Midlands Winter League - Part II

Last Sunday (13th December) saw 8 midlands ultimate teams descent upon Nottingham for some rather chilly ultimate in the second of the Midlands Winter League events.

For those that don't know, Winter League isn't fun, in fact it's horrible, and pretty much only masochists agree to play, that and players who've been press-ganged into playing for their team as they were short on numbers (I fit into the latter of these two categories).

Things you'll need to endure a Winter League event...

A beanie to keep your head warm...

...a bin bag to keep your things dry...

...and something to keep your hands warm.

As it turned out, it stayed dry all day and was even sunny (although cold) for most of it! Can't quite remember how the first MWL turned out, but I think it saw Age Against The Machine beat EMO in the final, with uBu coming third and Flyght Club coming fourth; Arctic, Demons, Lemmings, Flux, Red and Haze made up the rest of the places (unsure of rankings! I may too have missed out someone).

So with the seedings from the first event being carried forward into this one, would we see another EMO / Age final, or would Flyght or uBu make an appearance, or indeed would one of the other teams cause an upset.

Early in the day Demon's pushed EMO close, losing to EMO by just one point. In Group C, with uBu and Lemmings both beating Arctic, it left a south-west midlands derby to decide the group winner. The two teams traded for few points, until Lemmings managed to cope better in the blustery conditions and pulled it away to win.

This set up Lemmings/Age and EMO/Flyght Semi-Finals. EMO managed to beat Flyght, whilst on the other pitch Lemmings pushed the masters team to the wire, with Age eventually using their experience, calling a time out and slotting away a sudden-death point to win 9-8.

This set up a re-run of last months final (anyone know the outcome?!).

Flyght Club took Bronze, beating Lemmings in the 3 Vs 4 match.

Here's to the next MWL in January, it's bound to hail/sleet/snow at one of them before long!

Props to the Nottingham crew for sorting out MWL, when no-one else could find a suitable venue.

Flyght Vs Lemmings in 3 Vs 4 Game

Only one thing is less fun than playing Winter League, and that's standing on the sidelines at Winter League getting cold.

Jess (Lemmings) beats Flyght Club player to Disc.

This post was mostly written whilst drinking hot blackcurrant cordial.

Thrillson's Throwabout 2009 Results

Saturday 5th December saw the first ever indoor xmas ultimate frisbee hat tournament to be hosted in Warwick. The festive themed tournament gave minced pies to every player and Christmas songs were blasted out over the PA system throughout the day.

After a whole days worth of games and as many renditions of Jona Lewie's 'Stop the Cavalry' as it's possible to endure, the tournament came down to the very final game. The winner of White Lightning or Little Saint Mick would be declared the winner. In a closely faught game, Little Saint Mick clawed their way back from being 6-4 down to win 9-8 which had all of the crowd on their feet.

Jon Risk, Captain of the winning team and all-round hero, said "It's amazing to win, I've been playing Ultimate for seven and a half years, and this is the first tournament I've ever won".

Full Results:

1st - Little Saint Mick

2nd - White Lightning

3rd - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

4th - Dark Side of the Spoon

5th - Golden Angels

6th - Blu Tack

Also, probs to the 'Red' team, Little Saint Mick, for best team name too.

More Hat Tournaments in Warwickshire to be announced soon.

This post was mostly written whilst listening to The Small Faces.

Lemmings Luau 2010

Just a quick heads up on the Lemmings Luau 2010, it'll be held on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th March at the Alan Higgs Centre in Coventry.

As usual, it'll be Beginners, Juniors and Women on the Saturday, with Open and Experienced teams on the Sunday.

Registration details will be announced shortly.

There's also a facebook group, if that's your thing.

This post was written whilst mostly listening to the new Idlewild album.

When I started playing Ultimate...

Following on from a conversation last night, whereby someone was shocked to learn that I started playing Ultimate after University, it led me to wonder when most people pick-up the sport.



I anticipate that the vast majority of players are exposed to it during their first year of University, quite possibly at the Freshers Sports Fayre. I reckon increasingly more people are being exposed to it at College and even at School, with some great teams rising through the ranks including Arctic from Sutton Coldfield and Airbadgers from Exeter.



So when did YOU start playing Ultimate? Fill in the poll on the left hand side of this page.

This page was mostly written whilst listening to the first Muse EP.

Donate a Disc...

