Aussie Frisbee Blogs

Milestone for Byron Bay Ultimate

2012-02-05T16:06:13+00:00

This Friday 10 February, the Byron Bay Regional Council will be opening its new multi-sport centre, which includes a dedicated Ultimate field.

It's great to have a dedicated field, but its also great to be part of a larger centre, and be thereby able to negotiate to host larger events.

If you're down that way, the politicians and other community representatives will be doing their ribbon cutting thing from 11am-12.30pm, and they'll surely love to see some Ultimate players.

Of course, they could hang around for the community launch between 4pm and 8pm that evening, which will feature both the Little Athletics and the very BEST of the Byron Bay Ultimate community and their friends, in a showcase game!

Well done BADMAN and all the gang.

Tournaments - WFDF 2013 World Under-23 Ultimate World Championships to be held in Toronto, Canada

2012-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

The World Flying Disc Federation today has announced that the WFDF 2013 World Under-23 Ultimate Championships will be hosted in the city of Toronto, Canada. The event will be held from July 22, 2013 to July 28, 2013

Other States are Doing It, Why Not Queensland?

2012-02-02T20:54:38+00:00

So, UFNSW have announced that they are increasing their league and tournament fees, to help continue employing a Development Officer. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsw-ultimate/message/5653

Which brings us to an important question.

Should QUDA increase the cost of Ultimate in Queensland to employ a Development Officer?

By our rough estimate, funding a part-time QUDA Development Officer would involve something like increasing the typical League fee by $10/season, and the typical tournament fee by $2.50 per day.

The QUDA Executive, being volunteers with limited time, asked that this discussion be focused here on the Brisbane Ultimate Blog, which has the capacity to host lots of comments (including anonymous ones, which of course are read but maybe not given the weight of those by real people), because they don't really want to read and reply to dozens of emails or have people in their face at game time. So please respect their time and stick to discussing the *idea* here (at least for a while!)

So, the QUDA Executive has been thinking about this for a while and has run some figures through the Atari2600 here at the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion (see below). In the lead-up to QUDA’s Annual General Meeting on 3 March, its worth discussing, at the least to give some views for the 2011-2012 Executive to consider as they go into their 2011-2012 planning.

Development Officers in Other States

Ultimate Frisbee NSW have had a full-time Development Officer for about two years. The position has been very successful, a testament to getting the right person and that person working very hard! The annual cost to UFNSW is about @$46k. As it is roughly understood here at the mansion, UFNSW initially funded this position primarily through its deep savings over many years, generated through its main source of income – running the massive Sydney Northern Suburbs League (500+ players over three seasons annually, for many many years). The Development Officer also ‘makes’ money to support the position, in that coaching services are provided to schools for a fee. UFNSW were also able to gain a small grant that contributed to their capacity to fund the job. (UFNSW of course also makes money from other things (disc sales, interest) and spends money on other things, but this is roughly how they’re able to do it. Check out UFNSW’s finances for 2010-2011 at: http://ufnsw.com.au/admin/documents/20110630_ProfitLoss.pdf

Ultimate Victoria and WAFDA also have development officers. There is a bit of variation between the details of the roles from place to place (and we invite them to comment in), but generally their roles aim to a) generate income to help pay for their positions, either through grants or paid services (such as coaching) and b) grow the long term membership of the Ultimate organisation in their state, primarily by ‘getting Ultimate into schools’ and then getting those people into Ultimate Leagues and Tournaments (including helping them set up their own Leagues and Tournaments).

The QUDA Executive’s desire to investigate and see if we can avoid falling further behind the other states has also been stimulated by a detailed proposal from a prominent local Ultimate player to become QUDA’s Development Officer, who has a long history of growing the sport through schools and other work.

QUDA's Finances and Capacity to Employ

QUDA’s finances are unlike these other states. QUDA does not run major Leagues as all other States do. In Queensland, these are run by BUDA, GCU, JCU, UQ, etc. QUDA does run a few key tournaments - Halibut, Northerns, the Q-Hat, and Nationals when they come to Queensland. But generally these events are run to ‘break even’ rather than to turn a surplus (I don’t use “profit”, as that implies money is taken out of Ultimate. A particular event can make money, but this money is reinvested in Ultimate, including when future events accidentally make a loss).

QUDA has not had to seek income this way because we’ve been fortunate that the Queensland Government provides grants system for State Sporting Organisations.

It is however explicit in this grant that it cannot be used to employ someone. QUDA does at various times pay people casual hobbyist rates or honourariums (eg Coaches, Course Presenters, the Executive Officer, promotional workers) or via gifts to particular volunteers, but it usually tries to do this with money from outside the State Grant. But it is impossible to extend this approach to the proper employment of someone for a few days a week, who needs a contract in place so that they give up other work to take the job on, who will need sick and recreation leave, superannuation, and so forth.

So QUDA would need to generate alternative income if it wished to employ a proper Development Officer over the long term. It is very rare for government grants to pay for staff – this is every sport’s dream but it doesn’t happen, and it isn’t sustainable as the grant may disappear and then what happens.

The AFDA Fee and the QUDA Fee

In the past, QUDA charged an annual membership fee, paid in February and which included a new QUDA disc. While this generated some income for QUDA, it is arguable its primary goal was ensuring that we had a member list to ensure its legal continuity, and keep a steady flow of discs into the community. AFDA used to have an annual fee also, collected at Nationals each year.

As Ultimate in Queensland grew to be more than a single League at one venue, it became impractical to continue trying to collect this annual fee. In 2004 or so, AFDA moved to an event based fee system, which levied a small amount per League or Tournament, collected from the League or Tournament Director and factored into their budgeting for player fees (“the AFDA fee”). The AFDA fee generated enough income to support an Administrative Officer to oversaw the system (amongst many other useful duties). So QUDA saw and took an opportunity to use the same system, introducing a “QUDA fee” that would be collected using the AFDA’s system.

Initially, the QUDA fee was set at a QUDA AGM as 20% of the AFDA fee. At present, the AFDA collects fees from Leagues and Tournaments at a rate of around $1.32 a registered player a week for League fees, and $3.96 a registered player a day for Tournament fees. http://www.afda.com/showcontent.php?page=member_fees

QUDA set its fee at 20% largely to establish the system with a relatively tokenistic amount. There is a sense that QUDA has however been relatively haphazard in collecting QUDA fees, and some events and tournaments in Queensland haven’t been invoiced or chased for payment. Hence one of the primary jobs for a QUDA Development Officer would probably be working with the QUDA Treasurer to get this system working properly.

So, How Would It Add Up?

So, to the figures. By our rough estimates, based on a scan of the AFDA registration system, AFDA would have collected around $21,618 in Queensland in 2011 (not including Nationals).

If QUDA had collected its 20% QUDA fee on this, it would have earned $4,323. This is obviously not enough to employ a Development Officer. But certainly, Step One for QUDA is to start properly and seriously collecting the QUDA fee.

Many events in Queensland do not use the AFDA registration system, and so do not pay AFDA fees (and problematically for QUDA, many of these players are therefore not actually members of QUDA) – this includes Leagues on the Gold Coast, Townsville and UQ (plus Cairns being pretty rough, but then its new and learning). If those Leagues had have been included in the AFDA/QUDA fee system, then our guess is that AFDA fees for Queensland would have gone up to around $28.5k, and QUDA fees to $5.7k. So a second step for QUDA is to continue trying to get those Leagues to become proper members of QUDA (we should acknowledge of course that there is a debate to be had about whether or not a Brisbane-based Development Officer can deliver x% of their attention to regional areas. Our sense is that this is certainly feasible, particularly given QUDA’s long term goal of growing the sport throughout regional Queensland. Also, given these places currently don’t pay anything to AFDA or QUDA, there’s have to be some progressive increase of fees – ie not all at once).

Then to finally get to the point (and I thank you all for reading this far!), there is the option for QUDA to pull the % lever and increase QUDA fees. Here’s our estimates:

Increase the QUDA fee from 20% to 50% of AFDA fee (and collect it all) would generate $10.8k on current takings and $14.2k if the ‘lost leagues’ were gained. This would be a $5.50 increase on a current BPL or BUML fee (assuming 14 player team) (typical and largest leagues in Queensland) and $2.38 on the Halibut fee (typical two day tournament).

Increase the QUDA fee from 20% to 75% of AFDA fee - $16.2k on current Leagues, $21.3 on all Leagues. $10.16 increase on BPL/BUML and $4.36 on Halibut.

Increase to 100% and its $21.6k on current or $28.5k on all, for a $14.78 increase on BPL/BUML and $6.34 on Halibut.

