Aussie Frisbee Blogs

Smells Like Team Spirit

2010-03-15T14:40:22+00:00

Hey here's something that came to our attention recently. Looking back over last season's wrapup, we noticed that DojoMojo was placed 5th (i.e. last) for Spirit, so we figured it might be time to see if anyone out there in the BPL community wants to help shed some light on what is supposed to be the most valued, and yet is also the most mysterious aspect of Ultimate - Spirit of the Game.

Woohoo - time for some controversy (hopefully)!

What we're looking for here is some comments from our BPL peers, especially those people who actually assigned the spirit scores, letting us know what it was that made the Dojo seem the worst-spirited team in the league last season. To make sure this is useful, we've also turned OFF anonymous commenting. Yes, this might make some more reluctant to come forward, but really we're just tired of getting the usual snide comments from people who lack the cahones to put their own name next to their words (ps we love the comments from people who do let us all know who they are, even when they're bagging us). And anyway, everyone knows who is writing this blog, so fair's fair.

Now, Spirit of the Game comes in at rule #1 in the WFDF Rules of Ultimate, and it's got quite a detailed description. That's exactly how it should be in a self-refereed sport where the constant co-operation of opponents is required in a fast-paced, physically and mentally demanding environment. The problem with this, however, is that there is absolutely no feedback mechanism (at least in the BPL) for teams and players other than a simple, dumb numeric ranking that you don't see until the very end of the season. And then we only see rankings rather than even just a basic points average. What can be learned from that?

What we would very much like to see is a change in policy, at least in the BPL, where Spirit scores are openly reported each week, just like the game scores. But this is just for starters. We'd also like the actual content of Spirit scoring to be much more detailed and defined, probably in a tick-a-box format to keep it quick - the lights always go out so soon after the game!

So we're seeking comments from anyone that's man (or woman) enough to put their name to their opinion regarding:

1. Why do you think the Dojo scored lowest for Spirit last season?

2. What do you think about our proposal for regular, transparent & detailed Spirit reporting?

Congratulations, Bashionals Qualifiers!

2010-03-15T13:40:05+00:00

By virtue of not qualifying for Open Nationals, the following lucky teams have qualified for Bashionals!

East: Hills; Newcastle B

South (to be finalised): Chilly B; Bad Apples; QFC ; Gfuc

West: FEAR; Happy Pig

North: Townsville; UQ Ultimate Lovers; Some sort of Barbarian mutant local team

Of course, if you didn't play Regionals, or don't feel like Nationals (hello Fyshwick B), you're still welcome to put together a team to contest Bashionals. We pride ourselves in a much simpler qualification route than Nationals, after all.

Send in your team deposit by the end of the week - if we have six confirmed teams, Bashionals is on!

April 17-18, here in Brisbane.

Blogging About Blogging Is A Sin, But Only If Its Auto-Blogging About Blogging

2010-03-15T13:40:05+00:00

*can't quite pull thoughts together to blog effectively today ... Regionals, QUDA AGM, BPL, BUML, recruitment, all sorts of stuff milling around in mind ...*

Hey everyone, check out the latest posts on the Gold Coast, Buggers and Dojo blogs! Plus the UQ website. And Reece said he was going to put something on the Cobras blog too, so keep your eye out. And surely the Firestorm blog is soon to be updated ....

*points down and to the right to the blogroll, then hides in cupboard for some auto-blogging*

Villains' first Regionals 2010!

2010-03-15T12:40:19+00:00

A dear hello to everyone, it has been a while.

The TownsVillains headed down to Brisbane on the weekend for this year's Northern Regionals. After a slow start finding the numbers to play on the team, things just came together for us and we ended up with a strong 13 player side. The team was:

Simon Urquhart, Keith Cameron-Smith, Hugh Osborn, Mike Larson, Matt DeWitt, Vinko Grgic, Mat Ryan, Dave Dehollander, Chris Ende, James David, Dane West, Ryan, and Dave.

The results are approximately as follows:
Saturday - conditions - windy, usually sort of crosswind
Round 1 - Villains 15 def. Brisbane Beer Barbarians 1
Mike Larson wasn't able to throw a bad throw this game, with some casual slow sailing flicks just hitting their open target in the endzone every single time. Brisbane Beer Barbarians get to lay claim to being the first team to ever score against the Villains, something they should remain proud of and perhaps have displayed somewhere in their pool room...

Round 2 - Firestorm 10 def. Villains 7
Firestorm were off to a good start this game taking it out to 4 - 0. Some smart play by Townsville allowed us to match them fairly well and claw back at their lead. Their set structures once countered with some thought of our own gave us more than a few easier points against this well-trained team. It became quite a matchup towards the end but they always held onto their momentum and kept their lead for the win with a points cap. It was an exciting match for Townsville and the one most of us had been looking forward to having. Thanks Firestorm!

Round 3 - Villains 14 def. UQ Lovers 4
One of the points of this game stretched into miles and miles of Huck City. Reece Stewart on UQ showed he was a good leader for their team and actually made this one of the harder fought games for us despite the odds against them and the scoreline.

Sunday - wet morning, some rainy points, some points with a wind.
Round 4 - Villains 11 def. Slamtown Flatball Club (Gold Coast) 10
Both teams had to get up early this morning to face off, with the only party bye strangely enough going to the team least likely to party, Firestorm. With both of our teams knowing we'd be playing again in the semis against each other, and the effects of a late night plaguing our brains, it was hard to find the momentum to push ourselves past a meagre 75% effort level. The Villains made a strong break away to try to end the game but Slamtown fought back to bring it to universe point at the end.

Semi-finals - Slamtown Flatball Club 12? def. Villains ?
Slamtown found their 100% and the Villains seem to lose this one for themselves by just not clicking and not thinking as well as we had been on other days. A good game but a sad one for us.

Finals Firestorm 15 def. Slamtown 4

Good luck at Nationals to Firestorm.

We had a really great weekend with a really great Townsville side this weekend. We played some exceptional Ultimate. Congrats to Dane and James for their first tournament weekend they both had some outstanding games and were amazing to have on the team. Special shoutout to Micky L, Mike Larson who did well in the MVP votes and played superbly throughout the tournament as well as doing a great job leading the team.

Well I Love A Rainy Night

2010-03-15T12:40:17+00:00

Last Thursday night saw the experienced UQ Lovers step into the ring with the Cobras. The Lovers rumbled in the jungle with the Cobras, but this time the speed and grace of aL and Buzz were not enough to overcome the brute force and shouting that is the Cobra's game.

