Oregon vs. BC's Vortex this weekend...

This weekend the British Columbia's juniors mixed team 'Vortex' who will be attending this years Canadian National Championship traveled about 350 miles to play against the best Eugene junior players we could muster together...

In the end:
10:00am - South Eugene vs. Vortex - [15-14]
12:00pm - Churchill vs. Vortex - [15-10]
2:00pm - OR AllStars vs. Vortex - [11-3]

More can be read and seen on the chsultimate.com website...

International Focus - Australia's WJUC Open Team

The Aussies are returning for only their second junior worlds, a relative newcomer to the scene given the event's history, however they are not to be discounted in Devens.

Thunder returns 5 players from the 2004 event in Turku, Finland in which the team took the spirit award. They improve off their 7th place finish in the last games, according the Aussie Co-Captain John McNaughton.

Liam Kendrick will return with the team from the 2004 games as the offensive captain, while Luke Turner (another vet from the 2004 team) heads up the offense. Daniel "Drule" Rule rounds out the team leadership with the other team co-captain position, the fourth holdover from the Turku team.

The 20 who will be making the obscenely long flight to Massachussettes are a geographically diverse group, coming from 6 of Australia's 8 states most met for the first time in January when the first tryout was held in Sydney before a team was announced in April. As a result of the distance between the players most will be preparing for the games by playing with their normal open club teams.

What is interesting to me is the leadership depth on this team, not only the 5 returning members of the 2004 team, but also the coaching. Piers Truter - the head coach - has played in worlds in 1996, 98, 00, and 04; World Clubs 97, 99, 02; US nats 2000; UK nats 97, 03; Canadian nats 97; NZ nats 96, 97, 99, 2000, 02; as well as other various tournaments abroad according to his profile on the AFDA's site. With that kind of experience under the belt, as well as a team that seems very eager to get to the US and do some damage look for the green and gold to put on a show at Devens and establish Australia as a perennial contender in the juniors scene.

"The jr. open team is very keen to retain the spirit award," says McNaughton. Only three more weeks until the Aussie entourage arrives in Devens will they keep the spirit title? will they take the world by storm in their second WJUC appearance? only time will tell, but the place to be from august 13-18th is Devens, Massachussettes to see how it all turns out.

Usefull Links:
Australia player bios on Score-o-matic
Australia WJUC team website

Related posts:
WJUC Historical Rundown - Swedish Dominance
WJUC Seedings announced
If the rest of the world isnt there...

Editorial note - look for more internation coverage in the coming weeks

WJUC Seedings Announced on Aussie website

c/o the AFDA website...

1. Canada
2. USA
3. Sweden
4. Finland
5. Great Britain
6. Australia
7. Colombia
8. Israel

also the scoreomatic site is now up for the tournament, so check out updates from them. they will have live scores during the games. less than a month left

lets hear some thoughts about those seedings, returning champs USA seeded 2nd? several very unknown quantities in that field, hopefully we'll be able to shed some light on this competition in the coming weeks.

look for previews of all the WJUC teams that we can muster in the coming weeks, keep it here folks.

pics from Philly CSTV event

a few admittedly extremely blurry and long exposure photos from the get together in Philly last night...






if you have any pictures feel free to send em to playultimateblog@gmail.com, and well post em 

Ultimate Organizer's Conference

Ultimate Organizer's Conference | Ultimate Players Association

^ this looks like it will be pretty cool, held in Philly in february for league organizers from around the country to come together and discuss ultimate, the organization and running of leagues and hear ultimate related addresses.

this definitely looks like something beneficial to the sport, itll be interesting to see what comes out of it.

anyone planning on attending?

1st Annual PlayUltimate CSTV Meetup Events.... Recaps?

well, i personally had a ton of fun tonight hanging out, eating some glorious ribs and watching the 2006 UPA National Championships, we had about 15ish-20ish people come out and it was most certainly a good time. the staff at Vintage was extremely receptive and definitely took care of all the ultimate fans.

ill have pictures up soon and maybe event a few more coherent sentences if you're lucky, and look for reports from the other events to come in soon. but for now im exausted, ive got work in the morning (you mean he does other things than blog about high school ultimate???) so im gonna hit the hay.

peace world.