Here's the spreadsheet - click to embiggen. It may not be completely right, but we think its good enough to support this discussion. Please don't point out minor errors to us!

So what’s this all mean?

Well, Assuming you employ someone for half-time and it costs about half of what it costs UFNSW, you need say $24k/annum, with coaching income on top of that to fill out another half to a full day. So the question is: Should QUDA then increase its fees to 75% of the AFDA fee from 1 July 2012 in Brisbane, and say in the regions first start collecting it at 25% and then increase it by 25% each six months until its 75%?

What do you think?

To pre-empt a response from some who may say “So its going to cost more for me to play Ultimate. I play BPL and BUML all year, plus Halibut and the Q-Hat and Northerns, and so it’ll be pouring $65 a year more into QUDA’s coffers. What’s in it for me?”

Aside from a brief “Do you want our sport taken more seriously in the future?” which of course would require a lot of unpacking in terms of benefits and so forth (and requiring Ultimate players to think beyond the next season is a challenge, to be sure), perhaps a simple “Growth = more playing opportunities for you in the future. Growth = more Leagues on different nights in different places, growth means more teams and divisions in existing Leagues and tournament (meaning more competition). Growth = a higher standard at the higher levels (including being more competitive on the national scene).

So, thanks for reading all this. Its a month until the AGM. This isn’t a decision for the AGM – its a decision for the QUDA Executive. But no doubt when they are elected at the AGM, they’d like to go away and start to plan their year of office with an idea of what people would think if they made a decision to increase the QUDA fee and employ a Development Officer.

Tournaments - Womens Masters Division at WUGC2012

2012-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

LADIES!!! If you turn 30 this year (or are already 30+) you are eligible to play in the Womens Masters Division

Wollongong wins in the wind and (little bit of) wet weather

2012-02-01T16:51:14+00:00

Southern blow-ins Wollongong and friends playing as TDB (later changed to Nnargh) went 6 - 0 to win the 4th edition of ADBUC. Local favourites Flex on the Beach had a good weekend but pulled up just short of the perfect record - going down in the GF to the strong southern team.

Spirit of the Game was a close competition but crowd favourite (maybe coz they brought they own crowd) Crumbed Quince won with 7.5 points over 5 games (maximum possible was 10 points)

Finally "Out of their skin" players prizes went to 2 Huckleberry Finn players Becky Hill and Coops Lankowski who both amassed 4 out of a possible 5 votes.

Congrats to all the players, we hope you enjoy the picnic rugs, drinks, ice creams and the ultimate.

See you next time on the beach - in May or next January.

the ADBUC TOC.

Administration - AFDA seeks Rules Officer

2012-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

The AFDA is seeking applications for the position of AFDA Rules Officer.

World News - Skyd Magazine - Australia Day Edition

2012-01-27T00:00:00+00:00

In honor of our friends from down under, we’ve partnered up with Mark Evans of the Dingoes (Australian Worlds team) to present some great Aussie content. Thanks, Mark!

Come to the Darkside - The team formally known as the Cobras.

2012-01-25T02:09:50+00:00

For years now I have been playing with Cobras a team started by Liam ‘wetnose’ Gillions. He saw a gap in the BPL market and snapped up all the players that didn’t attend UQ, weren’t old enough for Dojo, didn’t quite have the discipline for the Buggers and weren’t from the Gold Coast. Thus Cobras was born.

The Cobra’s were loosely formed from QUT players; we liked to play flamboyant, glory, high-pressure high-reward brand of ultimate. Whilst this worked for while, we have struggled a little recently.

Thus, we remaking the brand.

At this stage we are still the Cobras, we may change this over time. Then what is changing; we are now going to be bigger than one team, bigger than a captain we are now an idea.

From here on it the ‘Team Formally Knows as The Cobras’ will now represent the NORTH SIDE.

Too long has ultimate players, tournaments and Uni’s been associated with the Southside or Westside of Brisbane with no representation or identify to the much nicer North Side.

So Cobras are now for those in the North Side massive. So if you work, live, born or just identify with the North Side, you are one of us!

What doesn’t change is our brand of attacking, high tempo ultimate. However, we are now an idea with an identity. The goal of this is to represent the North Side be have at lease one team in all Queensland ultimate competitions. At this stage we will start with BPL, however, the invite is open to all North Siders.

So to all of you who have a bit of North Side in you, come over to the Darkside. We will play attacking, fun no-holds-bard brand of ultimate doing it for the North Side.

Those who attend North Side schools, grow up, move to or just live North Side become drawn to the Cobras (Or whatever the name is at that time). From this point on We Are NORTH SIDE ULTIMATE (NSU)!

If you are interested in playing for NORTH SIDE ULTIMATE (NSU) at BPL or in future leagues or tournaments send you expression of interest to Reece Stewart at stewart.reece@gmail.com or myself, Finn at huckleberry.mccarthy@gmail.com but most importantly sign up to the Facebook group.

JOINS US on Facebook @ North Side Ultimate group http://www.facebook.com/groups/223544444400014/

Best Perspective Ultimate

2012-01-24T12:18:27+00:00

Colonist Nathan Stacey recently launched his blog, Best Perspective Ultimate - a place to connect the broader community with the goings-on at the elite level of Australian Ultimate.

Best Perspective Ultimate also seeks to collect the personal stories of elite level Ultimate players, gather opinions on a range of Ultimate-related topics, hopefully creating discussion and bringing ideas together on how our sport can excel in the future.

About Nathan Stacey
Nate is a 22 year old Sydney-based Ultimate player. He currently plays with Colony (Open), Friskee (Mixed) and Sydney University (Mixed). He began playing at the start of 2007 and has had many high and lows since then.

Check it out!
http://bestperspectiveultimate.blogspot.com/

Juniors - U19 Squads Announced

2012-01-22T00:00:00+00:00

The squads for the Australian U19 Ultimate Open and Women’s Teams have now been selected. Squad members will attend a further selection camp in March (17-18th) in Melbourne to select the final team that will attend the World Junior Ultimate Championships in Dublin in August.

Odds Bodkins! Beach Ultimate is Ruling!

2012-01-20T09:39:00+00:00

We'd be remiss not to note that this weekend will see the largest Beach Ultimate tournament held in Queensland that we're aware of - 90+ people will be hitting Coolangatta Beach next weekend for the Australia Day Beach Ultimate Championships. Wooo!

The Olde Order Changeth!

2012-01-19T09:34:21+00:00

Adam 'Rhubarb' Baker is the new BPL League Director. Well done Adam, and thanks Graham for taking such good care of the torch before passing it on. This blogger apologises for lacking the knowledge, but presumably you can reread our previous end of the era post and update the names.

Adam's first moves in following in the footsteps of previous BPL LD's (and let's list them again: Graham Prickett, Stu Austin, Jon Good, Andy Lankowski, Stew McGlashan and Jason Ray - not a bad starting seven now, and note that Adam's lack of an academic title now tips us to 4 non-doctors against 3 Doctors) will of course be gearing up for the coming season, and Captains and players will be scrambling into shape.

Down the track, we here at the stately but somewhat decaying Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion are hoping 2012 sees a dedicated BPL website (ala the BUML website) that canbe the source of all the news, results and so forth, and well as retaining the gloried history of the Brisbane Premier League. Who will step up?

2012 - presidents overview

2012-01-19T01:25:20+00:00

Ultimate Frisbee in NSW is gearing up for a great year with many events, including National events, to be hosted in NSW.

We are busy in all corners of the state with strong presence in Sydney and Newcastle and growing in Bathurst, Dubbo, Wollongong, Byron Bay and Central Coast. If you are after a weekly fix of Ultimate, there are leagues and pick up games all over the state.

Administration - Ultimate Legend Announcement

2012-01-19T00:00:00+00:00

The Ultimate Legend recognition scheme gets rebooted...

Through Rain and Sleet and Hail, the Hammer Must Go Through!

2012-01-17T08:57:31+00:00

People are clearly keen to shake off the break, if the numbers of folks who turned up in the rain, wind and cold for BUML pickup last night is anything to go by. What fun, but where'd my Summer go?

With the forecast as it is for this week, expect solid crowds at Indoor Pickup this Thursday night. Keep out of the rain, enjoy easy catch's and short throws with NO WIND!

Erik welcomes all to the prelude of Brisbane's first (well im calling it that..) indoor league!

7pm start for rego's and warm up, 7:20 for a quick re-cap of indoor differences and a 7:30 game start. Its at the Howell Indoor Sports Centre, Brisbane Grammar School, 14 College Rd, Spring Hill Queensland 4000.