Some of you may or may not know about the Lemmings Ultimate and Cancer REsearch or LUCRE annual fundraiser tournament I run each year. It's a one-day, indoor Ultimate tournament held in the Midlands. LUCRE 2009 raised £550 for Cancer Research UK, and the target for LUCRE 2010 in January is to raise even more than this.

A large proportion of the money raised comes from Team Entry Fees, but a significant amount comes from a raffle that we hold on the day. Last year companies donated gifts, which we then used as raffle prizes. All of the money from raffle tickets sold also went to Cancer Research.

This year we thought as this is one of only a few (the only one?) charity Ultimate tournaments, that you as the Ultimate community would like to contribute. Similar to previous requests on BritDisc, we're suggesting that clubs 'Donate a Disc' to the raffle. Your club will go up onto the LUCRE website and also get a thanks in the full-colour programme on the day, plus you'll all get a warm glow inside from doing some good. If individuals want to donate a disc (or jersey) that's fine too, all we ask is that it's new. There are more details 'here', just click on the 'Donate a Disc' link.

I'll be at most forthcoming tournaments, which I've listed below, just find me (Lucas, Lemmings #8) or any Lemmings player, and donate away. If you'd like to post a disc, please email me and I'll give you my address.

Thanks very much, Thrillson.
lucasthrillson (at) gmail (dot) com
http://www.lucretournament.co.uk/

Come and give your disc to me or a Lemming here...
Sat 31st Oct - Hat-oween, Lady Hat Tournament, Warwick
Sun 8th Nov - Midlands Winter League, Nottingham
21st/22nd Nov - Club Open Indoor Regionals, Birmingham
Sat 5th Dec - Thrillson's Throwabout, Warwick
Sun 13th Dec - Midlands Winter League, Nottingham
Sun 10th Jan - Midlands Winter League, Nottingham
16th/17th Jan - WIndoors, Warwick









Check out what a great job the charity does!
Cancer Research UK: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/

One Hundred and Seventy Five Grams

We all know a disc weighs 175g, but as it gets older, does it get lighter as bits of plastic scrape off or does it get heavier as it accrues more dirt and mud on it?

This post was mostly written whilst listening to the latest Morrissey album.

Hat-oween - Womens Hat Tournament

Saturday 31st October see's the Leamington Lemmings Ladies host a Womens Hat Tournament in the Midlands.

It's to be hosted at Aylesford School in Warwick, home of Junior team Evolution. I had the opportunity to play at a skills day with Evolution there recently and the pitches are fantastic, with some top facilities too.

Michi, Lady Lemmings Captain

Nemo Brook, Lady Lemmings Vice-Captain, said "everyone is welcome to attend the event, particularly beginners. We wanted to host a tournament where everyone felt welcome to come along and play some Ultimate, regardless of if they've been playing for decades or haven't even picked up a disc before".

Nemo, Lady Lemmings Vice-Captain

Michi, Lady Lemmings Captain said "I'm looking forward to meeting loads of new players, and as TD I want to make sure everyone has loads of fun", she also commented that the event is "Free!".

For anyone interested in knowing more about the event, there's a Lady Lemmings Facebook group and a Facebook Event, or check out the website.

Gents, you should come along and check out the action too, plus I'll then have someone to throwabout with and have a pint with. See you there!

Forthcoming Midlands Tournaments

Looks like there are a few tournaments coming up in the Midlands that may be of interest to y'all...

Saturday 31st October 2009 - Hat-oween, Lady Lemmings Hat Tournament
http://www.freewebs.com/ladylemmings

Saturday 5th December 2009 - Thrillson's Throwabout (one of mine!)
http://www.freewebs.com/thrillson

Saturday 23rd January 2010 - LUCRE 2010, Cancer Research Fundraiser
http://www.lucretournament.co.uk

Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th March 2010 - Lemmings' Luau
http://www.leamingtonlemmings.co.uk

...hope to see some of you at one of these. Come and say hi.

Unprecedented Demand

Wow, less than 24 hours since I announced Thrillson's Throwabout (yes, terrible name I know) and it's already more than half full. When I planned the Christmas Indoor Hat Tournament I didn't even know if I'd break even, but went ahead regardless, as I thought it'd be a fun thing to do around Xmas time, but at this rate fees will just about cover hall hire and a mince pie for players.

Just wondering, when do TD's find that they get the most sign-ups? I've found a flurry of registrations as soon as the tournament is announced and then a final flurry when the deadline is approaching (plus the inevitable people still trying to sign up after this when it's full).