The game started out with a few quick goals from the Cobra's, this week we believed in our force and were not letting up the easy open throws. The Lovers then hit back with a couple of their own. Special mention to Wetnose, who got a block on Buzz. On the line Wetnose could be heard calling himself on Buzz and I quote, "I have got him covered, I already have a block on him tonight". Later in a sideline conversation Buzz replied "I advertised the throw pretty well, even the other UQ team (the fisting type) knew where I was going to throw it". I can't remember too much clearly, but I believe Cobras took the half 8-6 maybe 8-7.

Which brings us to the second half of the game, the heavens opened up and gave us that nice greasy surface to play on and not to mention the greasy disc. It began with a quick Cobras score, followed two point run to the Lovers. It was in this run that I became gob-smacked.

I was right on aL pretty much straight up, he faked a forehand huck, I followed. He then stepped back to his backhand and I went with him, he wound up and released nearly in the splits (YES!! aL has secretly been partaking in some pre-season yoga in the gardens of the Dojo with the venerable Sensei). While all of this was happening Neil from the Lovers had made a great deep cut and burnt a fellow cobra to a crisp. The throw was way out wide, Neil looked like he was not going to make it, when all of a sudden he speeds up. The disc is coming at him outside in, losing altitude quickly and aggressively banking. I never for a second thought he had it, when Neil layed-out. It was no more than 10cm (4 inches for those following overseas) off the ground when his hand got to it. I could not believe it, he had caught what seemed to never even be possible. Neil has some major street-cred from the Cobras now.

The Cobra's then muscled up and went on a run to get it to about 12-11, Time cap had gone on the previous point, which meant a game to 13. The ever reliable Trachter picked up the disc to start the point. For those who don't already know it, they say Trachter moves like a bobcat and that he doesn't have a backhand. We just had to score the next point to win the game. Trachter of course takes his position on the left side of the field for his big flick pull. The grass was wet and so it seemed was the disc. Trachter's pull slipped in his fingers and it ended up at about halfway after a generous roll out of bounds. The Cobra's were put on D. Buzz got the disc as usual and looked to put it down the line on his flick side as well. The disc slipped and on what seems to happen every blue moon, Buzz did not complete the pass ( I know everyone gasped at that part).

The Cobras then marched the disc up to the endzone for a composed goal. The final score was 13-11. Cobras took their first scalp of the season and much like Stiglitz, are hungry for more blood this BPL season. Never fear devoted reader's and bored 9-5 workers. I will cover every single game I play. No need to worry about taking back previous comments (Hi Sensei). I won't let my blog's quality or quantity falter (Hi Sensei).

This week we line up against the fresh Heroes. Keep an eye out.

Tournaments - Bashionals Update

2010-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

If you missed out on qualifying for Nationals, never fear, Bashionals is here (assuming six teams get their deposits in by this Friday)!

BPL Power Rankings - Week 2

2010-03-14T20:20:40+00:00

Rain threatened all week, but come Thursday it was all systems go at Annerly.
MBB used their first game to springboard up the rankings while Dojo and SFC both slipped a few spots.

1 (6) - Moreton Bay Buggers - (1-0)
The Bugs looked good with their new roster, and as undefeated defending champions, they are likely to occupy the top of the Power Rankings until they are beaten.

2 (3) - UQ Passion - (2-0)
This squad has had a fantastic start to the season, particularly in beating the previously top ranked Dojo in a battle billed as 'a battle of who could care less'

3 (1) - Dojo Mojo - (1-1)
Suffering their first regular season loss since Oct 08 was not the outcome they had hoped for, but maybe the adversity this team needs to get the wins in the second season.

4 (3) - Slamtown Flaball Club - (1-1)
SFC came into this game feeling unstoppable, and with an early lead, reassured that feeling. But the results of the second half, sent them on the long ride home with plans for adjustment over their bye week.

5 (4) - Cobras - (1-1)
This highly touted team responded to their opening week loss with an impressive win over a full strength Lovers unit. No doubt, that this team will still be in the hunt come seasons end.

6 (5) - UQ Lovers - (0-2)
The Lovers made a game of it as I understand, but didn't quite have enough to crack into the win column. This is a very good team to be sitting at 0-2, and when they start winning there will be some real parity in the league.

7 (7) - Heroes - (0-1)
Not much has changed here as the Heroes were on a bye week, they were however out training and are poised to improve on their opening week result. Unfortunately, the Power Rankings will likely see them in the lower doldrums until their improvement becomes evident in the form of a win.

This after two weeks of play.

BUML Draw for 15 March

2010-03-12T23:55:00+00:00

Brisbane Ultimate Mixed League

Monday Night 15 March

Division 1 - Annerley 8.40pm-9.40pm
Field 3A - ExQUisiTe vs Wushi Finger Hold
Field 3B - Mongo vs Plastic Scourgery

Bye Crossover - Annerley 8.40pm-9.40pm
Field 5 - Chimichangas vs Bermuda Triangle

Division 2 - Annerley 7.30pm-8.30pm
Field 3A - Baby Chimis vs Mellow Yellow
Field 3B - Discheads vs Kelvin Grove Cougars
Field 5 - ExQUisiTe vs Heroes

Divison 3 - Griffith Nathan AFL 7.15pm-8.15pm
Field 1 - Dyspnoeics vs Griffith Go Gos
Field 2 - Poachers vs Frisky Time

Battle of Who Could Care Less

2010-03-12T15:55:03+00:00

Another borrowed-lyrics intro? Oh yes!

Will you never rest
Fighting the battle of who could care less
Every day you wake up late
Sometimes I wish I was that way

It's not that we're trying harder this year to appeal to pop music trivia nerds (hi Joel Smith), it's just that sometimes Ben Folds can describe in a few irony-laden lines and with a fat, fuzz-bass and crash symbal accompaniment, what is about to take us a whole blog post to ramble on about...

Okay - first the facts. UQ Passion beat DojoMojo by 1 point last night in a game that, for people that weren't there, would presumably have been an intensely hard-fought scrap for a single point victory at the top of the BPL ladder. What actually happened was a festival of slack Ultimate, with neither team appearing to really care too much about winning or losing. Even the ever-hardcore JMac didn't really seem to be too concerned when a disc was dropped or a pass went astray. Weird.