Games will run till 9pm, followed by a short commute to the Normanby Hotel for a drink.

Registration Rant

2012-01-12T13:11:55+00:00

**Rant Mode ON**

As teams start to get registered for upcoming tournaments and events, can people please rack off with the new trend of making up stupid false names to go with their AFDA numbers?

Check out the bullshit that's being pulled by some members of this team (and apologies to the other members of that team): http://afda.com/rego/showteam.php?teamid=10663

Its not even juvenile, and it makes a lot more work for generous-with-their-time volunteers and people interested in taking our sport seriously to work out what's going on. Seriously, sod right off.

Ultimate is based on a concept of personal responsibility, and your reputation (and therefore your *Name*) meaning something. We've always had room for silly ephemeral team names, and personal nicknames, because we're fun people, but this is just annoying.

**Rant Mode OFF**

* please note, rant mode indicates we acknowledge that we're being exaggeratingly over the top with this, as a way to draw attention.

Single day and non-player fees

2012-01-10T22:57:57+00:00

For those that can only play 1 day - the player fee is reduced
Saturday only - $30 or $20 opting out of dinner and the dance
Sunday only - $20

For any family or friends that want to enjoy the tourney without playing Ultimate the non-player pass includes meals, snacks and the party entry for $45
Saturday only - $35 or $15 opting out of dinner and the dance
Sunday only - $15

Please contact us if need a reduced player fee or a non-player pass.

Colony 2012: Squad Announced

2012-01-10T10:09:37+00:00

Firstly a big thank you for all people that attended tryouts this year, you have all played well and made our job a very difficult one which is a credit to all the players.

Colony Squad for 2012
Alphabetically, by first name...

Alec Deslandes, Andrew Glover, Angus Keenan, Anthony Dowle, Brendon Jones, Calan Spielman, David Rountree, Eshan Wickrema, Gavin Moore, Hamish Furniss, James Yorston, Janek Savage, Jimmy Tod-Hill, Joe Leung, Joel Pillar, Jonathan Potts, Jonathan Tatham, Julio Duque, Kai Young, Ken Shepherd, Luke Turner, Mark Evans, Mark Taylor, Matthew Faulkner, Matthew Oswald, Max Stenstrom, Nathan Stacey, Nick Dousset, Nick Dowle, Ollie Dousset, Peter Blakeley, Peter Gardner, Peter Liddicoat, Rory Connell, Tiger Webb, Tim Fogarty, Tim Gee, Tom Tulett, Will Arnett & Yew Eng Ng

Congratulations to everyone who made the squad.

Peter ‘Tex’ Blakeley
(on behalf of the selectors)

January 2012 Ultimate

2012-01-09T13:53:33+00:00

While the 'big leagues' in Brisbane continue their Summer break, there's still plenty of opportunities to get some Ultimate in at the moment.

There is pick up Ultimate on Monday and Wednesday nights through January. Everyone from raw newbies to international giants are welcome at pick up games. Bring a black shirt AND a white shirt, a water bottle, friends, family and workmates. Its $5 although newbies are free to have a go.

Monday night pickup is from 7:15pm to 9:15pm at the Annerley Junior Soccer Club, Victoria Tce, Greenslopes, on Field 5 (closest to Pine Street)

Wednesday night pickup is from 7pm to 9pm at Oakman Park, Toowong (off Union St and Milton Road).

To get more information including notification of any changes, join the Brisbane yahoogroup mentioned over there on the right.

The first ever Brisbane Indoor League starts this Thursday too! Its not too late to register.
When: 7pm-9pm Thursday nights, starting the 12th of January through to the end of February
What you get: at least two 35minute games of high intensity crazy indoor action!
Where: Howell Indoor Sports Centre, Brisbane Grammar School, 14 College Rd, Spring Hill Queensland 4000
Who: All welcome! - sadly, Due to the limited space and availability at the venue, max of 8 teams can register! so you'll need to get in quick! dont miss out!
Why: Because this is a rare brisbane indoor league!! - right in the city too! AND opposite the normanby hotel?!
How: 3:1 or 2:2 m/f split. offence decides. Traditional ultimate rules. final league structure will depend on numbers.

Fun Stuff - Holiday Messages

2011-12-24T00:00:00+00:00

On behalf of the Australian Flying Disc Association, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year.

Waiting list opens as 8 teams save $100 each

2011-12-23T16:56:12+00:00

Registration for ADBUC 2012 has hit 8 teams and 3 pick up players. Great work. Not only for filling the tourney, making my Christmas wish come true but also for saving your teams $100 each.

So now the adfa site here shows that you can sign up on the waiting list and be first in if a team withdraws or if we get to 12 teams rego'd. If you do it today and send the team fee today you can still get the early bird discount too. This will be refunded if you don't get a bid in the tourney.

Finally thanks to teams from Wollongong, Brisbane and the Gold Coast for signing up - can we get 12 teams and 3 or 4 states represented?

Administration - Invite to provide feedback about Worlds selection process

2011-12-23T00:00:00+00:00

Members who recently participated in the selection of teams for WUGC 2012 are invited to give feedback about the process.

World News - Australia has 2 elected WFDF Members

2011-12-21T00:00:00+00:00

Piers Truter and Rueben Berg have been elected to positions on the WFDF Ultimate Committee

FU Training Squad 2012

2011-12-20T22:10:10+00:00

Fyshwick recently held 4 weeks of very competitive tryouts.

I am pleased to announce the Fyshwick Training Squad for 2012:

Adam Mortimer
Alex Leech
Andrew Allen
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Lance
Andrew Sutton
Asher Gentle
Brevin Balfrey-Boyd
Calum Stewart
Cameron Maxwell
Chris Stephens
Dane Robbins
Erik Jan Lindeboom
Gareth Beyers
Ian McKerracher
Ira Deveson
James Ley
Jesse Wallace
Jonno Holmes
Konrad Wallace
Matt Dowle
Mikey Hatfield
Nicholas Harris
Pete Hemphill
Simon Wansink
Thomas Walcott
Thomas Watson
Warwick Shepherd

FU selectors: AJ, Jonno and Asher

Are you a man? Do you play frisbee? Then Real Mitchell needs YOU!

2011-12-20T11:59:58+00:00

Real Mitchell FC is Canberra's newest Mens ultimate frisbee team.

We have two goals: development and fun. Our brother club Fyshwick United will look to win first division nationals in 2012. Our sights are set on winning the more relaxed second division nationals.

Are you a:

- league player looking to step up to club ultimate?

- young gun looking to develop your game and play for Fyshwick in future seasons?

- experienced player, who wants to play fun club level ultimate, but can't train multiple times a week?

- player trying out for Fyshwick, but who would still like to play Mens ultimate if you don't make their squad?

Then Real Mitchell is for you.

We'll start training early next year (1 night a week) and will look to head to some great tourneys, culminating in Division 2 Nationals in Melbourne in mid-April.

Awesome! I'm interested. What do I do next? Send Brett (brettdavidmassey@gmail.com) an email NOW. We'll make sure you're in the loop when we start our campaign next year.

Craig, Phil and Brett

Real Mitchell FC

Gold Coast League 2012 - Details Confirmed!

2011-12-17T08:46:00+00:00

From the press centre at the Mayor's Residence:

We're excited for 2012, and we are going to return with a NEW style to league.... we're actually going to revisit what we did to start this league long ago.

Bring on your team.... get your mates together, and get a team registered!!!

Minimum requirements: 6 males, 5 females fully paid at the time of rego.

First 4 teams registered in full are in... after that we'll assess based on demand. but only 4 teams are guaranteed.

Cost will be approx $5/night based on a 6-10 week season ($30-$50).

all score sheets, and evening rosters (how many and who played) need to be submitted by email the following day by both captains.

All games are to start promptly, and teams that don't have a min of 5 players will be deducted a point for every 5min they are below.

Season finale will have free drinks and BBQ for all spectators.

A big shiny trophy called 'The Bondage Cup' to represent the Gold Coast Ultimate League Premiership is on the line. MVP trophies for gents and ladies are on the line. Spirit Trophy too!

I will send out an 'AFDA registration' link in the first week of Jan, at which stage you need to race your team rego in to ensure you'll be a part of it.

Be sure to do your recruiting/rounding up now... and ensure that everyone is an afda member... it's quick, free, and easy.

If you are a new member, and might not know many who play, I'll also put up a spot to rego as an individual, and we'll work to find you a home.

Well.... get to it.... build your team... jump on a team... get those lovely ladies to grace us with their presence... and let's do this.

Oh yeah, team that regos first, gets first choice in jersey colour... and so on and so forth.

Also, Team Attendance Prize will be off the hook.