UPDATE: Tournament now full.

This post was written whilst mostly drinking black coffee and eating croissants.

Thrillson's Throwabout

It's just been announced, some kid is hosting a Indoor Christmas Hat Tournament. It's at St. Nicholas Sports Centre in Warwick, which is within walking distance of the train station, on Saturday 5th December. The hall is massive, covering 6 badminton courts, which will allow for one proper sized indoor ultimate pitch (rarely seen in the UK!). There will be mince pies too.

If that sounds like your sort of thing, then check out the website or facebook group.

LUCRE 2010 - Support Appreciated

Back in January of 2009 was the first ever Lemmings Ultimate and Cancer REsearch tournament, or LUCRE 2009.

It was a one-day indoor tournament help to raise money for Cancer Research UK, a massive £550 was raised for this great cause. The Ultimate was great, the sports hall was massive, and the prizes donated from some kind companies were awesome. We had some great gifts and prizes from the likes of Lookfly, Quarry Park Disc Golf and many many others.

LUCRE 2010 will run again on Saturday 23rd January, I know it's quite far off right now, but in order to secure great prizes, much like last year, I need to start nice and early. Therefore I'm asking if you, your workplace, your friends and family would like to support or sponsor the event. Financial contributions or suitable prizes will all be gratefully received. In return, we'll include your name or company logo on our website and in the full-colour programme on the day.

Registration details will be posted to BritDisc and/or the LUCRE Facebook group in due course.

If you'd like to support this event, please contact lucasthrillson [at] gmail [dot] com

xEUCF 2009 Results

xEUCF, hosted in London, winners were...

Champions of Europe are:

Open: Chevron Action Flash (UK)
Women: Iceni (UK)
Mixed: Brighton (UK)
Masters: Helsinki (Finland) (runner's up, UK's Age Against the Machine)


Spirit Winners are

Open: Wall City (GER)
Women: Hot Beaches (CZ)
Mixed: Frizzly Bears (GER)
Masters: Frisbeurs (FRA)

Congrats to all teams involved, particularly all the very successful GB teams.

Happy Birthday!

Leamington Lemmings Ultimate Club have now been running for three years since being started up by someone who didn't even play at the time, back in September of 2006!


Back in 2006/2007 they entered fun tournaments, Glastonbury being their first ever outing. In the 2007/2008 season they started to enter UKUA Tour events, where they finished mid C-tour in the Open Division and had mixed fortunes in the Mixed Division. MT1 they won every game, MT2 they lost every game and MT3 they won every game; disc is a funny old sport. In the current 2008/2009 season Lemmings climbed towards the top of the B-Tour in the Open Division and recorded a top 16 finish in the Mixed Division, they also entered Leamu, a joint midlands team into the Womens Division.

Leamington Lemmings are now fairly established for such a young team, and are looking to build upon that in the 2009/2010 season. They continue to train over the winter, with excellent floodlit facilities and a huge sports hall at their disposal, why not go along and throw a disc with them, details on their website or facebook group. If Lemmings are one of the youngest teams, who are the oldest teams? Answers on a postcard...


This post was written whilst mostly listening to the rather excellent Lisa Hannigan album.

Burla Beach Cup 2009

Burla Beach Cup is a 5-0n-5 beach tournament just west of Pisa in Viareggio. To be honest, its a blimmin' great tournament. Pack your suncream along with a whole host of Brit teams, jump on a budget airline then party and play with a load of Swedes, Austrians, Germans, Dutch and Italian on the beach in the sun. Sounds like fun? That's because it is! (oh, and the Woodchicas are there too).

Bommie (Team Two) lays out for a disc in the Open Final (Photo: Paul Holden)

Three days of Ultimate are accompanied by three nights of partying, this years theme being Smurfs. Running on sand after a night on the pop is hard work, doing that for three days in a row in the hot sunshine is very hard work, yet still strangely enjoyable.

Josh from Bears throws whilst Red Wiley looks on (Photo: Paul Holden)

Division One, all the top Open teams, was won by Team Two, a team that looked to be made up of international superstars including The Beast. Division Two, the mixed division, saw a great final between Espana (Spain) and Bears Cavalry (UK) with the Spanish team just beating the Warwick students. Division Three, women and other party teams, was won by BASIC, the second time they've won it, congratulations to them.