Maybe it was just the sheer quantity of lazy or poor-option turnovers that dulled the players' enthusiasm last night? Sure, it was wet & windy by Brisbane standards, but nothing that people from less gentle climes would find upsetting. It was certainly an evening where hammers were a bit harder to catch, and with Dojo playing zone there were plenty of UQ hammers going astray. Needless to add that the hammer is pretty much the default throw for half the kenshi, and perhaps a little bit of adjustment to the conditions might have helped...

But really, it wasn't the sort of game that can be analysed technically or strategically. It was more just the vibe on the field where someone would get a great block and then one of their teammates would run over to the disc, pick it up and huck it straight out of bounds. Doesn't get much more careless than that.

Anyway, as Mr Folds knew all too well, not giving a damn is an attitude that is usually adopted to conceal one's caring a whole lot about something - summarised thus:

This should cheer you up for sure
See I've got your old ID
And you're all dressed up like The Cure

What the Dojo needs to do now is dare to show that we actually do care about the block our teammate just got, or even just the situation on the scoreboard. We're not going to win games this season without trying a bit, even though last night's game happened to also be the Dojo's first regular season loss since October 2008 (!!!). With 7 teams now in the league, gaining a spot in the semis is by no means a given, and a lot of the other teams in the league have plenty of reasons to care, such as ambitious newcomers Slamtown FC and last season's great underperformers, the Cobras. Time to take it all the way back to wax-on wax-off basics.

Vote away for above&beyond on the right.

BPL 2010-2 Round 2 Results

2010-03-12T10:57:29+00:00

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.

The begining, again.

2010-03-12T05:31:52+00:00

Only once in the 7 years and 19 seasons has a team won the BPL season more than 2 seasons in a row.
(Full records can be found a the dog-cup yahoogroups site under data base)

This season the Moreton Bay Buggers are looking to the be second group of men to achieve the three-peat.

I love the start of a BPL season. The potential, the new tactics, the new team list, the fear and excitement and this league the new teams.

This season's MBB team is fairly different to last seasons. Five long time Buggers are not playing with us for various reasons and four new and returning Bugs are on the team. We will have to change the way we play in order to suit our new playing list. We still do a few things the same though and last night was a good example of this.

We had a great game against the brand new and very exciting Slamtown Flatball Club. The really exciting thing about the Gold Coast team is that prior to last nights game we know very little about them. We know some of their players, we did a little scouting in their first game against the Cobra however they were an unknown.

It was quite difficult deciding on a defense use and even harder to workout match ups on the line. I was very impressed with the general standard of play by all the individuals on the Gold Coast team and I expect they will get better as they adjust to playing with each other and playing against stiff opposition.

The game was very tight for the first half with the Slamtown up by one and the game on serve. In the second half we found a better fit defensively and won some points in typical Bugger action through one on one block and aggressive throws to the endzone.

The final score was 15 to 10 Buggers which included a 8 points to 2 second half.

A good start to the season. A season which we are looking forward to as a real challenge.

to a screeching halt....

2010-03-12T01:47:03+00:00

Last nights action saw 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 short lived as an MBB timeout prompted a 3 point run, before SFC took one of their own.

Slamtown seemed to have 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 greater milestones.

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

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

Men - Announcing the Australian U23 Team

2010-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

2010 U23 Open team is announced.

Tournaments - URGENT CALL FOR WOMEN, WUCC

2010-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

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.

Sexy Sexy

2010-03-11T16:57:21+00:00

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

That is all.

Southern Regionals Predictions

2010-03-10T19:45:25+00:00

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!

Regionals Preview and Your Invitation to Tip

2010-03-10T15:34:42+00:00

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?

Game on tonight

2010-03-10T06:40:17+00:00

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

What is ... UQ League

2010-03-10T06:40:17+00:00

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

BCI 2010

2010-03-09T23:49:55+00:00

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

So What Would a "Brisbane Ultimate Stategic Plan" Involve?

2010-03-09T17:47:27+00:00

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."

BPL 2010-1 Round 2, Take 2

2010-03-09T11:26:05+00:00

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

Portafield Redux

2010-03-09T02:12:00+00:00

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?

Townsville Just Over 24 Hours Away from Top 3 Place at Regionals 2010

2010-03-08T19:29:00+00:00

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!

Nightmare Scenario

2010-03-08T15:39:47+00:00

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

Ultimate Needs A Ball. Yeah, That's It!

2010-03-08T14:07:54+00:00

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.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

2010-03-08T11:36:41+00:00

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

BPL - Power Rankings - Week 1

2010-03-06T22:21:28+00:00

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.

Bashionals 2010 Update #1

2010-03-05T16:23:51+00:00

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

Olympics and ultimate

2010-03-04T23:03:09+00:00

FFindr has a post on why ultimate is not in the Olympics.

I am not a huge supporter of getting ultimate in the Olympics. My goals for ultimate are growing the number of players at all levels, maintaining the positive aspects of our sport and improving the weaknesses.

Growing the number of players and public awareness is the path to getting to the Olympics. But the benefit of being in the Olympics is the same thing. Plus a slight sense of "ha, I told you I play a real sport on the weekends" which is pretty self-righteous, and worth avoiding.

Being admitted to the Olympics would likely mean changes to our sport that we may not want: different rules or refereeing, large corporations influencing the direction of the sport, people playing for the money, not the enjoyment or competition. There are some ugly aspects to the Olympics

The Olympics are not the only time and place for great international sporting competition - the IOC and the funds of sponsors just work hard to make it seem that way.

BCI Windup

2010-03-04T15:04:44+00:00

Those fab fellas at Firestorm have wound up the last on-field info for last weekend's Brisbane-Canberra Invitational. Check it out. Great job.

What did you think of it? Should we use this venue again? What about the results - any surprises (like what was the story with FU on Day 1, and is the Women's game still too small to produce 8 quality teams)? And what does this say about form for Regionals and Nationals? And does Canberra have any chance to improve when they host in 2011, or will they be like Athens after Sydney?

Answers in the comments, please.

No BPL Tonight - Fields Closed

2010-03-04T13:10:24+00:00

Well, you probably didn't need a crystal ball to predict this one. Despite the torrential rain converting into occasional light showers today, the fields at Annerley remain closed.

A Wash.....

2010-03-04T03:43:15+00:00

This weeks action in both the GCUL and BPL have been canceled due to inclement pitch conditions.

