Tickets selling fast

It was bound to happen as our sport grew, but teams are going to miss out on qualifying for the Australian Ultimate Championships this season. One or two might have missed out in 2008, and no one who could afford the trip missed out in 2009, but in 2010 I feel we're finally going to have teams in both divisions whose season will be over in mid-March.

The AFDA punched the numbers into the trusty old Amiga500 at their headquarters and released their regional allocations for this season during the week.

Open
North - 1
South - 5
East - 4
West - 2
NZ - 1

Women
North - 1
South - 4
East - 4
West - 2
NZ - 2


In addition to these allocations, both divisions will have the national junior teams competing by way of the AFDA allocated spot, plus there are two wildcards up for grabs based on how many players (not teams) take part at Regionals.

So, in my ever so humble opinion, I think the following teams are relatively safe...

Open
North - Firestorm
South - Chilly, Heads of State, Karma, Sweet Chilly
East - Sydney Elite, Fyshwick United, I-Beam
West - Sublime
NZ - Auckland Open?

Women
North - Black Betty
South - Sporting Team BAU, Honey, Bush, Indies
East - Sydney Womens, Sugar Mags, Factory Girls
West - Primal, Kaos
NZ - Raging Wahine


This all depends on a few things. Firstly, that the NZ choose to come. NZ teams are often found at Nationals in years ending with an even digit as part of their Worlds preparation. Auckland Open are attending the BC Invitational this year, so seeing them make a second trip over the Tasman seems unlikely. Nationals is a very happy hunting ground for Raging Wahine so it's really a matter of personal choice as to whether they come across. I don't think a 2nd NZ women's team is likely to come.

Also in consideration is the Perth teams. I think Sublime, Primal and Kaos will make the trip, but the 2nd West spot in Open is up in the air. A second Sublime team is not out of the question, and they will have to beat out Fear and Happy Pig for that spot, remembering that if a Regionals doesn't happen then they lose the second spot.

Now the cleverer folk among you will notice I have not quite filled all the spots in my "definitely should be there" list. And that's because the final spot in some of those regions is up for grabs between a few teams.

Open South - The last few years have seen the regular four teams from the South - Chilly, Sweet Chilly, Karma and Heads of State. However this year there is a 5th spot allocated because of last year's performance by the South teams. Sweet Chilly's last day win over Happy Pig in 2009 gave the South this spot. I think the usual four teams will be safe, but the 5th spot is going to be a pretty fierce battle between Heads of State B, Tassie Tiggers and Evolution. Karma B and a rumoured 3rd Chilly team may have a case but will probably fall short. GFUC will have most of their players taken by the Thunder team. Given the importance of the game now, I hope the organisers of Southern Regionals make the game-to-go the "final".

Women's East - There's all kinds of rumours coming out of this region. The Sydney Womens team listed for WUCC qualification is pretty much Wildcard plus friends so that team is a given. Sugar Magnolias and fACTory Girls should also be there. But the 4th team? If rumours are to be believed, there could be Wildcard, Southside and Manly teams all going for this spot. Plus there's Hills Angels to be considered. This is very much a "wait and see" spot.

Open East - Sydney Elite should be safe. Fyshwick United should be safe. I-Beam should be safe. In fact, these three teams should be in the top few at Nationals, let alone Regionals. But what of the 4th spot? Fakulti, although somewhat depleted, will be on the scene, but will they be one team or two? With most of their top players on the SE list, a X/X split would be very risky and may result in the first Fak-less Nationals since the clubs inception. Umlaut, Hills and some sort of Manly concoction will be snapping at Fakulti's heels for this spot.


What will certainly make things even more interesting are the wildcard spots. With only 1 allocation in each division, North are in prime position to take a wildcard in both divisions if they have more than 50-odd players at Regionals. East are also likely for a spot, given they have around the same number of Open players as the South, but one less allocated spot. The women will also pick up another spot, since they have always had the largest regionals.

So my early predictions say that in Open, North will get a wildcard and Slamtown will make their Nationals debut, and East will get the second with Hills also debuting. In the Women's, East will get one, but who actually goes is another story. I'll go out on a limb and say Hills Angels (a Southside/Manly conglomerate taking the original 4th spot. Hey, it could happen). South may catch a lucky break for the second wildcard, giving Honey Bee another chance.

Coming soon - 2009 Ballarat Ultimate Awards

So in the next few days I'll be weighing up nominations against non-existent criteria and determining the winners of the Ballarat Ultimate Awards, where the winners get the prestige of being mentioned on this blog. Categories carrying over from last year are...

Game Of The Year (2008 winner - Australia vs Colombia, WUGC Junior Women's Semi Final)
WTF Award (2008 winner - Barefoot at 2008 Nationals)
Tournament Of The Year (2008 winner - Australian Uni Games)
Heckle Of The Year (2008 winner - Frank Simmons)

And this year I'm ripping of some more AFDA Awards and adding to the list...

Catch Of The Year
Breakout Star Of The Year
Party Of The Year
Team Name Of The Year

Now accepting nominations/suggestions via the comments...

2009 Ballarat Ultimate National Draft - Men's Division

As I watched the AFL National Draft online to see who my beloved Bombers have picked up, I felt it appropriate to complete the men's side of the Ballarat Ultimate National Draft. The big observation to make amongst this is similar to the women's side, the social circles and inevitable recruiting that happens among the Sydney based clubs. Fakulti take up a lot of the uni club products (hence the name I suppose), while Hills attract the locals and league recruits. However this year the World Clubs team with a well-thought out working title of "Sydney" have taken up everyone who is any good, leaving Fakulti, Hills and Umlaut to fend for themselves. We're still likely to see some form of these clubs at Easterns this year, but whether all of them will make Nationals is another thing. So let's get underway with pick #1.



Pick #1 - Umlaut

And straight away I'm stuck. Umlaut at Nationals were mostly old hands at the sport who had the cash for Perth flights taking advantage of the lack of Barefoot/Thong/Feral/whatever and Manly sides who had graced the lineup in recent years. However with the birth of the WUCC-bound Sydney team, Umlaut may struggle to qualify this year, with Hills and a second Fakulti team likely to be their main competition for the 5th East spot. With Fakulti likely to be plundering the ever-growing UTS club for fresh blood, Umlaut need to make moves elsewhere. The Clay brothers can scour the Wollongong district, but I think Umlaut need to take a serious look at UNSW before Fak do. Hence the first "pick" who is the top prospect at UNSW.
Pick #1 - David Lim (UNSW)



Pick #2 - Chilly

So last year there were some questions over why Chilly gets two picks, one high and one low. Here at Ballarat Ultimate we like to encourage elite development, and reward clubs who have two teams at any tournament, let alone Nationals. Like Heads of State, Chilly have been sniffing around the GFUC club for a while in order to attract some young talent, however the Thunder rule of this draft has eliminated most of their prospects. Both Victorian clubs will be eyeing off Pete Nixon to see if they can draw him away from GFUC for a season, to the point where he could probably strike up a deal to play with GFUC at Regionals before going to Adelaide with another club. However there are two other players in the Victorian scene that Chilly should make some serious moves towards. I flipped a coin for this pick, with the other one going at pcik #12.
Pick #2 - Shaun Johnson (Deakin Uni)



Pick #3 - Sublime

And now we have our second club with two picks. Sublime put in a good show on home turf this year, and will be looking to do the same or improve in 2010. A number of Sublime players spent the spring spreading their wings and playing with other teams throughout Australia and Asia, and will come back to pre-season with hunger for success. And given the number of Perth players that tasted Nationals action in 2009, the competition to make the team will be fierce. Realistically, Sublime could send two teams to Adelaide again if the regional allocation formula swings their way. Looking at the crop of UWA players at Gold Coast this year, there were two who stood out and should comfortably adapt to the open game. One player was highly touted by some former UWA players, but Pick #3 stood out at the tournament and even attracted the attention of U23s personnel. He should supplement Sublime's current handler stocks quite well, and his height sees him as a deep threat on O.
Pick #3 - Rob Prast (UWA)



Pick #4 - Fakulti

Long known as a "learning club", Fakulti face the challenge this year of their leaders looking ahead to WUCC and will leave the club in the capable hands of...I dunno. Someone. Once you take away the likes of Pete Gardner, Ken Shepherd, Ant Dowle, Tex Blakeley, Matt Faulker and pretty much anyone else you can think of, the Fakulti looks remarkably like a chick-less SUUFA. So this year we can expect them to take on board a plethora of new talent, and as well as the usual recruiting grounds of SUUFA and Macquarie, UTS is likely to be the source of said talent. Pick #4 is not necessarily the best all-round player, but SUUFA have plenty of throwers but need someone to clean up their swill in the endzone.
Pick #4 - Ashley Symons (UTS)



Pick #5 - Karma

Karma are still struggling to shake the "No Pillar No Karma" tag that has plagued them since day one. They fought their way into the top half of the draw in 2009 but one Joel got injured they struggled to make an impression on the title contenders. So what do they need? First off, they need a plan B in crisis mode. The Joel-To-Sweet-As connection is one of the best in the country, but if that gets shut down when they're under the pump, they're left with a lack of options. Karma definitely have youth in their team, so anyone they'd pick would want to have some experience under their belt. Pick #5 was in contention for Thunder a few years back and recently returned to ultimate at AUG with Flinders, so it makes sense to get him on board.
Pick #5 - Ben Thomas (Flinders)