Thanks for reading.
Have a Happy Festive Season on behalf of:
Gold Coast Ultimate Disc Association

Tournaments - SAVAGE Ultimate Super League

2011-12-17T00:00:00+00:00

Announcing the Savage Ultimate Super League.

Beach Ultimate - Australia Day 2012

2011-12-16T08:45:00+00:00

Hopefully you're all keeping an eye on http://adbuc.blogspot.com/ and getting your team together to get those big cash discounts!

Brisbane Indoor LEAGUE - January-February 2012

2011-12-16T08:41:45+00:00

From the press release:

Gidday all brisbane ultimate players! After alot of research, alot of rejection and finally a stroke of luck, Brisbane finally has on its horizon an Indoor Ultimate tournament! For those who have never played Indoor before, its a completely different style of ultimate. Its played smaller and faster, with no wind or rain to worry about, and every player able to throw the full field- it's a recipe for some great action-packed utlimate! For those who have played indoor, this tournament will be slightly different! Due to physical constrants of the venue, it will be played even smaller on a standard size basketball court, with an added twist of the basketball 'keyhole' as the endzone!

Also the league will be a great pre-BUML season warm up for your team! awesome team building, fitness, sharpens your handling skills, game instinct and discover tricks and techniques you never knew you had!

Certainly, Indoor ultimate is great fun for every one, beginner to advanced, its even a great way to convert all those indoor soccer/netball players at your work that havent yet seen the light and refuse to open their eyes! So, the need to know:

When: 7pm-9pm Thursday nights, starting the 12th of January through to the end of February
What you get: at least two 35minute games of high intensity crazy indoor action! Plus prizes and the never ending glory of being brisbanes indoor league champions!
Where: Howell Indoor Sports Centre, Brisbane Grammar School, 14 College Rd, Spring Hill Queensland 4000
Who: All welcome! - sadly, Due to the limited space and availability at the venue, max of 8 teams can register! so you'll need to get in quick! dont miss out!

Why: Because this is a rare brisbane indoor league!! - right in the city too! AND opposite the normanby hotel?!

How: 3:1 or 2:2 m/f split. offence decides. Traditional ultimate rules. final league structure will depend on numbers.

Contact me if you have any questions, or head straight to http://www.afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=1148 for more info and register!

So come along, burn off those xmas callories, keep active over summer and have a great time!

Pass this on!

Erik Stevenson
erik.stevenson@hotmail.com

Taya Siedler
tayasiedler@mac.com

Tournaments - AFDA Appoints Barramundis Coach and Team Managers

2011-12-16T00:00:00+00:00

The AFDA is pleased to announce the appointment of Dan Rule as the Barramundis Coach for WUGC2012.

2012 Player Fees explained and discounted

2011-12-15T15:00:49+00:00

The ADBUC team is excited to offer a discounted player fee for 2012

If your team (via your captain) pays all their player fees by the due date of Tuesday 3rd January you will get a $10 on-time discount. Reducing the player fee to $45 each.

Add to this our opt out options we believe we have given you the power to create your own tourney experience - no fills and keeping the budget low or adding in some of the extras that everyone likes and that you might have paid for anyway.

A reminder that the 2012 Opt Out options are Saturday night's dinner and dance for $20

So...

if your team registers (afda site and team fee) by 23rd Dec - your team saves $100
if your team pays all the player fees by 3rd Jan - you save $10
and if you want to save more or have a dinner date on the Saturday night - you can opt out and save $20

Tournaments - AOUC2011 Games now online

2011-12-11T00:00:00+00:00

See the Australian Mixed Team (Silver medal Winners) in action at AOUC2011, Taiwan

State Titles (aka Northern Regionals) Info Announced!

2011-12-09T08:46:28+00:00

From the press release:

G’day Queenslanders,

I’m pleased to announce that the 8th Queensland Open and Women’s Ultimate Championships 2012 (aka Northern Regionals), will be held at Griffith University Nathan campus in Brisbane , on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 March 2012. The event will be hosted as a fundraiser by the Griffith University Ultimate Club, with oversight by QUDA.

Open Division
The Open event will run approximately 9am-5pm both days, similar to previous years. We anticipate 6-8 teams, from Brisbane , the Gold Coast, Townsville, Cairns and Gympie, of which 3-4 will be seriously seeking to qualify for Nationals (all teams of course will be keen to play well!). If you are an ‘unaffiliated’ Brisbane player, I encourage you to consider offering your services and experience early to our developing regional groups - we want to see every Ulti-lad in Queensland playing this event!

Women’s Division
As we only anticipate 2-3 Women’s teams will seek to play the event for the purposes of qualifying for Nationals, the Women’s event is currently anticipated as involving a all-skill-level Women’s Hat on Saturday (which may include some development sessions) and a short qualification tournament on Sunday (which may frankly be a game of Black Betty 1 vs Black Betty 2 to provide Nationals ranking). QUDA is currently considering providing further support for regionally-based women to attend, as well as new player recruitment material. We want to see every Ulti-lass in Queensland playing this event! More details to come.

Registration and Fees
Team and player registration is now open at: http://afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=1147

QUDA-approved player fees will be confirmed approximately one month before the event. As per previous years, in recognition of the flight costs involved and QUDA’s role in promoting the sport state-wide, North Queensland-based players will not be required to pay a player fee.

Timing, Qualification and Rostering
Teams which are using the event to qualify for Nationals 2012 in Newcastle should be aware of the AFDA’s qualification policies and requirements.

Please note that our event will be one week before Eastern, Southern and Western Regionals, which will be held on 10-11 March. The AFDA Board has agreed with our request to host the 2012 event early, to allow our teams to gain match practice at those other Regionals, should they wish.

Equally, this provides an opportunity for interstate teams and players to come and play at our event. This improves our event, but I should note a few things to ensure the spirit of Nationals qualification is maintained, specifically:
- interstate teams and players seeking to qualify for Nationals via their own region will not be counted in terms of wildcard slot qualification
- Queensland teams seeking to qualify for Nationals should not pick up interstate players who would be qualifying for Nationals via their own region (as this would screw up our local qualification process)
- Because this is nonetheless our State Championship, non-Nationals bound teams should limit any interstate pickup players to three or less.
If you have any issues with regard these ideas, please get in touch. We’re learning.

After Nationals 2012, AFDA is considering reviewing the Regionals/Nationals system with the possibility of allowing different Regionals on different dates in a permament sense, so how this all goes for Northerns may prove an interesting test.

So mark those calendars, get on a team, and we look forward to it!

Jason de Rooy
QUDA Executive Officer and Griffith Club Secretary

Juniors - WFDF announces WJUC2012 to be held in Ireland

2011-12-08T00:00:00+00:00

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) announced today that it has awarded the 2012 World Junior Ultimate Championships (WJUC) to the Tournament Organising Committee (TOC) headed by Dominick Smyth and authorised by the Irish Flying Disc Association (IFDA).

REGO for ADBUC 2012 is now open

2011-12-06T14:37:47+00:00

Just wanted to let you all know that ADBUC 2012 rego is now open

Rego is via the afda site - http://afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=1081

The important details once again

Place - Coolangatta - Gold Coast - Queensland - Australia (5 mins from the airport or 1.2 hrs from Brisbane airport)

Dates - January 28-29, 2012 (NB Australia public holiday is Thursday 26th)

Times: TBC but think 9-5 both days coz 8 hrs of ultimate is better than 8 hrs of work :-)

Format - 5-5 Mixed Beach Ultimate. 2 guys and 2 girls with offence deciding the sex of the 5th player

Team Size - Uncapped but 10 is a great number to deal with :-P

Tourney Size - Capped at 8 teams for now - on 2 fields of golden sand

Team Fee - $300 (early rego only $200*)

Player Fee - $55 max (opt-out options are Dinner and Dance plus discounts may be available)

Come enjoy some serious(ly) fun beach ultimate with your club to start off your league or tourney season

Can the teams from south of the border dominate the results again this year? Queensland pride will be on the line again... are you going to be there?

Cheers

the ADBUC team

Juniors - U19 Australian Selection Camps

2011-12-05T00:00:00+00:00

The 2012 Australian Junior Worlds Campaign will kick start in January.

