weekend open thread

please excuse that last post, it was accidentally posted here as opposed to one of my other sites. apologies, feel free to use this as an open thread to talk about the tournaments coming up this weekend...

Born to Dive - tournament site - PlayUltimate preview
Missouri State Championships - tournament site - PlayUltimate preview
Northern California State Championships - tournament site
Tennessee State Championship? - tournament site - maybe? no updates on this as far as i know
Washingon State Champs - tournament site

If you arent playing this weekend...

So, you arent playing in a tournament this weekend. Rare i know, a saturday/sunday combo that is not consumed by travel to and from some patch of grass to chase after a beautifully circular piece of plastic.

Yet here we are, and what to do with your time?

Well if you live near one of the following areas you are in luck.

Charlotte, NC; Iowa City, IA; Naperville, IL; Rochester, NY; Princeton, NJ; Vancouver, BC (Canada); Tulsa, OK; San Diego, CA.

What do all of these wonderful tourist locations have in common?

These cities are the wonderfully fortunate hosts to the UPA College Series Regional Tournaments.

But Matt - why in the name of Wham-O should i care about that?

Well, ill tell you Billy. You see, at each of these regional tournaments there are 16 mens teams, and 16 womens teams. To qualify and play in this tournament each of those teams had to be one of the top teams in their section (there are 30 sections).

So, out of those original 554 teams (177 womens, 377 mens) from 30 sections there are now 256 teams competing in 16 regional tournaments (8 men, 8 women).

You see, the level of competition at the regional level increases exponentially. And to sweeten the deal even more the regional tournaments arent the end of the line.

The top 2 teams from every region will earn a bid to the national tournament - held at Ohio State this year. With a few exceptions - the Atlantic coast women, Northwest women, and the southwest men all have 3 bids; the Great lakes women, south women and the central men all only have 1 bid.

SOOOO - we now have 256 teams competing for 32 spots - 16 men, 16 women.

I think we are all catching my drift here, if you can make it to a regional tournament this weekend you should check it out. It is a great opportunity to see collegiate ultimate at one of its high points, to see players compete in games which they have spent the last 9 months training and practicing for, and to see in every region at least one nationals caliber team. It is also a great way to show new recruits what ultimate really looks like.

In my opinion, if people are really serious about the sport, and taking it legitimately etc etc yada yada, there would be crowds of high schoolers and other fans alike at these tournaments. If you played high school varsity basketball and Duke or Florida or UConn was coming to play near your town and offering free admission - would you go? just a thought...

Regional tournament pages

Born to Dive Preview

The Pennsbury Peyote are hosting their spring tournament -- their Fall Brawl brought out some top competition, and Born to Dive hopes to do the same.
On the beautiful Mercer County Ultimate League fields, 8 teams in the varsity division and 6 teams in the JV division will play some Ultimate and have some fun.


The Pennsbury Peyote themselves have had a dissapointing spring season so far, especially after their strong Fall with wins at Fall Brawl and Kitkat; they started the spring with a loss to PHUEL rival Wissahickon 15-11 in regular season play prior to Hiphoponpop. At Hiphop, they registered a loss on Universe point to Columbia, and then at the Paideia Cup, they lost to Columbia again, capturing 6th place. They should not be so challenged at their own event.

2 more PHUEL teams, Central Bucks East and Lower Merion, follow Pennsbury. With nearly identical RRI rankings, CB East got the nod in seeding due to their stronger spring season so far, almost taking Princeton but falling short at Hiphop. LM took their first matchup in the Fall at Kitkat, and hopes to repeat with a win of their pool. Either way, 3 of PHUEL's top 4 teams will be on the fields.

2 teams from New York are travelling down, Scarsdale and Stuyvessant. Stuyvessant is certainly among the class of New York, but lost to CB East and Princeton at Hiphop, and Scardsale went into Fall Brawl with high expectations, but failed to live up to their 2 seed, with losses to 3 and 4 seeds Wissahickon and Pennsbury.

Watchung Hills is the varsity division's lone representative from New Jersey. While Watchung is the 3rd ranked team from NJ, after Princeton and Columbia, they don't really stack up with the big guns.

2 more teams from PHUEL round out the bottom, with the Haverford School and Council Rock South. Haverford beat Council Rock South 12-10, but neither is expected to make serious noise.

(Pool A: Pennsbury, Scarsdale, Watchung Hills, Haverford School; Pool B: CB East, LM, Stuyvessant, Council Rock South)

The JV Division truly does contain a mix of JV teams, 4/6 of them coming from A teams in the Varsitry bracket (Pennsbury, LM, Watchung Hills, and Stuyvessant), plus a JV team from JP Stevens, and West Windsor Plainsboro North's full team. Pennsbury's B-Unit is certainly becoming a strong team, playing better each time they take the field.

(Pool A: West Windsor, Pennsbury B-Unit, Stuyvessant JV; Pool B: JP Stevens JV, Lower Merion B, Watchung Hills JV)


Good Ultimate, good fields, a good day.

YCC late registration period opened

c/o Ultimate Players Association website

The late application period for the 2006 UPA Youth Club Championships is now open. Click here to download an application and find out more about the bid process and this exciting event. Late application period bids will be considered for vacant and wait list spots in each division. Applications are due June 16.

so, any new youth club teams out there going to fill out a bid?