Pick #6 - Fakulti

Once again, we look to the university scene in Sydney for Fakulti's second pick. It is interesting to note that in previous years, the bulk of junior talent has come out of Sydney, however this year there are pockets of Thunder/Terra potential in Geelong, Brisbane and the Central Coast. Is this a blight on the youth development in Sydney? No. It simply means, just it has in the university scene in the last few years, that everyone else is catching up. As mentioned before, universities have been one of Fakulti's biggest breeding grounds, and Pick #6 comes from one of the most promising clubs of the last two years.
Pick #6 - Martin "Linus" Forrest (UTS)



Pick #7 - Sublime

Sublime's biggest problem is a lack of quality opposition to play against on a regular basis. Most WA players are lucky to see east coast opponents once or twice a year unless they're prepared to shell out for flights. The biggest losers in this are the intermediate players who are stepping up their game. They're the ones who are missing out on regularly testing themselves against quality opponents. Meanwhile in NSW and Victoria there are two (or more) club teams who scrimmage and in Queensland there's the Brisbane Premier League. While there are elite players in Perth there isn't quite enough to be able to sustain as high level play as there is in the east. So these intermediates join up with Sublime as their "next step". Pick #7 is well and truly ready for that.
Pick #7 - Peter Adan



Pick #8 - Firestorm

Firestorm are a funny bunch. Every year on paper it looks like they're finally going to make semis and challenge for the title. And every year they're left languishing around the 5-8 bracket. What is it they're missing? I have no idea. They seem to have all the ingredients in place, but it doesn't quite come together on the day. But enough of that - who is Firestorm going to add to their ingredients list this year? Up in Queensland they breed them tall, thin and fast in the mould of Mike Neild. And why wouldn't you? Who the hell would want to face a line of seven Mike Neilds? Now my lack of knowledge of the Brisbane scene is blatantly going to shine through here, so I may as well admit I looked at UQ's gold medal winning squad and just picked a name. Sorry Tyson Buhagiar and Ryan Garrahy.
Pick #8 - James Jackson



Pick #9 - I-Beam

I-Beam are an even funnier bunch than Firestorm. Their list isn't littered with Dingos and Barramundis the way Fakulti's is, but they are a very good team nonetheless. In 2009 they fell short at the final hurdle and ended up 4th, but there's no telling what will happen this season. Newcastle Uni's team at AUG boasted many I-Beam names, who will no doubt drag Pick #9 along to have a bid for a green and...silver, I suppose, jersey. Height is a valuable currency in ultimate and this guy is one rich motherfucker. He will be a good asset on offence as he settles in to the open game, and will also be a great defender once he adjusts to the whole "floating bit of plastic" thing as opposed to leather and pigskin.
Pick #9 - James Green



Pick #10 - Heads Of State

One look at my Facebook feed after their initial training camp for the season shows that Heads Of State is more than just a club - it's a way of life, or almost a religion. These guys eat, breathe and shit ultimate, and any addition to their team will need to adopt the same attitude if they are to strut it on the main stage in April. HoS are looking to boost their B-team this season and will take on the extra numbers required to have a solid crack at Regionals. Pick #10 will be a great addition to this team, and possibly the A-team in 2011. He played a supporting role in the The Jake Angelovich Endzone Show at AUG, and has the aggression and competitive nature that will see him suited to the HoS religion.
Pick #10 - Sam Cooney (Ballarat Uni)



Pick #11 - Fyshwick United

Ok so I'm doing more than 10 picks this year. Look at this as the first round of the draft where everyone gets a pick. FU went agonisingly close to a national title this year. Well, there were 6 points difference in the final, but they had done everything right up until then - defeating everyone, including Chilly, throughout the season and the tournament. But not quite where it counted. And so the 2010 season presents an interesting dilemma - a lot of Fyshwick players are Kaboom-focussed since they qualified for World Club Championships. Are they going to focus on Worlds prep or Nationals campaign until April and then WUCC for a couple of months? There's no reason they couldn't do both. Either way, they'll be snapping up Pick #11 for the future to ensure no one else gets him.
Pick #11 - Byron Vickers (ANU)



Pick #12 - Chilly

It's a bit anti-climactic having the final pick of the draft for the best team in the country being the club's second pick overall. Anyhow, Chilly are definitely on the hunt to boost their depth in 2010 with the impending but seemingly constantly postponed retirement of some big names - Tom Rogacki, Steve Campbell, Shane Vuletich to name a few. Rumoured plans for Chilly this year include a third team - something they did back in 2006 - for some of the "old boys", which would do well to fuel the rumours of a Chilly team in the Masters' division at WUCC. Either way, Chilly have a second target that was mentioned earlier in the article.
Pick #12 - Jason Gibson (Deakin Uni)




So there you have it. Let's revisit this in 12 months and see how wrong I was. Thoughts and comments to the usual address.

2009 Ballatat Ultimate National Draft - Women's Division

Realistically, there are a number of social factors to consider when trying to determine which clubs will pick which players, particularly in cities with two clubs. Specifically, the formation of social cliques and their links to various recruiting avenues. The most prevalent example I can think of is in Melbourne, where Sporting Team BAU (I think the name change is offical now) have a virtual monopoly over the junior talent in Victoria, while Honey have the uni clubs under their wing. While it's not entirely unlikely that these teams will pick a player from outside those groups, it's something I have done my best to consider in this draft. That being said, let's get underway with Women's Pick #1

Pick #1 - Honey

The dymanic of women's ultimate in Victoria is a strange one. While there are enough girls playing in the mixed season, very few actively seek passage into a women's club. It is usually a result of active recruiting that players join the clubs. So at the moment I feel there are a number of females around the traps who could step very comfortably into Honey's line-up. Looking at the uni clubs, there are three girls who would take to the women's game like a duck to water. While also considering Honey Bee's need for some handler strength and their second pick, Grace Lethlean (Melbourne Uni) was unlucky to miss out in this little exercise, but could very easily find a place in Honey.

Pick #1 - Jo Goold (Deakin Uni)

Pick #2 - Indies

Unlike the aforementioned two-club cities, Adelaide has just the one women's team so there is a natural progression of sorts from social or uni ultimate to the single gender game. The strong Flinders Uni club is the place to look for the next Indies star, given their history of producing Indies/Karma players in recent years. With a backyard Nationals in 2010, Indies will have a strong squad and can look to simply add depth. I can see Kelly Mackenzie and Emma Victory joining the team as well as this draft pick.

Pick #2 - Lesley Moore (Flinders Uni)

Pick #3 - Sultry

The Brisvegas girls had a disappointing 2009, with many players opting not to go west for the show in April. However 2010 looks more promising already, with the gathering of a team for a WUCC tilt which looks to be in conjunction with Kaos. Whether this affects the Nationals campaign of both teams remains to be seen since they have some very tough competition to qualify outright for WUCC and may instead be relying on a wildcard. UQ has always been a big recruiting base for Sultry, however the development of the QUT and Griffith clubs in recent years are starting to produce some very good players. One in particular was very impressive at AUG and Sultry should be getting their recruitment gary on real soon. Cristina Biasin is also worth considering as well.

Pick #3 - Terri Morgan (Gold Coast)

Pick 4 - Factory Girls

Canberra faced a problem a couple of years ago in regards to their elite development. Because most people there work for the government, the entire city knocks off work at 5pm (no exceptions), leaving themselves plenty of recreation time. The ACTUA folk have translated this into around 400-500 regular league players. However very few players decide they want to have a crack at the rest of the nation. That being said, they do have a great development pathway from youth to elite, with the first few graduates starting to come through now. Pick 4 follows the path of Charlotte Petersen - from the ACT youth team, to AUG, to Factory Girls - and more should be expected to follow that path in the future.

Pick #4 - Annette Zou (ANU)

Pick 5 - Primal

As talked about earlier, Perth are the latest city to enjoy a two-club structure. Being a fan of ultimate-related gossip, I am quite attuned to the rift that exists between Primal and Kaos. However I'm not going to speculate why it goes on or what resolution may be at hand. What I do know is that Primal has a very different approach to recruiting not only from Kaos but from every other club in the country. Thanks to Anna Haynes' little-publicised work, Primal get a lot of money from the government for community development grants to help their recruiting efforts. And by "a lot" I really mean a-fucking-lot. Trouble at my end is that I have no first-hand knowledge of who they're targeting as far as adding to their club roster goes, so rather than pretend to know what I'm on about, Pick 5 gets held over for now.

Pick #5 - Pass

Pick 6 - Kaos

The recruitment avenue for Kaos is largely friends of who is currently playing for them now. Which means if you play for UWA or Murdoch, then Kaos is the club team for you. Unfortunately Murdoch didn't pony up for cross-country flights this year so UWA and their goddamn awful fluro yellow uniforms were the only westerners I got to see play this season. When not having bullshit rules arguments or showcasing the Twig & Peley Throwaway Show, UWA were a great team to watch. There is no doubt that their newer female players came out of AUG much more skilled and will be dragged along to Kaos training by Lou Delane, Danya Meakins and Simone Ryan. However I have to pick one.

Pick #6 - Ciara Fariss (UWA)

Pick 7 - Honey

And now we're back in Victoria. A while ago I attended a womens ultimate planning meeting, mostly for the chicks, but as a representative for regional Victoria. Going back two years you could count the number of girls from outside Melbourne playing women's ultimate on one hand, and they were all for the one team. Honey made inroads out of Melbourne in 2009 by getting Pam Carrigg and Monique Connell on their list, and they should be looking to cast their net further in the way Heads Of State did with great success. Unfortunately the Geelong girls will be tied up with Terra tryouts, so Pick 7 comes from the home of Ballarat Ultimate.