Rego opens Dec 5th - in 1 week

2011-12-02T12:04:08+00:00

Australia Day Beach Ultimate Championships 2012

Rego will open at NOON (QLD Time) Dec 5th

Rego will be via the afda site - http://afda.com/rego/showcompetition.php?competitionid=1081

Place - Coolangatta - Gold Coast - QLD - Australia
Dates - January 28-29, 2012 (NB Australia public holiday is Thursday 26th)
Format - 5-5 Mixed Beach Ultimate. 2 guys and 2 girls with offence deciding the sex of the 5th player
Team Size - Uncapped
Tourney Size - Capped at 8 teams for now - on 2 fields of golden sand
Team Fee - $300 (early rego only $200*)
Player Fee - $55 max (opt-out options are Dinner and Dance plus discounts may be available) Your captain will have a spreadsheet to fill in to allow for the quickest and easiest way to pay the right player fee amount.

Lunch and Dinner (optional) on Saturday and Bunch and late Lunch on Sunday will be provided.

Registration and payment time line
Monday 5 December 2010 - Rego for AdBuC 2011 opens (at NOON QLD time)
Friday 23 December 2010 - *Early Rego Discount Ends
Tuesday 3 January 2011 - Player fees to be paid in one team transfer (don't
spend all your money all during Christmas and New Year)
Wednesday 11 January 2011 - Rego for AdBuC 2011 closes

Tourney Bank Details

ADBUC saver
BSB 082 - 991
Account # 410585187

Info update for 2012 tourney

2011-11-30T14:12:52+00:00

Hello out there Beach Ultimate Lovers,

We are excited to again announce tourney information for teams interested in the AdBuC 2012.

Details about the tourney and weekend

Place - Coolangatta - Gold Coast - QLD - Australia
Dates - January 28-29, 2012 (NB Australia public holiday is Thursday 26th)
Format - 5-5 Mixed Beach Ultimate. 2 guys and 2 girls with offence deciding the sex of the 5th player
Team Size - Uncapped this year but 10 is a nice round number.
Tourney Size - Capped at 8 teams for now - on 2 fields of golden sand
Team Fee - $300 (early rego only $200*)
Player Fee - $55 max / player

Tourney time line
Saturday 28th - Pool play, beach play and ocean play

Saturday night - (Optional) Dinner and Dance

Sunday 29th - Cross-over and play-off games and a separate final

Registration and payment time line
Monday 5 December 2010 - Rego for AdBuC 2011 opens (at NOON QLD time)
Friday 23 December 2010 - *Early Rego Discount Ends
Tuesday 3 January 2011 - Player fees to be paid in one team transfer (don't
spend all your money during Christmas and New Year)
Wednesday 11 January 2011 - Rego for AdBuC 2011 closes

The rego process explained...
Ask your mates (no all star teams please)
Register on the afda site after rego opens and deposit the relevant team fee into the tourney account (only refunded if we can fill your team spot)

After the first fully rego'd 8 teams are added to the adbuc website - other teams will be placed on a waiting list to either replace any of the orginal 8 teams or be first in line for any extra spots in this year's tourney
Minimum rego is 4 guys and 3 gals for this event.
Use your team number from the afda site as your reference for your bank transfer.
Email the AdBuC team on natman82 at gmail dot com outlining your team contact details and payment details
Pay the player fees by the due date (only refunded if we can fill the players spot)
Book your travel and accommodation/floor space and GAME ON.

Tourney Bank Details

ADBUC saver
BSB 082 - 991
Account # 410585187

Thanks for reading if you got this far and look forward to see some of you
at the Gold Coast in January.

"Blokes and Sheilas" pick up team available

2011-11-30T13:22:47+00:00

Individual players are welcome to make contact and we will try to get a
"Blokes and Sheilas" pick up team together.
The cut off to individuals to contact us will be Wednesday 11 January.
A split team fee and the player fee will need to be paid by all pick team members by this cut off date.

Tournaments - Australia competing at the Asia Oceanic Ultimate Championships:UPDATE

2011-11-30T00:00:00+00:00

Aussies take Silver at AOUC2011. Japan win 18-11. Fantastic Effort Australia!!!

Pack Your Mess Kit

2011-11-25T16:46:31+00:00

The inaugural Queensland Hat is on tomorrow.

All the info is at the Queensland Hat page. Regos have hit 98 as we speak - so the event is a success before the first disc is hucked!

Hopefully by now everyone turns up to tournaments with their own mess kit. If you haven't made this as natural as grabbing your cleats and sunscreen ... well now is the time!

Will Corey Be Queensland Ultimate's Movember Champion?

2011-11-25T16:43:59+00:00

Our our highlighted lads, it looks like Corey has an unassailable lead, raising $159 for men's health.

You could always donate to Mansauce of course.

Slamtown Wins BPL Final

2011-11-25T16:35:05+00:00

... that is all.

BPL Final Tonight (Weather Permitting)

2011-11-24T09:16:47+00:00

So tonight is the Grandal Fin of the Brisbane Premier League.

In one corner, current champions the Dojo Mojo. Sure, they're the current champions, but they've lost more BPL Grand Finals than most.

In the other, the Slamtown Flatball Club will be sweating the call from Special about whether or not the fields are open or shut before they get in the cars and head north. The ground in Brisbane has been pretty dry, so lets hope Annerley has soaked up the overnight stuff and we don't get too much today. We also hope the Slammers all recovered from Kevvie putting on the white Marilyn dress to breathlessly sing 'Happy Birthday Mr President' last weekend.

Heroes deserve a mention of course made the rookie mistake of planning their end of season dinner for last Sunday, ensuring that it was the end of their season.

Here's the original registered roster for Slamtown: Michael Bienstock Abra Garfield Adrian Gepp James Larkin Nandor Locher Greg Orlando Stefan Rappazzo(c) Kevin Stahlman Phil Stocks isaac stone Rob Wiens Troy Zernike

And here's how the Dojo may line up: Peter Allen adam baker Ryan Black Stephen Cameron(c) Salvatore Colangelo Matthew Eastburn Sean Flanagan Andrew Lankowski Leon McIntyre Darren Shi Dan Walls David Watson

Assuming the game is on tonight, tips including scores are welcome.

Signs of not using the elbow

2011-11-22T22:48:15+00:00

Here are some signs of a player not using their elbow when throwing a forehand

The disc turns over in flight (too much outside in)
The player thrusts their hips forward and shoulders back as they throw a forehand.
The elbow remains close to the waist before or after the throw.
The player cannot throw a wide forehand.
The player is using a split finger grip (so they can hold the disc out horizontally, without it flopping down). Holding the disc vertically removes this need.

Any others?

To correct this, the player can hold the disc vertically, with their elbow out from their body and back.

Practise a forehand throwing motion several times and then throw, emphasising two things:

Rolling your wrist under, not over, so it finishes palm up
Moving your elbow through

Tournaments - Australia Wins First Mixed World Champs Medal

2011-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

The 2011 World Championships of Beach Ultimate, 21-28 August, witnessed 73 teams and over 1100 athletes from 30 countries and 5 continents compete in the coastal Italian city of Lignano Sabbiadoro.

First Aid at Tournaments

2011-11-21T10:21:34+00:00

Its a frequently asked question for a tournament organiser - what do I do about First Aid at tournaments? While First Aid provision is mandatory and a no-brainer at big and competitive events like Nationals and Halibut, for other events, here's some thoughts.

TDs need to think about First Aid at Ultimate tournaments in terms of providing a focus for players to act quickly when someone gets injured, particularly if hospitalisation is a possibility. As a sport without referees, coaches and played by amateurs and run by volunteers, we generally don't have someone else watching a game and having responsibility for acting when someone is injured.

So, much like interpreting the rules, acting on injuries is everyone's responsibility (not just teammates, subs or friends). Games should stop for as long as is required (there's often a temptation to urge someone off the field so that the game can continue - resist this).

TD's can help by providing a focus for treatment, particularly a physical one in terms of a First Aid Station that is visible/known to all and mentioned during pre-event briefing.

(Side note - TD's who play their tournament should ALWAYS rig the draw so that they play right next to frisbee central and the First Aid Station, and are therefore nearby and can notice problems even while playing in their own game).

TD's can also help by focusing on flexibility in hot weather - if your tournament weather is looking hot, be very careful about heat exhaustion. Check out the AFDA's Hot Weather policies or talk to JdR about the things he's seen.

Folks often think first about getting St John's Ambulance Volunteers or some other dedicated first aider. This is appropriate for large events, both in terms of risk, and in terms of ameliorating the cost. A general rule of thumb for Ultimate seems to be day-long events of more than 150-180 players should closely consider getting St John's. More than 200 people and you should probably do it. The cost is something like $200-250/a day, you need to book at least six weeks ahead.

For a smaller event, a highly visible First Aid kit, ice and a good Captain briefing seems adequate. By Captain briefing, I mean that at least one person from every team should know:
- who the TD and/or delegated person for First Aid is and where they will be;
- where to find the First Aid kit and ice;
- where the nearest emergency room is;
- what their option is if their team doesn't have a car to drive someone to hospital.