Missouri High School State Championship

Pool A
(1) Rockhurst (Kansas City, MO)
(3) Marquette (STL)
(6) FHC’s VII Sages (STL)
(8) Lindbergh (STL)
(9) CBC (STL)

Pool B
(2) Parkway North (STL)
(4) Desmet (STL)
(5) Priory’s Jeromans (STL)
(7) SLUH (STL)
(10) Valley (West Des Moines, IA)
(11) Ames ToP (Ames, IA)

Sorry, folks. I don't know how to enter content "below the fold." What follows is just one guy's opinion, and a semi-informed one at that. Don't take it too seriously, please . . .

Pool A

(1) Rockhurst (Kansas City, MO)
What to say about Rockhurst? They appear to operate on an entirely other level than the St. Louis teams. Quick give-and-go’s are their bread and butter, and they’re extremely adept at recognizing and taking what you give them downfield. By far the most widely-traveled of the Missouri teams, Rockhurst will also smother less experienced teams with a 4-man cup. Very Spirited, too, and will happily cheer opponents after totally demoralizing them. It will be tough to unseat this returning champion, but the 2 & 3 seeds, both from St. Louis, might just have a shot . . .

(3) Marquette (STL):
I don’t know much about this senior-heavy squad, except that everyone says they’re the team to beat in STL this year. With a league record of 4-0, they’ve dominated teams with a senior-heavy roster and a fundamentally sound game. Coached by cagey veteran Jack Curran, some people in St. Louis have been whispering about the possibility that Marquette might have a chance at defeating Rockhurst this year. Should be interesting.

(6) FHC’s VII Sages (STL):
This is the team I coach. Last year, we won only one game at the state tourney; this year, I think we’ll do exponentially better. I’m not sure we’re ready to break into the top three, but our team is vastly improved from that of last year. I think our main advantage over many other teams is our ability to mix it up on defense, show a few different looks and break the offensive rhythm of our opponents. We’ll be missing a key player, senior Casey Boyer (stupid DECA Nationals), but I believe we have the depth to absorb that loss without much ill effect. Also, a sideline 24-deep should help our cause late in the day.

(8) Lindbergh (STL)
With a league record of 2-1, Lindbergh is a team with great potential. Mostly comprised of rookies still learning the game, they were a little unsteady when we played them (so were we), going through phases of chilly execution and reckless abandon. It’s hard to say how they’ll do, but they’re a great group of kids. Very fun to play.

(9) CBC (STL)
This is another large team with a deep sideline; however, they don’t appear to be as athletic as many of the teams, and so they might still tucker out as the day wears on. They play a fundamentally sound game though, complete with junk defenses and well-designed zones on both sides of the disc. Another fun fact, not unrelated to the above commentary—they have three coaches!

Pool B

(2) Parkway North (STL):
Intensity. Intensity, intensity, intensity. Parkway North is a team of FIERCE competitors, coached by Doug Parrish (who also coaches Washington University’s Contrabears). They can hurt you all over offensively, with senior handler Brian Parrish leading the charge. The kid has a bevy of nasty throws from all release points, including a nice high-release backhand and a sick quick-release I/O flick. The team’s other handlers can play, too, but their tenacious man-to-man defense is what has won them most of their games this year. Another fun-fact: Parkway North is one of the only teams in the tourney to carry girls on their roster FHC is another.

(4) Desmet (STL)
3rd in the state last year, Desmet has struggled more than usual in league play and during off-the-record scrimmages this year. Regardless, coach Pete Lenzini will no doubt bring a sideline overflowing with maroon jerseys, and most of the kids in those jerseys will be pretty amazing. Several of their players are active in the SLUA summer and fall leagues, and so spend nearly all year round learning and improving. Desmet is a scrappy team that will keep coming at you, no matter the score.

(5) Priory’s Jeromans (STL):
This first-year team is the epitome of the pure-athlete model. Mostly 6-footers, all very quick on their feet, they bring a level of athleticism greater than that of most, if not all, of the other teams in the tournament. They are, however, quite raw, as they have been playing without a coach all season long. I predict that more organized teams with a better understanding of the game will walk all over these guys. Still, defenses will need to respect their HUGE huck-n-run game and adjust accordingly.

(7) SLUH (STL):
2nd in the state last year, SLUH has earned a league-record of 0-2 so far. I don’t know much about this year’s team, not having seen them in action yet; however, last year, they made a habit out of showing up savage and still winning the day. I wouldn’t count them out of shaking things up in pool B, but I don’t predict that they’ll finish in the top 3 on Sunday, either.

(10) Valley (West Des Moines, IA):
I know nothing about this team. They’re not even listed on the RRI. If anyone knows anything about them, please share!

(11) Ames ToP (Ames, IA)
Ditto. Please tell me ANYTHING about this team!

All in all, it looks to be an exciting weekend. The big story, of course, will be whether or not St. Louis has developed enough talent to seriously challenge Rockhurst for the title. Stay tuned for live reporting over the weekend.

tournament open thread...

at this point all of the tournaments that have remained uncancelled have begun, feel free to use this to post scores, and talk about what you have heard.

i deem this thread - open.

HS State Tournament: Oregon - FINAL

The tournament is now over and the verdict is in for who is on top in Oregon.