Pick #7 - Sara Talbot (Uni of Ballarat)

Pick 8 - Sugar Mags

So as is the common theme here, Newcastle is a one-team city, so joining the Sugar Mags is the natural progression after playing a uni season with the Power Dragons. There's no reason Wildcard or Southside couldn't have a crack at recruiting from here but when you've played a uni season with four players from the one club, you're kinda going to be biased towards that club. Newcastle Uni took three first year players to AUG and all of them were adequate players on Monday, and solid players by the Friday, so you can expect this pick, plus Jacklynn Taylor and Liz Vaughan to join Ellie, Tegan, Amy and Liz at the first training for the season, whenever that happens to be.

Pick #8 - Courtney Thompson (Newcastle Uni)

Pick 9 - Sporting Team BAU

The 'Box are an interesting lot, with probably the most in-jokes out of any team that has ever existed. Though I could be wrong, they don't seem to have any kind of open slather try out and it seems that to be you get invited to learn how to play Box-Lid-Goose. But now that we're at the top end of women's teams, we need to consider what they are looking for. Unless Miranda Roth or someone of similar ilk were to decide to move to Melbourne, STBAU are only going to be recruiting for depth. Having gone oh-so-close to the title twice now, in 2010 they will be - if you'll excuse the turn of phrase - out of justice. Whether they actually do recruit anyone is up in the air from a journalistic point of view, but Pick 9 is someone that will come heavily recommended by current STBAU players.

Pick #9 - Erin Adamcewicz (Uni of Ballarat)

Pick 10 - Wildcard

With a couple of National titles now under their belt, and a depth of talent that everyone should be jealous of, Wildcard are in the enviable position of players coming to them, rather than them going out to get recruits. My Sydney-based spy reckons that Cat Noble is set to pledge allegance to the red shirt this year, however I have deliberately left out Terra contenders from this article, so we need to look elsewhere. Rather than picking someone for instant gain or to fill a void, Wildcard ought to look for intermediate players who they can mould into an elite player over time. Which makes Pick 10 quite easy - go with the winner of the peer-voted Martin Laird Award.

Pick #10 - Kaija Salier (UTS)

So there's your first round draft picks for this season. As per usual thoughts, comments and the inevitable disagreements can be posted below.

Off Season

Things have been pretty quiet around here at Ballarat Ultimate since the return from the Gold Coast. Given that I'm 5 weeks deep into a self-imposed two month off-season, I'm finding it quite difficult to write about something I'm not actually doing. However it has got me thinking - ultimate needs an off-season.

The physical benefits off my off season have been incredible. My left knee actually looks healthy and not all swollen and bruised. My back hasn't been in better shape for two years and I'm not spending every Monday lathering on the aloe vera. The exception is the glorious "leg warmer" tan lines that I've now accepted are a permanent addition to the landscape despite my best efforts to get some colour on the rest of my legs. But it's not so much the physical benefits as the motivation to get out there on the field, and also to lay some administrative smackdown. Which brings me to the key reason for the need for an off-season.

To give our administrators a break.

Although I'm sure northern states will see this differently, us Victorians still pretend ultimate is a year-round sport, and organise tournaments and leagues accordingly. Anyone who has filled some sort of volunteer role will gladly talk your ear off about "burnout" if you ask nicely. They might not want to admit it but every volunteer has at some point, ever so briefly, just wanted to pack it all in and take some time off. But they don't. Some volunteers work through it, and some just, sort of...fade out. A nation-wide off-season would be perfect to give these folk a well deserved rest in order to keep their enthusiasm and motivation for their roles up around a healthy level.

So there's my idea. And of course my ideas don't go without a proposed solution.

A while ago there was a proposal to shift Nationals to October to leave the summer free for newbie hunting and development. While considered by many to be a not-too-bad idea, it was considered too dramatic a change. Besides, we want to keep our premier season of ultimate in the summer months. So my suggestion is to shift Nationals forward to January, and the "mixed" season to February to May. Keeping "uni" season where it is because of AUG, and we create a two month window in June and July for our off-season. So this would leave the calendar something like this...

June - off season
July - off season, regional UGs
August - Uni IVs
September - AUG, club pre-season begins
October - club tournaments
November - club tournaments
December - club Regionals
January - club Nationals
February - mixed tournaments
March - mixed tournaments
April - mixed state championships
May - Mixed Nationals

Stick Nationals on the Australia Day weekend to minimise time-off-work disruption. Doesn't matter too much with Mixed Nats since that's never on a public holiday anyway. We're not competing with rugby or soccer for fields for Nationals. Worlds tournaments happen in the off-season. Early uni development ties in with mixed season. Off-season is in the height of shitty weather season so no one wants to play that much anyway.

It all seems so easy. Anyone care to support or shoot down this idea?

2009 Ballarat Ultimate National Draft

So earlier this year, I knocked up a frisbee draft in about eight minutes loosely based on the AFL draft. This year I'm putting a bit more thought into it.

For those who weren't paying attention to the last one, the picks are based on the order of where teams finished at Nationals, with the lowest team getting pick #1, second last getting #2, and so on and so forth. I'm only including teams that aren't pick-upy or likely to be at Nationals in 2010. Now in the actual AFL draft, teams can pick players from wherever the hell they want, but for the purposes of realism (lol) I'm restricting teams to players from their own state.

This year there's something else that I'll be taking into consideration - since the Thunder and Terra teams will be competing at Nats in their own right, the candidates for those teams won't be in this draft.

Rather than waste blog material in just one post, I'll start out with the draft order and open it up to some speculation...who is the next big thing you've seen around the traps?


Women
1. Honey
2. Indies
3. Sultry
4. Factory Girls
5. Primal
6. Kaos
7. Honey
8. Sugar Mags
9. Team Box
10. Wildcard

Open
1. Umlaut
2. Chilly
3. Sublime
4. Fakulti
5. Karma
6. Fakulti
7. Sublime
8. Firestorm
9. I-Beam
10. Heads of State
11. Fyshwick United
12. Chilly

Post-AUG Ruminations

OK, so now that AUG has been run and won and things have had time to settle down. Rather than provide a journalistic-type review, I thought I'd lay some rambling thoughts down on the keyboard. That, and my memory isn't really crash hot and I don't really remember many details of games.


Two Divisions

Aside from the glaringly obvious need for AU/USA and NZ to be in Divison 1, I felt the two divisions worked well and did exactly what I believed it would do - provide more competitive games for all teams across the entire week. It may have simply been our approach to each game, but BUUF didn't have a single easy game all week, and I'm sure that was the case for most teams. If the number of teams competing at AUG stays above the 20 mark, I feel that the two division structure should stay, but smaller registration numbers than that should be placed in one division. The challenge we have now is how to decide who goes in what division - do we adopt some sort of formal process or the old "look at the rosters and guess" method?

The two divisions is also a long term decision. This year there was a 12 team Div1 and 11 team Div2. Next time we're back in Surfers I want to see a 16 team Div1 and 20 team Div2! Impossible? Not really, given that since 2005 there have been 32 different universities competing at AUG. Plus the 5 other unis that have been to a regional Uni Games in that time. Plus the 2 that have sports unions that want to get an ultimate team together. Even further down the track, we want to see Open, Womens and Mixed divisions at AUG. Imagine that.


Quality Versus Quantity

Already I've heard some feedback from players - "we wanted to play more games!" But I also observed something on the final day that I haven't seen in previous years - a near-absence of injured players. Sure, there were some doozies of injuries, like there are at pretty much every ultimate tournament ever, but being able to go home with all limbs in tact is an aim that every player has. It also meant that all the games on Friday were high standard games of ultimate, not just fourteen people with limps throwing a frisbee around.


Making the newbies feel welcome

At AUG there were a few teams full of ultimate virgins who thought a week of frisbee sounded like a top idea. However I did overhear comments from other Div 2 players (with some experience with tournaments) about how these teams were "wasting our time." These comments annoyed me somewhat because no matter what, we are always going to attract these sort of teams because ultimate still has a 'novelty' aspect to new players.

That being said, most people made efforts to meet the new teams and make them feel part of the incestual lovefest that is the ultimate community. There were people offering advice, shitloads of gary, and even Robsquad got together for the ACPE vs UNE game to dish out some modified encouragement. If these efforts can translate into just one of these teams forming a club and attending other tournaments, it is well worth having these teams at AUG. If you need further convincing, just talk to anyone who saw the Wollongong vs QUT game on Wednesday arvo (Tiger, Tanty and anyone else from Macquarie, I'm looking at you).


Support staff and off field management

Outside the national teams and maybe a couple of club teams, there are very few non-playing personnel with teams. This year, BUUF had three non-playing "staff" - a trainer, a team manager and a "secretary" (stats and other odd jobs). With these three on the sidelines, plus everyone else fulfilling their assigned duties, we were by far the best prepared team there. We had our own shade tent, water barrel, sunscreen, first aid kit and food available at all times, and it ensured the players could always remain focussed on the game at hand.

However the non-players role wasn't exactly our invention and wasn't exclusive to us. Only 2 out of the 12 didn't have a non-player in a formal role on the sidelines, whether they were a coach or a team manager. Two years ago, this number was a lot smaller but it was speculated that that would change, and will continue to do so.


The challenge ahead

This year there was even more of a reliance on Nationals players to drive the teams than there was last year. This is troubling because next year uni ultimate faces one of it's toughest challenges - growth of the competition in the face of the three mid-year Worlds tournaments (Clubs, U23 and Juniors) and AUG in Perth. However if uni teams put pencil to paper and start planning the 12 months ahead, there's no reason (outside cost of flights) they can't get a team together and have a run at a medal in what is likely to be a weaker and therefore winnable competition.