Make sure your First Aid kit is properly stocked.

Remember, the most common part of First Aid at Ultimate tournaments is helping the injured person with decision making and then acting on that - should this injured person go to hospital, or at least not play any further? You often don't need much fancy training for that.

Using More of the Web

2011-11-21T09:18:26+00:00

One of the aspects of the 'off-the-field' part of our sport that we've always been a bit slack on (in the view from the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion) is knowing what people do between Ultimate games.

There's other sports out there where players become business partners, professional contacts, old boys networks and so forth. This helps those individuals get ahead, but interestingly it also opens up opportunities to further the sport itself through mutual connections and love.

There's no magic bullet for this, but its interesting to notice more and more Australian Ultimate players turning up on professional online networks like LinkedIn. Maybe if you're building your career, or want to work out a way to use our collective non-Ultimate time for the benefit of Ultimate, then get yourself on there.

USA Ultimate's nation-wide (and remember, its a very very big nation) tournament scoring system was broad to the Mansion's attention over the weekend at the AFDA Administrators Conference (more on that to come). Go check it out if you're not familiar - its cool and fun.

And if you haven't, you should go and check this out: http://www.theaudl.com/

And while its Monday morning, thanks to the fine welcome provided to the Mansion by the Heroes Ultimate Club at its awards night last night, and congrats to the awards winners.

Tournaments - Australian Ultimate Championships – Division 2 (AUCD2)

2011-11-21T00:00:00+00:00

The AFDA is pleased to announce the addition of a second division to the Australian Ultimate Championships. The first AUCD2 will be held in Melbourne on the weekend of April 14/15 2012.

[In Lieu of Interviews] Semi-Final: Slamtown vs Heroes

2011-11-18T13:28:37+00:00

Slamtown have been closely guarding their mothers in the lead-up to this weeks final, following a mid-season barrage of threats coming from the Heroes Blog. In response, Stefan has said "Everyone's talking about the Heroes, but we haven't played them since Round 1, and what was the score? 15 to... the usual. Underwhelming."

Heroes will be going into battle with out the artillery of Bevan and Myall tonight. We haven't heard of any Slamtown casualties, aside from their pre-season losses of Jody and Al. Heroes have some hype after training with Firestorm again, and no doubt SFC have been training too, if lack of power rankings is any indicator. Do either of these sides have what it takes to go all the way this season? While the stoic Bugs and Dojo grind it out again on field 1, these two teams will be looking for fast movement and mongrel D, changing the tempo throughout. Matchups look good.

Green Ultimate

2011-11-17T22:39:00+00:00

... no, not the Heroes Club.

A fella is doing a small uni research project on sustainability and Ultimate.

Perhaps you can spare 10 minutes to complete the survey?

[Some Off-hand Comments] Semi-Final: Buggers vs Dojo

2011-11-17T17:54:31+00:00

It's that old showdown again, ye olde rivalry, the battle of the silver-backs.

Matt Ryan has been bragging that they've got Dojo figured out since last season. Basically, fast handling, jam it through the fence, and trap side-line on D. In other words, he thinks that their usual style trumps Dojo's usual style (Huck it to Pete, controversially re-invented this season as Huck it and Play D).

He may be right. Bugs certainly have the wood on Dojo this season. Steve Cameron described this season methodically: "Bugs beat us 15-3, and Heroes beat Bugs by a point twice, so technically Heroes are 11 points better than Dojo, but we beat Heroes.. What a season!"

While every other team in the comp had their statisticians working out what certain results may mean, Dojo seemed content to coast into the finals, and get Pete back. At one stage, Fatty got worried "We will make the finals, right?" We assured him that it was set in stone.

Pete's in for Dojo, Stu's out for Bugs, and we know these teams will use the same strats as usual.

What We Know About Men ...

2011-11-16T22:30:13+00:00

... is that they appreciate your support when they get around to doing Movember.

Donate to Corey (Cairns Ultimate)

Donate to Chris (Heroes Ultimate)

Donate to Mystery Dan (Griffith Ultimate)

Donate to MikeRick (Heroes Ultimate)

We will try to get some photos out of them ... so that there can be some judging in the final week. Don't forget to check out the Movember tag to see some past triumphs.

Mens Development - Invite all your friends

2011-11-15T21:56:53+00:00

The Canberra men's team Fyshwick United is running 4 development sessions starting Thursday 24 Nov (moved back one week to finish mens league which was postponed due to weather). Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come...so long as your a guy. Don't worry if your a girl, Factory have something for you (see below).

Fyshwick training will look to develop the basic skills that every ultimate player should have so whether your a beginner or an advanced player there will be something for you. If your interested in playing for Fyshwick next year, you should come along as well, as these sessions will be used to select a training squad for next year.

Training starts at 6.30 (cleats on at 6.15) and will go for a couple of hours, problably followed by a trip to the pub.

For more information see www.fyshwickunited.com

Men - Australian Masters team

2011-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

The selectors are pleased to announce the 27 players on the Australian Masters Team for the World Ultimate Championships 2012 in Sakai, Japan.

Cut-throat Ultimate

2011-11-12T21:09:17+00:00

QUDA must be thrilled, Queensland Ultimate continues to grow with the solid numbers in Townsville and the expansion of Cairns Ultimate ever on the up. It appears Chillagoe mine is now getting into the spirit of things out west. Co-Presidente Duncan had this to say about the new branch of Ultimate, Cut-throat Disc which follows the trend of Ultimate by using an adjective in the name of the sport.

"This is how we play ultimate in a mine - it's cutthroat and lethal, especially catching but we are training hard to bring it to the 'Ville"

Townsville is already anticipating sending a tournament team full of Canadians and New Zealanders to the mine to take on the challenge!

Just kidding!

Lyrics of Life

2011-11-12T21:09:11+00:00

To all the country music fans in attendance, Eric Church's new ballad titled: Springsteen, talks simply of the use of music to remember your good times. He wants you to remember the first loves, the best friends, and all the loose ends. His lines go like this:

"It's funny how a melody sounds like a memory, like the soundtrack to a July Saturday night."

And I ask you, fellow Ultimate Friends: If that is the case and songs can allow us to remember our good times, can blogs not do the same. Are the words you read not the lyrics to your life. I say play on, sing on, and rock on!

So let's get to this week's review of Frisbee. I can tell you that the first few weeks meant nothing as the points have switched, the rankings have switched, but the chatter and gibber jabber has increased exponentially.

Lascivious Ladyfingers vs. Spastic Spunk
Lady-B's peel out the victory 13-1

As you can see, the Ladyfingers have now entered into a snowballing effect of winning ways. When playing the Zone there are a few key elements in perfecting you team’s ability to win: persistence and instinct. Yellow showed both in a fine display of Ultimate action, which can be seen on the scoreboard above. They also made sure not to give the Spunk any easy shots at goal, and the first half was an example of this. With a lack of short movement due to the LF's zone defense envelopment, there wasn't much difficulty in shutting down the Spunk’s zone offense. When possession was changed, a number of hammers found weaknesses in the Spunk’s zone, which gave way to a few quick points. The half ended at 7-0. In reality, the Spunk just ended up with some unlucky turnovers, and that’s what causes the losses of many teams. Whoever makes the least amount of mistakes, wins. The start of the second half saw one of the first long points of the game and it looked like the Spunk were dominating and going to score an upwind gem. But the Ladyfingers got lucky on a couple of close calls when panic set in, and they eventually abandoned their successful zone D for the first time in the game. This breakdown of structure came close to giving the Spunk their first point but a lucky turn of events saw Ladyfingers hold course for a pants’ing of their opposition.

Intensity on D increased from the Spunk and a bit of an assassination zone D was played. There seems to be a new star on the rise in the form of Khaled Osmani, swatting down what he sees and playing his heart out. This drive on defense allowed for the offense to pick up, eventually leading to the conversion of their first point. How did this occur you ask? They began to play smart, stretching out the field and offering great targets on the wing in Becca and Quint, with occasional support from other players. Deep hucks from Chris never quite found their range flying too low at rocket pace and being uncatchable or floating too long and getting cleaned up by the deep, all of which allowed Hugh a bit of work on his fitness at the back while admittedly baiting the throws (You do Parkfit bro, you should be in shape already lol). However, one memorable disc did get through and landed safely in Becca’s hands. Due to the hard work of the wings, the field in the middle opened up for the Spunk a lot more in the second half. Hugh’s sexy bananas battled this with their strong cup typically consisting of Marinda, Shreya and a willing male. With a bit more movement in the short area and timing from poppers the Spunk could do some damage in a zone.