OPEN DIVISION RESULTS:
1. Churchill HS
2. Crescent Vally Tribe
3. South Eugene
4. Sheldon
5. SST
6. Summit

GIRLS DIVISION RESULTS:
1. Churchill HS
2. South Eugene
3. Sheldon
4. Summit

Tournament Photographs:
-Open Division
-Girls Division
-Highlights

Tournament Site

OPEN:
1. South Eugene HS (Eugene)
Seeded one, and at this point the top team in the state. The only regular season game they were able to have was against Sheldon HS earlier this week in a game that went to South 15-9. The team is led by Jacob Janin (sophomore) & John Bloch (junior) who both tried out for the Junior World's team. Highly competitive and completely student run, South is going to be a huge contender this year as the team contains two superstars and 5 others to back them up with both speed and throws.

2. Churchill HS (Eugene)
Seeded second, Churchill also was only able to get one regular season game in before this weekend against Sheldon HS that went to CHS 15-6. Their last tournament (Spring Reign) ended in a disappointment as CHS was eliminated in the first round Sunday against South in a hard-capped game that went to South 12-8. The game was mixed format and CHS was missing enough players to become a huge factor. CHS immediately took the switch to open format in early April as a chance to redeem themselves and prove they are the best in Oregon. Led by juniors Daniel Force, Andrew Sheridan, and Collin Smith, the team is entirely junior based with the lone senior being Ethan Smith-Gillespie.

3. Crescent Valley HS aka Tribe (Corvallis)
Potentially just awarded an alternate spot at Westerns, Tribe will bring some seriously under-rated talent to the weekends tournament. The team with the best chance for upsetting everyone, Tribe is led by seniors Marty Freeman and Tim Steiner, both 6'3" and incredibly fast. Seniors Jordan May, Alex Renn, and Isaac Otto fill in the ranks below with skilled handling and disturbingly good D. A very quiet and highly spirited team, Tribe will be making a mark this weekend.

4. Sheldon HS (Eugene)
This is the program with the most history in Eugene, but has since struggled the last few years with the dominate CHS and SEHS programs. To date, Sheldon has not won a game against either schools A team in over 2 years. Their B team beat up on the CHS & SEHS B teams earlier this last fall though. This is the first year Sheldon has formed an open team and it is led by junior Thad Arnold who is actually home schooled. The only other dominate upper classmen, senior Hunter Alexander, has been too busy with school things and thus has left the rest of the spots on the line to younger and less experienced players. Sheldon is the only team in Eugene that plays better zone than man defense so if the wind is blowing this Sunday, Sheldon could make an upset happen.

5. Summit HS (Bend)
A relatively new team coached by a former Seattle Sockeye player, Luke Smith, Summit is extremely big and fast. Recruiting mostly cross-country players, Summit is very athletic, fast, and keep going and going and going... They lack throwing skills and one of the few players who can throw is sophomore Nate Benson. The team is very aggressive and can pull the disc out of the air with the 3 or 4 guys that are 6'+. They like to huck and run and could do this successfully against the top seeds if the weather is right.

6. SST HS (Portland)
Never having formed an open team, SST is the most unknown of the six teams in the group. Containing the TD out of the blue, they could be awesome or could be very green. Only Sunday will tell.


WOMENs:
1. South Eugene HS (Eugene)
Led by seniors Julia Sherwood and Chris Norton, South has a completely upperclassmen team. With soccer converts, the South squad is fast and very aggressive. Known for dicey calls and tough play, the South women will be a force to be reconed with. With regular season wins over Sheldon 11-6 and Churchill 11-4, they will be the dominate team for Sunday.

2. Sheldon HS (Eugene)
Led by senior Caitlin McKimmy, the Sheldon womens team is a mixture of old and new talent. A scrappy group of women coached by Jen & Jermey Washburn, the girls are the best chance at upsetting the South crew.

3. Churchill HS (Eugene)
Led by juniors Aubri Bishop and Autumn Tocchi (who is on the junior world's team), the CHS women are completely green with most of the girls having played no more than a couple months of disc. Highly excited for a chance at going to Westerns, the CHS womens team is in its' first building year as Aubri & Autumn are the only upperclassmen and still have another year after this. Coached by Nina Herbst, the CHS women will be a fun team to watch with great spirit.

4. Summit HS (Bend)
The unknown of the group is Summit. The mixed programs at Summit have traditionally kept their women from any substantial roles, making it hard for the women to excel in the game. This somehow has not stopped at least one of their women from becoming a serious handler. Though her name is unknown, she will be leading her team with very physical play and strategies similar to the guys (huck and run). Like their male counter-parts, the Summit women are fast, athletic, and fairly tall. Summit is the best team to upset the top seeds.

MS State Tournament: Oregon - FINAL

The first ever MS State Mixed tournament in Oregon took place this weekend. Kennedy came out on top 12-7 against Roosevelt in the A game, while the KMS B squad stunned the B squad of RMS in a 9-0 game. Congradulations to both teams for great seasons.

photographs - click here.

Big tournament weekend coming up...

Start your engines we have a big tournament weekend coming up -

Huck or Your Nothing - Princeton, NJ
MadisonMudBath - Madison, WI
Oakwood Invite - NY
[edit] and of course the Paideia Cup

are all slated for this weekend according to the UPA score reporter website. in years past, if im not mistaken, MudBath has been one of the few chances teams from the east and west have to play each other before nationals easterns and westerns. i personally dont know who is attending as of right now, but hopefully one of our contributors will weigh in on the matter.

However, now with the Paideia Cup entering the scene. We may be able to gain a better picture of what easterns is going to look like (minus Paideia) seeing that Amherst, Pennsbury, and Columbia will all be battling down on the same turf.

also interesting to me though is that for some teams this is the last weekend before their respective state's championship.