In the GCUL the weather postponed week one of the league in which the teams have been reshuffled.

In the BPL, SFC was set to do battle against perennial champs the Moreton Bay Buggers. The Buggers boast an exceptional championship record, but with significant roster changes there are many doubting their chances. And with SFC's recent, albeit brief success, tippers on the BUB have begun to sway their support in favour of the GC crew.

Never one to lack in confidence,Bugger captain Mike Neild remarked over 'captain email banter' that he suspects the SFC had dodged a bullet. You can be sure that did not sit well with the SFC and that 'my arse' reared its hole in retort.

These words however will get us nowhere, and the bad blood that will inevitably spill between these two clubs will have to wait. All teams will be issued points as though games were drawn.

In the meantime, the SFC will be faced with sleep inducing schedule over the next four weeks:
Week2 - canceled
Week3 - bye
Week4 - Heroes
Week5 - no games - Easter

Week6 - DOJO MOJO

Not one to look too far past any team in this league, our confidence to steamroll the very green Heroes is high... and once we get through them, and the rest of this monthly lull, we have our sights set on upsetting the Kenshi and handing Dojo a single point for falling short.

Slamtown

TOWNSVILLE NEWS

2010-03-04T02:08:19+00:00

TOWNSVILLE ULTIMATE NEWS

Well, it's good to be back and I can't wait to see what's been going on since I left.

Start of the new league looking good
Well done to Simon and everyone else for an apparently very successful first night of the beginner's league. I hear that we got a visit from Matt Boevink to run everyone through the best way to teach new people to throw and I'm sure that was really helpful for this first night. I'm told there was a large turnout and we may go for a larger league this semester. This Wednesday at 7pm at the Uni AFL fields is the 2nd of the introductory nights and we'd love to see all the same faces plus many more!

Pick-up King and Queen style
In other news the weekend king and queen style pick up has been going well throughout the holidays. I hear that the tradition is becoming established of the swim down at the Strand after the game, on a weekend I believe this is a fine combination. This Saturday Zane cemented his lead as King even further by turning up in the pooring rain, commitment I'd expect of everyone. He was one of a 6 person strong contingent who were there. I'm not sure who's leading the Queen comp., Stine perhaps? It's coming up to the final weeks of the holiday rotation before we start a new one for the semester. It's also likely to be double points for the last day, so if you're close to beating The Quinn then make sure you're there for all of them, check the Villains facebook group for more details. It should be a Sunday 4:30 start at Queens Park, bring a light and a dark shirt.

Ambitions of permanent Pick-up turn Intermediate league
I'd love to see a league developing out of our regular pick-up days once it becomes further cemented and numbers increase. This will depend on us recruiting a lot more local people to play who will be able to stay around for longer, increase their skills and swell our ranks of players. The location of Queens Park I think is one of the keys. This is a visible location in the city area, a social part of town where local people head for coffees and lunch etc. Hopefully this will lead to us getting exposure outside the dimly lit closet of the university fields of a nighttime and having the community of Townsville take note!

More ambitions - of a swell Townsville tournament where beer flows daily and all weekend and is local and fresh!
My eyes have been opened as to how a not-so-crucial-to-win frisbee tournament should look, the Kaimana Klassik in Waimanalo, Hawai'i, or even the Hilo Hat Draw the week after! I don't think I can go back to a tournament without beer on tap for the whole duration, without camping nearby, without live music and without a whole lot of things. The most achievable and important of these I think is beer. Sure I don't think I'd want to see this at every tournament but for the ones that people go to for the party, it should definitely contain beer on tap all day. Obviously the trouble Australia has is horribly expensive alcohol and that's why I think the next thing on the agenda after this is rallying the government to remove a large amount of the alcohol tax, but first things first. I'm pooling my ideas for something similar in the humble city of The Ville, we have the wonderful island of Maggie at our disposal for it and a local brewery or the Brew-By-U to help lower the costs of the booze. If cost is still an issue due to alcohol tax and expensive local brews I guess goon on tap all day would be the last resort - it doesn't have the same ring! For a tournament like this we'd have to prove ourselves locally so this might need some time. Obviously this is just in the ideas stage but even if it drives Badman for his Birthday Bash to set up something similar for this year I think my job is done. We all know that's the best tournament in Queensland at the moment and is the only one in that niche, but I'd like to invite you to "Maggie Magic" for a few years down the track.

Regionals 13th - 14th of March
The next most exciting news for Townsville is Regionals in 2 weeks. This is Townsville's biggest realistic chance of representing themselves for this half of the year (unless our players somehow find money and we make it to Nationals). We've got brand new team jerseys on the way, we've got new shorts coming even! Whoa! As well as that a new disc design is completed and discs should be around the corner too! Our team list is as follows so far, if you're coming sign up on AFDA.com! If you need more money (everyone) fill one of these out and bring it along to Wednesday or Pick-up and we can submit it as a group. http://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/services/departments/cip/grants/sport-rec

The Villains team so far:

AFDA #	Name	Gender	Diet	Action
3956	Keith Cameron-Smith	m	Meat Eater	contact
16164	James David	m	Meat Eater	contact
6591	Matthew De Witt	m	Meat Eater	contact
10409	David Dehollander	m	Meat Eater	contact
12172	Christopher Ende	m	Meat Eater	contact
16327	Fraser Hartley	m	Meat Eater	contact
8515	Mike Larson	m	Meat Eater	contact
6398	Hugh Osborn	m	Meat Eater	contact
7738	Simon Urquhart	m	Meat Eater	contact

Wet Weather

2010-03-03T12:19:48+00:00

Wednesday 03-03-2010 Rain has made UQ Sport closed the fields.... so we can't have our fun tonight.
The plan is to have league sign up and our last learn-to-play night next week 10/03 and hopefully start the league then and there or the week after.

General Wet Weather Plan

UQ sport has a wet fields phone number that says if any fields are closed for weather, 3365 6612 and check the website http://www.uqsport.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=7102

normally we play (rain or snow?) if the fields are open (and the lights are on)

BPL 2010-1 Round 2 Draw

2010-03-03T10:51:59+00:00

More than likely will be rained off, but just in case it isn't then here it is.

No WUFL Tonight - Fields Closed

2010-03-02T13:39:07+00:00

The ongoing torrential rain that you may have noticed has closed Oakman Park.

