Critics Agree! Dev clinics "Good"

That's right folks, contrary to the predictions of many significant climate change scientists, the Monday night development clinics that started last Monday are officially "Good". 15 hardy souls turned up to fine tune their throwing, catching, pivoting and marking skills. Thanks to Twats for helping with the first session, he's off to China to present the International Olympic Committee with the WFDF bid to have ultimate included in the next Olympic games (his trip was kindly subsidised by the AFDA with proceeds generated from their weekly meat raffles)*. Sadly, this means he won't be there next week.

Next week we'll delve into the hearty soup of tactics that is Match offense and defense. If you're keen to add to your league repertoire you're all most welcome to attend. The clinics run from 6:30 until 8:30 on Monday nights at Willow's Oval at the ANU. If you're thinking of showing up for the first time then write your name in the comments section so I can get the bouncers to put your name on the door list.


*The preceding sentence is false.

ACTUA meeting on Tuesday

Hi all,

There's an ACTUA meeting at the House of Twits on Tuesday the 29th of July at 7:30pm. We've moved it ahead from the following Monday to ensure we get our field allocations sorted before the relevant ACT sportsgrounds meeting on August 1st. Tuesday also allows Mica and John to attend, since they're both busy at various training sessions on Mondays.

Stuff is on!

Yesterday saw the second thrilling installment of the WOL quartet. We were all finally reminded of why people play indoor during winter, as the overcast conditions that lasted through the first game gave way to rain for the second game slot. Each team bravely sallied forth into the wet weather to face some persistent zone defense and difficult handling conditions. Nevertheless, glory was there to be had and the soft and slick ground made for some excellent O and D bids.

The first round saw fairly close games between the ever-reliable Dam Beavers and the Mavericks and between Dynoshite (now with REAL Dynoshite players) and the vastly improved Bolivar Floaters. The Mavs, missing big playmaker Tom Walcott, made use of the speed and hops of Richard and Damo, their key receivers, and benefitted immensely from the firepower of the returning Carrie Flynn and ACT stalwart Dave Lowe. The Dam Beavers looked to their offensive utilities Brett Ringland and Asher Gentle but were unable to connect deep to Rachel Gentle who was, as usual, open all day. The Mavs took the game 12-9.

Dynoshite finally (and quietly) arrived with their sunglasses firmly in place after a large night at Elise's birthday do. A veritable unknown in WOL, Dynoshite looked for an early win against the Bolivar Floaters. The Floaters had no intention of going down easily, and it took several flushes before the superior throwers on Dynoshite were able to remove them from the bowl. The Bolivar Floaters seem to have greeted the return of Karl and Mel Adamson with some enthusiasm, looking positively dangerous at several points during the game. Final score, 10-8 Dynoshite.

Despite the return of their captain James Kingsmill, the ANU were caught off-guard by the pink shirts of the Devolutionaries and suffered something of a hiding, going down 15-6. Last week the Dev's lacked a bit of handling stability and it seems the arrival of James "All Air" Ley has solved this problem and then some. The Devolutionaries' solid cast has been looking for a superstar to bring big returns at the box office and James clearly has the credentials required. These guys might be a team to watch over the next few games. Final score, 15-6 Dev's.

As the hooter sounded for the end of game one, the clouds that had threatened all day finally let go, and all the teams huddled under the shade tents for a bit of mutual groping. With this out of the way, they returned to the field for round two.

The Devolutionaries faced off against the Mavericks, with Adam and Mark of the Mavs pointing out that every time James Ley left the field the Mav's scored. Clearly, James needs to work on his fitness because, despite some great end-to-end plays, the Mavs snuck away with the game 13-10.

Dynoshite proved that squeezing out some Floaters was just the beginning by beating the ANU 11-6. The ANU seemed to be lacking a bit of cutting drive upfield and despite good lateral movement had trouble moving forward. Expect this to end with the return of cutting workhorse Ryan Ickert who is always ready to offer strong options upfield. Dynoshite, on the other hand, seemed to succeed most with fewer, more penetrating throws, chalking up a number of one-pass offenses for goals, with the Andrew to Myall connection seeming to be strong and faithful.

And finally, the Dam Beavers seemed to be hungry for blood after their early loss, savaging the Bolivar Floaters 17-6 (yes, there was supposed to be a points cap at 15). The Floaters seemed less enthusiastic in the rain and lacked options upfield, while the Beavers looked to a number of new-ish recruits to do heaps of work (both on O and D) in the mid-field while wet-weather specialist Asher Gentle made the Floaters pay for any offensive error with reliable and dangerous throws.