(Northern California, Missouri, and Tennessee all on the 29th)

Hip Hop Hooplah

im exausted at the moment (college sectionals today), so im just gonna throw this out there as an open thread, Hip Hop concluded today crowning a new champion - Princeton High School.

a controverial bracket setup set the stage for the number 1 and 2 seeds to play each other in semis - Pennsbury 13 Columbia 14

Columbia then lost 5 to 13 against Princeton, who came out of the other semi over Wissahickon 13-9.

all my info is based on the score reporter website. aight, cats outta the bag, discuss.

Upcoming Tournament--St. Louis Classic

Just wanted to shamelessly promote St. Louis' upcoming tournament, the St. Louis Classic, April 29-30. The juniors field was open to, I think, 8 teams last year, but has been EXPANDED TO 24 JUNIORS BIDS for 2006!!! The deadline to register is April 20th, and there are PLENTY of open bids to be filled.

Check out www.slua.org for more details.

WJUC Historical Rundown: Swedish Dominance

so while looking for the rosters of the other nations competing in WJUC this year i came upon this page from the UK Ultimate Association website, and also this page on the WFDF website.

there are a few very interesting things about the WJUC that you might want to know, and thus the following is a brief historical rundown of the Wordl Juniors Ultimate Championships. (feel free to add your own accounts in the comments)

from what i can gather the Juniors division of the World Ultimate Championships has been in existence since 1983

Finland won the first Championship (source), after that the championships switched to a two year format.

Sweden won the next 4 Championships according to the WFDF site - '84, '86, '88, and '90.

In 1992 there were only two Juniors teams competing, the games which were held in Japan only drew Chinese Taipei who won, and the host team Japan.

1994 saw an increase in competition with 5 teams competing in the games, held in Colchester, UK. 1994 also saw Sweden reclaim their title, which led to back to back championships in '94, and '96.

This brought the Swedes' total tally up to 6 out of the 8 world championships, quite a statement.

In 1998, though USA answered. The americans, who could have been consistently found within the top 3 for 4 of the previous championships, were now in the championship game against Sweden, a rematch of the 1994 world champs title game. The boys from the land of Lincoln came out on top.

However, the unseating was short lived, again in 2000 Sweden reclaimed their title against Canada in the finals.

In 2002 it was a grudge match - Canada vs. Sweden - again in the finals. This time Canada came out on top, remaining undefeated in the entire tournament - finishing 8-0.

The last games on record, 2004 in Turku, Finland witnessed the drop off of the Swedish dynasty. USA claimed victory in an all North American championship game, defeating Canada.

Final tallies tell a very interesting story: of the 12 world juniors ultimate championships Sweden has won 7, USA 2, Canada 1, Finland 1, Chinese Taipei 1.

Will Sweden return to dominance this year on american soil? Will Canada upset their North American rivals? Or will one of the other teams come from anonymity to infamy unseating all of the "favorites"?

International Focus - Canadian WJUC team announced

more international fun - Canada's two WJUC teams were announced on April 12th, they are listed below

let the hype and commenting commence!

(all rosters c/o CUPA website)

Canadian Junior Boys Ultimate Team
Head Coach: Colin Yeung
Assistant Coach: Ghislain Levesque

Matthew Artemiuk	Winnipeg
Joel Bluman	Vancouver
Jordan Cullen	Ottawa
Jasa Grant	Winnipeg
Scott Hislop	Vancouver
Pat L'Esperance	Ottawa
Ernie Lin	Vancouver
Jonathan Luk	Winnipeg
Joshua Magnusson	Winnipeg
Jordan McPhee	Vancouver
Krish Mulchand	Winnipeg
Balraj Parhar	Vancouver
Russell Street	Vancouver
Quinn Taylor	Winnipeg
Andrew Vogt	Winnipeg
James Walsh	Ottawa
Kielan Way	Ottawa
Miles Wilson	Toronto
ALTERNATES
David Bryngelson	Winnipeg
Matthew Harvey	Vancouver
Thomas Moloney	Ottawa
Connery Noble	Vancouver
Richard Tam	Vancouver

Canadian Junior Girls Ultimate Team
Head Coach: Jilliam Maguire
Assistant Coach: Geoff Urton

Megan Aberley	Vancouver
Alexandra Benedict	Ottawa
Katie Boyd	Winnipeg
Manuelle Chanoine	Vancouver
Andrea Cheng	Vancouver
Taryn Haggerstone	Vancouver
Maddie Hall	Ottawa
Alexa Kovacs	Winnipeg
Tiffany Lin	Vancouver
Jenny Lo	Vancouver
Geneva Locke	Vancouver
Carrie Lugg	Ottawa
Katrina Lum	Vancouver
Amber Matwychuk	Winnipeg
Anne Mercier	Ottawa
Kathryn Pohran	Ottawa
Taylor Rusnak	Winnipeg
Audrey St. Arnaud	Trois-Rivières
Natalee Sinclair	Vancouver
Jennifer Toth	Edmonton
ALTERNATES
Zahrah Ali	Winnipeg
Véronique Elysson	Sherbrooke
Raeven Geist-Deschamps	Montreal
Chantal Lovatt	Winnipeg

International Focus - Australia WJUC team announced

The Australian teams for WJUC were announced on April 2nd, we apologize for the delay in posting here, but we figured it would still be interesting and relevant.