2009 AUG Preview - Part 4

It has been a wonderful journey, but like all good trilogies with an shitty additional fourth chapter “reboot”, you kind of wish it had come to an end earlier. After feigning knowledge about anything north of the Murray, you’d figure a look at the South teams would be a bit more accurate given that I’ve, like, seen the teams play. That is what I would like you to think anyway.

Way back in the early days of Southern Uni Games, Melbourne Uni (aka Moho) were the leaders. A SUG without them being in the final was unfathomable. Fast forward to SUG 2009, where they were playing off for bronze. Here it has definitely been a case of everyone else catching up, because honestly, Melbourne are not a bad team. With a name change (MUtation) and new attitude…actually scrap that last bit, I’m just in a mood for cliché. A notable exclusion is Tarrant Meehan, who probably discovered that being drunk is awesome. Chris “Warpaint” Freise and Michelle Phillips are the stars of this team, ably assisted by Jude Mitchell and Ben Phillips. Injury scares to Chilly B stars Tim Horden and Ben Robotham in the last couple of weeks might have an impact on the team’s depth, but otherwise they should poll well during the week. Probably not a medal contender on paper, but then again they weren’t last year, either.

Cross-town rivals Monash are on a path to avenge their shitty Thursday/Friday performance in 2008. Many of last year’s team are back on board, including HoS trio Andy Moroney, Seb Barr and Cletus Johnson – who is recovering from a bullshit rumour and should be fully fit come Monday. The disc skills on this squad are exceptional, with Ash Thornton, Chris Folkes and Josh Cukierman throwing the disc to the likes of Mich Rogers, Lucy Ross and Sam Ludowyk. The wildcard on this team is Steve “Toey” Thomas. He played a part in Chilly’s 4th national title this year, and with a deadly combination of speed and height, there will be very few opponents who can match him going deep. Only concern is a niggling shoulder injury that has kept him out of action for the last couple of months. Monash also have someone else that factored in Chilly’s national titles – Steve Campbell. It will be his first stint as a non-playing coach, so it will be interesting to see what difference he can make. Expect to see Monash at the medal presentations, and not just heckling either. They have also adopted a club first - uniforms that don't look goddamn awful.

Defending champions Flinders Fury seem to be a bit of an unknown right now. Sure, they have Joel Pillar. And Brett Middleton in place of Alec Deslandes. And Sarah Pillar in place of Erin Wallis. And if we were going to run the old Mr. Ultimate pageant again Scott Middleton would probably win. But can they repeat last year’s gold medal? I feel they are going to have a heavy reliance on their boys to move the disc. Last year Ali Clarke and Erin Wallis did a lot of it, whereas this year Sarah Pillar is likely to be backed up by Sam Odgen and possibly even Chris Osborn. Doesn’t matter either way – most shots at goal are going to be “Joel To Sweet As”. And given that will work a lot of the time, why wouldn't you do it? Anything less than semis would probably be unacceptable to Joel, but now that Fury have already done it once, are they going to be that hungry for it again?

And now for the last time to be previewed - BUUF. I could be sneaky and not reveal anything, or I could talk a whole lot of hyperbole bullshit. But I'm going to try and take an objective look at things. And honestly, I think we should get to the pre-semis at least. It has been mentioned elsewhere that we lack the depth needed to win gold, and in part I agree. We definitely have a "strong 9" and a "weak 9" (when comparing both groups to each other, not to other teams), but how well it all fits together on the day will be interesting. The leadership of Dan Rule is going to be a massive influence, especially for maintaining mental strength and focus that was sorely missing in 2008. This year the team has shifted from a structured offense and defense to an aggressive, organic style of play that should catch a lot of teams by surprise.

Stay tuned for Part 5 - the "Special Features" disc, with players to watch, key matches and predictions.

2009 AUG Preview - Part 3

Once the almighty powerhouse of Australian ultimate, the East region has either fallen by the wayside in recent years, or (the more popular theory) the rest of the country has caught up and pretty much overtaken them. Part 3 of our look at this year’s AUG focuses on the four teams coming out of the Sydney and Newcastle area.

First off, the UTSexperience. As has almost become tradition, the talk coming out of the Harbour City is that UTS are the big improvers of the season and look to be ruffling some feathers at the big dance. However…I just don’t see it happening. Yes, they have added Rach Grindlay to their roster. Yes, they have plenty of tall receiving power in Henry Thomas (will probably handle, though), Hugh McCormack, Evan Sieff and probably even throw Linus Forrest in there. Yes, they have plenty of AUG experience across their squad, most of whom are having their second or third crack at it. Yes, they still wear teal. But I still remain uninspired.

Further…up the road, I suppose…we have the fallen giant in Macquarie, who are two years deep into the post-Dowle era. Their squad has plenty of talent across the board, but outside Megan Gamble there doesn’t seem to be a true superstar who will win them games. Sure, the likes of Tiger Webb, Nathan Wong, Yoann Greau and Rory Connell are very talented players, but I really think this club misses having a Dowle to count upon in crunch times. It will be interesting to see if Gamble adopts a “give the disc to me and I’ll sort it out” approach, given that she will take all but a handful of opponents to town. I think pre-semis might be the limit for these guys in 2009.

And now to everyone’s favourite silver medalists – Sydney. After rumours of sweeping changes being made at the club following last year’s disappointment, SUUFA have spent 12 months preparing, recruiting, training, getting psychological evaluations, sprinting, throwing, designing new uniforms and selecting what looks to be…well, pretty much the same team as last year. Notable exclusion again is Calan Spielman, this time through disease rather than policy. Subbing out the female handling power of Tara Carraro and Izzy MacAuley for the speed of Fi McDonald and Loren Viswalingam means they will probably shift to a more aggressive offence, but that means they’re relying on Brett Latham to not throw it away. Hmm. Better leave it to Mike Tarn and Sarah Crossie

Finally, the resurgence of Newcastle from no-show in 2007 to powerhouse in 2009 is almost complete. Led by the younger of Those Bloody Lavis Boys, the Novacastrians (seriously, look it up) will be playing most of their males upfield, with Liz Dodd and Ellie Sparke moving the disc. 2008 could almost have been seen as a training run for this year, as the squad is quite similar and the on-field cohesion should be a lot stronger. If EUG is any indication like it once was a while back, then Newcastle should be considered favourites for the event alongside UQ.

2009 AUG Preview - Part 2

Two posts in one day? What the hell?

So now we take a look at Division 1. 12 teams in two terribly seeded pools who will battle it out for glory. This is simply too big to keep contained within one single post. Plus I get more hits if you come back every day. And it also makes it seem more substantial than Mozza and Tiger's previews. Internet journalism at it's finest, ladies and gentlemen. On with it...

Part 2 - The States That Don't Matter

Looking westward, we only have the one team coming from two hours behind. UWA are out to defend their 6th place finish from last year. Kendall "Twig" Thorn will be playing the part of Captain Corageous in the absence of James Eley who has finally opted to get a knee reco on what is left of his ACL. Speaking of substitutes, Peter Eley will be fulfilling the "looking like a girl" quota of Glen Fowles. And speaking of girls, UWA's strength this year lies in their females, who this year discovered the joys of women's ultimate and actually having the disc thrown to them. I feel that UWA will wind in their long game and play a more run-and-gun offence, with Twig playing back rather than deep.

Moving north now, we come to locals Griffith Uni. After two years languishing around the bottom of the table, 2009 has seen the sport establish a strong foothold in the Gold Coast and the squad should have a lot more depth than before. Joining stalwarts Mike and Terri Morgan this year are Tatiana Maya and Tom "Cupcake" Tulett who will give them the handling experience they missed sorely last year when Stefan Rappazzo went back to the Land Of The Moose. Whether they have a structured set-up, or just let Cupcake run loose and keep out of his way, will remain to be seen.

And now to look at the team that science has proved cannot survive in temperatures below 22 degrees Celsius - UQ Lovers. Like 2007, they enter the tournament as an early favourite led by John McNaughton. It will be fairly predictable of them to, in crunch times, get the disc to John or Al Don who will jack it at Will Churchill or Julian Sacre. However Megan Barnes and Blair Sheard will provide good reason for them to stop looking off their girls. Provided everyone stays fit they should be playing off for some bling on Friday.

And by now you should know the other state that doesn't matter. ANU have already improved on last year's finish simply by being in division one, but the question is can they go any further. The three players to watch on this team are Mica Hartley, Andrew Sutton and Andrew "AJ" Jackson. Hartley and Sutton are playing the roles of the grizzly old veterans and will direct midfield and handlers respectively. But AJ is likely to attract a lot of attention following his standout performance in the final of Nationals. His defence ability has been proven, but can his O stand up to increased pressure? Unfortunately I don't see ANU making an impact beyond the initial pools.


Tune in tomorrow for a look at the East and the South.

2009 AUG Preview - Part 1

So we're a week out from the pinnacle of the uni ultimate season - Australian University Games. This year, the 12th time it's happened, is the biggest turnout ever, with 23 teams vying for the title. Well, actually it's 12 teams vying for one and 11 for another. In just a few days, the trash talk and training will no longer matter. So how does everyone look?

As per usual, I'm not going to blow my load in one post. Instead this will be a Indiana-Jones-style four episode epic. Hopefully without the fourth part being shitty.


Part 1 - A Look At Division 2

Each year we get the "random" teams. The ones who we're not sure who they are or where they come from. This year we have Australian Catholic Uni, Australian College of Phys Ed, and Uni of New England. Teams like this are usually written off pretty early, but are capable of causing upsets. It ought to be an interesting fight between these teams on Days 2 and 3.