Bommie bids on a disc in the final (Photo: Paul Holden)

It's a very well run tournament, and this year was as enjoyable as all previous years' classics. See you there in 2010.

This post was mostly written whilst watching the Singapore GP, they race at night don'tya'know.

Midlands Summer League Results

Midlands Summer League was a great success this year, hosted in Royal Leamington Spa, a total of six different teams competed to be crowned MSL '09 Champions.

There were appearances by University Nationals Champions, the Warwick Bears; Euro's entrants EMu also joined the party. Nearby school team Flux sent a Seniors and a Juniors team, plus hosts Leamington Lemmings entered a team plus second team the Leamington Lemurs.

Finals Standings* for MSL 2009:

1st - Flux Seniors

2nd - Leamington Lemmings

3rd - Leamington Lemurs

4th - Warwick Bears

5th - EMu

6th - Flux Juniors

A big thanks to all those who came along and enjoyed playing some great ultimate in some great sunny conditions!

This post was mostly written whilst sorting out the last few details for Burla Beach Cup.

* positions worked out by adding cumulative event results, points won = ((n+1)-p), where n equals the number of teams at the event and p equals their final finishing position.

Glastonbury Preview

Glastonbury is this weekend, you won't get chance to see Bruce Springsteen there, but you do get to play some Ultimate at the foot of Glastonbury Tor.

It's a great venue and a really fun tournament.

Leamington Lemmings at they're first ever tournament, Glastonbury 2007.

At the moment the weather's looking pretty damn fine, lets hope it stays that way!

According to the schedule Catch 22 have reformed, they've got to be one of the favourites to win it, as ever the Makings and Team Flange will also be up there. Will Super Mannschaft prove they're worthy of being seeded first, or can Vice cause an upset?

This post was mostly written whilst listening to the new Jamie T album.

Follow Up Edit: Catch 22 did indeed win the tournament with Team Flange runners-up, Flaming Galahs won Spirit.

Disc Golf, like Ball Golf but with a Disc

Last weekend DUFFA came down to Leamington for a joint social with the Leamington Lemmings. A game of Ultimate on the Saturday, was followed by a house party then a trip to Quarry Park for a game of Disc Golf on the Sunday.

Disc Golf is not a team sport, participants go around 18 'holes' in the fewest number of throws possible. You drive off from a 'tee' using a disc of a similar weight to an Ultrastar but much smaller in diameter and thinner in profile.

Lucas (L) and Smiler (R) win the Bronze at Duffa/Lemmings Doubles 2009

Duffa and Lemmings paired up and played doubles, results as follows:


1st Taj & Paul

2nd Steve & Bungle

3rd Smiler & Lucas

For more details on Disc Golf check out http://www.quarrypark.co.uk/

This post was mostly written whilst listening to Beck's 'Mellow Gold'.

Ultimate Clubs AGM

The Leamington Lemmings AGM is tonight.

University clubs have already had their AGMs for the forthcoming year, they did that ages ago. When do most Open (or Mixed or Womens) clubs have their AGM? At the end of the UKUA Tour Season (i.e. now) seems like a fairly logical place to start, but it's a long way off the start of the next outdoor season. Then again, do the Captains and Coaches need to be in place now for Winter training in preparation for the next season?

Also, where did all the 'roles' come about. It seems most Ultimate clubs have the same roles or positions as each other, did we all just copy each other? Not many other UK sports clubs have a 'President'. If the sport was invented in the UK, I wonder what roles we'd have had then?

I wonder who will be at the reigns of my club* after tonight, I'll probably ponder that whilst at Quarry Park on Sunday, playing a game of disc golf. Come join me.

*my club, as in the club I belong to, not meant in the possessive, although it is my club.

This post was mostly written whilst reviewing the exec roles and responsibilities document.

"Ultimate" Frisbee

Ultimate Frisbee, or just "Ultimate" as Frisbee is a registered trademark of Wham-O. What a stupid name. Does everyone else wince when their colleagues/friends/family ask what they did over the weekend, to which your obliged to answer 'Ultimate Frisbee' or even worse just 'Ultimate'. 'Ultimate, whats that?', they'll ask, 'Ultimate Frisbee', you'll say, 'Oh, we played that on Blackpool Beach' they'll reply.

No, no you didn't, you bought a round piece of plastic for £1.99 from a shop that also sells Cornetto's, Spades, Disposable Cameras, Windbreaks (what are they all about?!) and those rough wicker roll-mat things. You then attempted to throw this piece of plastic back and forth between you and your child, the wind kept blowing it away, you gave up and had a donkey ride instead.

