Performance by Top Seeds at Regionals

How did the top-seeded teams perform at Regionals?  

Nearly 80% (19/24) of #1 seeds won their 2013 Regional Tournaments held during the past two weekends. Not all of the eight USA Ultimate regions are created equal, with some having more bids than others, so data focused only on the top-seeded teams at each of the Regionals. Over 90% of #1 seeds qualified for Nationals.

#1 seeded Triple Crown Tour Ultimate Teams at 2013 Regionals

• Men's top seeds: 88% won their Region; 100% qualified for Nationals.
• Mixed top seeds: 63% won their Region; 75% qualified for Nationals.
• Women's top seeds: 88% won their Region; 100% qualified for Nationals.
• OVERALL: 79.1% (19/24) won their Region; 91.6% (22/24) qualified for Nationals.

Men's: Only the South Central region "broke seed" with the #2 team (Doublewide) beating the #1 (Johnny Bravo); both qualified for Nationals.
Mixed: Three regions "broke seed" - Great Lakes (Steamboat), Northeast (The Ghosts), Southeast (Cahoots).
Women's: Only the Southeast region "broke seed" with the #2 team (Phoenix) beating the #1 (Ozone); both qualified for Nationals.
Overall: Only two #1 seeds did not qualify for Nationals; both are mixed teams - one in Great Lakes & one in Southeast (1-bid regions).

In 1-bid Regions: 77.7% (7/9) of #1 seeds won their Regionals (Men: 2/2, Mixed: 2/4; Women: 3/3).

Highlight from Mid-Atlantic Regionals

An overthrow results in a great continuation play by Baltimore/DC's Medicine Men.
[apologies for the shaky video]

Lining an Ultimate Field

Volunteers serve as ground support for operations at Ultimate tournaments. Even closer to the ground are the lines for Ultimate fields. Those lines don't paint themselves! Liners push a 4-wheeled field marker which sprays a 3" wide of aerosol white paint.

Just follow the straight line - a taut string - from one end to the other. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, slight veers are caused by unkempt terrain, walking too fast and not paying attention (like recklessly recording a video).

Watch the thrilling end of how this Ultimate field line turns out...

"Ultimate Frisbee Goes Pro" by TIME

Ultimate Frisbee Goes Pro [TIME; 10.7.13]
Disc warriors fling hippie past as they launch a professional league and cross over into SportsCenter
By Sean Gregory

You may remember Ultimate Frisbee — a team game that combines elements of soccer and football with a Frisbee — from your college days. Grad students hogging the quad, treating an intramural game like it was the World Cup. But Ultimate players may soon show up on ESPN, where they might finally attain status as genuine athletes, not a bunch of toked-up hippies tossing saucers.

In March, USA Ultimate, the sport's governing body, announced a two-year agreement with ESPN, which aired the college championships on ESPNU in May and the elite U.S. Open tournament on ESPN3 in July and will stream October's national championships. Frisbee has even gone pro. Investors have launched two leagues: the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL), which just wrapped up its second season, and Major League Ultimate (MLU), which debuted this year.

The game is growing. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, participation in Ultimate is up 27%, to 5.1 million, over the past six years. The demographics are ideal for advertisers. More than half the Ultimate players fall in the key 18-to-34 age category, and 27% of them earn more than $100,000. Which makes sense, since so many players pick up the game at elite universities....

Ultimate is easy to play - and follow. At the top amateur levels, the field is 110 yd long, including 20-yd. end zones, and 40 yd. wide.The game is seven vs. seven; you try to advance the Frisbee up the field by throwing it to teammate. The defense attempts to deflect or intercept it and gain possession. Once you catch the Frisbee, you must stop as quickly as possible, then pivot and make the next pass. Reach the end zone, you get a point. First to 15 wins....

So far, ESPN doesn't mind the observers. And the network's opinion is all that really matters right now. ESPN likes the pace of play....