Further up the chain sit newcomers Victoria Uni, UWS and Wollongong. While mostly composed of new players, each will have some experience under their belt. UWS has Ben Mortimer at the helm, who lined up alongside Tim Gee in 2007. Wollongong have components of last year's infamous savage team, so they will know what to expect this time around. Vic Uni are the better looking of these kids, with Tiff Mann (ex-Monash, Honey) and Chris Khoo being the key players. If they put together a good zone on D they should be able to roll most of their opponents.

The next notch up is the bronze medal fight between QUT, Uni of NSW and Charles Sturt Uni. QUT are a bit far removed from the glory days of Mike Neild, Beth Rougier and some kids called Wetnose and Jangles, but they have a enthusiastic and energetic team that learned a lot at the 2008 event. With the addition of Firestorm's Reece Stewart, they should factor in the top few.

In a similar boat are Uni of New South Wales. After 2007's bronze medal, they failed to have numbers in 2008 and are bringing a relatively fresh team. The two to watch out for are Bec Jiang and Evan Darmanin. What they lack for in height they make up for in pace and disc skills. Despite being a "new" team, they have played together a lot this year and should be a cohesive unit.

CSU were the surprise story at EUG, taking out the bronze medal. There is no doubt that Mark Evans played a huge part in their surge, but whether him and Michael Craigie can carry a half Bathurst, half Wagga Wagga team to another medal is a new challenge. What will work against them is the boys' tendancy to get a bit hot-headed when under pressure. They will miss the level-headed presence of Annaleigh Moore in those moments. I feel they might just miss out on a medal.

And that leaves who I think will be the finalists - Vic Uni Wellington and Adelaide Uni/Uni of SA. I don't think they will necessarily have an easy run there, but they collectively have a lot more experience. The bastard child of AU and USA has brought back Alex B-J, Tom Roden, Kaz Palmer and Sam Caon from last year's bronze medal team, and pick up ex-AU and now-USA Will Christopherson who will play a central role alongside BJ.

Vic Uni Wellington will be better known to all as the NZ team. Or the Kiwis. Or the All-Blacks, or sheep-shaggers or any other cliched name. The similarities in this year's team and 2007's is remarkable in that there aren't any. Only one player from the 8th-placed 2007 team is returning. The player to look out for here is Michael Connolly, who represented New Zealand at some tournament in Canada last year.

So now I suppose the thing to do would be to predict the finishing order.

1. Vic Uni Wellington
2. Adelaide/UniSA
3. Uni of NSW
4. QUT
5. Charles Sturt Uni
6. Victoria Uni
7. Uni of Western Sydney
8. Wollongong
9. Uni of New England
10. ACPE
11. ACU

Regional Rivalries

So over on the Gold Coast Ultimate blog I read about the recently established Gold Coast versus Byron Bay rivalry. Looks like we can add them to the list of the existing regional rivalries (all two of them)

NSW Central West
Dubbo, Bathurst and Katoomba play a three-way tournament every year for the glorious "Western Eagle" trophy. This has been going for a few years now, with Dubbo (I think) being the current holders.

Western Victoria
BUUF and GFUC's rivalry is also starting to hit it's stride, with the record currently standing at 2-1 in Geelong's favour. They smashed BUUF in a practice match in Ballarat a few months ago, and the record was 1-1 at the recent Victorian Championships in Melbourne.



There's still plenty of scope for other rivalries to open up...
- Gippsland took on a Western Victoria team at the VFDA Showcase game last year. Hopefully this can become a regular game.
- Have Newcastle and Wollongong had a history?
- Keith and Murray Bridge had a close, intense game at the Keith Callipo Classic.
- The establishment of a team at CSU Wagga Wagga may lead to a bigger "Western Eagle" comp, or even a CSU Cup?


For those wondering, the AUG preview is coming very soon...

Some thoughts not substantial enough for their own post

Hitting the gym
After a groin injury at SUG that I, in retrospect, was stupid enough to play through kept me out of action for a month, I've been smashing out some gym sessions in the last week and a bit to try and get my body working properly. Now while KFC may work for Matt Dowle, it has become rather apparent it hasn't worked for me in the past and isn't likely to in the future. The biggest barrier between me and gym work has been motivation, but after slugging out the first week I noticed some improvements this morning. I can push out 80kg on the leg weights, bowl over 10km on the bike in 20min without killing myself and did a sub-4min 1km on the rowing machine - something I haven't done since I was in school. I'm feeling good in that I'm rarely out of breath and can recover quickly, but the muscles themselves are rather fatigued at the end of the day.



Motivation
Going back to the motivation, I've found that training and preparation for this year's AUG is more "fun" than "chore" as it has been in previous years. This definitely is a product of the buzz around our team. While our "Out For Justice" motto gets mocked a bit, it really has generated the most excitement BUUF has seen in ever. It's not just at training and in games - things like emails, texts, Facebook chats, IMs at work, chats at uni - everything generates more excitement. And this generates motivation to train harder and get everything right for Gold Coast.



Playing with 6 players
No team in the recent history of ultimate ever trains for situations where they only have 6 players. We were unfortunate enough on the weekend at the Victorian Mixed Championships to be stuck with 6 on the field for Saturday (4:2) because we were pretty lazy in organising the team. This forced us to experiment a lot. And because you never prepare for this, your abilty to adapt and your familiarity with your teammates is incredibly important. Early on, our offence had little structure outside string plays, and our defence was the same, varying between man, zone and poaching from pass to pass. It worked a lot, because by the same token a lot of teams don't prepare to play AGAINST 6 players. MUCUS were the only team that really used their advantage effectively, with their spare girl poaching the lane on D, and one girl going long and one cutting under on O, leaving the third girl on her own in the middle of the field. We came out of Saturday with a 2-2 record.

So why are we having two divisions at AUG this year?

Well, a couple of reasons really. Firstly, I'll tell you about the reason there are divisions at AUG.

Back in 2006, Australian University Sport had one of their lowest attendances at Australian University Games ever. Ultimate was the largest sport, with 17 teams competing. Many blamed this on the introduction of Voluntary Student Unionism by the Howard government, leading to many campus organisation slashing their sports budgets, increasing the cost for students to attend the event. So AUS decided if their event was to survive, they needed to make some drastic changes. They relaxed the eligibility criteria, removed the qualification element and move the event to the Gold Coast. And boy did that work. Attendance went from 2,000 and something in Adelaide to over 4,500. However AUS wanted to ensure the integrity of AUG and keep the standard of sport high, without alientating the "party teams" that exist in every sport. So they created divisions to seperate the elite teams from the party teams.

That didn't sit well with us ultimate folk, who love to play heaps of games against everyone, and also play hard and party harder. 20 teams were registered for the 2007 event and AUS propsed an 8 team Division 1 and 12 team Division 2, with 2006 results determining who goes where. Interesting to note that going this way would have seen eventual bronze medallists UNSW and 4th place Monash not included in Division 1. So we protested the change, and at the 11th hour we were granted our wish and had a 20 team single division. 2008 saw 19 teams, and again we resisted the change. 2009 saw 23 teams enter, and the resistance was going to be much harder to justify.

Before I go on, I'd like to explain a term I've coined for some teams. I refer to them as WTFAT teams - "Who The Fuck Are They?" Every year there seems to be a token team appearing out of nowhere full of ultimate virgins who see the sport on the AUG registration list and think, "Hey that looks like fun!" 2004 it was BUUF and CSU. 2005 was ACU Brisbane. 2007 was UWS and 2008 was Edith Cowan University and Wollongong. This year however there are 3, with another 3 teams on the radar who weren't expected to go. Hence the 23 teams as opposed to the 17 I was expecting. Back to the main story.

In 2008 the draw and seedings were done in a rather ad-hoc manner. I asked some interstate folk what they thought of the on-paper lineups and did the seedings accordingly. Apart from 8th seed Flinders kicking #1 seed Macquarie in the teeth in the pool round and inheriting their easy run to the final, they worked out okay. But I wanted there to be a policy in place rather than making it up every year. Nationals had a seeding policy, and so did Mixed Nats, so it made sense that AUG did. I couldn't simply adapt an AFDA policy because there was no qualification element, and didn't account for graduations and international students drastically changing teams.

Then it dawned on me much, much later than it should have - AUS have these policies already, so why not just use them?

There was never going to be an easy way to slowly integrate the change, so a "put the foot down" approach had to do. I wish that I could have made that decision months ago, but the 23 team list forced my hand. It's going to mean that UQ will be drastically underseeded this year, but look what happened last year when we did the seedings ourselves. After a fair bit of consideration, I took the Bill O'Reilly approach.

But there was a small other change we would need to make - a divisional split.

We were the only sport to date that hadn't made the change. And personally I thought it was overdue, since last year there was a massive disparity between the top 9 and bottom 10. So I went to AUS and agreed to have the split this year. Once again, I wish I had been able to do it much earlier, but again the 23 team list made that decision for me.

And then the negotiations began. They wanted 8 teams in Division 1 and 15 in Division 2 (as per policy of course). I retorted with 16 teams in Div 1 and 7 in Div 2. I basically got laughed at, because their policy states 10 teams is their max, with considerations given to sports with more than 30 teams registered. Hmm. I countered with their line in the policy stating they want to "maintain the integrity of the [Division 1] competition" and a Nationals-style draw was the way to go.

Then I was asked a very interesting question - "How many teams coming do you think are serious medal contenders?"

