, alec deslandes and cupcake all saving themselves for the home advantage at nationals we are even weaker than we will be in april, but that doesn't mean we are out for the count. lets look at some team match ups shall we...

HoS: If the clash at BCi shows anything, these boys are well prepared and still have the (mental?) edge over us. With a stronger line up and two weeks more prep, as well as half the boys having another under 23 training and possibly the excitement of being selected under their belts they look strong. Did i mention their massive squad size? massive. And although I have faith that one day, not too far away (is it 6 weeks till nationals now?) Karma will triumph, I don't think regionals will be the place for that. Hold on to your history books for a little bit longer...

QFC: If the Afda numbers are anything to go by, this team will not be the ones breaking karma's stride. Timill talks big though, and thinks that his team of elite athletes will at least take the 5th southern spot. I call 6th.

Bad Apples: I know as much about the tasmanian ultimate scene as i do about the new season of gilmore girls; that is, virtual nothing save that there may be girls involved, but i'm not sure. I'm hoping they will put up a bit more of a fight than last year, and the travel over is worth while for them. maybe next year they could find some fields and host it themselves? the home town advantage could be the spark they need (though it's not working for us yet).

Ultimate Evolution: the home town rivals. i'm always excited about playing against people i know in far off lands, and this will be no exception. additionally, UE are looking stronger this year than ever before, and may not even need the extra southern spot to make it to nationals; they will be fighting chilly b for 4th, i'm calling it now. even with their extensive campaign i doubt they will be able to challenge the powerhouses of Hos, Chilly and karma :)

Chilly: the squad was strong enough in brisbane to get to the finals, and stronger now. even with the growing-daily-in-strength Hos team and Karma's new can-do attitude, I can't see them losing to either. that's all i have to say. sad face for us.

Chilly B: This team is nothing to laugh at. not the mighty strength of their A team maybe, but i think will still put up a good fight against the top. typically coming 4th, this year may change only if UE can get themselves in gear and play the game of their life. At this stage I'm backing chilly b for the win.

Gfuc: the young guns from geelong. although some of these guys have a couple of years in them now, they still need to attach themselves to some stronger individuals to help lift the squad. i don't think they will embarrass themselves though, and want to give a heads up to bad apples and QFC; don't get to comfortable.

Final placings:
Chilly
HoS
Karma
Chilly B
UE
QFC
Bad Apples
Gfuc.

A quick plug for the women: watch out for indies making their finals debut this year!

So after a bit of a cull, it looks like the Open Division of Northern Regionals has settled into five teams.

Lets go through the teams, and you can put your tips in below. Rosters can be viewed here.

Firestorm
The A1-AlphaDog-DominantLifeform-TopoftheFoodChain-ArnoldSchwarzenegger-ZombieLich-Galactus-CitizenKane-DalekEmperor of Northern Regionals. They laugh at this tournament (usually this is followed by a crack of thunder), and have started lobbying to skip it in future. And probably rightly so - once you've harvested the best talent and cut the chaff, as well as trained for months like the crazy eager buggers they are, what can you expect, aside from seeing Firestorm at the top of the trophy for another year.

Northerns Form: 2009 1st and 2nd (O/D squad); 2008 1st and 2nd (Troopers/Zippo), 2007 1st.

Player to Watch: All of the tricky beggars. Whoops, they've scored on you again. The one guy who probably hasn't flogged you before is named Rob. He'll flog you too apparently. And for the sake of Queensland pride at Nationals, please don't break any of them (treat Buzz like he's your mother, which he is (spiritually)).

Towns-Villians
Evil, evil people from the True North, who will no doubt thrive in the hot and humid conditions this weekend. Like mould. Rumour has it that the Villians consider this a warmup tournament for coming again to smash and grab the inaugural Bashionals title. We shall see. The roster may be a little short, but they've picked up a dark lord in the form of Vinko of the Sith, and as usual some dudes will just appear out of the blue. Looking forward to seeing the new outfits. Expect a forfeit on Sunday morning if tradition holds up.

Northerns Form: 2009 4th (as Thor); 2008 3rd (as Thor); 2007 2nd (as Thor); 2006 4th (as No Panda).