Future of Brisbane Ultimate - Upcoming BUDA AGM

2010-03-02T09:34:08+00:00

So JdR posted the following email to the BUDA-yahoogroups list this morning. As the Brisbane Ultimate Blog loves discussion, have a read and post your comments below (click on the word "comments".

Hi everyone,

I am writing to you to invite you to take an interest in the future of Ultimate in Brisbane.

The QUDA/BUDA AGM will be held during the Northern Regionals tournament on Sat/Sun 13-14 March (exact date and time to be advertised).

For couple of years, the BUDA (Brisbane Ultimate Disc Association) has been relatively defunct (bar the sterling efforts of Adilia Murabito as BUDA Treasurer and the League Directors of BUML, WUFL and BPL).

While many people assume QUDA "runs" the Leagues in Brisbane, at present it is limited to providing general support to League Directors much in the same way it supports Townsville and Gold Coast Ultimate. QUDA does provide specific assistance to Leagues in terms of field provider liasion (that's been my job), but generally, League Directors have run their Leagues independently (and done a very good job, I might add - this email isn't about the way Leagues are run - this is about the future).

But it has been frustrating to me as a player and administrator that Brisbane Ultimate has lacked anyone taking a long-term and Brisbane-wide view to supporting the existing Leagues, and developing new Leagues and playing opportunities. Other cities are powering forward to bring new players in and improve the quality of play, but I feel Brisbane is lagging.

The coming AGM is a chance for the membership to discuss whether and how to correct this. The BUDA part of the AGM will involve electing a BUDA General Committee. The General Committee includes a BUDA President, BUDA Treasurer, BUDA Secretary and BUDA Vice President, as well as the Directors of BUML, BPL and WUFL (who are technically appointed by the Committee). There is also room for people to be elected as General Members of the BUDA Committee.

I hope there are people out there who will step up into these roles for 2010-2011.

If we are successful in electing a BUDA General Committee, then, to make the will of the membership clear to the new Committee, I will propose a motion that the BUDA General Committee:
- meet at least bi-monthly over the coming year;
- develop and implement policy and arrangements to provide support and oversight to the BUML, BPL and WUFL Leagues and Directors;
- agree an Memorandum of Understanding with QUDA to demarcate responsibilities for Ultimate in the Brisbane area; and,
- draft, consult on, and approve (by September 2010), a strategic plan, covering the growth and development of Leagues in Brisbane for the period 2011-2016.

If we are unsuccessful in electing a BUDA General Committee, then I will instead propose a motion to the membership that the QUDA Executive take on the role of the BUDA General Committee for 2010-11, and that the QUDA Executive provide support and oversight to the BUML, BPL and WUFL Leagues and Directors, and prepare the strategic plan outlined above.

I am not very keen for QUDA to take on this role, as it has a lot of other work to do. But I would rather make it clear that someone is taking responsibility on behalf of everyone in Brisbane, for the future of Brisbane Ultimate.

I should add that it is equally valid for people to vote against these motions, and leave us with the status quo. At the least, we will have had the debate and come to an agreement, rather than continued with the present ambiguity of people assuming that someone else being responsible.

Thanks for reading this. I would welcome further discussion, either via email direct to myself, email to everyone on this list (if you think your points are of interest to the hundreds of people on the list), or on the various internet discussion areas, including the Brisbane Ultimate Blog.

JdR

Cheesy Grins and Winey Wins

2010-03-02T06:33:00+00:00

The Brisbane Ultimate Blog heartily endorses the upcoming Black Betty Women's Ultimate Club fundraising Wine and Cheese night, to be held this Friday 5 March.

When: Friday March 5th (6:30-9:30pm)
Where: Brisbane's Ukrainian Community Centre, 70 Cordelia Street, South Brisbane
How much: $20 per person
What's included: beer, wine, and nibbles
Who: Betties, Friends, Workmates, Teammates, Family ... anyone who would like to support women's ultimate and enjoys great wine and beer!

How can you get in on this fantastic event? Speak to your local Betty and ask them to hook you up with a ticket! We need to know numbers for catering purposes, so get your ticket today!

From a wise Betty:

Yes, we Betties are super keen on fundraising, so get ready for what
promises to be a great night! We have three wine reps featuring various wines
from throughout Australia and New Zealand, as well as our very own Little
Creatures rep for those beer fiends among you. If you've never been to a wine
tasting, the evening will be quite relaxed and you'll be able to try out a
variety of different wines and a selection of Little Creatures beers. If you
like something that you try, head back for more!

Northern Regionals aka Queensland Open/Women's State Championships - Less Than Two Weeks Away!

2010-03-02T02:22:00+00:00

Holy moly - with all the attention given to the BCI on the weekend, some folks are realising with surprise that Northern Regionals aka the Queensland Open/Women's State Championships, are on next weekend 13-14 March!

Get the scoop at the official website. More coverage here when we get the chance!

Don't forget - this tournament is open to EVERYONE. Its not an elite event. For many League players, this is their annual 'just playing with the boys or girls' weekend, rather than the usual Mixed fun. So get yourself on a team!

Tournaments - AFDA Major Events Manual

2010-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

Everything you wanted to know about running a tournament but were afraid to ask!!! The AFDA is proud to present the "AFDA Major Events Manual"

No BUML Tonight - Rain Has Closed Fields

2010-03-01T16:04:03+00:00

Just in case you don't have an advanced meteorological device in your abode, both Annerley and Griffith have closed their fields and there will be no BUML tonight.

For those pondering a year of rain, generally what happens with regards League night cancellations is:
- Annerley and Oakman let us know as early as they can, but by 4pm at the latest.
- Griffith generally have a groundskeeper inspect the fields at 2pm, and then let us know.
- Generally, admin people will wait until they get info from the field owners, and then email closer info out to everyone (at the latest, soon after 4pm). Hassling field owners early generally just encourages them to default towards closing the fields, rather than waiting to see if they will dry out through a day.
- The fields may well get closed after 4pm, or when we arrive at the fields, we might cancel the night ourselves (rule of thumb is if it is currently pouring, or there is surface water visible on the field, then we don't play).

Rain is an inexact science, remember kids.

Use your common sense - if its been raining a lot, anticipate that the fields may be closed or open. Then keep your eyes out for an email after 4pm.

People might moan about missing a night of Ultimate, but its better to have good fields all-year around.