Ultimate, wasn't there something better they could have called it?

Next time a colleague asks, I think it's less embarrassing to reply with Donkey Ride.

This post was mostly written with a full belly of thai food from Sabai Sabai, yum.

August happenings...

...well it's been a while since I've felt motivated and/or had the time to write an entry on this blog thing.

Since the DUFFA hat tournament, I've been to Open Nationals in Cardiff (where our team finished 5th in B-Tour, a good achievement for us, we were simply trying to reach mid-B-Tour at the start of the season).

Leamington Lemmings 1, Open Tour Nationals, Cardiff, August 2009

Before Nationals was Ooh Devon, a fairly new beach tournament in Exmouth and two weekends ago was Brighton Beyond. Only my second year at this tournament, but I had another great time. It's a fairly high standard (some teams were using it as a Euros warm-up) mixed tournament, well organised, good pitches, good facilities and a nice laid-back feel with a friendly party.

Last weekend we had a frisbee social. We've tried to come up with an alternative to drinks in the pub, meals out, and instead held the inaugural Lemmings Battle of the Bands. It was a hugely successful evening, I'd strongly recommend it to any frisbee teams looking for something a bit different.

We had local acts the Czech Cheque Checkers, along with regional favourites Tone play in the function room of our local pub. A few of our players also decided to 'create' bands just for the night, Poke the Dragon and TTT*C played their first ever gigs. If you've got lots of time to waste and don't care for your hearing too much, you can check out a few tracks by TTT*C here http://www.fizzyape.com/ , although they did only have a total of two hours practice prior to playing, don't say I didn't warn you!

Plus it's just been announced that Indoor 'Nationals' will be held in Glasgow, brilliant. So that's a really long journey for pretty much all teams involved, alternatively, which I think is more likely, is that lots of Southern teams just won't bother. Teams like Exeter's Flapcrack for instance will have a ten hour or so journey to get there. A northern regionals event seems like a great idea, but surely the national final should be somewhere more central?

Anyways, I'm off to find some futuristic clothing for Copa this weekend, lets hope it's sunny!

This post was mostly written whilst listening to Rage Against the Machine.

DUFFA Hat 2009

This weekend we trundled up the M6 towards Didsbury, Manchester for the second ever DUFFA Hat Tournament. DUFFA, or Didsbury Ultimate Frisbee For Amateurs, are a nice group of people who put beginners first and the emphasis on fun.

Naomi (Terminators) throws a flick past Ewan (Decepticons) in the Epic Plate Final. (Photo: James Selley)

I was lucky enough to be at their inaugural tournament last year, which was a blast, and this year's was even better. OK, so Sunday's weather was average, but there was loads of cover. As another blog has written, this Hat tournament had 'gone the extra mile' in its efforts, which materialised as smiles on people's faces.

Hat tournaments are a great chance to meet new people, and as Amy said, she "made new friends and got to know existing friends a whole lot better". It's a great opportunity to play alongside people you've played against before. It allows beginners to learn a little bit from playing alongside more experienced players, and it gives those more experienced players a reminder of how fun 'fun' frisbee really can be.

The fancy dress party with a Heroes and Villains theme. (Photo: James Selley)

A congrat's to TD Alan Heckman (and Duffa Helpers) for a great tournament, the addition of a 'theme' made it all the more interesting. Not quite sure if Good or Evil ended up winners, I have however, still got "DE-CEPT-I-CONS!" ringing in my ears.

Prop's to Runners-up Jedi, Tournament Winners The Avengers, Plate Winners the Terminators and Spirit Winners The Decepticons.

See you all there in 2010!

This post was mostly written whilst wearing a safety green coloured singlet.

Review: Open Tour 2

Well, my predictions for T2 weren't entirely accurate!

Congratulations to B-Tour winners Fusion West and C-Tour winners Flump. There were quite a few surprise teams climbing up the rankings. I anticipated Lemmings and Flyght Club having a tough time, but in fact they both climbed 9 places on their original seedings, finishing fourth and seventh respectively. Devon also climbed eight places to be promoted up into A-tour along with Burro Electrico and Fusion West.

It was Curve and Limited Released 2 who will join Flump in the next B-Tour event, climbing seven and two places respectively. Also well done to Staffordshire Oatcakes for winning spirit at the B & C-Tour event.