I looked through the AFDA registration page and squads, and also went on personal knowledge. I came back with a number that I'm not going to reveal, but it was less than 16. AUS then agreed to a 10 team competition, with any other potential Division 1 entrants to be judged on their merits on a case-by-case basis, as per policy of course. Going by this, I successfully applied on behalf of two teams to have them added to Division 1. So we're left with a 12 team Division 1 and an 11 team Division 2.

There are a lot of reasons I wanted to go with two divisions, but the absolute, numero uno, key reason is retention.

I've long believed that this sport has a massive problem with retention of new players. Just have a look at the AFDA rego system - we're up to 15,000 registered players, but as I write this only 4,108 are active (have played an AFDA-affliated tournament or league in the last 12 months). Granted there are international players, plus probably a few joke regos and probably some spammers, but that's still a pretty glaring statistic, given we don't have the juniors-to-seniors drop off that most other sports have. University clubs have always been a great breeding ground for rookies, but also for new clubs.

And that takes me back to the WTFAT teams. Look at things from their perspective - a group of nine or ten mates come to AUG to play this sport they did in PE once. Other than that, they have absolutely no prior knowledge of what goes on. They then find out they have 11 80-minute long games, giving them little to no free time to go to the beach or hang out with their uni mates. They spend four days getting taken to school and might pick up a lucky win in the playoffs. While the week is fun, they are completely burned out by the end of it and might not want to return.

These are the teams Division 2 is designed for - they might get a 15-0 spanking on Monday or Tuesday, but by mid-week they're playing against their own standard, where the competition is much less intense than it is up around the medal bracket. They will be playing 2 games a day (maybe 3 games on one day with a break in between) which gives them time to do other stuff on the Gold Coast. And I fully believe they will have a hell of a lot of fun. And their desire to come back next year is greater.

This is where it's my job to pounce. Get their contact details and encourage them to go to some hat tournaments over the summer, and some tournaments in April-May. Recruit some more folk and hit up AUG in 2010. Again, they're in Division 2 but they have a bit of experience and know what to expect. They fall just short of a medal. So they start to get more involved and learn some more skills and tactics to have a run at a Div 2 medal in 2011. And there you have a new club established.

Most of the current crop of AUG attendees are thinking of their current campaign and how it affects them. And I don't doubt for a minute that they wouldn't. However it is my role to think long-term and I think a divisional split (when we have large numbers of teams) is the best way forward for us.

Unfortunately there are two teams who have missed out on Division 1 for other reasons when in terms of competition quality they really should be there. While one of those teams gets very little sympathy from me, I feel really bad for the other one. I've exchanged some words with their captain, and while they're not pleased, they understand what's happened. I still think there will be some good competition for the Division 2 medals among the top 5 or 6 teams.


So hopefully that's given a bit of insight as to what has gone on over the last 10 days or so. If you have any questions about any of this, leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Games to kill time at tournaments

Generally speaking, I don't enjoy "spirit games". Usually I like sharing a bit of love in the circle, congratulating the other team and seeing how many cliches I can bust out in 30 seconds (PB is 26). But I love playing other frisbee games during lunch breaks, half times and bye rounds. Most are quite silly and pointless, but that's the whole idea. You've probably seen or heard of most of them, but some you might not have and want to try.


Half time challenges
(Games to play during time-outs and half times of games to entertain the crowd)

Zen Ultimate
One person is blindfolded and one stands about 10 metres away and throws to the blindfolded person. You can either get a third person to be a 'guide' but it is far more entertaining to have the crowd be the guide.

William Tell
One person stands still with a bottle on their head, and another stands about 20 metres away and attempts to knock the bottle off. A less ballsy version is to sit the bottle on your hand out in front of you. A more ballsy version is to stand with your back to the thrower.

Spin Catch
Two player game. First player throws a self-caught throw, spinning around once while the disc is up. Second player then does it. First player then goes again, this time spinning twice. Second player replies. Continue adding more spins until someone fails. My PB on this one is five spins.

World's Worst Ultimate Player
Two players throw the disc to each other, emulating what they believe would be the World's Worst Ultimate Player. Actions such as blatant rule breaking, gratuitous layouts and no-spin throws are highly encouraged in an attempt to out-do the other player.

Poor Man's Freestyle
While freestyle disc has some pretty sweet tricks and throws, Poor Man's Freestyle has some incredibly lame tricks and throws. Be creative.

Multi-Disc Bonus
Two players stand about five metres apart and throw one disc back and forth once. Then they throw two discs at once. Then three. And so on. PB is fourteen discs.



Two player games
(Or more players. Can kill either two minutes or two hours, depending on commitment level)

Take It On The Chest (credit to Tim Gee)
One player sends up a high self-caught throw. Rather than catch the disc, players get themselves into a spot where the disc hits them on the chest. Requires balls of steel as only a tiny margin of error is allowed before you take it in the face or below the belt.

Horse
Pretty much the same as the basketball variety, but no scoring involved. Basically pick a target or an objective (eg: throw goes out past the goalpost then back) and the first one to nail it gets bragging rights.

Balls
Two players sit on the ground about ten metres apart, with their legs apart. You then attempt to roll the disc at the other person. First to flinch or stop the disc with their legs or hands loses. Common sense applies - no blades (discs musn't be in the air over halfway).

Hat Wrestling (full credit to the SA folk)
A hat is placed on the ground. Two players then try and force the other person touch it.

Ass Mack
Similar to a Mack Line, but instead the middle people try to mack it with their back/butt.



Multi Player Games
(I'm not going to explain the usuals - stubby guts, schtick, etc)

FACED!
Stand in a tight circle. Hands go on hips. One player throws up a floaty pass into the middle. Players then take one hand off their hip to catch it. If you take your hand off your hip and someone else catches the disc, you are out. If only one player takes their hand off, or the disc hits the ground, no one is out. No 'trapping' (catching the disc against your body). The name of the game comes from the 'punishment' for never attempting a catch (disc gets lobbed at their face, forcing them to attempt a catch).

Circle Guts
This game is especially vicious and vindictive. Everyone stands in a large circle, with two in the middle. Two discs are in the game and the outside people throw the disc at the inside to hit them. If someone in the middle catches the disc with one hand, the thrower is then in the middle. You can be as vicious as you want, but remember that payback is a bitch.

Fantasy Fantasy
Everyone knows about Fantasy, but Fantasy Fantasy involves picking a heckler and getting +1 if they make a funny call, and -1 if they make a shit call. Extra points and bonuses can be fought for.



Anyone play any other games?

Keith goes to Ballarat

I love telling stories. It only takes a little bit of prodding (sometimes not even that) to begin retelling a tale of previous road trips and parties. And given that I've been with BUUF from day one I have enough material for a trip to Sydney and back to maybe Gundagai. Someone suggested I start telling such stories on here. So here's attempt numero uno...

---

"What the hell? Weren't you guys leaving at, like, four?"

"Yeah, we still have some shit to do. Like pick up Erin. And I left my phone at home."

This was at 6pm. After meticulously planning everyone's car pools and staggered departure times on Friday, it took mere minutes for it all to go to shit. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have put the club's four most disorganised people in the same car.

"You know what? I'm due to leave at 7:30 and I'm going to actually beat you there!"

"Yeah? You and whose demerit points?"

Boom. Defeated.

So my lot hit the road at around 8:30, embarking on the second most boring drive this state has to offer (thank you, Midland Highway). I really wish I had some sweet road trip stories of the drive over, but the reality is that Eye-Spy at night time is limited to the fifty-odd metres directly in front of the car, and with four dudes in the car shenanigans are quite limited unless the "no homo" clause is implemented.

However, Shaunie and I did set a new world record. I threw the disc to him at 11:30pm and he didn't catch it until 12:00am. Yeah timezones! Although from there I was bracing myself for another solid 90 minutes behind the wheel, but it turns out we got there in 20. Sounds like my sex life.

After a terrible night's sleep at the "camping ground" behind the servo, which was the only accommodation provider that answered their phone, we set ourselves up for day one of competition.


Round One - BUUF Urban Justice vs Great Balls of Fire

So we had driven around 400 kilometres to play against a Melbourne team. This game actually proved to be slightly more difficult than we anticipated. They came out running hard and put some pressure on D, which forced us to throw properly rather than rely on loopy outside-in bullshit. Once we worked out that Jake Angelovich was at least thirteen metres taller than anyone on their team, the rest became easy.


Round Two - BUUF Urban Justice vs Flinders Uni

The problem with having a club is that people assume that no matter who is actually playing that day, you are bringing your best line. However with the sheer volume of players Flinders has, it turns out they can field a full team of players with absolutely none from their gold medal winning 2008 AUG squad. And good on them. We finally had some good flow happening and used all our of players effectively. However our defence was downright woeful as we employed the age old "hope-they-drop-it" D, which surprisingly didn't work. We ended up winning in a close one.


During the lunch break we conferred with our counterparts - BUUF Mercenaries Of Justice. Why the team names? Well, it turns out Steven Seagal has three movies with the word "justice" in the title. In the spirit of everyone changing their team names halfway through the day, we settled on Keith Urban. Made sense at the time and still does. Mercenaries were also 2 from 2, albeit playing shoddier teams.


Round Three - BUUF Keith Urban vs Conkeithadors

A.K.A Joel Pillar's team. This game was all about employing the Three Things BUUF Knows About Joel. First off, we went with #1 - Force Backhand. This proved very effective in forcing Joel to throw backhand hucks to fast receivers. So we went to #2 - Stop His Go-to Guy. This was Tom Roden, who learned how to play ultimate properly recently and ran riot all over us. Reluctantly we had to look at item #3, which is Joel HATES Losing. This doesn't help our game plan at all, but it is handy to know.