With four games completed, the season's ladder looks like this:

Team	Wins	Losses	Draws	Points	Goal Diff
Dynoshite	4	0	0	8	23
Mavericks	4	0	0	8	18
Devolutionaries	2	2	0	4	2
Dam Beavers	1	3	0	2	1
ANUDE	1	3	0	2	-18
Bolivar Floaters	0	4	0	0	-26

Remember, the ACTUA Development Clinics start tonight at 6:30 at Willow's Oval, ANU. We're working on fundamental skills and any league players are most welcome to attend. See ya'll there!

WOL on Sunday!

Hi Ya'll,

Just a reminder that WOL is on this Sunday at Downer playing fields from 1:00. Come and get your monthly fix.

Also, sign up on the comments section for the development clinics on the previous post, the comments section no longer requires a google account, so anyone can post.

ACTUA Development Clinics

ACTUA is running development clinics at the ANU at Willows Oval on Monday nights from 21/7 until 18/8 from 6:30 to 8:30. Willow's Oval is on the intersection of Barry Drive and North Road on the South (lake) side of the road. Don't go to the other side, we're not allowed to use those fields (ever since the Great Ultimate Frisbee Catastrophe of 1907) even though the turf is superb.

These clinics are designed to give league players and their teams the edge and provide a way for players looking to learn more to move into more demanding leagues or even move towards tournament ultimate.

The current schedual for the five weeks is:

Week 1: Foundations - We'll improve our basic skills of throwing, catching, holding and breaking a force, reading the flight of the disc and hucking.

Week 2: Match - We'll build on players understanding of Match defense and offense (you might call it Man-on-Man, but soon you'll call it Match), looking at faster disc movement, using more of the field and maintaining possession.

Week 3: Junk - We'll all learn how to play a form of zone defense which is more aggressive than traditional cup zone.

Week 4: Variations - We'll add some simple changes to the basic strategies we've learnt to make them less predictable and more effective.

Week 5: Smack Talk - We'll develop the highly important skill of looking and sounding better and more knowledgeable about ultimate than any of us really are.

If you're interested please sign up by leaving your name and any other relevant details in the comments section.

This development program is officially endorsed by James "Kiss These Guns" Ley.

Time for Business

The other night I heard Cadel Evans say that the task ahead of him is simply to "Do the business". Awesome.

Anyway, I'm slowly divesting myself of one kind of business (finishing my essays) so that I can get back to the other. We had an ACTUA meeting last Monday, where among other things we confirmed the latest interesting dates for upcoming frisbee stuff.

DEVELOPMENT CLINICS:

We'll be running coaching for players from Divisions 2 and 3 to help them give their teams an edge in the upcoming leagues. The clinics will run on Monday nights at Willows Oval at the ANU and, pending confirmation, should run from 6 until 8 (I'll see if we can move that back for all those people who finish work at 6). They start on the 21st of July and run until the 18th of August (5 nights all up). The sessions will be focused on giving players some ways to improve their own games and give some extra firepower to their league teams offense and defense.

If you're just looking to improve your game or you're thinking about moving into a more challenging division these clinics will be a big help. Plus they're free. And fun.

THE MIXED SEASON:

We've asked the AFDA for three spots at mixed nationals later this year (October 18-20 in Brisbane) and we're guaranteed 2 of those. If you're looking to get some game time in, we can probably get a couple of teams to NSW Mixed Ultimate Championships on the 6th and 7th of September. We'll also run a lead-up tournament at the start of October (we've just got to fit it around Unigames) at which NSW teams will be most welcome to attend.

OTHER STUFF:

The locals worlds players had their last night of local training. It takes a great deal of commitment for these guys to get their throwing sessions, sprints, fitness training and these weekly sessions in as well as the weekend training camps. Congratulations to Jonno Holmes (the Dingos, open division), Keah Molomby and Helen Osmond (the Firetails, women's division), Leon Smith, Damien Jaccoud (both Taipans, master's division), Charli Kesteven (not sure of the team name, under 19 women's division), Max Wheeler, Laina Hall, Vickie Saye, Lucy Stevenson and Adam Mortimer (all Barramundis, mixed division) for earning their place on our rep teams and good luck to all the green and gold players in Vancouver in August. Thanks to the punching bags for braving the crisp nights to provide some opposition.

HOT RUMOR:

The details for the ACT tilt at Mixed Nats this year should be coming out very soon. I know that a number of local factional headkickers have started negotiations with the various wise sages of the local scene. It feels just like the Labor Party.

That's all for now. I've got proofreading to do!

ACTUA Meeting Tonight

Yes indeedy, a meeting tonight. 7:00 at the The House of Twits, all welcome. There's lots to discuss, and there'll be more detail fleshed out on the proposals to change the Spring to Autumn league block. If you want to put your two cents in, this is the right time.

Hot tip for this evening - we should see an appearance by the legendary Mad Dog Pete Hemphill. Of course, he'll probably have to leave at 7:30 to be home for bedtime.

OK, I'd better write my essays.