Anyone recognize these names? Hype?

Open Division Team (c/o AFDA website)
Piers Truter - Coach
Abra Garfield - Assistant Coach
Lisi Jarrott - Physiotherapist
Bruce McNaughton - Team Manager

John McNaughton - QLD - Co-Team captain
Daniel Rule - VIC - Co-Team captain
Liam Kendrick - NSW - Offence Captain
Luke Turner - NSW - Defence Captain

Matthew Bessen - NSW
Peter Blakeley - NSW
Ashley Button - TAS
Nick Dowle - NSW
Stephen Gangemi - NSW
Matthew Hill - VIC
Myall Hingee - ACT
Dave Jarrot - NSW
Stephen Johnston - VIC
Nick Kendrick - NSW
Lachlan McDonald - VIC
Tarrant Meehan - VIC
Brett Middleton - SA
Andrew Moroney - VIC
Tom Tullett - NSW
Philip White - NSW

Womens Division Team (c/o AFDA Website)
Nikki Shires - Coach
Matthew Faulkner - Assistant Coach
Lisi Jarrott - Physiotherapist
Bruce McNaughton - Team Manager

The players:
Alicia Bearman
Julia Birchall
Megan Carrarro
Tara Carrarro
Arwyn Cartledge
Liz Dodd
Amanda Eastwood
Angela Fehlner
Claire Gavin
Barbara Hough
Greta Hunt
Mel Jackson
Sam Miller
Sarah Pillar
Carol Seeto
Ellie Sparke
Lucy Stevenson

Hampton High school featured in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

very cool for Hampton and the Pittsburgh High School Ultimate League.

Read more at www.post-gazette.com/pg...

im not sure exactly how they went about garnering this coverage, but may i present this advice to anyone out there who is looking for some recognition for all the hard work they do for their respective team - press releases.

news organizations rely on press releases in a very big way to report the news.how is a newspaper supposed to know you are having a game, tournament or otherwise without you telling them? the news industry doesnt work through magic, nor esp, nor mindreading. and many many many times papers and magazines are looking for something new, fresh, interesting and exciting to print - and if you think like me, ultimate is all of those.

never written a press release before? fear not, they are extremely easy.

heres a little tutorial to get you started - http://www.stetson.edu/~rhansen/prguide.html

basically what you want to remember though is to make it sound as much like an actual news story as possible. you want to make the story appealing and easy to read, and make sure to include easily accesibly contact information.

writing a poor press release - with spelling or simple grammer mistakes can often have the opposite effect, turning an editor or reporter off to the idea of covering your event because it is so frustrating to read.

also, concrete things are always better. if you can hand your release over personally to someone in the office (or fax it) it is always better than sending an email which can easily be removed with the click of a button.

the more professional things look the better your chances.one final note - if you are interested in this type of stuff, start out small, no doubt you have a high school newspaper, talk to the guys on their staff, give them a press release, and then move up from there.

good luck, and if (when) you have any success feel free to email the site - playultimateblog@gmail.com to let us know and we can feature the news on the site.

Hip Hop on Pop 2006 - Pools released

Division I (Edgely)
Pool A             Pool B            
1 Pennsbury (PA)   1 Pterodactyls (PA)
2 Yorktown (VA)    2 Dublington (PA) 
3 Cheltenham (PA)  3 Columbia (NJ)   

Pool C             Pool D
1 Princeton (NJ)   1 Wissahickon (PA)
2 CB East (PA)     2 Council Rock South (PA)
3 Stuyvessant (NY) 3 Hampton (PA)

Division II (Edgely)
Pool E                  Pool F
1  St Joes Prep (PA)    1 Neshaminy (PA)
2 Cardinal O’Hara (PA)  2 Delaware Valley Friends (PA)
3 Yorktown B (VA)       3 Cheltenham B (PA)

Division III (Medford, NJ)
teams:
- Lower Merion
- JP Stevens High School
- Ridgewood
- Delaware Valley Friends School
- Lenape
- Pennsbury B
- Lower Merion-B
- Columbia HS B

POOLS COMING SOON

Well there ya have it, HipHop, one of the largest and most prestigious tournaments on the eastern seaboard kicks off this weekend. Featuring teams from 4 different states, it promises to be a rocking good time, and for most teams is the first big test of the season.

So lets have at it, opine.... (look for a tournament preview coming later in the week from our local contributors)

PHUEL All-Star second hand recap

being in Pittsburgh for school i must put this out there first - i was not at the game - however, c/o the one and only Mark Rosser (league coordinator for PHUEL) i can offer you the following details...

Quoth Rosser, "Saturday's "Diapers vs Depends" was postponed until Sunday ... due to wetness. Go figure."

Regarding the matter of who won between the regional masters powerhouse and the [editorializing here] cocky group of juniors upstarts... wellll...... sometimes age does matter? sometimes experience can factor in? sometimes big rick caaaan tear apart your zone? so for the record : SAG 2 PHUEL All-Stars 0

but the day is coming SAG (and for that matter all masters teams), so you had better keep on your collective "A" games

Anywho, because of the rain delay, some of the teams that would have sent all-stars could not because of scheduling, no matter, below is the list of the attending all-stars....