First Frisbee Over the Line

2010-03-01T12:40:10+00:00

So instead of attending the BCI (full news over at the Firestorm site here), JdR decided to do the Clem7 Fun Run, carrying 12 frisbees.

The 12 frisbees reflected his commitment to carry a disc for each $20 he raised for the Royal Children's Hospital Charity. $250 rolled in. Well done to those who donated!

The run was amazingly tough. Even with the cool morning, the humidity generated by 5,000 runners in the tunnel made for some draining conditions. Then there were the hills - the start was a steep downhill for 1.5km to get 60m under the Brisbane River, then it was a solid uphill for 3.5km to Woolongabba. Then about face for a long down hill, and then a complete bastard of a final 2km uphill to the Finish. Most runners found themselves 5-10 minutes off their usual time for the distance.

As he passed the finish line, JdR was mentioned over the PA system as the "First Frisbee Home ... and probably the only Frisbee too. And what's with the backpack!?"

Photos are sadly sparse, despite JdR being seemingly the only runner who'd done something unusual by waving a frisbee around - but this was an event for serious runners, after all. But if you look closely at this photo, you might spot him getting ready to go, backpack on (alas, the fluro disc he waved about a lot isn't visible). Look near the lady in pink.

For the records, JdR came in at 1358th of the 4361 people who completed the event, and 398th of Males in the 30-39 age group with a time of 1hour 2 minutes and 8 seconds for the 10.456km run.

BPL 2010-1 Results

2010-03-01T11:14:47+00:00

Return to Oval 7

2010-02-26T15:51:01+00:00

So last Wednesday saw UQ Ultimate’s return to Oval 7 for our first league of the decade!

It was great to see lots of new people coming down and having a go as well as all the old folks getting out there for a run around.

We’ll be doing the same again this Wednesday (3^rd March) starting at 6pm on Oval 7 (cnr of Coleridge St and sir Fred Schonell Dr). There’ll be a small throwing session for beginners and then some pick-up games until 8.30ish pm.

If you do want to play in the league but can't make this Wednesday give us a shout at uqultimate@hotmail.com and/or sign up to our email list at:

http://groups.google.com.au/group/uq-ultimate-league

For those of you who signed up on Market Day - thankyou! We have our minions working hard manually adding your details to our records now.

Also…. if you’re interested in watching some super sweet ultimate there's a nationals pre-tourney in Brisbane this weekend being played at the QLD State Hockey Centre (240 Lytton Road Colmslie). Games run all day Saturday and Sunday and should be jammed packed with some high-quality Frisbee.

Brisbane teams Firestorm and Black Betty would love to have you there cheering them on!

Gotta Want It

2010-02-26T15:18:59+00:00

Last night saw the first round match up of Cobras Vs Slamtown Flatball Club (SFC).

The game started out fairly even, with teams trading for the first couple of points. SFC started to pull away towards the end of the second half after capitalising on some sloppy offence and defence coming from the Cobras side of the disc.

Cobras then clawed back a few to come within one point of SFC. Unfortunately Cobras could not hold out the rampant hucks and hammers that the spiritual leader of the flatballers was providing them with. Slamtown took the half 8-6.

During the break Cobras decided to try to get the basics right, by looking to dump early in the count and most of all make completions. They came out with a better attitude and a more focused game during the second half. The teams traded for the first couple of points before SFC decided to put a foot down and managed to grab two break points.

It was starting to get desperate for the Cobras staring down the barrel of their first loss of the season. SFC were right outside the endzone, Cobras players were holding on with their fingernails in defence, I saw a pass get made into the endzone to a semi-open player. I thought to myself 'ooooh shit'. When from behind comes legendary stalwart of the Cobras outfit, Finn. Getting horizontal for a somewhat gratuitous, but still sick layout d. Cobras then converted to make the scores about 13-10.

But lo and behold SFC were a determined competitor on the night, they then scored two more points and it was all over. In the end it came down to the desire to win. SFC definately ran harder and converted more opportunities than the Cobras boys. They also had a determination, they simply wanted to win more than we did. Which in the end sealed them the win 15-10.

Asked after the game how he had channeled such devastating form, Stefan replied 'I was listening to AC/DC all night'. The self-confessed A**hole lead his team well on their winning debut in the BPL and issued a stern warning to the rest of the competition. Watch out for the hippies and beach bums in the orange shorts.

Like Kryptonite

2010-02-26T14:39:07+00:00

Last night was the first BPL outing for both the new-look Dojo squad and the new-to-the-league Heroes team. The result was a pretty brutal 15-2 to the Dojo, and we think we know why: the Heroes shirts are the same colour as Kryptonite!

Is the head of Heroes' merchandising possessed of a deeply ironic sense of humour? Or perhaps they're styling themselves more as the Greenzo sort of modern eco-hero? Either way, one thing we know for sure is that there was no colour more feared by the original man of steel than green. OMG - man of steel hating anything green? Superman was the original comic-book poster boy for environment-destroying industrialists!

Anyway, at least the Heroes have gone for a colour that no other team already had (a simple concept that has eluded the Cobras and even MBB in the past), and they certainly looked a lot more unified than the anything-white-will-do Dojo. With all the roster shakeups of late, a new batch of Dojo shirts can't arrive soon enough.

Anything worth noting about the game? Well, rather than participating last night, this writer observed the first half from a comfortable seat atop the field-side esky, and what was clear even from there was that the Heroes have a lot settling in to do before they start to seriously challenge in the BPL. LD Stu could be heard on the sideline criticising the Dojo's use of zone defence against a rookie team, but really - it's not the Brisbane Preparatory League, and everyone knows that when you play the Dojo you will face zone D. Best get used to it early.

No doubt the Heroes will be much improved by the time we meet again in the second half of the season, and after all they are the only BPL team ever to have a dedicated, non-player coach (one Mr Matt Boevink), but the new additions to the Dojo roster will be much more firmly embedded by then as well...

Ah well. After what can only be described as a poor blogging effort last season, we've resolved to return to our usual up-to-the-minute standards this season. As such, the first round of Above&Beyond voting is now open - vote away on the right. Maybe next week we'll even return with the video camera...

Ah Believe Its Gonna Rain (Sometime)

2010-02-26T13:52:00+00:00

For those who occasionally have a gentle moan about missing their frisbee because the fields getting closed due to rain, AJSC have posted their photos of the flooding last Tuesday, that helped push BPL back a week (a scan of the rest of the AJSC website is well worth it, for those interested in our regular field hosts).

