Kaboom top Aussie seeds

Last weekend Sydney played host to the seeding tournament for the three Australian mixed teams heading to Prague in the Czech Republic later this year for the World Ultimate Club Championships. With the tournament numbers boosted by the arrival of two Kiwi teams looking for some match practice against international opponents and an innovative tournament format to fit into the very busy fields schedule in Sydney, each team prepared to play four games in under 24 hours in what became a feverish weekend of frisbee.

Local heartthrobs Kaboom played both the Kiwi teams on Saturday night (with games starting at 5:45 and finishing at 9:15) then played their seeding games against the two remaining Australian teams starting at 9:00 on Sunday morning.

First up, Kaboom took on Credo from Christchurch. With a few connections to the New Zealand ultimate scene on the team your heroes were able to get some smart defensive match-ups early in the game and limited Credo's preferred offense. Credo played a very balanced style of ultimate and looked to run much of their offense through their women. They were, however, no match for the excellent defensive technique of the Canberran ladies and some clinical offense from the Canberrans saw them run out the game with a final score of something like 15-7.

After just enough time to eat their prescribed number of muesli bars and enjoy the feeling of relaxation the Kaboom crew were back at the coalface again, this time squaring up against Duke from Wellington. Duke were clearly more accustomed to playing in the howling winds, driving rain and freezing conditions of their home town and were ill at ease in the still, mild conditions of Sydney. Despite some innovative throws and strong high grabs Duke couldn't keep up their intensity against Kaboom's team defense and hard running offense and your heroes ground out another 15-7ish win.

Within twelve hours of frantic driving, eating, sleeping and making jokes about who got to share a bed with AJ the Kaboom kids were back at the fields gearing up to play Adelaide's premier mixed team, Smurf. In what was later described as "a game of runs" Kaboom caught Smurf napping and got a few early breaks to lead 4-2. Smurf lifted their game and scored three in a row to take it to 5-4. Kaboom called a time out and came out with stifling defense and efficient offense to go on a ten point run, taking the game to 14-5. Smurf seemed to relax a little once the weight of expectation was over and started converting on offense while Kaboom developed a hilarious case of endzone drops and Smurf scored four more to reach 14-9. Finally, after three endzone drops in a point and some stifled laughter on the field Kaboom got serious and captain Max Wheeler pulled down a huck to seal the game at 15-9.

Finally, Kaboom matched up against Newcastle's Pie Wagon. With a few players missing from their roster the Novocastrians had 7 boys and 9 girls and started out the game playing 4 women on offense where possible. Again, the stifling defense of the Kaboom women eventually convinced them to try another approach and Kaboom took half 8-5ish after a late rally from Pie Wagon. After half Kaboom got another break and went up 10-6 before trading to a comfortable looking 12-8ish (something like that). Kaboom looked a little too comfortable and Pie Wagon changed to playing zone defense, normally something that the Canberrans play well against. This time, however, Kaboom was caught off guard by the late change up and Pie Wagon brought the game back to 13-12 Kaboom's way when time-cap went, making it a game to 14. An overcooked Kaboom hammer gave Pie Wagon the disc and their offense marched it down the field to score, making it 13 all, universe point. Kaboom received the pull and some quick movement lead to a huck to AJ deep. He caught the disc just outside the endzone and called time out. Kaboom set up in the endzone and an up-the-line dump cut from none other than Kaboom captain Max Wheeler for the final goal sealed the game and the number one Australian seeding for Kaboom.

Given the strong performances of Australian teams in the Mixed Division at World Clubs in 2006 Kaboom should be seeded roughly 10th, but these things are always a bit mysterious and unpredictable. We at the Canberra Ultimate Blog wish all three Aussie teams (and Credo and Duke from NZ) all the best for Prague in July. If you see a Kaboom player around, sporting their awesome red or yellow shirts, congratulate them and wish them well for the journey ahead. They are, after all, your heroes and mine.