Player to Watch: Hugh Osborne will occasionally blog on you. Mike Larson keeps getting better (at what, we're not sure). Hamish.

Slamtown Flatball Club
Slamtown have had some highs and lows in their short modern existence. This year's squad has been hardened up by a game or two in the BPL, and boasts a very strong Byron Bay/Channon flavour. Expectations will be high, but if the gang similar to last year then day two could be tough again. If Northerns were Survivor Heroes and Villains, these guys would be Coach. Will likely take the second Northern slot to Nationals, in some form or other.

Northerns Form: 2009 5th; 2008 4th (as The Pass)

Player to Watch: Stef Rappazzo of course. You can't help but look at him. Like a car wreck on legs. This guy is so tough he sweats blonde playgirls, craps steel I-beams and wees boiling tequila, lemon and salt - and that stuff doesn't have to fall far to hit the ground. Daughters should also be hidden from several members of this team. Jords will be much bigger this year, as will Dr Phil.

Brisbane Barbarians
The team named after this blog. A horde of unknown size, made up random Brisbane residents, who's idea of training is taking the Beenleigh line to the Muddy Farmer and going for a run involves dealing with last night's curry. Somehow both the Dave Lister and the german speed metal scene of Queensland Ultimate. As with last year, depth and having local beds/meals/women to go to may be the difference over travelling teams, particularly on Day 2. Planning to win Bashionals.

Northerns Form: 2009 3rd; 2008 5th.

Player to Watch: The Barbarians are a mix of knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. Amongst the knowns, Rob Lowe will wave the QUDA credit card in front of you while cutting long. Amongst the unknowns, Fiji Ultimate's Neal Radcliffe is making the transition from dickin' around on the beach with bikini babes and a frisbee to some hard running Ultimate. How will he go? Amongst the unknown unknowns ... well, there's some dudes we met at BUML on Monday night who reckon they're coming down.

UQ Lovers Go with Trevor to Northerns
Only six registered as we type, but we're assuming UQ will get it together as it usually does (ie the last minute). While named the Lovers, this team will likely be very angry. Angry with having been cut from Firestorm. Angry with the GFC screwing up their plans of well paid easily-done GenY world travel and jobs. Angry with their flatmates, the women who say no to them, their parents. Angry at the whole damn world. And so they'll throw a lot of hammers. Should be planning to win Bashionals, but it might be a bit close to when assignments are due.

May we add though that its a great thing that members of best Ultimate Club in Queensland have finally removed themselves from the Firestorm teet and recognised that they should be playing at Regionals and driving towards Nationals in their own right. But we disgress). Is a home Nationals 2011 campaign on the cards? Expect their plays to be copied from Wikipedia.

Northerns Form: Unbelievably, UQ has never entered a team in this event. Unless you count Firestorm.

Player to Watch: Hard to say without knowing the full squad. Can Brenton, the star of AUGs, continue his upward trajectory?


Note for tipsters - since you'll all (except maybe for Crazy Pete) be putting Firestorm at the top of your list, we suggest you also tip the round robin goal difference. Assuming four games to 15 and time cap of 80 minutes against the other teams, how many points will Firestorm score against how many will they let in?

Also, why not try tipping the winners of Easterns and Southerns?

10-03-2010 Fields are open - so Frisbee is on

Oval 7 on UQ St Lucia campus - from 6 ish till 8:30pm

Come try the game and learn to play, play pick up and sign up for the UQ league starting next week*

Bring: A full water bottle, joggers/cleats, a white and a black shirt and bring a friend or two

See you there, excited and ready to play

Coordinators: Will Larkin and Nat Litzow

Mailing List: Sign up to our league email list at http://groups.google.com.au/group/uq-ultimate-league

Contact: uqultimate at hotmail dot com

The UQ League is a casual mixed league, with deep roots in the St Lucia campus of the University of Queensland. The league is a good place to get an introduction to Ultimate, meet new people, and keep fit with friends. While most of the people who play in the league study or work at UQ, it is open to anyone who wants to come down.



The league in Semester 1, 2010, begins with two Come and Try nights, on the 24th of Feb and 3rd of March, which are free nights to introduce new players to Ultimate and allow everyone to meet other people. Following that is a 12 week league, culminating in finals and an end of semester party - traditionally at the Regatta and featuring many shenanigans.