The party was held at the prestigious Keith Hotel, with it's slot machine (the singular is intentional. There's no plural about it) and five dollar pints. I don't remember too much of the party, other than the five reminders I set myself on my phone...
1. DJs who use laptops don't like being asked, "Are you checking Facebook?"
2. Joel is NOT gay.
3. One-armed guys have an unfair advantage at Falconball.
4. Be careful. All the locals now know who you are.
5. Don't have kids. You're going to be a terrible parent.


Suffice to say the semi final was going to be hilarious.

Semi Final: BUUF Keith Urban vs Pillow Fight

By the time I woke up, we were down 9-0. After a quick conference to determine how bothered we were with finishing off the match, we decided to fight in the second half and went down 17-8. It's not that Pillow Fight are an exceptionally good side, it's that we were exceptionally bad. We pinned our hopes on Mercenaries getting through to the final, but they choked against Team Joel and we were facing them for 3rd.


3rd Place Playoff: BUUF vs BUUF

After settling on the rules (girls can super-sub, game to 9, no time outs, fouls aren't fouls unless they're called) we set out to embarass the South Australians with our brand of intra-club match. With offences mainly consisting of Doobie travelling, and Boothy hucking to Woodley who promptly spikes it mid-field and refuses to play defence, the crowd lost interest within seconds and both teams shortly after. We're not sure who won, but it was pretty clear that the sport of ultimate lost.



Normally I love hanging around for tournament finals and playing a starring role in the losing team's downfall, but the prospect of a five hour drive followed by a pre-dawn work shift was simply too daunting. I felt pretty rude but self-preservation had to be enacted as some point because it hadn't been up until then. Pillow Fight allegedly won the tournament, and BUUF did not win spirit. And deservedly so.

The ride home saw some unnecessarily aggressive Eye-Spy, tooting at every single car (well done, Boothy) and a sweet slide at Nhill. The Western Highway is still a really boring drive.

World Games...um, the other days

So yeah, turns out I canned my World Games coverage once everyone figured out I was getting my info from Piers Truter's Twitter feed and just went there themselves. So instead, I'll supply you all with some handy links to other people's writings...

Scobel Wiggins Photography - great action shots from all games.

UPA coverage - on-the-spot reports, plus video clips.

Some short Youtube videos I found (here and here) posted by a spectator. Doesn't show much action but gives you a pretty good idea of the atmosphere.

A few Canadians discuss their team's lower-than-expected performance.

A news report from a Taiwanese news agency. See if you can spot the bit where I started laughing like an immature knob.

And finally, Rueben's highlight video of the Crocs in action, complete with hard rock soundtrack.

2009 World Games - Day 1

For those of you in the ultimate community who don't ever check their emails (and subsequently, probably not this blog), the 2009 World Games are currently going down in Kaohsiung in Chinese Taipei. The Australia Crocs are taking on USA, Canada, Japan, Great Britain and Chinese Taipei over 3 intense days in the main stadium in Kaohsiung.

Day 1 has been run and won, with all games going as expected...

Canada 13 d. Great Britain 10
Japan 13 d. Chinese Taipei 7
USA 13 d. Australia 11
Japan 13 d. Great Britain 10
Australia 13 d. Chinese Taipei 9
USA 13 d. Canada 6

Perhaps the two surprises to come out of Day 1 was the margin in the USA/Canada game, and the performance of Chinese Taipei against Japan and Australia. Chinese Taipei were expected to be the minnows of this competition, qualifying based on the fact they were the host nation. However their mixed team competed at Worlds last year and their preparation has been intense, plus there is also the factor of the home crowd, which reportedly was more than 8,000. If you think the sideline is the 8th player on the field, then surely a crowd of that size would be the 9th, 10th and 11th.

At Worlds last year, Chinese Taipei got 4 points (game to 17) against Japan, 5 from Canada and 10 from Great Britain, so for them to get 7 against Japan this time around and 9 from Australia shows considerable improvement in the last 12 months. Wei-chiao Chang was the star at Worlds, with 26 assists for the tournament, and seems to be dominating the O again with 5 assists so far this time around. Lin-yi Lee is also replicating his performance from Worlds with 9 goals so far - the highest for the tournament - after 14 goals in 2008. Ying Li Huang is their top female target, with 3 goals and 1 assist so far (11 goals in 2008).

The USA/Canada game was expected to be a close, tough match up and perhaps a preview of the gold medal match. Both had relatively tough games in the morning - Canada overcoming GB after two breaks following long points, and the USA defeating Australia after a late break. Canada stayed with the US early on, but after about 20 minutes of gameplay the US broke away and went on a 10 to 3 run to close out the game inside an hour. The US defence was on fire, generating turns and then quick goals. Bart Watson and Dylan Tunnell were nailing their hucks, with Gabe Saunkeah and Chelsea Putnam on the end of them. Canada were trying to run a similar aggressive offence but weren't connecting on their long shots and fumbled close range throws under pressure from the US defence.

In the Japan-Great Britain game, Japan looked set to run away with a big win when they were up 12-5 about one hour in. Great Britain then dug their heels in and switched to their pommy (lol) zone. This proved to be successful and, after a couple of points with multiple turns, went on a 5 goal run to bring it back to 12-10. Key goal scorer (23 goals in 2008) Jane Holmes was on the end of two of them. Japan finally broke through the zone to take the win 13-10.


Today's games are (all times in AEST)...

10:30am - Australia vs Great Britain
12:00pm - United States vs Chinese Taipei
1:30pm - Canada vs Japan
6:10pm - United States vs Great Britain
7:40pm - Canada vs Chinese Taipei
9:10pm - Japan vs Australia

Both of today's games are must-wins for the Crocs if they want to make the gold medal game. Height is going to be the obvious advantage over Japan, with the Dowles, Mike Neild and Lauren Brown looking to be the deep targets. The danger man on the Japanese side is Masahiro Matsuno, who has 5 goals and 5 assists so far (23 goals and 20 assists in 2008). Sachiko Sameshima is the female target, with 4 goals for the tournament. For the Great Britain game we need to avoid all Ashes analogies since that didn't work on Day 6 at Worlds last year. The handling strength of Jonno Holmes and Liz Edye will be the key to taking apart the pommy zone.

Follow the games (well, text updates anyway) here, with commentary from the one and only Piers Truter via his Twitter feed. Also of interest is Jonathan Potts' Twitter feed as he schmoozes with IWGA and IOC officials.


Edit: The website I was looking at got the fixture wrong. Fixed it up now.

Fantasy Ultimate (not the sideline heckling game)

A couple of different factors have inspired this. My stellar performance in Supercoach and DreamTeam last week, my previous post picking teams from each state, and the one I did a while ago "drafting" players to club teams.

Oh, and the fact that The Huddle are doing this exact same thing but on a much larger scale.

I'm looking for a few people to take part in this. I'll create a draft order and we take turns picking players for a hypothetical team that is aiming to win Mixed Nationals this year.

Any Australian players (ie: no 6-month exchange students) can be chosen, and once our "squads" are decided I'll consult some experts around the place on who the best team would be.

Sign up in the comments thread if you want to take part.

Successful moments in procrastination Volume 6-ish

So let's say we had a tournament with state-based teams. Ignoring all club allegiances - play for the state you live in. Who would be the starting seven on each team?

Queensland
Mike Neild
Buzz Burwell
Al Don
John McNaughton
Mat Ryan
Piers Truter
Tom Tulett

Western Australia
John Damiani
Paul Denyer
James Eley
Kendall Thorn
Tim Delane
George Wong
Andrew Delane

South Australia
Joel Pillar
Brett Middleton
Rian Dutch
Kristian Pash
Tom Roden
Robbie Andrew
Alec Deslandes

Tasmania
Mike Baker
Jemery Day
Michael Dunne
Ash Buttons
Felix Kennedy
John Kristensen
Huddy Fuller

ACT
Jonno Holmes
Warwick Shepherd
Leon Smith
Max Wheeler
Peter Hemphill
Asher Gentle
Matt Dowle

New South Wales
Gav Moore
Ant Dowle
Tim Lavis
Pete Blakeley
Ken Shepherd
Pete Gardner
Jonathan Potts

Victoria
Tom Rogacki
Dan Rule
John Liddicoat
Owen Shepherd
Lee Baker
Steve Wealands
Seb Barr


Thoughts?


EDIT - ok, so I spelled some names wrong. And got the state of residence wrong for some folk. Updated to reflect that.

Why volunteer?

So let's start off by blowing my own trumpet a bit. I got involved with ultimate in 2004 and started playing regularly in 2005. In that time, I served as BUUF's main man (never actually had the term "President" - it's a mildly interesting story of corruption. Ask me some time), VFDA General Representative, AFDA Director of Marketing and currently AFDA National Universities Coordinator. I have run around a dozen tournaments, plus Albert Park League for one season. I have been a driving force in getting several teams to several tournaments - most notably Eureka Goldigaz to World Clubs 2006. I have assisted countless other teams and volunteers in sorting their shit out and providing ideas. I also write some shitty blog on the internet somewhere.

I do all this because I want to. There's nothing out there that forces me to.