The post was written whilst mostly listening to the Velvet Underground.

Open Tour 2

Well, it was Clapham who emerged victorious at Open A-Tour last weekend, but who's likely to finish top of the pile at the seemingly forgotten about B & C-Tour in Birmingham this weekend.

Fusion West will want to put right what they got wrong at Tour 1, but there are lots of other teams in the top half of B-Tour who feel they should have been playing at Brighton last weekend rather than in the midlands this weekend. Kent Open, Janitors, Bristol, Steal and newly formed Burro Electrico will all fancy their chances at promotion (or whatever's happening for T3/Nats). Second teams from top clubs Brown, EMO and Brighton will all be looking to create a few upsets also. ABH are likely to fall a few seedings unless their last minute recruitment drive discovers some quality pick-ups. At the bottom half of the table midlands clubs Lemmings 1 and Flyght Club will be looking to avoid dropping down into C-Tour.

(schedule here: http://www.ukultimate.com/system/files/BC.T2-2009.12pitch.16B.18C.pdf)

Talking of the C-Tour, Mustard must feel that they've got a point to prove and will look to dominate the tournament, not quite sure how they've ended up down there. Flump will also be looking to climb back up into B-Tour after fielding a relatively inexperienced team at Tour 1 in Chiswick. A few new teams have entered halfway through the Tour season, including GB Under 17 Open and Lemmings 3. As teams are getting larger and larger, there are increasingly more and more clubs entering two (or more) teams into the UKUA Open Tour. This year there are about 13, these include Fire, Clapham (+ Tigers), Fusion, EMO, Team Shark, Brown, BAF, Limited, Strange Blue, Lemmings, Kent, Brighton, and Devon. In fact, Limited Release fielded three teams at T1 and at T2 relatively new team, the Leamington Lemmings, are fielding three teams also.

It'll be interesting to see which of the second teams finishes highest. After Brighton 1 finished above EMO 1 and The Brown at A-Tour, it'll be interesting to see which second team will finish higher in the B-Tour (not counting Fusion). There is lots of scope for bragging rights across the B & C Tour, will Kent, Lemmings and Devon's first teams all be able to finish higher in the B-Tour than their counterparts in the C-Tour?

I've got no idea at all about who's playing for who this weekend (other than ABH's plea for players on BritDisc) but I thought I'd have a go at predicting the top spots regardless, nothing quite like ill-advised pundits predictions...

B-Tour
1st - Fusion West
2nd - Kent
3rd - Mild Mannered Janitors

C-Tour
1st - Flump
2nd - Mustard
3rd - Strange Blue 2

Good luck to all involved this weekend, he's hoping it's sunny, although as the Ashes are on, it's pretty much guaranteed to rain.

> This post was written whilst mostly listening to Johnny Foreigner's "Arcs Across the City".

Junior Outdoor Nationals, 2009

This weekend saw 20 teams from across the UK come together for this year's Junior Outdoor Nationals held in Manchester. The weather was pretty good, albeit for the odd shower, the pitches were good and the location ideally placed next to an out of town leisure complex (bowling, food, etc...).

I'd never been to a Junior event before (having only taken up playing Ultimate after University) so didn't really know what to expect. The level of Ultimate was much higher than I had anticipated, partly due to players in their first year of university still being allowed to play (apparently if you don't turn 20 until next year, you are eligible). Regardless of this however, the standard was phenomenal, with teams made up of 7th graders and 8th graders all competing well against 12th and 13th year students.

In a previous post I had an uneducated stab in the dark about who may do well, and I was pretty much on the money. Airbadgers 1 from Exeter were there in an awesome final played against Strangers with Candy (as I understand it, a team from Brighton with players from Kent). The intensity was incredible, easily on-par with a top A-tour game. It was Strangers who won the game, beating a valiant Airbadgers team by 3 or 4 points.

As predicted Arctic 1 (from Arthur Terry School in Sutton Coldfield) did very well, taking the third spot behind Strangers and Airbadgers and ahead of fourth placed NC Hammer (tbc). Hotly tipped, although newly formed Flux had a tricky time at the weekend, and came sixth behind well drilled Manor. Perhaps it was Manor's massive sideline support that gave them the edge. Local friends, the Psychodelic Rhinos, with superstar Timmy T, did well and won the Plate final (photo courtesy of Carla Link).