What: Mixed UQ Social League
When: Wednesday nights all UNI semester, 6.00 PM for a 6:30 start - 8:30 PM.
Where: Oval 7, corner of Coleridge Street and Sir Fred Schonell Drive, St Lucia
Cost: $70 includes a disc. NOW only $50 without disc

Was in Brisbane for the BCI at the end of February.HoS was quite understrength, but it was still a worthwhile tournament.Lessons learnt:Eye ContactI can't over state how important it is for a thrower and a receiver to make eye contact. ESPECIALLY when coming in from a check. Playing against Colonies Japanese style zone, one look at Timill and then a nod towards the endzone, was all it took to set

Stepping out of the normally impersonal stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion here - yes, its a chat on the street with JdR.

So following this post and associated email and talking to folks, I was asked by a couple of people as to what this might look like.

The most important thing that I want to see if a *process*. Even if this thing comes up with things I completely disagree with, I will be happy if we've done something through a good process.

This strategic plan thing is about deciding as a *volunteer* group where we want Ultimate in Brisbane to go in the future, what we think we should prioritise to make this happen, and by implication, what sacrifices we’re willing to make to make this happen (by sacrifice, I mean “instead of putting my volunteer effort into doing solely what I think we should do on my own, I will aim to cooperate and put my volunteer effort towards the things the group (of which I am a part) is keen on.”)

Ie – this is about generating a collective agreement about what we want and what we want to do about it, and the volunteer group committing to it, and in particular not revisiting it unless things change drastically.

To try to get people to abstract from their personal commitments to the present (or the current status quo), its also typical of a strategic plan that it doesn’t start for a while. Hence, my thinking for this one is that we do the work in the second quarter of 2010, and implement for 2011-2013.

A plan like this is also desirably consistent and relatively simple. Consistent so that a new person can pick it up and understand it, and also to harmonise people’s effort over time (ie not waste effort doing something that doesn’t fit, distracts people or just plain goes against the effort of other people). Simple so that you don’t over-do it.

Committing to it is also about conserving effort. If we agree now our plan for the next three years, then we’re also saying we’re not going to spend time and effort doing this again until its done or something drastically unexpected changes.

I’m not really wed to what the Plan should involve – the important bit is that we have a process and that people are willing to give and take and agree to something that is “best for Ultimate in Brisbane”.

I could leave this post here, because as I've written above, the important thing to me is that we do it. Its secondary what it contains. But then I'm willing to offer some ideas on that too, to sketch out some things that I think people might want to address.

What is the goal of Ultimate in Brisbane? We need to discuss this and see if we all have a common goal. Personally, I think it is ‘growth’ in player numbers. Other possible goals – doing well on the National stage, developing quality play, having fun, increasing legitimacy of the sport, establishing stability/consistency in administration/fields/etc, giving existing players more opportunities to play – all of these can be interpreted in terms of growth

What is the scope of such a plan? I’d suggest the focus of the plan be about Leagues in Brisbane - things that are conceivably under the control of a single administrative structure (hopefully BUDA). Tournaments and other things that happen within the Brisbane geographic area are things that are accessible to non-Brisbane players, or need to be consistent with things that are done outside of Brisbane. So these other things can be left to QUDA or AFDA to concern themselves with. So we're talking here about BPL, WUFL and BUML and possibly local pickup. UQL could be in if the UQ Club wants to.

What are some of the key issues? If people are agreed that growth of League play is the goal, then this leads us into a variety of issues.

Do we grow the existing Leagues, or do we establish new Leagues, or do we do both?

I think in reality we do both. A “League” is to a degree an administrative construct. What we need to do to grow though is to establish new playing centres in time and space – these may well be part of a larger administrative structure (eg part of a larger League like BUML) or be a separate League sitting under BUDA.

Growing existing Leagues is easiest, as you’ve got the administration in place, you just need to cope with more people. Currently, we don’t really try very hard to grow our existing Leagues in my humble opinion. League growth has really just come from “Ultimate is a good product” (aka word of mouth aka people liking it and bringing their friends along).