Ultimate's bigger challenge is losing the stoner stereotype....The game's name just feeds this perception.

More... [Login required]

"Alternate" TIME cover

++++++++++++++++++++++++
Nearly 40 years before the above article, TIME [May 26, 1975] published a sports piece about "Ultimate Frisbee - the nation's newest intercollegiate sport." Described as "a zany mixture of razzle-dazzle football, playground basketball and soccer," and played with"galloping giddiness." Tournament teams were described as "platoons of demented discus throwers."

Ultimate Month

My favorite month of the year - ULTIMATEmber!

ULTIMAsepTEmber

The Future of Ultimate Game Score Reporting

Reporting scores of Ultimate games with only two numbers may be the easiest way, but it's not the best - for fans or for the sport. I have suggested a more-is-better approach to improve final score announcements.  But, the tournament system - especially Score Reporter - is too narrowly focused on the end game, or more precisely, the end of the game.

Other sports are starting to showcase their game data [e.g. Box Score Replay (basketball), IBM Slamtracker (tennis)]; so can Ultimate.

Say hello to Ultimate Tournament Center!

What you will see is nearly as dynamic as our Ultimate sport - charts and graphs illustrating the relationships between variables with multiple measurements of time, trending, and functional comparisons.

Check out these UTC visuals! They are completely devoid of chartjunk! UTC provides final and halftime score, plus trending for scoring & point diff. And, an interactive point-by-point game graph. And, mouse-over a chart for data point detail.

Screenshot of interactive graph: Team Scores by Point 

The future of reporting Ultimate game scores is here! The readability and visibility analysis of these charts are figuratively off the charts! I hope more Ultimate organizations and leagues consider game portals like UTC.

Highest-paid Professional Ultimate Player

The mystery of how much Brodie Smith is paid might be solved.

In today's professional sports world, player salaries are public knowledge (e.g., MLS, NBA). While pro Ultimate players can expect these types of benefits and earn weekly bonuses (MLU), there's one name in the ultimate game who's been rumored to get paid to play.

1. In April 2013, Al Reiger's write-up indicates "The Wildfire pay [Brodie Smith] a modest salary plus travel expenses, and a bonus if they win in the playoffs."

2. SBNation.com's July 2013 article referenced Brodie's earnings like this: "His injury has kept him off the Ultimate field, but that hasn’t slowed his income, since he makes a healthy living off advertising from his trick shot videos, personal appearances and clinics, and a line of equipment and apparel. By most accounts, he is the highest paid performer in Frisbee history."

3. Cameron Brock - an Indianapolis AlleyCats teammate of Brodie Smith during the 2012 AUDL season - posted an entry "All-Night Practice: A house full of Cats" on his personal blog in February 2013. Cameron writes at a time when AUDL rosters were being finalized, and he makes a specific mention of Brodie's player salary.

...First thing is first, congrats to everyone that has made the team so far. We have added many players this year that did not play for the Cats last year. I believe more than half of our team will end up being new players, so there is a lot of turnover from last season's roster. This is for a few different reasons. The first reason is the addition of other teams. Chicago now has 3 of our former players (Goose, Brodie, and Rook). Goose is from Chicago, Rook is his best friend and Brodie... well Brodie is getting paid a lot of money to play there. And when I say a lot of money, I mean more than the average person makes in a year. $40,000. Part of me says "that's really dumb." The other part of me says "I hope this is a sign of things to come." 

Anyways I will talk more about Brodie making that absurd amount of money in a later post. This post is dedicated to the Cats! ...

Screengrab of blog post.

UPDATE 12/14/2013: Cameron Brock's post has been removed.

[Chart] USAU Bids and Qualifiers

A total of 48 team qualify for USA Ultimate's Triple Crown Tour National Championships in Frisco, Texas.

Bids per USAU Region

Over September 28-29, the four remaining Regional Tournaments were completed.

