For weeks now the supercomputer in the Canberra Ultimate Blog secret underground facility has been humming and whirring with unusual fervour. Today, finally, we're beginning to see the results of the latest application of its enormous computational power. I've been given a report claiming that a Canberra team named Indecent ACT travelled to the Ultimate Stampede in Bathurst over the 8th and 9th of May. The Stampede is one of a growing group of tournaments pitched at university teams and league players who are looking to play tournaments without committing to more dedicated club teams.
The rego page lists a bunch of local movers and shakers including Sonia "I Run Bits of Everything" Gorgula, Karl "I Got Naked Before, During and After it Was Fashionable" Adamson and Brett "I'm a Lovely Guy" Massey. Despite these names and a return to the old-school style of working "ACT" into team names these guys managed not to get a mention in the official tournament write-up (here: http://ufnsw.com.au/node/146). As someone who's never been mentioned in any tournament write-up that I wasn't the author of I can assure you that some tall tales are definitely flying under the radar here. So if you know what happened to the Indecent ACTors in Bathurst write something up and we'll post it here so everyone can share in their exploits.
Tournament ulty isn't just for those who've abandoned the rest of their lives to chase plastic. It's awesome fun that anyone can and should get involved in. Keep an eye out for more Canberra teams heading to local tournies as the university season builds up.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, May 7, 2010
More mixed ultimate fun coming to Canberra
Dear Canberra Ultimate players,
There is a new ACT Mixed Ultimate club on the horizon, and we want you to be a part of it.
This club intends to develop the outstanding talent in the territory. We aim to go not only to this year's Mixed Nationals in October, but to future tournaments for years to come. This is a bold challenge, but we strongly believe that our community is up to it.
The aims of the club include:
• Development - there's a lot of talent in this town, and we want to create an environment in which yours can flourish. This is intended through focussed & supported training to aid your learning and improvement .
• Competitiveness - whether you've just taken a step up from league, or whether you're a tournament veteran, we want you to be challenging yourself at every moment throughout the campaign
There is a new ACT Mixed Ultimate club on the horizon, and we want you to be a part of it.
This club intends to develop the outstanding talent in the territory. We aim to go not only to this year's Mixed Nationals in October, but to future tournaments for years to come. This is a bold challenge, but we strongly believe that our community is up to it.
The aims of the club include:
• Development - there's a lot of talent in this town, and we want to create an environment in which yours can flourish. This is intended through focussed & supported training to aid your learning and improvement .
• Competitiveness - whether you've just taken a step up from league, or whether you're a tournament veteran, we want you to be challenging yourself at every moment throughout the campaign
Our first introductory sessions are Sunday May 16 and Sunday May 23, most likely at Downer fields from 3.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.
If you’re interested but can’t make Sunday afternoons please drop us an email (sonia.gorgula@daff.gov.au or brettdavidmassey@gmail.com).
If you’re interested but can’t make Sunday afternoons please drop us an email (sonia.gorgula@daff.gov.au or brettdavidmassey@gmail.com).
While mixed nats is a step up from league, if playing fun competitive ultimate is something you enjoy then this is a great opportunity to enhance your skills, become part of the wider ultimate community and be part of a supportive and hard working team environment. Trust me, you’ll get lots of great things out of it !
We look forward to a challenging, productive and fun season with you all!
Sonia (on behalf of the club) Soma
We look forward to a challenging, productive and fun season with you all!
Sonia (on behalf of the club) Soma
Thursday, May 6, 2010
New Div.2 Leader
After the last round, ANU is now top of the table after the Bananas went down to Discotheque in a close fought game 9-7. Revelation and Devolutionaries have also notched up their 1st wins of the season. Here is the updated ladder:
Team | Win | Lose | Draw | For | Against | Total |
ANU | 4 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 29 | 8 |
Discotheque | 4 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 31 | 8 |
Bananas | 3 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 25 | 6 |
The Punters | 2 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 33 | 4 |
Devolutionaries | 1 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 44 | 2 |
Revelation | 1 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 45 | 2 |
Damn Beavers | 0 | 3 | 1 | 29 | 37 | 1 |
Boffins | 0 | 3 | 1 | 29 | 38 | 1 |
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Div. 2 Update
4 weeks have now been played with 5 weeks to go. Here is what the table looks like:
It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks as teams yet to lose have to play each other, and those teams that are winless will play each other. It is still possible for any team to make the semis and no team is secure in the top 4 either. As for my predictions, taking away Bananas and ANU, who weren't registered then, the order is similar with Punters and Revelation basically swapped. As I said though this ladder could change dramatically over the next few weeks.
| Team | Win | Lose | Draw | For | Against | Total |
| Bananas | 3 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 16 | 6 |
| ANU | 3 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 22 | 6 |
| Discotheque | 3 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 24 | 6 |
| The Punters | 2 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 23 | 4 |
| Boffins | 0 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 30 | 1 |
| Damn Beavers | 0 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 28 | 1 |
| Devolutionaries | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 36 | 0 |
| Revelation | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 38 | 0 |
It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks as teams yet to lose have to play each other, and those teams that are winless will play each other. It is still possible for any team to make the semis and no team is secure in the top 4 either. As for my predictions, taking away Bananas and ANU, who weren't registered then, the order is similar with Punters and Revelation basically swapped. As I said though this ladder could change dramatically over the next few weeks.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Nationals 2010
Nationals is now over.
Final placings are on the AFDA site: http://www.afda.com/trashtalk/showarticle.php?articleid=732
Congratulations to FU and FG for their performances. FU finished 4th and FG finished 9th. Both teams would have liked to have finished higher but were pleased with playing some excellent ultimate. The competition this year was very strong in both divisions.
I-Beam from Newcastle took out the Open division while Team Box from Melbourne won the Women's division.
Final placings are on the AFDA site: http://www.afda.com/trashtalk/showarticle.php?articleid=732
Congratulations to FU and FG for their performances. FU finished 4th and FG finished 9th. Both teams would have liked to have finished higher but were pleased with playing some excellent ultimate. The competition this year was very strong in both divisions.
I-Beam from Newcastle took out the Open division while Team Box from Melbourne won the Women's division.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Good luck to our Nationals teams
The Australian Ultimate Championships are on this weekend in Adelaide. Canberra will be represented by two teams, Fyshwick United in the Open Division and the Factory Girls in the Women's Division. Both teams have been working hard in preparation for the big event and the four days from Saturday through to Tuesday are their chance to turn that hard work into eternal glory and acclaim.
If you're interested in how the tourney is going, keep an eye on www.afda.com for updates. Unfortunately we can't even keep this blog updated or relevant, so there's little chance of any specific updates from Canberra folk as such. We should, however, get a mention in the daily summaries that usually get put up.
Good luck to both teams from the Canberra Ultimate Blog: Play well and stay healthy. If you see any FU or FG players around (look for the trademark aweful orange shirts of FU or the sleek royal blue shirts of the FGs) pass on your best wishes and adulation and try to get them to play on your league team. After all, they're your representatives, surely you should get some value out of that...
If you're interested in how the tourney is going, keep an eye on www.afda.com for updates. Unfortunately we can't even keep this blog updated or relevant, so there's little chance of any specific updates from Canberra folk as such. We should, however, get a mention in the daily summaries that usually get put up.
Good luck to both teams from the Canberra Ultimate Blog: Play well and stay healthy. If you see any FU or FG players around (look for the trademark aweful orange shirts of FU or the sleek royal blue shirts of the FGs) pass on your best wishes and adulation and try to get them to play on your league team. After all, they're your representatives, surely you should get some value out of that...
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