CSTV UPA College Nationals Event TONIGHT!!!

in a little under 20 hours the first annual PlayUltimate CSTV Ultimate Event Extravaganza will kick off.

for those of you just joining us, or who just click here for the pictures and never read the text, heres whats going on - 2 events, one on each coast for people who read the blog (or anyone who just wants to watch some quality ultimate on national television) to get together to watch CSTV's coverage of the UPA College Championships.

the details...

EAST COAST: Vintage Bar and Grill 1116 Old York Road Abington, PA 19001 (215) 887-8500 Mapquest - Google Maps - Yahoo! Maps 8:30pm local time, any questions about this event email playultimateblog@gmail.com Middle Area: Champps 1601 Plymouth Rd Minnetonka, MN 55305-1956 (952) 546-3333 7:45 pm local time, any questions comment em here and hopefully someone will answer ya

LEFT COAST: The Ram Restaurant 2650 NE University Village St Seattle, WA 98105 (206) 525-3565 Google Maps - Yahoo! Maps - MapQuest 6pm local time, any questions forward to Miranda Roth mirdiggity@yahoo.com

so come on out, bring some friends, meet some fellow readers of the blog, and just have a good time for one of the few nights when normal sports bars become Ultimate Bars.

if you happen to take any pictures at an event send em on over to playultimateblog@gmail.com
and we'll post the best ones on the site.

pics from SAG vs. SEPDA

a few pics from tonight, as im sure many of you have tried its very hard to capture highlights without nice lenses and very low exposure times, but alas, here are a few of the better ones 

SEPDA v. OLD SAG: Age before beauty...

as our anonymous commenter has so eloquently pointed out for everyone - SAG did take home the title of the diapers vs. depends showcase tonight. the final score was 15-5 i believe, but the score doesnt tell the whole story.

heres what i saw -
- raw talent, i joked with a few players after the game that this was all i was going to post that the team was just raw raw talent. but it is very true. the team is athletic, has height and has numerous throwing threats, as well as some very fundamentally sound cutters, what it lacks at the moment is a little chemistry
- this was the 4th meeting of the group of guys as the team SEPDA, total, including all practices etc, not exactly a fair fight as Steve Wherry of SAG pointed out "when the old guys have been playing together for years."
- at least one bad decision throw per point. some that were capitalized on some that werent, but errant hammers, hucks and misplaced to space throws were not uncommon, everyone on the team had their share, and those who didnt have the negative fantasy points on the throwing side had their share on the receiving with mental errors like not going to the disc or running through cuts. there were also very very isolated bits of laziness translating into some of those hammers

aside from the above though, there were some very bright spots during their 5 goals (which by the way is very admirable against a masters team who won a national championship in 2002, and is on their way to Australia in a few months to compete for a world championship)
- flow, when they had it, they ran it SEPDA had a speed which almost compensated for their experience rift with SAG, the old guys threw a zone and when they had the patience to do it - easily cut through it and worked it around, unfortunately it seemed within the red zone there was mental breakdown and poor decision throws
- hucks, few teams ive seen play deep field D like SAG does, and for the most part SEPDA still didnt back down against this, putting up what normally would be well placed shots if not for wily veterans

overall though, SEPDA is looking like it has a very bright future at the YCC event, more than the flow or solid throws, or sporadic hard cuts or any of that the most promising thing for me was the expression on the faces of the players when they were being beaten. by in large it was a look of anger rather than acceptance.

they were playing one of the better club teams in the country and pissed off that they were losing, if theres anything that will help SEPDA make a mark in Minnesota it will be that anger pushing them through these next few weeks to gel and come together as a team and kick some ass in the midwest.

for now though, SAG reigns 15-5

philly ycc showcase

alrighty then, im leaving in a few for the SEPDA vs. OLD SAG game, look forward to pictures and a recap tonight, maybe even some small video clips? who knows what my digitial camera may yield.

chatter, last minute predictions are welcome...

open thread of sorts

discussion has been running a little slow lately, anyone have anything to say??

3 days until the CSTV events - Philadelphia and Seattle will both have events, organize one in your town and let us know about it. also, you can let people know you're going to the Philly event if you have facebook by clicking here.

there are three, hold up THREE YCC showcase games going on this week - anyone have some predictions??