Though the score shows a stomping, the Spunk fought hard with what they had, especially in the second half, and gave everyone a tough game. Both teams set their own personal goals: Ladyfingers to show Townsville what a pants’ing looks like, and the Spunk's ability to overcome this huge adversity and get the point they wanted. I think the intensity shown by both teams over the whole game is a better indication of the quality of each team than the scoreline. Great match! I’ll leave you with this leadership moment from one of the Spunk’s own:

“Those last couple of points, our zone was really coming together, and even though everyone was absolutely dying, we ran ourselves into the ground. Thanks for playing hard until the end everyone! Next week we are gonna kick some serious ass!”

I believe her.

Dye Fast Tie Furious vs. Dark Matter
Multi-coloured Maniacs 13-10

You want action? Oi, I’ll show you action. Or you can read the action, I think it makes more sense that way unless someone videotaped this endurance match. DFTF started strongly and got up 4-0 with a really well executed cup thanks in part to the girls. They kept the pressure on for the whole first half, but nothing scares the Darkness away; only You Are Afraid of the Dark (North American 90s generation? Can I get some love for this reference?) Air David and A-O Suv fought back and ended up going to half down 7-5. After the second half, Dark Matter got the first point with quick movement from Lady D and her swingin’ disc tactics. This allowed them to crawl within one and make it 7-6, but Zano took charge and basically broke down the electron deficient defense with his killer backhands and ever improving flicks. With nearly no time to gather some momentum, the Matter found themselves down 12-6. As he watched from the sidelines due to a tweaked knee, Luke “Rebel” McClellan saw yet another example of teams getting behind from increased turnovers. Ashley tried his very best to stop Zane, but this was his and Finny’s game. Dark Matter never gave up hope and got 4 or so in a row at the end but it was already too late as the game was gone. And it was toooooooooo fucking long. I mean really, 10:25pm? Lock it up guys. Many sat on the sidelines watching as the turnovers mounted from DFTF’s inability to get that 13th and final point in a 12-10 score. The Dark Matter just needs to work on their execution, having heaps of fun but just missing that vital finishing touch. I am still expecting big things from them. DFTF played solid as a team and simply outplayed them. It was a really high quality game! Props to Rohanna for making the grab to end this sluggfest.

Redballs vs. The Birds
Balls of Red 13-10

I personally love a good Cinderella Story, and this game was close to fulfilling it for me. Storming into the first half, the Balls were able to cruise, thus leaving the Birds to fly low on 3 points. After this, the Birds did what seemed to be a sign to use a team bonding montage. They recovered with strict and patient passing, pulling in as close as 10-9. Everything was set for a glorious comeback and the finding of that elusive second crystal slipper; a loss on Redballs’ record. A halftime speech from Cody found its way to the heart of his team and managed to inspire them for the second half. "Sucks losing doesn't it...Well don't lose". And that was what The Birds tried to do. Unfortunately for Franich and Dane’s birdies, the Redballs hadn't read the script for this story, and managed to dig deep and push their way to win 13-10. Big moments in this game that deserve special mention include Rebecca Rosendale's two big double D's. Matthew, don’t you mean “Dashing D’s, as in defense? Sorry for the misunderstanding bud, I fixed your review for you. But it’s clear that she seems to just pluck those disks right out of the sky. Let us not forget traditionary tales of Bevo's ability to bloody himself every game. His layout defense caused this to happen yet again.

“It’s Shit losing eh” Yes, it is, but that’s not why we play.
Green Lanterns vs. Clockwork Orange
Lanterns 13-10

Now that we are sure of Captain Christine’s forceable absence with the kissing disease (mono/glandular ‘aussie slang’), the Lanterns were bestowed with the honour of Mr. Mike Larson to help with the young inexperienced Lantern Corp. A quick recap of how to play in a Zone proved vital for further matches but was not used in this game. The wind caused both teams to run the Force on defense, pinning all hopes to a handler’s skills and the luck of Mother Nature. Through a series of excellent passing and stack movement up the field, Green was able to run 3 quick points in less than ten minutes. Timmy’s Time Pieces were able to use speed and concentration from Josh Fuller and TJ Kelly, as well as the speed of their girls to crawl back in the game. The battle raged on but the Lanterns had discovered their true identities and eventually took half 7-4. With a few shifts off, Larson put his coaching skills to the test and gave some tidbits of wisdom to Gabe and Zach as they handled up the field nearly finding the endzone. With Captain Timmy relying on one good hand, and Josh’s lungs beginning to fail, it looked as if the Lanterns would take this game quite handedly with the score at 9-5. This was not the case, and like it has been proven before, you never light a lantern unless your power is in excess. Green’s energy source, their will power, was apparently turned off and the Orange team made them pay dearly for it, racking up 3 points in succession. There was a good effort by Sandra from Orange, who continued her offensive valour in the stack. Some chilly mentalities with the disc allowed Jaime to get open off the cut into the corner endzone for an amazing layout point, which then turned into a tuck and roll situation and maybe a black eye.

Sanne vs. Jaime...
The Great Dane vs. The Crafty Canuck...
Who will win Female Rookie of the Year? Only time will tell.

Endurance won this game, and even with both teams representing the leading attendance in Ryan Miller’s Parkfit workouts, the numbers don’t lie. Green has a tough time with female players showing up (CATHERINE, SOPHIE! I’m talking about you lol), but the guys can field two teams and they ran the opposition into submission.

Now before the semester ends and all of the fun and games are over I would first like to say that I may be MIA for the month of October. Seeing as my final teaching placement will be for an entire month and graduation is on the horizon, I will be focusing on my studies as opposed to Frisbee. I have yet to meet many of the new players this semester and I know that very soon, you will all fly back to home countries for the holidays as I may be doing the same. MAYBE lol. I love Australia too much. Secondly, this may cause someone else to take the reigns of the game reviews.

If this is my last entry may I say this:

It has been an honour and a privilege to remind you all of how great you are playing and how you are enjoying your time in Oz. When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile. And no matter what happens, don't cry because it's over but be happy because it happened. Now I am sure many will not go as far to shed some tears but we all know that bonds forged in one semester abroad (especially in Australia) last a lifetime. So when that flight is looming closer on your calendar I ask that you remember what I have been telling you all since the beginning. Live in the present, take risks, be extroverted, and grab life by the disc.

We are playing in an International plethora of students. There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all. Even if I don't have the pleasure of seeing or talking to you all again, I will know that I have so many reasons to smile, thousands upon thousands. And of those reasons, a good 100 of them are close by. I have you, I have Ultimate Frisbee, I think life is pretty fucking awesome right now. Don't you?

Your Ultimate Friend,
The Man with The Dragon Tattoo

2011-11-12T21:09:08+00:00

Spastic Spunk versus Green Lanterns

The Birds versus Dye Fast Tie Furious

Becca Franich, Amber Zach

The Birds were yet again seeking their fairy-tale ending but fell just short to the force of Tie-Dye's blazing offense. The Tie-Dye started off with a strong defense that really threw the Birds for a loop, with a half-time score of 7-2 multi-colors. However, the Birds certainly like coming from the back. Death from Above? More like Death from Behind! With couple of great D's from Felix, Nick, and Steve on the Birds, the score quickly evened out 8-7 multi-colors, scaring Tie-Dye shitless. Without their fairy godmother Dane West, the Birds were unable to bring the magic. The killer combo of Finny and Zane pushed hard to keep their lead and stop the Bird's momentum. In the end, it was a color splatter that took home Cinderella's slipper.

Dark Matter versus Redballs

Clockwork Orange versus Lascivious Ladyfingers

It was a veritable Wild West showdown with Hugh blazing onto the field, guns swinging, only to be matched by newcomer TJ "traffic-cone" Kelly. It was Banana v. Orange and fruit has never looked so menacing. The intensity of this game was sizzling with Clockwork Orange trading points with the Ladyfingers and giving them

Ultimate Intensity in the Penultimate Round

2011-11-12T21:09:05+00:00

Welcome to another week of the best sport at Uni! It’s great to be writing for you. Hope you enjoyed these crazy intense games as much as we did!