To grow existing Leagues at a speed or rate beyond this, you can prioritise (ie pick one or two to focus on):
- effort on advertising/promotion (eg recruitment)
- effort to ensure the existing League is well run (eg clear start and finish dates)
- effort to support the creation of new teams (eg incentivise experienced players to help)
- effort to develop the quality of play (eg coaching, establish divisions, recognise on field success)

I’d also say that in Brisbane we do a poor job of establishing new Leagues. There is a sense that if someone wants to establish a new League, then they’re sent off into the wilderness on their own to make a go of it. Unsurprisingly, they fail or recognise its not even worth trying. Its very very hard to do everything on your own - find fields, recruit new players, try to persuade experienced players to come over, actually run the League - all while still trying to play your own Ultimate and do whatever else you do with your time.

Setting up a new League in my mind requires more effort, support and possibly sacrifice from the wider Ultimate community. This could include:
- survey existing players to find out where and when they would commit to a new League. Essentially, who is sick of driving the distance they do to play in a new League, or who would prefer to play on a different night?
- use existing League money to subsidise the new League to help it establish itself. This may be controversial but we generally agree we all benefit from more Ultimate. Making the new League a lot cheaper while it gets established (this may take several seasons) is essential, really, and making existing Leagues slightly more expensive to do this is reasonable if growth is the aim.
- change existing Leagues to make ‘space’ for the new League, so that it can attract existing teams and players. Eg, change a night, delay the start date of an existing League so that existing players will go try the new League

This brings me to a common point of discussion at the pub is that if only BPL and WUFL (which have separate player pool in Open and Women) were on the same night, then that would create a spare night for a new league to start and prosper in. Exactly true. People find this quite hard to approach though, as we’re pretty comfortable with the way things are.

The challenge for putting both on the same night is a) inertia - which can be countered by agreeing now that this change desirable, but also agreeing that the change wouldn’t come in to force until some time later (eg early 2011) and b) fields - for which I’d put in the plan that if we can find enough fields to put BPL and WUFL on the same night (it’d be nice if they were near each other, but not necessary), then that’s the night they’d move to – ie if someone can find 5-6 Ultimate pitches worth of space on Tuesday night, then both Leagues can be on Tuesday. If someone can find the same space on Thursday, then move to Thursday. Those who don't want to move are now motivated to find fields on their prefered night ....

I think most people agree that BUML can and will grow, and the long term goal is to increase the number of divisions so that people can get quality games. Having individuals just play one division, and establishing promotion/relegation in this League would improve competition. Having a goal of standard maximum number of teams per division also would help manage seasons and support levels of quality (eg max 6 teams in Div 1, max 12 in Div 2, any number in Div 3).

I've also written and spoken elsewhere of where I think BPL could go in terms of working towards two divisions, clubs where individuals compete and are developed, and where those clubs compete in areas outside BPL.

I say a "goal" here, and this is an important point throughout - that we're setting a general place we want to get to, without necessarily saying how we'll get there or when, or even what the goal will look like in detail.

A further challenge for Brisbane Ultimate is I think generating the desired level of volunteer resources. In one element, there is competition for these resources as many volunteers in Brisbane are attracted and able to act on the state (QUDA) or national (AFDA) level. Many people have recognised that establishing a ‘club structure’ can help resolve this. People will generally volunteer for something that is ‘close’ to them. At the moment, not many people feel close to the 400 or so regular players in Brisbane. But they would feel closer to the 10-50 or so people in their club. Other cities have been very successful in establishing formal clubs to motivate people to help and make their competitions easier to manage. Brisbane should consider this closely, and work out what might be best suited to it.

A more formal Club structure can also improve the quality of Ultimate played. Eg people are more willing to help develop a fellow clubmate than they are a random stranger. On the other hand, we need to balance this with our roots of being welcoming to everyone, and the strength that we get from being one large common and friendly community.


So there's some of the things I think I'm talking about in terms of a Brisbane Ultimate Strategic Plan.

a) Its a record of lengthy discussion amongst interested people, followed by an agreement about how to move forward on our shared desires and goals.

b) And I've gone ahead and sketched some of the things I'd like to see discussed - that I think we want to grow, and how we want to grow by giving more support to new Leagues, enhancing our existing Leagues, and establishing clubs more clearly to take the volunteer load of recruiting and developing players and managing competiton.