I get asked occasionally (mostly by my parents who want me to expend these efforts into a career so I can support them in their retirement) why I do it all for relatively little financial reward. I've never been able to adequately explain why - it usually amounts to "well no one else would". But then I read an article on Cracked.com (usually masquerades as a humour website) that summed it all up for me quite nicely

Source

You want to break out of that black tar pit of self-hatred? Brush the black hair out of your eyes, step away from the computer and buy a nice gift for someone you loathe. Send a card to your worst enemy. Make dinner for your mom and dad. Or just do something simple, with an tangible result. Go clean the leaves out of the gutter. Grow a damn plant.

It ain't rocket science; you are a social animal and thus you are born with little happiness hormones that are released into your bloodstream when you see a physical benefit to your actions. Think about all those teenagers in their dark rooms, glued to their PC's, turning every life problem into ridiculous melodrama. Why do they make those cuts on their arms? It's because making the pain-and subsequent healing-tangible releases endorphins they don't get otherwise. It's pain, but at least it's real.

That form of stress relief via mild discomfort used to be part of our daily lives, via our routine of hunting gazelles and gathering berries and climbing rocks and fighting bears. No more. This is why office jobs make so many of us miserable; we don't get any physical, tangible result from our work. But do construction out in the hot sun for two months, and for the rest of your life you can drive past a certain house and say, "Holy shit, I built that." Maybe that's why mass shootings are more common in offices than construction sites.

It's the kind of physical, dirt-under-your-nails satisfaction that you can only get by turning off the computer, going outdoors and re-connecting with the real world. That feeling, that "I built that" or "I grew that" or "I fed that guy" or "I made these pants" feeling, can't be matched by anything the internet has to offer.

It's very hard to adequately describe the feeling I have when I see teams enjoying themselves at a tournament I'm running, or team mates getting home from a tournament exhaustedly declaring they've had "the BEST weekend ever!" But think the above exerpt sums it up - the satisfaction of knowing that I made it happen.

Try it sometime. You might like it.

Planting some ideas in some heads

So the price war on the LA to Sydney flight routes is heating up, with Delta joining the party. Direct quote from the article...

"US analyst Rick Seaney, from Fare Compare, said fares to Australia could drop to $320 each way before tax."

So let's say that happens in January/February, which tends to be a slow period for travel in the US because November/December are flat out. And that's our summer, as well as club season.

So let's get a tournament going on the east coast somewhere (I'm looking at you, Sydney and Gold Coast) where we invite some college and club teams from the US west coast. Advertise it as "Australia vs USA" around the area and in the media. Push it as Australia's premier non-Nationals tournament.

Alternatively, some southern-based clubs might look at a US tour in January/February since Nationals is in their home region this year.

Hmm.

Mobile technology in ultimate

My housemate has an iPhone and he won't bloody shutup about it. I can usually shut him up by sending him an MMS from the pub with the text "hey check out this hot chick i'm talking to that has a fetish for short guys." But there's no denying that the iPhone is a handy little contraption (I am pretty jealous of the iDaft app), as is my Nokia N95 - cracked screen and all - now that I've bothered learning how to fully use the mobile side of Twitter. Couple all this with the link I read about a UPA Rules iPhone app (link is now dead so won't bother posting it) and it got me thinking about how we can use mobile devices for ultimate.


Stats tracking
At the juniors vs allstars game at last year's EUGs I spent some time on the sideline with Timill who had a PDA with a stats application. This little bad boy kept track of everything - passes, completions, points played, whatever you can think of. Only troubles were keeping up with the play (it's a two person job - one calling, one entering) and the poor light making the thing difficult to read. I don't imagine it being too difficult to make an iPhone application to keep track of simple stats (goals, assists, blocks, turnovers).


SMS scoretracking
2008 Worlds had a great system where the volunteers on the sidelines SMS each score and the website would update with a timestamp, the thrower and the receiver. All well and good, but requires a lot of people to make it happen effectively so not much good for local weekend tourneys. Andrew Olennick's system in Australia is a great little setup, where the captains SMS the scores of the game to a number, and the website updates. It also sends out each team's draw every morning and whenever pools get redone. We tried to use it at AUG last year but it was very last minute and some people struggled to get the hang of it. The interface could be a little more user friendly but I suppose if we set it up earlier it would have been much more effective.


Mobile videos
I have messed about with some video conversion software and managed to find a way to download Youtube videos and store them as video clips on my mobile. I had a couple of highlight clips for when I'd be talking to people about ultimate, and instead of yapping on about hucks, force, picks and skies, I'd simply show them a video. My favourite one is the trailer for Ultivillage's Disc 4: Year Of The Monkey. I struggled to find a really good video for women's and for mixed, so if anyone out there knows of some great clips from these divisions I'll certainly add them to my collection.


Twittering
I love Twitter. Actually scrap that. I like Twitter as a friend. It's a fun little tool that I have found no real use for apart from following sites that link to funny stuff on the internet. For those who are not sure what Twitter is, it's basically Facebook with only the status updates. I twittered updates from Nationals this year and 'covered' the finals on the last day. This got followed by a few folk on the eastern seaboard so it got me thinking about how we could further use it.

My thinking right now is to round a few folk up from various unis and teach them how to set up a Twitter account with mobile support. Essentially that means they SMS a certain number and it posts an update to Twitter. If you add a 'hashtag' it makes it easier to search for a certain term. So if everyone who is posting an update from Southern Uni Games or Eastern Uni Games adds the term #unigamesulty to their post, people from home can just run a search for #unigamesulty and shebangabang - everyone's posts will come up in a sort of newsfeed.

The posts can be anything, really - score updates, great plays, funny stories, party rumours - as long as they are contained to 140 characters (just shy of a normal SMS) and it will provide some great coverage for the folks at home. If we replicate this for Australian Uni Games as well, it would be fantastic for not only people at home, but people there as well. The more Twitter-savvy can set up a permanent search term on their phone so they get the tagged posts as they happen to keep up with results in other pools. And while I'm getting nerdily excited about it, there's even a capability of adding photos to the said newsfeed via Twitpic.


Anyone have any other uses for mobile technology?

Ballarat Ultimate's identity crisis

So not since about a year ago has this blog been about anything remotely Ballarat related. A name change is being considered, yet I have absolutely no idea what I should call it. I have had some brief thoughts on guidelines for a new name...

- I'm not putting my name in it in case I invite future contributions.
- Something "Australian"
- Something to reflect that this is a news/opinion blog (despite the occasional 'personal reflection' post)

Suggestions via the comments.

Early 2009 uni season preview

Ok, so if I'm asked to sum up my predicted fortunes of each uni this year in 25 words or less...

West
UWA - Home-town Nationals gave their second string players a lot of valuable experience at the top level. Will be dangerous.

Murdoch - Relied too much on Ash Nair in 2008. Need two or three more to step up and be key players.


North
UQ - Women's development has come a long way in Queensland since 2007. Can the effect flow on to the Lovers? I remain skeptical.

QUT - Have developed a 'farm' system to rival UQ's. Reece Stewart is a huge gain. Expect improvement.

Griffith - Tom Tulett will be a massive boost for the club, both in skill and confidence. Early favourites for Div2 gold (if it goes ahead).


East
Sydney - Lost some core handlers. Should see it as an opportunity to bring in some B-teamers. Not as big a threat as last year.

UTS - Lot of hype on Ultitalk. Not sure why. Rach Grindlay is a great pickup, but they're not going to make the last eight.

ANU - Lack of prep killed them last year. A return to EUG will see improvement in time for AUG. Mid-table finish in October.

Newcastle - Have the lineup on paper to get bling. Will only happen if they're hungry enough for it.

UNSW - Revitalised by new blood. Might take time to find their legs on the big stage. Will miss quarters but 2010 should be different.

Macquarie - No longer the powerhouse they once were, but should still figure in the top eight. Depends on who they can convince to come.

CSU - New energy this year should see them back at the show. Potential to be Div2 medallists.


South
Flinders - Alec Deslandes and Erin Wallis are big losses. Joel Pillar needed for medal finish, otherwise will have to settle for top eight.

Adelaide - Lost Rian Dutch, Rich Klein and Steve Harfield, but still have the squad to challenge for a medal. Their girls are a significant strength.

Melbourne - Can get by without Chris Freise and John Liddicoat, but if they decide to come they'll be medal contenders, or top ten without.

Monash - Lost Owen Shepherd. Very strong farm system. Medal contenders, but lack the strong, cohesive leadership that Booboo and O-Shep provided in the past.

Latrobe - Lost Lachie McDonald, Jenica Villamor and possibly Jen Payne. Will struggle to match last year's 9th place.

Ballarat - Gained Dan Rule, Macca and Timill. Second string stronger than ever. May also get some mid-year starters. Will be the big improvers of '09.

Deakin - Virtually the same lineup as last year, with a couple of additions. Probably won't replicate last year's 10th place.

RMIT - Still on the recruitment drive. Need more numbers to make Gold Coast a reality.



Early days yet, so I'll review following the Eastern and Southern Uni Games in early July.

For some bonus material, here's a few players to keep an eye on this year...

Reece Stewart (QUT) - Has had a pretty successful year so far. A trip to Nationals with Firestorm, and a win at Eastern Youth Championships. Will be captaining QUT in his first AUG outing.

Nathan Wong and Rory Connell (Macquarie) - Started out as rookies last year and have quickly evolved into target players. Both were outstanding for Fakulti at Nationals, and will be leading Mac into battle at AUG.

Pete Nixon (Melbourne) and Shane Ausselbrook (Deakin) - The first Geelong players to enter the uni scene. Both are ridiculously good for "rookies".

Fiona McDonald (Sydney) - Didn't make the cut for SUUFA last year, but with a National title to her name she can book her flights to Coolongatta right now.


Indignation and outrage can be expressed here. Have a nice day.