Sunday 7/16 - Pittsburgh's Impulse vs. Iron City Ultimaten @ 11:30am at Upper O'Hara Field
Monday 7/18 - Philadelphia's SEPDA vs. OLD SAG @ 6:00pm at Edgely Field (Fairmount Park)
Sunday 7/23 - Seattle's Sun Shine vs. Voodoo @ 9:30am at Safeway Fields at University of Washington

lets here what the people have to say - anyone out there?

YCC Showcase at the Edge

Only a little under a month remains before the YCC tournament in Minnesota, which means teams are beginning to come out of that rough gelling stage to begin to hone their skills, schrimmaging local club teams, and nearby youth club teams if at all possible.

This monday at 6:30pm at Edgely Field in (Fairmount Park) Philadelphia the local YCC - SEPDA (South Eastern Pennsylvania Disc Authority) will take on masters powerhouse OLD SAG who will be competing at worlds later this year.

Definitely a game to see, im going to try to get out to it and see if i can manage a recap for ya, perhaps/hopefully with a few pictures.

Look for updates from the other YCC teams in the coming days, as well as more in depth coverage and analysis of SEPDA.

CSTV Event: East Coast Locations Announced!

Extensive drumroll please, after much anticipation the location for the east coast meetup of ultimate fans and spectators to watch CSTV's coverage of the UPA College National Championship game between Florida and Wisconsin will be.....

Vintage Bar and Grill
1116 Old York Road
Abington, PA 19001
Directions - Mapquest - Google Maps - Yahoo! Maps

Please try to arrive by 8:30pm (EST) to secure some tables and seats, and come hungry (and thirsty if over 21) because the food there is wonderful. This is the location we brought around 15-20 guys to last year and had a great time, this year our goal is between 35-50. So tell some friends, bring siblings, relatives, team mates, spread the word.

If you have any questions in particular about the night feel free to email me (just use the site address - playultimateblog@gmail.com) or leave a comment. I can/will be acting as somewhat of a chaperone. So there you have it - Vintage Bar and Grill - Wednesday, July 19th 8:30pm - BE THERE!

There is a slight chance that more locations will be announced around the rest of the country, but that entirely depends on someone emailing me with an interest in spearheading an effort.

Alrighty then, hope to see you all there in 10 days!

MLU Impact on Juniors...

I'm curious what others are thinking in regards to the recent introduction of MLU (Major League Ultimate) play and the new rule set being designed...
-Does this format have a place in ultimate?
-Is it the inevitable evolution of the sport as many have said?
-Are we going to see this new format completely or partially adapted in college and then juniors play?
-Is there legitimate justification to promote this style of ultimate in other divisions and age groups?
-Are the inherent conflicts different at the club and juniors levels? (eg: self-officiating promoting sotg vs. referees promoting sotg)
If you're unfamiliar with what the MLU is, take a look at the more recent postings on rec.sport.disc here: MLU 2006 Opinions There are also other threads on the discussion...

CSTV Event: West Coast Location Announced

drum roll please..... the PlayUltimate CSTV College Ultimate Event location for 2006 will be...

The Ram Restaurant and Bighorn Brewery
2650 NE University Village St
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 525-3565
Google Maps - Yahoo! Maps - MapQuest

The game will start at 6pm local time, but try to get there around 5pm if you want the good seats (or just to hang out and grab some food)

any questions about the event in Seattle can be forwarded to Miranda Roth who will be spearheading the effort - mirdiggity@yahoo.com - (if you need to let your parents know if there will be a chaperone, Miranda will be fulfilling that duty)

so once again it will be Wednesday - July 19th 2006 - 6pm local time

all are invited, bring friends we'd like to make it a nice event to introduce people to the sport, connect with other people who read the site and just have a good time watching ultimate.

if you plan on coming give a shout out in the comments section

East coast location should be announced within the next two days...

2007 HS Westerns & Easterns

If you happened to be like me and stopped waiting for the upa to post the locations of Westerns & Easterns a while ago, you might have missed that they have been announced.

Westerns: Burlington, WA - May 12/13
Easterns: Lebanon, OH - May 19/20

For the second time, Westerns will be hosted by Disc Northwest in Burlington, WA. Easterns, on the other side of the nation, will be hosted for the first time by Cincinnati Ultimate Players Association, Warren County Convention, and Vistors Bureau in Lebanon, OH.