Thanks for reading, and having an interest in more than "I just want to play."

After the rained out week last week, we have a 2nd chance at this round. Repost any tips here.

So Northern Regionals 2010 (aka Queensland Open and Women's Ultimate Championships 2010) this weekend will be played on portafields.

BPL players have had six months to get used to portafields, and picked up a few tips and tricks on the way (check the comments too for more wisdom).

But there will still be a lot of folks playing on Saturday and Sunday who may find this a new experience.

Here's a few extra thoughts going in to the weekend.

• BPLers - the Black Betty TDs will need our help on Saturday morning in setting up the portafields. Many of you will recall your first go at setting up a portafield, and finding it a bit tricky. So lend a hand for the good of all. Its always good to have that ladies of Brisbane Ultimate appreciate you.
  
• The portafields lines can sometimes get a little 'bowed' (ie not be a direct line between two points) - the tightness you can get on the line to make it straight depends a little on the conditions, and on a very flat/frictionless field they can slide a little in the middle. I think generally its ok to try to straighten them up during games if possible. But in terms of what's in and out, I think its more spirited to use the portafield line, rather than the imaginary line between two cones.
  
• Interestingly, I heard that recently a player caught the disc and found their foot *under* a portafield line. There was some discussion about whether this was "on" the line or not. I'd have to say that yes, if your foot is under the line, you are indeed on the line, and hence are "not in".
  
• At the moment the JFOG field is pretty long in the grass. The grass is mown by the Council according to its own schedule (it tries to mow everything as soon as possible after weeks of rain, but its got hundreds of parks and fields to do). So it is in "the hands of the gods" as to whether we'll have short or long grass this weekend. Of course, a chalk line would be highly impractical in high or wet grass, so the portafield is a good thing.

Any other learnings from folks who've now played on portafields for a while?

The TD's for Northern Regionals 2010 (aka the Queensland Open and Women's Ultimate State Championships) have reminded the Open Captains about the registration rules.

For a team to be included in the Open draw, they need to have 8 players registered here by Tuesday.

At this stage, only the Gold Coast's Slamtown Flatball Club, the Brisbane Barbarians and the Towns-villans meet that criteria. Don't forget the top three teams get their names on the trophy! Plus this could be a 2 in 3 chance for any of these three Clubs to be booking their tickets to Nationals!

Since the Brisbane Monday night Mixed League started using two venues, there's always been the nightmare scenario for organisers - what if one field is closed and the other is open?

Well, tonight we're in it. Griffith has shut, but Annerley is open (barring a heavy shower this afternoon).

To complicate matters a little, we've currently got a few spare riches in terms of field space this season. Options options. Also challenging is a short timeframe.

Some people are going to be inconvenienced by this.

But deep down though, we assume people want to just play and accept that decisions will be made to make that happen. So let's go with that.

Anyway, here's the revised draw for tonight.

7.30-8.30pm
Annerley 3A (closest to bridge) – Heroes vs Kelvin Grove Cougars
Annerley 3B – Dyspoeics vs Mellow Yellow
Annerley 5 – Poachers vs Discheads
Annerley 2A (next to creek) – ExQUisiTe vs Baby Chimis
(note, this game was originally programmed for Griffith)

8.40-9.40pm
Annerley 3A – Plastic Scourgery vs ExQUisite
Annerley 3B – Chimichangas vs Wushi Finger Hold
Annerley 5 – Bermuda Triangle vs Frisky Time
(note, this DIV 2 game was originally programmed for Griffith)
Annerley 2A – Mongo vs Pickup Team 6

We heard or read recently the old line "Ultimate would be more legitimate if it had referees."

The issue of what is legitimacy and what such thing means for Ultimate is perhaps a topic for a much longer post, and you'll forgive us if we don't go there today.

But this kind of thinking seems to come from a mindset of "What do sports that seem to be more legitimate have that Ultimate doesn't? THAT must be the reason Ultimate doesn't seem as legitimate", and of course one of the more obvious things is a lack of on-field officials.

The easiest way to give the one-line slap down to anyone who runs the line "Ultimate would be more legitmate if it had referees" is to say "Yeah, and a ball. All the legitimate team sports have balls in them. Ultimate should use some sort of ball."