Qualified teams for National Club Championships [as of 9/29/13]

From the 9/28-29 Regional Championship tournaments:

• 75% (9/12) of #1 seeds won their Regionals Tournament
• The Southeast Mixed Division is the only region where the #1 seed did not qualify for Nationals; all other Regions' & divisions' #1 seeds qualified
• Again, all qualifying teams in the women's division are in the Top-16 of Triple Crown Tour rankings 
• 100% (4/4) of #1-seeded women's teams qualified for Nationals
• Lowest Triple Crown Tour-ranked team to qualify for Nationals = 7Express (#31; mixed)
• A new Mixed champion will be crowned as Blackbird (2012's Mixed Division champion) did not qualify

Over September 21-22 weekend, 19 teams (~40%) qualified by winning at Regional tournaments. After next weekend, all Regionals will be complete and the 16 teams in each of the 3 divisions will be set.

Qualified teams for National Club Championships [as of 9/23/13]

From the 9/21-22 Regional Championship tournaments:

• 83% (10/12) of #1 seeds won their Regionals Tournament 
• The Great Lakes Mixed Division (Steamboat) was the only region whose #-seed did not qualify for Nationals; all other Regions' & divisions' #1 seeds qualified. [Updated. thx Owen M.]
• All qualifying teams in the women's division are in the Top-16 of Triple Crown Tour rankings 
• 100% (4/4) of #1-seeded women's teams qualified for Nationals
• Lowest Triple Crown Tour-ranked team to qualify for Nationals = Furious George (#31; men)

Job Description: Pro Ultimate Player

The Salt Lake City Lions - an expectant 2014 AUDL expansion team - have posted pro ultimate player expectations and benefits. In summary, free/discounted swag, don't expect to profit, free travel, meet "celebrity Ultimate players," sell autographed gear, and be a role model.

Here's the copied text from SLCL's website:

"What's in it for me?"

• All Travel and Hotel accommodation paid for: 
• As of right now, most Away Game travel will be by large vans/tour buses. Some distal venues may require we travel by air, and the AUDL is currently working on league-wide airline sponsorship. This may mean air travel for all Away games – no promises on this, though. 
• Jerseys and Shirts paid for. 
• We are looking into being able to cover hats and cleats through sponsorships as well. 
• Ability to play as the best, against the best, with fans cheering for you on a national stage! 
• A chance to win a large cash prize at the end of the year: 
• In the 2013 AUDL Championships, the Toronto Rush took home $20,000 of the $25,000 Championship purse. 
• A percentage of team profit will be awarded to each player – do not expect thousands of dollars the first year. However, the amount everyone takes home will be determined, in large, by how well each player aids in promoting the team and sport of Ultimate Disc. 
• Small stipend for Away Games to help pay for things like food. 
• Team MVPs Cash Award (amount TBD by season). 
• Ability to travel and see various cities around North America for free! 
• Discounts from VC Ultimate. 
• Various discounts and special promotions from future sponsors/vendors of the Salt Lake Lions. 
• FREE tickets for your friends and family to all Home Games. Away Game tickets may be available upon request. 
• Ability to meet, and play against, celebrity Ultimate players like Brodie Smith. 
• Potential to become the next household name in Ultimate Disc, and sell your autographed gear and replica jersey on the Salt Lake Lions' website for profit! 
• Become a part of History: you could be on the first-ever Professional Ultimate Disc team in Utah! 
• Chance to be someone a child looks up to, and wants to be like!

screengrab via SL website

"What's expected of me?" 
Below is a rough outline of what we are expecting from each player. Some of these things will change over time, though this is relatively what we're anticipating requirements to be:
We know that many of you will have familial, spousal, work and other time-related commitments to adhere to. These will be taken into account, and we will work with all future Lions players to the best of our abilities.