Blue Team
David Brandolph, Sam Herman, Andrea Bowring, Chris Vanni (Lower Merion)
Alex Bui, Nichole Smith (Upper Dublin)
Jason Pardini, Cate Romano, Chrissy Nevin (Cardinal O’Hara)
Todd Herman, Jordan Greenberg (Shipley)
Ethan Bookspan (DVFS)
Matt Lowenthal, Jason Kunsa (Haverford High)
Matt Bohacz (BC Tech)
Mike Plunkett (Wissahickon)

White Team
Josh Lipschultz, Cody Noll, Amanda McGrosky (William Tennent)
Art Shull, Carly Mocanaghy (CB East)
Greg Olson, Molly Rose (Abington)
David Rosenberg, Alex Posmontier (Cheltenham)
Noah Saul, Frank Harris, Mark Dundala, Jane Day (Pennsbury)
Christian Schweier (Perk Valley)
Dustin Fry (Souderton)
Jason Besecker, Jon Saft (Haverford School)

for the discussion of the populous - does your league have any sort of all-star game? or a game similar to the SAG matchup? what do you think of the prospect of selecting (or voting) all-state teams, similar to that of the all-region selections in college ulty?

Future of Juniors Mixed Division...

I'm curious what others out there are thinking in regards to the future of the juniors mixed division. It would seem to me that there is a general bias towards open/womens, and a mixed is often an after-thought or something done just for fun. I want to make it clear that I do not think mixed should be more important or even equal with open/womens, but simply that I think I see a trend in our country. Could this be because the most dominate schools in the country run open/womens programs nearly exclusively? And thus, as the role-models for those of us a few years behind, help push us to develop open/womens programs more than mixed? Can schools offer both? Is it possible to run a mixed program while also running an open/womens?

We at Churchill High School in Eugene, OR tried that for the first time last year. The fall was exclusively mixed, helped by the entire lack of HS open/womens tournaments and inability to get into preseason college tournaments. The spring then became an end to our mixed season with the Spring Reign tournament in early April. After that we went to open/womens practice to gear ourselves up for Westerns. Would we have been a better open team for Westerns if we would have practiced sooner? I think so, but cannot tell for sure. Would we have lost a few of our newer players who are now becoming some of our better players if we would have dropped the mixed program that allowed them more flexibility and playing time? Maybe, but I cannot tell for sure.

What has the experience of your teams been at your school? Do you run both mixed and open/womens programs, or just one? What is the logic or reason behind it? Has there been a change in the past few years that you've seen?

weekend tournament open thread (april 8/9 edition)

courtesy of score reporter...

2nd Annual East Invite in Colorado
Ridgefield Invitational in Connecticut
PHUEL All-Star game was this weekend i believe as well? Actually from what i hear there were TWO all-star games, one featuring the best players from around the league battling each other, and a second game between the top PHUEL players and the OLD SAG masters team. Dubbed the "Diapers vs. Depends" by PHUEL organizers, i believe it is the second annual game of its type.

speaking from experience last year - SAG rolled us 21 to 5 i believe? im pretty sure we didnt break double digits, and im pretty sure SAG didnt break a sweat. I'm interested to hear how it turned out this year.

im sure we will have recaps rolling in from our contributors very soon, but in the mean time consider this an open thread to talk about all things ultimate... from the last weekend.

More than 16 teams...

I don't want to be controversial or against the UPA, but I have to wonder about the current position being taken at Westerns and Easterns.

I'm not sure how many teams applied this year for either division at either Easterns or Westerns. But, it looks to be more than 16 at least in the open division for Westerns (two teams from Oregon applied and did not receive bids: Crescent Valley & Sheldon). This got me thinking... Why not open it up to more teams? Why not open it up to 20 or 32? Or who ever can make it? When does the growth of ultimate and number of teams interested in traveling to a national-level tournament, dictate the size and type of championship available? Is there value to limiting the number of teams who can attend? If so, what is that value? Does it raise the level of play? Maybe...
But, if the timing could be worked out, which I believe it could, when will it make sense to have a qualifying tournament before Westerns & Easterns (& eventually a Centrals)?

I've read what the UPA has had to say (click here for it), but would love to hear what others think about this?

Is it time to start thinking about having a sectional/regional qualifying tournament? If we are to consider Westerns and Easterns as the premiere Youth Tournament for Open & Womens teams, I believe we may be at that point...

WJUC Team USA: in depth bios coming soon...

in the coming weeks we will have an individual bio up for every player selected for the WJUC team, complete with pictures, physical stats (height, throwing hand etc), times for 40s (if we can get em), what colleges they are considering/committed too, and anything else you could ever dream to know about the team members (that they will share with us of course).

so keep it tuned here for all the latest in high school ultimate news, commentary and analysis.

[a brief side note - we are still looking for contributors from the following areas - Georgia, Tennessee, New Jersey, Illinois, Washington DC, Maryland, South Carolina, Minnesota, Virginia, and Maine - just shoot an email over to playultimateblog@gmail.com if you are interested.]

Junior National Teams - my thoughts

First of all, congratulations players, parents, coaches - of those chosen, of the alternates and of those not chosen this year. As an assistant coach, I saw both tryouts, mostly the girls, some of the boys. The level of play was extraordinary and the personalities were unique, interesting and fun. I was on the junior national team in 2000, back when you just sent in letters of recommendation, and let me tell you, juniors ultimate has come a long way since then. The boys' coaches had to turn players away from the tryouts because there were so many applications. The average length of ultimate career of these kids is about as long as i've been playing...now. Their resumes included middle school, high school, college, club, coaching - everything you could think of. These teams could win college nationals and could almost certainly make club nationals, at least out of the central region.