Ultimate needs referees like it needs a ball.

That should sort them out.

The title of this post was so lame, we donated $20 to Colette's Shave for a Cure effort in support of Leukaemia research. Why don't you?

Hi everyone,
I'm taking part in the Leukaemia Foundation World's Greatest Shave this year! So in exactly one week I'll be a true egg-head - EEK!!! Now that the initial buzz of signing up has worn off, it's actually rather intimidating. Be awesome and help to inject a little courage into my campaign by supporting my shave online:

http://my.imisfrien draising. com.au/personalPage.aspx? SID=102684

For those sadistic freaks among you who want to see the removal of my mane in person (you sick puppies!), I'll be shaving it on Saturday after the last game at the
regionals tournament (~5pm at JF O'Grady fields in Fairfield).

Your support means a lot to me, and to the thousands of people affected by Leukaemia every day:- Every hour of every day, at least one person in Australia is
diagnosed with leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma.- Every two hours, someone loses
their life to blood cancer. Please help me raise as much as I can for the Leukaemia Foundation. Their vital work provides patients with practical support during their long and tough treatment, as well as funding important research (which I see quite a lot of as the Health RAO!).

Thanks for your
support!Colette

Media juggernauts ESPN put out weekly Power Rankings in every Major sport to account for streaky and slumping play, shifts in momentum, strength of opponents, and differentiation of comparable records.

Now that the BPL is 7 teams deep, I feel that this will be a nice compliment to the actual ladder, and will above all else, offer me another avenue to voice my opinion.

Each week I will rank the teams from 1 through 7, I will be sure to include their record, and their Power Ranking from the previous week.

After Week 1

1 - (-) Dojo Mojo - (1-0)
It is tough not to put the Dojo up the top, regardless of their opponent, they only conceded 2 points!! For a team that makes a living on winning round robin games, they're off to a great start.

2 - (-) Slamtown Flatball Club - (1-0)
Though they are third on the ladder based on +/-, they pulled off a less expected victory, and still in a convincing manner. Those shorts also help to tip them into the 2 spot.

3 - (-) UQ Passion - (1-0)
Looks like they may be more than the 'Three Headed Monster' I had taken them for. Passion put a sound beating on their brother club, and are set for a big clash with top ranked Dojo in Week2.

4 - (-) Cobras (0-1)
After a surprising loss to the SFC, Cobras should be happy to know they have the services of Dan Young again, and should likely be fired up to get their first win this week verses the Lovers.

5 - (-) UQ Lovers (0-1)
Not sure if I saw Buzz on the field in week one, but even still, a 7 point defeat!! Getting Buzz back will be an obvious help, but it seems there are a few more areas that need ironing out.

6 - (-) Moreton Bay Buggers (0-0)
Even with them not having played, I was tempted to rank them higher than 6. They are truly the x-factor this year, and much will be learned in their first week of action against SFC.

7 - (-) Heroes (0-1)
Even though they are not quite the 'Cellar Dwellers' on the BPL ladder, it is no secret that this team is the weakest in the league. A 13 point drubbing on opening night is something they will be trying to avoid as this season moves on.

That's how I see things after one week of play.

Over the next two weeks, many teams will be going to Regionals, and if they aren't successful in qualifying for Nationals, deciding if they'd like to play the fab new event, Bashionals. Details at the bottom of this email.

Teams wanting to play Bashionals 2010 (17-18 April in Brisbane) will need to send a $150 team deposit by Friday 19 March (the Friday after Regionals).

If we have received 6 deposits by this date, then Bashionals will go ahead - we need 6 teams to commit so that people can start booking flights etc. We have space for up to 12 teams.

It is anticipated that after team deposits have been paid, the player fee will be approximately $35. This will depend a bit on the number of teams regoed, and there will be some consultation with Captains as to the details of the event (eg if all the Captains want a Bashionals disc, then we'll get one and raise the fees to something like $50).

For the "mid-range" players out there, with all the "top-range" players off worrying about boring-old-traditional Nationals, Bashionals may well be your big chance to make a splash on the Australian stage and bring home some bling! So fire up!

Registration: http://afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=779
Website: http://brisbaneultimatedisc.blogspot.com/search/label/Bashionals