There is something significantly different this coming year that will be creating some buzz and speculation as to the logic and reason behind the UPA's decision. For both Westerns and Easterns there will only be 8 bids awarded in the girls division. If you read the rest of my post you will see the history of Nationals and Westerns/Easterns. You will also see each year the number of girls teams increasing. Is there being a smaller limit on the number of teams coming because of formating issues with 10 and 12 teams? Is it because there is a desire for there to be a higher level of competition and limiting the # of teams will help this? Is it the venue that cannot hold more than 24 teams? Or are the requirements changing this coming year? The previous 2 years girls teams have been allowed a 75%/25% ratio of players from their own school. Are there fewer girls teams expected this coming year because requirment will be 100%?

History of Junior Championships

There has been a relatively brief running of National Junior Championships and with no guaranteed future, it will be interesting if the same regions and schools continue to dominate. What also will be interesting is if this will be the last year of Westerns & Easterns... Could we see the advent of 4 regional competitions instead? A Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, and Southeast?

2002 "UPA Juniors Ultimate Championships"
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Open Champion: Paideia (unknown score - anyone?)
Girls Champion: Amherst (unknown score - anyone?)
# Teams: 23 (16 open & 7 girls)

2003 "UPA Juniors Invitation Championships"
Location: Birmingham, AL
Open Champion: Amrherst over Paideia (15-10)
Girls Champion: Amherst over Amherst JV (13-5)
# Teams: 28 (16 open & 12 girls)

2004 "UPA High School Championships"
Location: Corvallis, OR
Open Champion: Amherst over Northwest (15-5)
Girls Champion: Yale over Eugene Girls (15-4)
# Teams: 28 (16 open & 12 girls)

The decision was made to make an Easterns and Westerns (essentially 2 national level championships)

2005 "Westerns"
Location: Burlington, WA
Open Champion: Northwest over Churchill (15-7)
Girls Champion: Nathan Hale over Yorkhouse (15-5)
# Teams: 24 (16 open & 8 girls)
2005 "Easterns"
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Open Champion: Amherst over Columbia (15-9)
Girls Champion: Amherst over University School of Nashville (15-8)
# Teams: 26 (16 open & 10 girls)

2006 "Westerns"
Location: Boulder, CO
Open Champion: Northwest over Hopkins (14-9)
Girls Champion: Nathan Hale over Northwest (14-7)
# Teams: 27 (16 open & 11 girls)
2006 "Easterns"
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Open Champion: Amherst over Madison West (15-6)
Girls Champion: Amherst over University School of Nashville (13-7)
# Teams: 24 (16 open & 8 girls)

2007 "Westerns"
Location: Burlington, WA
Open Champion: ?
Girls Champion: ?
# of Teams: 24
2007 "Easterns"
Location: Lebanon, OH
Open Champion: ?
Girls Champion: ?
# Teams: 24

CSTV Event locations to be announced this week!

the date is fast approaching for the 1st Annual PlayUltimate CSTV College Ultimate Event, the locations to watch the games should be announced before Thursday of this week - so stay tuned and check back often.

If you would like to host an event in your area (this means calling a sports bar or other establishment that has CSTV in their cable package and making sure it would be ok to tell people to gather there) email the site at playultimateblog@gmail.com

so far we definitely will have locations in the Philadelphia and Seattle areas.

If there is an event hosted in your area would you attend? And can anyone else think of a better name for this shindig than "PlayUltimate CSTV College Ultimate Event"?

Philadelphia Ultimate Camp 2006

congratulations to the more than 35 campers who completed the Philadelphia Ultimate Camp on friday.

i had the extreme honor of being a counselor this year alongside some of the greatest players in the Philadelphia area and it was truly a wonderful experience. there were campers there from as far away at Chicago and Virginia, which is pretty cool considering it isnt a sleep over camp. so again congratulations, and if you are going to be in the Philadelphia area next year around the same time - i strongly suggest signing up for the camp.

you can look for pictures at www.ultimatecamp.com, new photos from this year's camp should be posted within the next week or so. there is also a highlight reel from last year's camp.