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.