I'm particularly happy to be a part of this program as we are representing the country well geographically and from what i've seen, the attitude of these juniors is of pure sportsmanship, gratitude to their coaches and parents, and respect for their teammates and opponents. I look forward to seeing the improvements made over the next few months and then watching them pleasantly dismantle their opponents.

Fun facts about the team and the tryouts (for more check out http://www4.upa.org/juniors/2006nationalteam):

In general, the west coast tryouts were more athletic and made more dynamic plays (layouts, skies, etc.)
In general, the east coast tryouts were more skilled and made better choices (throws, cutting, etc.)
It was rainy and windy on the west coast, beautiful on the east coast

Fact - kids are fast. We had some sub 10 80s run on the girls' side and some very strong miles on the boys' side
Fact - kids are jacked. We had gals pulling out the back of the endzone...yikes!

At least three of these players are younger siblings of former national team competitors

If you're not on the team, you should really try to come watch the team play - they are the cream of the crop and the people who will be setting the ultimate trends for many years to come.
If you're on the team - get ready to bring it. Though it may feel weird to represent your country, remember that you are representing your country's ultimate community and i'm sure you can think of more than one person to play for when it's USA vs. everyone else.

Can't wait,
Miranda

Junior National Team - Boys

Chris Brenenborg
Ben Feldman
Christian Foster
Eli Friedman
Andrew Hollingworth
Oliver Honderd
Casey Ikeda
Sam Kanner
Alex Kapinos
Chris Kosednar
Taylor Lahey
Grant Lindsley
Adam Miller
Jeremy Norden
Stephen Panasci
Darden Pitts
George Stubbs
Matt Sung

Alternates:
Nathan Castine
Jonathan Hirschberger
Sam Kittross-Schnell
Noah Saul
Ryan Schwartz
Broderick Smith
Robin Stewart DeMartino
Paul Weeks

Junior National teams announced - Girls

USA Girls' Team:
Georgia Bosscher
Emily Damon
Brenna Hokanson
Drew Johnson
Hana Kawai
Patty King
Shannon McDowell
Emelie McKain
Fiona McKibben
Chelsea Murphy
Shannon O'Malley
Maisie Richards
Amber Sinicrope
Claire Suver
Molly Suver
Autumn Tocchi
Leila Tunnell
Samantha Valesano
Dory Ziperstein

Alternates:
Aubri Bishop
Hazel Crowley
Alison Douglas
Emma Fuller
Katie Shafer
Elizabeth Silverstein
Anna Snyder

Easterns & Westerns Announced!

Head on over to each tournaments website to see the teams who have made it:

Easterns: http://hs-easterns.upa.org/index.html

Westerns: http://hs-westerns.upa.org/index.html

Preview--St. Louis High School Ultimate League

After shuddering into motion last week (most of the games were rescheduled due to Spring Break conflicts), the St. Louis HS Ultimate League is up and running. Here's a brief rundown of the league's 12 teams.

Division 1

Clayton: A new team to the league, Clayton is a bit of an enigma. They fell 3-15 to FHC's Blue team (my team) during the first week, showing that they had much to learn about the game. Their offense was plagued with drops and flails, and their defense did little to challenge us. This week, however, they were apparently giving perennial powerhouse DeSmet more than they could handle when a serious injury ended the contest at 7-6. Clayton was losing, but just barely. I can't seem to make it out, but I hope that the injury can be overcome, and that Clayton is able to play at top form during the state tourney.

FHC Blue: As I said, this is my team, so excuse me if I'm partial. We worked hard recruiting in the offseason to bring in a higher level of athleticism and dedication, and show a great deal of (as yet) unrealized potential this year. We're faster, we have better throws, and we play harder every point, but we're still frustrated sometimes by lapses in the fundamental skills. As aforementioned, we began the season with a satisfying 3-15 rout at Clayton, and then turned around and fell 15-4 to a Parkway North that we should have done much better against. We were down 8-2 at the half, and then just proceeded to emotionally implode. We'll have to concretize our mental game if we want to realize our potential this year . . .

Parkway North: Fresh of their rookie appearance during SLUA's Fall League, in which they won the whole darn thing, Parkway North is a force to be reckoned with. Also new to the league, this team brings a hyped-up competitive spirit and some VERY talented handlers to the league. Their coach, Doug Parrish, is a very talented and experienced player himself. If I recall, I think he coaches Washington University's Contrabears, as well. They run all out, all game, and should give more established teams a serious challenge this year.

CBC: Didn't win a single game last year, and ended up collapsing during the final weeks of the season and forfeiting its last two games, CBC is back for another attempt this year. They scored 8 points in a loss to Lindbergh in their first game of the season, which is, if I recall, more than they scored in any contest last year. Looks like another "building year" for CBC.

Lindbergh: One of my picks for the most fun team in the league, Lindbergh experienced some serious turnover during the offseason, losing much of its team to graduation, but Double K worked hard and assembled another rag-tag group of novice flatballers for this season's league. They opened the season with a 15-8 win against CBC, but as I said, I don't know much about either team this year. FHC Blue faces them this week . . .