I had gone up to Manchester with my local team Evolution (from Aylesford School, Warwick). We did really well, with a good showing against some great teams, including Flux and Rhinos; and two very close games against Calday and Airbadgers 2. A cross-over against Arctic 4 saw Evolution secure 16th seed at the end of saturday's play. Sunday started with a very hard game against Catch Those in the 9-16 bracket. Catch Those began the game with just 5 players, and managed to keep the score close, only 4-3 down when the rest of their team arrived. A great final few points ensued, with Catch Those eventually winning 6-5. Subseqent close loses against Arctic 3 and Airbadgers 2 meant Evo finished in 16th place, higher than their 2008 placing. Props to Emily Ogden for winning Evo Club Player and to MVP Charly Hesketh. (photo courtesy of Ali D)

Over the course of the weekend I was continually impressed with all of the junior players. I reckon if my local Open side played these teams, we'd get beaten by lots of them! I was particularly impressed by spirit winners Airbadgers 3, it looked like they were all 7th-year students, all of whom were pivoting wonderfully, with great fakes and awesome disc skills. They'll certainly be a team to look out for next year.

There was one small controversy over the weekend about players 'picking up' for teams. I'm not entirely sure of the in's and out's of the issue, but as I understand it some players, instead of playing for their local side, chose to play for a top team. I don't think there is anything in the rules against this, much like in UKUA Open Tour you are permitted to play for any club team you choose.

To quote George Rambo-Ryder; "I thought the idea was that we WEREN'T having 'super teams' at Junior Nationals?".

Like I said, I don't know all the details but I guess it raises the issue of teams and their catchment areas. The Rylands tournament, also held at the Parrs Wood Manchester venue, was a tournament where the teams were made up of teams with strict geographical catchment areas. It was the North who were victorious with the Midlands coming in second place. It would be interesting to see how the Open A-Tour would finish if players only played for their local side.

Overall 2009's Junior Nationals were a great success and I had a throughly enjoyable weekend, am now looking forward to seeing how teams improve in time for the 2010 event. Also, good luck to all the Juniors going out to Vienna.


Food for Thought...

> Should Junior Nationals 2010 insist on players playing for their most local established side, or should it remain like Open Tour where you can play for anyone you wish (should Open Tour have geo-based rules)?

> Should the age-limit for Junior events be lowered from under-20's, to people in Year 13 or less? (thus preventing first year university players from being eligible).

(Ultimate) Pie Charts

Inspired by excel procrastination from another Ultimate blogger, I decided to once again link Ultimate with pies (for those whom don't know, the frisbee was 'invented' when pie tin's were thrown as a 'frisbee'). The graphic below shows the kit colours (inc. change strip) of teams playing in the 2009 UKUA Open Tour.

White is a clear favourite, although it's mostly the change strip of most teams; black, red and green shirts are also common (although this will be largely due to the two Lucky Huckers teams and three Limited Release teams).

> Pie created whilst mostly listening to the Wimbledon radio coverage.

Midlands Summer League 2009

Last night saw the second MSL event of 2009, hosted by the Leamington Lemmings in Royal Leamington Spa, the new home of MSL following its move over from Birmingham last year. Little sleepy Leamington with a population of just 45,000 seems to have become a hot-bed of disc action in recent years. In North Leamington there is Quarry Park Disc Golf Course , it's one of only a handful of dedicated disc golf courses in the UK. Run by ex-Warwick Bear, Del Robins, it's a great place to go and try out a new disc sport.

The relatively newly formed Ultimate team in Leamington, the Lemmings, have grown in numbers dramatically also. Following the demise of neighbouring Birmingham team UTB, the Lemmings played their first tournament at Glastonbury in 2007. Since then they've had loads of new members join their ranks, most of whom had never even played the sport before. Now the Lemmings have two practices a week, entered two teams into Mixed Tour, have a joint team in Women's tour with Mu, and two teams into Open Tour. They may not be challenging for a spot in A-Tour just yet, but they're one of the biggest clubs in the midlands, and are always welcoming to new players, particularly beginners.

Lemmings also entered two teams into last night's MSL event which also saw EMu and Flux attending. EMu are a mixed team composed predominantly of players from Open club EMO and Womens club Mu, they're currently practicing for Euros in September. Flux are a junior team based in Nuneaton coached by teacher Matt Beavan.

Summer League evenings are great events, they're fairly informal and relaxed and a great excuse to get out and play some ultimate with your friends and local neighbours. EMu were short on a few players, so a couple of Lemmings were drafted across to help them out. The weather was amazing and the evening a real success, topped off nicely with a pint in the beer garden of the local pub.

Finishing positions were: (1.) Flux, (2.) EMu, (3.) Lemmings, (4.) Lemurs.

The next MSL event is in two weeks time (Wednesday 8th July), Lemmings will be returning with 2 teams, EMu will continue their pre-Euros preparation, Flux are rumoured to be bringing two teams and Warwick Bears should be in attendance. It looks like it might be the biggest MSL to date. Other interested teams should email the TD (midlandssummerleague@gmail.com).

> This post was written whilst mostly listening to Michael Franti & Spearhead's "All Rebel Rockers".

Junior Nationals '09, Manchester

This weekend I'm off to my first ever Junior Nationals event, it's at Parrs Wood in Manchester. OK, so I'm too old to play, but I still get to live out my dreams through the lives of others right, isn't that what people do?!

The only Junior events I've been to before are ones I've organised, the first day of the Lemmings Luau is always geared up for Juniors/Beginners. I'm pretty excited about seeing the whole thing and the level of play, I'm going along with local side Evolution from Aylesford School in Warwick. Lots of the Evolution players regularly train with us, the Leamington Lemmings in nearby Leamington Spa, we occasionally have joint practices too.

I know very little about the Junior Ultimate scene, so am keen to see some of the top teams play against each other. My uneducated guess is that Sutton Coldfield's Arctic and Exeter's Airbadgers will be vying for the title again, but pushed closely by Leicester's newly formed Flux team and the Wirrel's ever developing Catch Those, plus it'd be great to see Evolution achieve a few upsets and local friends the Rhinos do well. Kent are an unknown quantity to me, but if the juniors are anything like their senior team, Whippet will ensure they're a well drilled outfit. Army of the Goatboy could also prove to be a surprise outfit at the 2009 Nationals, with two Lemmings players Fiona Auld and Pammer McCulloch playing for them.

Good luck to all the teams playing, here's hoping I manage to see the Lions match too.

Possible Teams Playing: Airbadgers 1, Airbadgers 2, Airbadgers 3, Discy Business, Jesus Loves Spartans, Calday, Evolution, NC Hammer, Army of the Goatboy, Strangers with Candy, Ocelots, Arctic, Kent, Thundercatch, Catch Those, Manor, Psychedelic Rhinos, Flux.

Jestival

Now just about recovered from Jestival (a loose co-ed fun Ultimate tournament in Leicester) last weekend. Recovered apart from a (friction) burnt foot after playing 'prison break' as a call with fellow finalists Dumni. I bloody hate calls, I also think they're one of the biggest reasons people don't take Ultimate Frisbee seriously or even give it a chance. Don't get me wrong 'slaps' and a sporting post-game team talk are a great idea, but 'human-jenga' or 'miniature-tanks' just aren't.
Anyways, the weather was amazing and the Ultimate even better. As an ex-Cardiff student, I was an honouree member of Joke Paws, a conglomerate of ex-Warwick Bears and ex-Leicester Jester players. We were seeded around 6th in a pool with last year's semi-finalists P-Star and tournament favourites, current university champions, Warwick Bears (our rivals).



We kept a 100% record on the saturday with wins against Demons, Flying Aces, Hulltimate, P-Star and Bears. Props to both P-Star and Bears for great games, both of which were won in sudden death, both of which could have gone either way. Sunday saw us face Fish (who had jumped up the seedings on the saturday) in the quarter final and then Red in the semi-final. who had knocked out EMu in their previous game. Wins in both of these saw JP reach the final to face Dumni (Durham Alumni).

Little was know of Dumni before the tournament, evidence of this was their initial seeding position down in 15th. It was a team made up largely (according to various sources, rumours, babble and chin-wagging) of Brown and Chevy players. They too had beaten Bears in sudden death and the comprehensively beaten Red in their semi-final. How both our and Dumni's semi's were against Red, I've got no idea?!

Anyways, Dumni proved to be a pretty good team, quickly going 3-0 up against us. We clawed a few back, but by then it was too late, I think we lost by two points in the end, something like 11-9. They were worthy winners.

A big thanks to Joe and the rest of the Jesters for putting on another great tournament, with better weather this year than last!


Food for thought...

> Should Jestival's loose co-ed rules be more strictly adhered to?

> Does everyone else hate calls as much as me?