The Green Lanterns vs Spastic Spunk

Squirting Semen 13-12

Jizz in my pants. That’s all we can say about this game. What do you get when you take the two most volatile, unpredictable teams and throw them together? If you said green, glow-in-the-dark spunk, that’s just gross. Let’s keep it PG. Back into the fray: the Lanterns lit up the scene straightaway with a decisive 2-0 lead. Coming back from a hard loss and hardly any players from last week, Spunk charged down the field, happy to have most of the squad back, and pulled a couple quickies in response. Duncan “Shrek spunk” put his height to good use; snatching discs and making everyone else wilt in comparison. Handlers Chris “cool spunk” and Amy “snazzy spunk” came hard as well, switching back and forth from man to zone, deeply penetrating the Lantern’s defense. Some sexy points from Becca “speedy spunk” handily jacked up the scoreboard, leaving a halftime saw a score of 7-4 favoring Spunk. The second half, however, was where the game truly began. Under the unshakable General Larson, and the blessing of TMWTDT, the Lanterns came back strong. The Lanterns blinded Spunk with a green, mutant-ninja-style comeback, placing the score at 9-8, just behind Spunk. From that point on, each team traded points, the score going back and forth with a vengeance. With help from Kjetil and “Mr Marriage,” Peter Roach, the General illuminated the way to scoring several points. Unfortunately for the General, Spunk whipped out a little personal favorite, Bobby “the beast” Jackson, who impregnated the game with mad catches and major moves like Jagger. To put it simply, TMWTDT may need to call Bobby in for some random drug testing come next game. The epic finale saw the two teams battling for the Universe point, with Spunk finally coming out on top.

The Birds vs Dye Fast Tie Furious

Polychromic Pwned 10-8

The Birds were yet again seeking their fairy-tale ending but fell just short to the force of Tie-Dye's poison-apple-offense. Tie-Dye started off with a strong defense that really threw the Birds for a loop, with a half-time score of 7-2 favoring the multi-colors. Unfortunately for Tie-Dye, the Birds certainly like coming from the back. Death from Above? More like Death from Behind! With couple of great D's from Felix, Nick, and Steve, the score quickly evened out 8-7. Becca’s excellent handling showed she certainly didn’t need to wait around for some prince. Meanwhile, Franich pulled a Cheshire cat and was all over the place, effectively breaking down Tie-Dye’s defense. Without their fairy godmother Dane West however, the Birds were ultimately unable to bring the magic. Zach ran faster than a big bag wolf can blow down a couple of houses, allowing him to catch several long throws and rack up the scoreboard. Amber neatly followed suit with a clean-sweep of awesome catches. The final few blows resulted from the killer combo of Finny and Zane pushing hard to keep their lead and stop the Bird's momentum. In the end, it was the color splatter that took home Cinderella's slipper.

Dark Matter vs RedBalls

Balls o’ Fury 13-10

This highly anticipated matchup did not disappoint. Dark Matter started out strong, cockblocking the Balls to get a quick 2-0 lead. However, the Balls were big enough to fight back. The Ball’s zone defense and their Assassin Mark threatened to pull Dark Matter into a black hole, challenging the Mighty Ashley “ball-smashing” O’Sullivan and nearly halting Dark Matter. Redballs took the lead at the half, and though their efforts were valiant, Dark Matter could not quite block the Balls of Fury. Dark Matter saw some great plays and some major Frisbee fingering from Damian, and Dee was another force of ferocity for Dark Matter. Not to be outdone, Redball’s dynamic duo Liss and Katie showed the boys who really wears the pants on the team. On the boys’ side, the unstoppable trio Mattie “BEEF-TRAIN” Hamilton, Bevo, and Dave diced, chopped, and all and all sliced up the field. Dark Matter found it could not quite get in between this ménage à trois, and another team fell victim to the power of the Dave-Mattie-Bevo (Damavo?) love. Redballs confidently took the game home to successfully continue their undeniably brilliant undefeated streak.

Clockwork Orange vs Lascivious LadyFingers

Banana split 12-10

It was a veritable Wild West showdown with Hugh blazing onto the field, guns swinging, only to be matched by newcomer TJ "traffic-cone" Kelly. It was Banana versus Orange and we must say, fruit has never looked so menacing. The intensity of this game was sizzling with Clockwork Orange trading points with the Ladyfingers and giving them a proper showdown after weeks of one-sided games. Despite a lack of subs on both the male and female sides, Clockwork Orange capitalized on their biggest guns. Carlos, Ben, and TJ kept the intensity high, while Aggie continued her reign of terror from last week with solid help from Cara. In response, Ladyfingers brought the fire in the form of Jeanette, Kayler, and Janice, who solidified the team despite recent injuries on the female half of the team. The game was a close 6-7 at halftime. However, the lack of subs proved to be the downfall of Orange as Ladyfingers began to pull those long discs. Clockwork Orange did not go down without a fight, necessitating some heavy-handed measures from Ladyfingers, including Timo laying out into the light pole. Ladyfingers managed to buck off Orange in the last few points of the game, and Hugh proudly claimed his badge as sheriff of the Frisbee.

Enjoy your break (if you can really enjoy a break without Frisbee). In two weeks time we’ll see the end of the Red Robin rounds. GET KEEN!!!

xoxoxo

<3 the Disc-Hammering Honeys

Power Rankings - Week 7

2011-11-12T21:09:00+00:00

Welcome to the last night of the regular season! The last games brought little change to the league ladder, but there is plenty of potential for upset tonight! Tonight’s games determine the ladder for the Finals Power Rankings, so every game is bound to be ultimately intense! Get keen!!

1) RedBalls

The Balls of Fury continue to stroke their ego with a perfect 6-0 record, but tonight’s match-up against the second-ranked Ladyfingers will likely be their most challenging game yet. The beautiful skill, cohesion, and play-making abilities of DAMAVO have been unstoppable thus far, but will it be enough to win one more game and secure the number one seed in the Finals Ladder? With their secret weapon, the dynamic duo of Katie and Liss, the Balls definitely have the potential to achieve the perfect season.

2) Lascivious LadyFingers

The Ladyfingers have been on a five-game winning streak ever since their initial loss to Dark Matter in week one. They have dominated many teams and currently have the largest point differential in the league. Tonight, if they manage to overcome the seemingly magical powers of RedBalls, they not only crush the Balls’ ego, but they will knock them out of the top spot and reign victorious of the regular season. Will they be able to bring down the mighty Balls and achieve the upset all other teams have yearned for? It’s a definite possibility.

3) Dark Matter

After a disappointing loss to the RedBalls last week, Dark Matter remains in third place only by a hair. With a game against eighth seed Clockwork Orange this week, they look to remain in third going into the finals. James and Ashley may think they’ve got this game in the bag with their skill, but Clockwork will put up a worthy fight. If Dark Matter can keep their confidence up without getting too cocky, they will find themselves victorious in the final round of the regular season.

4) Dye Fast Tie Furious +1

Tie-Dye gained definite reign over the number four seed with their win against the Birds two weeks ago. With a game against the ever-becoming Green Lanterns this week, the multicolours will have to prove themselves worthy of being in the top four. The power-couple of Finny and Zane should be able to halt Mike’s presence, at least for a while. If they focus on stopping Mike’s play-making, their stellar defence will take care of the rest and leave Tie-Dye victorious.

5) The Birds -1

After a tough loss against Tie-Dye, the Birds who were once the number 1 seed, now find themselves down at number 5. However, the opportunity to rise within the rankings is still present as they have yet to play Spastic Spunk. Although Spunk will be riding momentum from their last win, The Birds have ample skill to finally get the fairy-tale ending they’ve been yearning for in recent weeks. If all players show up, specifically Dane and Cody, the Birds should be set to end the season with a win.

6) The Green Lanterns

After a heartbreaking loss to the Spastic Spunk, the Lanterns see themselves stuck as the number 6 seed this week. However, with a game against Dye Fast Tie Furious tonight, the Lanterns have the opportunity to secure themselves a higher spot in the ladder as we move into the Finals. The addition of Mike “The General” Larson has helped bring out the team’s full potential and rise up through the rankings in recent weeks. If the General can yet again inspire his team into a cohesive green machine, the Lanterns will be flying high while celebrating a well-deserved victory over the tie-dyed rainbow.

7) Spastic Spunk +1

After a fantastic game against the Green Lanterns two weeks ago, Spunk has moved out of last place and looks forward to moving up the ladder with a win against the Birds. However, problems with player attendance and frustrations on the field have been this team’s major downfalls all season. But if they can all band together as they did against the Green Lanterns, they definitely have the skill to beat the Birds tonight.

8) Clockwork Orange -1

A loss against Hugh’s bananas two weeks ago has left Clockwork Orange down in the dumps, and last place in the ladder. However, they have one final chance to prove themselves this week as they play number 3, Dark Matter. The potential and skills have been with this team since the beginning, but unlucky events have always left Clockwork a point or two behind. This week they have the chance to finally prove the reckoning force they really are with a win against Dark Matter.