GENERAL: Have superb knowledge of the official AUDL Rulebook. Maintain a professional appearance online, and in person. You will each be a voice for the Salt Lake Lions, and we want to make sure you are received as respectable and reasonable human beings. Promote the sport, league and team to the best of your abilities. Be timely, honest, direct and sincere. Listen to, and apply, directions and information given by the coaching staff. Take good care of yourself: mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

PRESEASON: Attend practices laid out by the coaching staff – this will likely be 1 or 2 times each week for a few hours, and will begin in early 2014. Be a part of various special occasions: player signings and appearances, charity events, media releases, conferences, etc. This will most-likely be by request of the Owner/Coaching Staff and/or player availability.

SEASON: Attend practices laid out by the coaching staff – this will likely be 1 or 2 times each week for a few hours, and will begin in April, 2014. Attend 75%-100% of all Home and Away games. There should be around 8 Home and 8 Away games (16 total) for the season: April – July. The vast majority of games will be played on the weekends (Fri-Sun).
We realize not everyone will be able to make each game: we will work with each athlete individually on this. **A schedule will become available in early 2014 as venues are chosen by each team in our division.
** Be a part of various special occasions: player signings and appearances, charity events, media releases, conferences, etc. This will most-likely be by request of the Owner/Coaching Staff and/or player availability. Do your best to win while maintaining Spirit of the Game. 

POST SEASON: Continue to present yourself in a professional and personable manner. There will be fans following you, and it is important to uphold an image parents can feel comfortable having their kids admire. Be a part of various special occasions: player signings and appearances, charity events, media releases, conferences, etc. This will most-likely be by request of the Owner/Coaching Staff and/or player availability.

Week 3: Thriving

Sludge earned an early break at the beginning of the game and kept the lead; 1-0. When Sludge did not break, Great Society was forced with many throws due to Sludge's traditional & hybrid zone sets.

Give-and-go's were prevelant in Sludge's 1st half offense. Russ to Brian to Russ, 2-1; Christy to Matthew to Christy, 3-1; Bucci to David to Matthew to David to Bucci, 6-3.

Brian kept brown on a good flow with a 50-yard flick huck to Nigel on the enar sideline who then sent a cross-field backhand to Mike; 8-5. Andrew's backhand to Chris cushioned the lead to 11-7.

In a balance of effort (one cutter) and precision (tight throwing window), cuts from behind the handlers into the endzone were the O du jour.

During garbage time, Michael was beat on a cut underneath but recovered to swat a floaty disc destined for an endzone receiver. Later in the same point, Michael's run-through defense helped Sludge with favorable starting position, and a score to Mike; 14-7.

Sarah's knee-slide-catch of Andrew's backhand safely ended the game. Win 15-7.

Frisbee Motel

By name alone, this hotel looks absolutely lovely!

Frisbee Motel (Cambridge, Ohio)

Original postcard image [SOURCE]

[Chart] USAU Club Events

USA Ultimate recently reported "Last year, USAU-sanctioned 37 regular season events in the club division. This year, 54. 45% growth on that front."

Last year, USA Ultimate sanctioned 37 regular season events in the club division. This year, 54. 45% growth on that front.
— USA Ultimate (@USAUltimate) September 12, 2013

That's a lot of extra bananas!

Week 2: For Huckness Sake

Game 1: vs Huck Norris
Sludge returned to their 16th fall season and swiftly fell into form.

Broken on the first point, Sludge recovered with the next 4 scores. An active offense was on display after turnovers - Joe-to-Michael-to-Amy; Henry-to-Bucci; Mike-to-Michael.

Christy's defense led to Brian's high flick to Russ; up 8-4 at half.

Both teams took shots down field on the short field. What gave Sludge the advantage were open cuts underneath and then well-angled cutting to space near the end zone.

Sludge rolled in the second half with lofty pulls and deep connections. Charlie's 40-yard backhand to Henry; 10-5.  Henry's tip catch D, then hammer to Russ; 12-5. Matthew's overthrow caught by Joe; 14-6.

Win 15-6.

(Triple-play thanks to Tim!)