DeSmet: #3 in the state last year, DeSmet always brings a sea of maroon jerseys to the state tournament. In last year's league, though, they were split into two teams. This year, however, coach Pete Lenzini kept the team together for league play, so DeSmet boasts a deep sideline--25 strong. It's an established program with a knowledgable coach and many players who remain active all year long, improving their games relentlessly. Their early score against Clayton would seem to suggest a weakness this year, but only time will tell . . .

Division 2

Jeromans (Priory): Hasn't played a game yet due to forfeits. I know only one thing about this year's team: their captain is a boastful little Scrappy-doo. He's been all over local message boards and mailing lists, talking smack about the scrimmage games that Priory has had. They can obviously talk the talk, but can they walk the walk?

FHC Silver: Francis Howell Central's b-team is comprised of underclassman nubies who are just learning the game. My wife agreed to coach the team, and thus FHC Silver was born. Hopefully, the extra field time and touches this year will translate into further developed players next year. The 2-team structure is a very exciting development for FHC's sophomore program. I'm quite curious to see if it yields the expected benefits in years to come. They dropped a tough 0-15 loss to an Senior-heavy Marquette in their season opener yesterday, but they should have a few chances to add a W to the record before the season ends.

Marquette: This is, apparently, a team to watch. New to the league, Marquette was born of a core group of kids who played in SLUA's Fall League. Their coach, Jack Curran, is a very knowledgeable and experienced player who's played in 100's of tournaments at the club open and masters levels. The team is comprised mainly of seniors, and they're extraordinarly tall , fast, and hungry. They've been practicing five days a week since January! I didn't get a chance to see yesterday's game myself; they finished of FHC Silver in just over 30 minutes! I'll be excited to see this new seedling match up against SLUH and DeSmet this year. If these early contests are any indication, they might even have a shot at unseating Rockhurst at State.

Parkway Central: Another team that hasn't managed to play a game yet this season. They placed 3rd in the league last year, I think--but who knows where they stand this year. A dark horse indeed . . .

Kirkwood: Another of my votes for most Spirited team, Kirkwood finds itself under new management this year, after Senior Jon Hinderliter abandoned the team to join the corporate masses (work program). They haven't even turned in their paperwork yet, and so have played no games. May not be able to get it together this year.

SLUH: #2 in the state last year, SLUH has lost an early scrimmage vs. Marquette and scored only 8 points, if I remember correctly. They have a habit of showing up shorthanded, even savage, and still wiping the floor with their opponents. In last year's state tourney, they took on DeSmet's maroon tide with only 8 or 9 players and eeked out a 14-15 nail-biter after the time-cap. It was possibly the most exciting game I've ever witnessed, with players displaying more late-game grit than I've ever seen. Despite the scrimmage loss to upstart Marquette, no one in the league, or the state, should sleep on SLUH. Oh, and they're now playing all of their home games in their new football stadium--artificial turf. Home field advantage, maybe?

My pick for league champion is Marquette, but I don't see any St. Louis team challenging lonely Kansas City powerhouse Rockhurst for the state title this year. Give us another year to build, to grow, and perhaps we can bring our game to that level. Still, I could be wrong--wouldn't be the first time. The STL boasts a very energetic and active HS scene. Anything could happen. Anything's possible. As proof, think George Mason. Huh? Huh? Yeah . . . it could happen . . .

2006 Seattle Spring Reign Coed Youth Tourney Results.

2006 Seattle Spring Reign Coed Youth Tourney Results.

58 Elementary, Middle School, and High School Teams in 7 Divisions @ Skagit River Park in Burlington, WA

Weather: Saturday – Rainy the whole time. Windy a good deal of the time.
Sunday- No rain and less wind than Saturday though gusty on occasion.

Full Results:
High School: http://www3.upa.org/scores/tourn.cgi?div=121&id=2296
9th Grade: http://www2.upa.org/scores/tourn.cgi?div=121&id=2298
Middle School (and some elementary schools): http://www4.upa.org/scores/tourn.cgi?div=121&id=2297

Championship Games:
High School A: Kitsilano (Vancouver, BC) 13 def. Northwest School Coed A (Seattle) 7
High School B: Rick Hanse (Abbottsford, BC) 13 def Garfield (Seattle) 5
9th Grade: Northwest School 9th def Lakeside (Seattle)
Middle School A: Northwest School 8th A def Eckstein (Seattle)
Middle School B: Billings MS A (Seattle) def Seattle Academy A
Middle School C: Bailey Gatzert Elementary (Seattle) def Charles Wright C (Tacoma, WA)

Spirit of the Game Awards:
HS A – University Prep (Seattle)HS B – Nova Alternative (Seattle)9th –Island Pacific School (BC)MS A –Seattle Country Day SchoolMS B –University PrepMS C – Island Pacific School

Special thanks to DiscNW for sponsoring the tournament, William “Bunny” Bartram who stepped in to be TD at the last second, Mary Lowry, Jeff Jorgenson, the SCDS parents who served food for two days, as well as all the volunteers who helped put on the tournament. And of course thanks go out to all the players, families, and coaches who made it a great event.

april 1/2 weekend tournament open thread

looking at the score reporter there were a few tournaments this weekend -

most notably -
Alameda Ultimate Festival - won by Alameda over Castro Valley on universe point
Spring Reign
and Penn Park Potluck - won by Wissahickon

consider this an open thread to talk about those or any tournaments or games this past weekend, until the real recaps and rundowns from the games start to pour in from our local contributors.

(or if you would rather look ahead - Hip Hop on Pop is coming up really soon as is the Madison Mud bath)

chat away!