Brisbane Ultimate has had a bit of a golden age over the last few years. Essentially, we've had enough of a drought that there hasn't been any rain to wash out many nights of Ultimate, but (unlike some of our friends down south) we've had enough rain to keep the fields green and open.

We here at the Brisbane Ultimate Blog copped a feel of Pallen's gammy twitchy knee and predict a lot of lost nights of Ultimate this year. Has your team got Plan B (eg meet at pub instead) ready to go?

Sticker Up the QUDA Trailer

2010-02-26T02:23:00+00:00

So the QUDA Trailer makes its first official outing this weekend.

Since the purchase was announced, the trailer now has a nice tool box on the front of it.

Which is just begging for your Ultimate Frisbee bumper stickers!

So if you've got any frisbee stickers sitting in the drawer at home, bring them down to the BCI and stick them onto the QUDA trailer.

Beach Boys Make Waves...

2010-02-26T02:12:07+00:00

A new season of BPL, a new team in the mix, a new uniform to dawn....

It only seemed natural that the GCU-Blog underwent a new look to boot.

So here we are on the golden sands of the Gold Coast beaches relishing in what was a very successful beginning to our BPL campaign. And what better way to celebrate than to honour the team by refashioning the blog aesthetic to parallel the eye-catching uniforms of the Slamtown Flatball Club.

Last night saw the SFC go up against the highly touted league favorite Cobras. What most deem as an upset is what the SFC plan to make 'business as usual'. None short on confidence, SFC went into the game knowing that this game was our to win, and that 'we don't drive this far just to get a game in...."

Slamtown started the game on defence, we got an immediate turn and a score to follow. From that point on SFC found ways to dictate the game. Cobras certainly proved formidable as they continued to answer on every other possession, but by the time we got to half SFC had taken 2 in a row to take the period with an 8-6 scoreline, poised to start on offense in the second half.

SFC was badly undermanned with only 8 players showing up, and were grateful to have the services of Kiwi Steve who stepped in to fill the void, but it was not the efforts of any individual that got SFC across the line, rather a team game where every cog contributed from start to finish.

In the second half, SFC widened the gap early, and once their lead was +3, they virtually traded points right to the end. SFC had pulled off a so called upset, and beaten the Cobras 15-11 on opening night.

The Gold Coast club are stoked to have cracked into the win column as early as we did, but are well aware that it takes much more than an opening night win to hoist the Dog Cup. With plenty of work ahead, SFC has rejoiced in their victory, and are preparing for next weeks battle with the new look Buggers.

World News - Coaching opportunity in India

2010-02-26T00:00:00+00:00

Looking for something different to do with your holidays? Ahmedabad Ultimate (AU) in India is looking for experienced coaches with a solid Ultimate Frisbee background and a desire to enable change. Primarily, volunteers are needed to assist in the implementation of an intense summer training camp for youth in Ahmedabad, India taking place during the month of May, 2010.

Welcome Griffith and UQ Folks

2010-02-25T14:27:40+00:00

So yesterday, Ultimate Frisbee had stalls at both the UQ and Griffith Nathan O-Week Market Days, and they gave away heaps and heaps of those nice promotional postcards that feature both the official quda.org website and our most wonderful Brisbane Ultimate Disc blog here.

And going by the stats in the stately mansion's IT sub-basement, they're flocking here. So we say HELLO! and also "Scroll down or look right for more sensible information" and "please don't worry too much about the occasionally silly thing you'll see in the comments sections".

We hope to see you all on the fields soon, and hope you'll visit the blog here on a regular basis and become part of the fun.

Just those reminders:

Free Learn to Play at Griffith Uni Nathan AFL Field Kessels Rd at 7pm this Monday 1 March and next Monday 8 March, as well as 10am-12pm Saturday 6 March.

Free Learn to Play at UQ St Lucia Oval 7 Coleridge St at 6pm this Wednesday 3 March and Wednesday 10 March.

Come on down and have a go.

BPL 2010-1 Round 1 Draw

2010-02-24T12:21:13+00:00

Well we're back into the swing of things. BPL starts again this Thursday night with the biggest number of teams ever seen (note: fact checking wasn't done, just a gut feeling). Get your tips in for the highly regarded tipping competition. Will Jdr attempt to shoot the moon again? Time will tell.

BC Invitational and other.

2010-02-24T02:18:54+00:00

3 days to go till the BCi.

i am thoroughly excited.

I haven't spent much (or any) time checking out the opposition, but i know that this is going to be one tough weekend; the top 8 teams from last nationals, in which we were number 8. that means every single game karma plays this weekend is going to be tough, no easy breaks. which will be one massive learning curve for karma. this is especially true as about 10 players from karma's 2009 A team have moved on to greater (more or less) things, bringing a whole new, younger, baby faced squad ready to prove themselves against the might of rome.

i am thoroughly excited.

follow my (our) progress on twitter.

in other news, smurf have launched a website sharing our campaign to world clubs in prague in july. feel free to check it out. note: its still fresh, give it some time to grow.

Where Is He Now?

2010-02-23T19:37:35+00:00

As the fat bloke from Staind once said, it's been a while. Couple of reasons for this - the first being that my employer has decided I'm much to valuable to ever not be at work, and the second being a new project in the pipeline that will spell the end of Ballarat Ultimate in it's current form.

So yeah, this could be considered a hiatus from thinly-veiled heckling and idle speculation, but there is something new on the way. Hopefully before Nationals.

Until then, I'll try and find 20 spare minutes to write up the Ballarat Ultimate Awards. After that, stay tuned.

'Cause You Are Too Busy Being Fabulous

2010-02-23T16:56:41+00:00

[If you're new to this blog and to Brisbane Ultimate - please check out the 'Useful Info' links on the right]

It's heck-busy here at the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion this week, and all around Brisbane Ultimate as a whole. If you step into the house, you'll be lucky to find a post-it note telling you what's up. But lets have a quick run through.

ITEM: So on Sunday it was lovely and we decided to step from the mansion and take my disc-golf-virgin-ass down to the Yeronga Disc Golf Course for a look-see. Under the careful tutorage of Master Bruce, I can now say my cherry is popped as the plastic hit the chains on the front nine. Entertainingly, we ran into two dudes (hi Luke and Rueben!) who'd seen the course and heard about disc golf and decided to give it a go. It was their lucky day to get the run down from Master Bruce. Disc Golf is on every Sunday from 3pm at the Yeronga Course. Its good stuff. Bring your mini-esky and a hat. Prams are also very useful.

ITEM: BUML started last night, and your blogger was at both Griffith Nathan and AJSC to enjoy some fantastic fields and watch some 'still a little bit rusty' Ultimate. It was great to see so many people back, and of course the lights shining at both venues. The BUML Organising Committee (BUMLOC) have found their feet for this season, but are looking ahead to the next, so if you've got any ideas or preferences, get onto them in the next month or so.

ITEM: It's the O-Week Market Day tomorrow at both UQ St Lucia and Griffith Nathan. Both groups will be armed with the fancy new recruitment postcards that QUDA/ BUDA/ WUFL/ UQ have arrranged. Helpers are still sought for Griffith Nathan, where we hope to establish a Club and get a late team into BUML.

ITEM: Thursday sees the start of this year's Brisbane Premier League, and what better way to start than with the inaugural BPL Launch Lunch in the Valley. Get in touch if you're keen to attend - tickets are selling fast. Meanwhile, ~~Igor~~Wetnose is down in the very bowels of the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion, working on this season's draw design and tipping comp rules. Expect to see these up here asap, here at your number one home of BPL coverage (accept no substitutes).

ITEM: Of course, this weekend sees the Brisbane-Canberra Invitational Tournament, featuring the best of the best out at the State Hockey Centre at Lytton. Heaps of people are heading along for a look. Keep checking out the Firestorm website for more updates.

Crikey! We'll be buggered by the end of this!

Welcome to Brisbane Ultimate - February 2010

2010-02-22T10:57:30+00:00

Lots of new people seem to be finding out about Ultimate Frisbee in Brisbane at the moment, and finding this little website on their way.

So welcome to the Brisbane Ultimate Disc blog. Here we talk about ... Ultimate Frisbee in Brisbane. We do a range of news, views and just plain silly stuff, depending on the whims of the main poster. Yes, there's a few in jokes, and on occasion it ventures well beyond the limits of Brisbane and/or Ultimate Frisbee. Don't take it too seriously.

Here's the real info you need to get into Ultimate in Brisbane at the moment.

Ultimate is an easy, cheap and fun way to get fit.

New Leagues are starting all over Queensland, and in most cases new players are always welcome and able to get onto teams. Just get in touch with the organisers. You can usually learn on the go!

Brisbane Monday Night Mixed League – Greenslopes and Nathan – buml@quda.org
Brisbane Tuesday Night Women’s League – Toowong – blog
Gold Coast Wednesday Night Mixed League – Miami – website
Brisbane Wednesday Night Uni League – St Lucia – website
Townsville Wednesday Night Mixed League – JCU – blog
Brisbane Thursday A-Grade Open League – Greenslopes – blog

For most of these leagues (except the last one), you can just turn up at the fields at the right time and ask for the organiser (although its nice to email them first - then they're ready for you!) - you'll be on a team and on the field in no time!

A number of special Learn to Play sessions are planned over the next few months. This is a great and free way to have a go and get your skills up before venturing to League. For information on these sessions, contact enquiries@quda.org

Wednesday 24 February – St Lucia – UQ Oval 7 (Coleridge St) from 6pm
Wednesday 24 February – Townsville - JCU AFL Field from 7pm
Wednesday 3 March – St Lucia – UQ Oval 7 (Coleridge St) from 6pm
Saturday 6 March – Nathan – Griffith AFL Field (Kessels Rd) from 10am
Monday 8 March – Nathan – Griffith AFL Field (Kessels Rd) from 7pm
Sunday 21 March – Clayfield – Kalinga Park (Diggers Rd) from 3pm
Sunday 11 April – Clayfield – Kalinga Park (Diggers Rd) from 3pm

For getting into Ultimate, bring along a filled waterbottle (there’s lots of running!), shoes for sport on grass, and a dark shirt and a light shirt.

Monday Night - Week 1 Draw

2010-02-22T09:11:13+00:00

Here's the draw for the first round of the Brisbane Ultimate Mixed League aka Monday night.

Note we now have different times and different locations!

Division 2
Griffith Nathan - 7.15-8.15pm
Field 1 - Heroes vs DiscHeads
Field 2 - Frisky Time vs Baby Chimis
*Note - at Griffith lights are automatically on at 7pm and off at 8.30 (although last week they stayed on until 8.45 - please feel free to play a pickup game once the Div 1 players depart)

Annerley - 7.30-8.30pm
Field 3A - exQUisiTe vs Dyspnoeics
Field 3B - Mellow Yellow vs Kelvin Grove Cougars
Field 5 - Bermuda Triangle - Poachers ~~Bye, but this field is available for training or pickup~~[edit]

Division 1
Annerley - 8.40 - 9.40pm
Field 3A - exQUisiTe vs Mongo
Field 3B - Plastic Scourgery vs Chimichanges
Field 5 - Wushi Finger Hold vs Team 6

Administration - AFDA appoints Development Officer

2010-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

The AFDA is pleased to announce the appointment of Anna Haynes as a paid, part-time Development Officer.

The sweetest thing

2010-02-21T22:57:47+00:00

So Friday night I was lucky enough to experience every Frisbee players dream. I stepped on the field at dusk with the sun slowly setting, the air cool and perfectly still. The spotlights lit a delicate, flawless expanse of grass akin to the MCG on boxing day.

The showcase field was ours! We felt like… no, we were champions! If only for those few short hours it felt like in some magical way that Frisbee was a sport people cared about! What had we done to impress the Frisbee Gods that were blessed with this once in a lifetime opportunity? The grandstand was empty but it didn’t matter (we felt important just throwing in front of it) this moment was ours to treasure. There were no idiot footballers, dogs, plovers or small children to dodge. No fear of potholes, rock hard cricket pitches or dirt piles nothing to distract us from perfecting no-look full-field hammers.

For the work-obsessed university academics who finally unlocked themselves from their desks and were heading home or the drunkard med students in their scrubs stumbling through campus on to their way to the next watering-hole, they will have almost forgotten the two strangers they saw on Oval 5 throwing a Frisbee (a considerably farther distance than most normal people are capable of).

But for those of us who are constantly shoved off fields because various other “more important” sporting leagues begin, it was a small victory in a long and weary battle. Brisbane ultimate players are field vagabonds will we ever find a home?