Game 2: vs Hucking Justice

The next game was played on the parallel field at Sligo; the second game for both teams.

Sludge snagged an early break with a score from Bucci to Rachel; 1-0. The zone D regularly forced multi-throws and effectively slowed down the G'town grads.

The first half was back and forth (2's, 3's, 4's, 4-5, 6's). Joe's breakside backhands to Rachel were a regular feeder for points as were Henry's connections to Amy.

Sludge's 8-1 stockpiling played to a keep-the-disc-moving sensibility capped off by Matthew's blade-y hammer to Steve. The comfortable 14-7 lead started to shrink just as the sideline complimented the team as "mature."

[STAT: Sludge scored on 69% (29) of the first 42 total points played; then 12.5% on last 8 points of the day.]

Eventually...win 15-12.

Operation Patience

"Operation Patience" - Robert Griffin III's motto for knee surgery rehab - sounds like a strategy for Ultimate Frisbee. Keeping possession and having 10 seconds to throw the disc are staples for ulti offenses.

(C)Toni L. Sandys/TWP

The Washington, DC football team's QB wore the adidas t-shirt during warmups at a pre-season game in August. RGIII was fined $10,000 for wearing the shirt.

Pocket Alternative

Without pockets on Ultimate shorts, players must seek out alternative locations to stash items. This water bottle has promise.

Kangaroo Water Bottle with Storage Compartment [contigo]

Info: Features built-in storage so you can carry IDs, keys & money. Spill & leak-proof technology offers one-handed convenience, making this water bottle perfect for active use. No spouts to open or lids to remove - just press to sip and release to automatically seal.

Colors: Blue, purple

Size: 24-fluid ounces (less than a Nalgene).

Price: $13.99

Behind the Name: Brick

Within the lexicon of Ultimate players, "brick" is known as where the offense starts after a pull lands out-of-bounds [VIII.B.6.d]. The name origin is unrelated to construction, or the type of wall an errant disc may hit.

The etymology of "brick" is named after a person - just like the Callahan.  The penalty mark was first instituted in the mid-1980's by an Ultimate Tournament Director Louis Burke whose nickname was "brick."

Get it? Burke/Brick.

Before the brick rule was enacted, there was usually a re-pull.

[SOURCE: Ultimate Encyclopedia]

NICE CAT-ch

The telecom company O2 TU Go tosses a Frisbee in their recent advertising. Yes, that's a cat catching the disc! A CAT!

Hmmm, this feline shows promise in a bid for the starting 7 species.

World Games Medal Meddling

A few did-you-know items from this summer's The World Games in Colombia:

1. Medals are not given to everyone on the team. Similar to the Olympics, only players - not coaches - received medals. So, for the USA Ultimate World Games team, neither Alex Ghesquiere nor Matt Tsang were awarded a gold medal.

2. Game attendance was over 10,000! The attendance estimates at the flying disc medal games was upwards of 10,000! Host-country Colombia played Canada in the bronze medal game, and the gold medal game was USA vs Australia.

3. The 2013 World Games medals had a misspelling. Yes, a typo! Instead of "World" medals read "Word." (All athletes were promised replacement of flawed medals. UPDATE: Maybe not!)

Front of defective TWG medal. Back of medal.

Picture This

Congrats are in order for Sludge - for making it to the MLU Finals! Well, the #MLUFan Photo Contest finals. Sludge's "very literal" photo is up against a "very cute" baby & a "very odd" horseback disc catch.

Submissions with the most likes on MLU's Facebook page wins!
Deadline: Friday, Sept 13 @ 8pm ET

Here's my submission:

#MLUFan @MLUltimate #amidoingthisright pic.twitter.com/R3fJpdUDhM
— Sludge Ultimate (@sludgebrown) August 26, 2013

UPDATE: Sludge finished last in the contest. No thanks to DC Current who didn't even "Like" the photo?! Thanks to those who voted on Facebook for the Sludge submission - Andrew F, Brandon G, