The ACT wants to host a new tournament to help cover the gap between the teams that make it to nationals and the local league players. We have christened this tournament "Bashinals" and hope that it will provide more substance to the summer/autumn seasons of developing players across Australia.
In the past half dozen years, the top standard of Australian ultimate has been pulled upwards by a variety of efforts to ensure that our teams can compete with the best internationally.
Imagine our player base being represented by a triangle, with the apex being the worlds players and the base being the local league players. The top has been stretched higher and higher in the past few years at great speed but the base and middle of the triangle has continued its same steady growth outwards.
While the fast growth at the top has been catered for by NUFLs, training camps, World Clubs and the improvement of Nationals and Mixed Nationals, the gap between the top and the base of the triangle has had fewer and fewer events that cater for it.
In the past, if you were really keen, you could find a way to go to nationals or mixed nationals. Slipping on to other teams, picking up, playing on B-teams/smaller clubs were all good options. However these options are being shut down. And thats a great thing for our sport! Its only because the standard is being raised that B-teams and smaller clubs now struggle to make Nationals.
The problem is that the B-team/smaller clubs solution or the ad-hoc solutions of picking up on other teams etc for player development have not been replaced by anything.
Of course there are still the Hat Tournaments, the beach tournaments and a few smaller local tournaments. The annual Youth Nationals and Australian University Games help out some parts of the player base. B-teams and smaller clubs still make it regionals and smaller local tournaments. So what can a club player look forward to in the first 5-6 months of the year? Regionals and maybe something like Share the Love. Not much of a season for a club or a player. This is why we want to add Bashinals to the calender and have it sanctioned as a form of 'national event' by AFDA.
We envision a 2-3 day tournament where the 6-10 open teams from across Australia that did not qualify for nationals come and play off for a National 'plate'. At the moment, there are probably not enough womens teams missing out to have a womens division but we would be aimming to include a womens division as soon as there is sufficient demand. We want to host the tournament in '09 but we want it to be spread around, being organised by one of the teams playing. We want it to happen a week or two before Nationals.
We do not want it taking any of the focus off nationals as the main event and while we want it to be a worthwhile tournament, it should never take teams or prestige away from Nationals.
We think it would give a better end to the seasons of developing players and clubs than an elimination at regionals, provide a venue for these teams to improve their chances at qualifications next year and contribute to the expansion of the middle part of the player base triangle.
We are very eager to hear from others about their comments, criticisms and ideas for Bashinals.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
sounds good...especially since i get back from 3 months travelling 2 weeks before regionals and the chances of getting onto whatever fakulit is organising for perth are low (unless i can slip into the team with no training, no conditioning, no tryouts and no money...hmm)...while ideally i'd wanna be involved in Fak, if a fak B team doesnt go to perth, then that would be a great altrnative...and if not it gives me something to look forward forward to in the alternative and try and get a team together for.
ReplyDeleteso if it means anything you have my hearty endorsement and well wishes for such an event, and hopefully it comes together.
I love it and have proposed it myself different times.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see it start its life as a two day event, either the weekend before Nationals, or the one before that (so 4-5 weeks after Regionals).
I'd like to see it a separate weekend to Nationals, so that "B-team players" could still go and watch and help at Nats.
Having it the weekend before Nats makes it distant enough from Regionals to allow people to get organised. Having it right next to Nats discourages players considering playing both.
I would be happy for Canberra to take the initiative and just start running it. Maybe one day it starts to get bidded for etc.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletesounds like a great idea from my perspective.
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming that ACT will only send one boys and one girls team to nationals (i hear that perth is quite far away). It would be a shame to loose all the kabam and kaput folks whose game would really improve with more tournament level play, but won't make the A teams.
It's a whole new world when you move from league to tournaments, so this would also be a great chance to advertise it to our leagues.
Heck, i'm even willing to help out with the tourney if needed!
(This is one tournament that super-recruit Luke will have to attend!)
I meant to add ... so does this mean that you're predicting that either Bags or Twats will be injured and not going to Perth and thus be able to run this tournament? ;)
ReplyDeleteNo, if its not on the same weekend then A-team players will still be able to help run the show.
ReplyDeleteAlso, since its in the vested interests of the B-team for the tournament to go ahead, I would suggest that they will be helping out as well :)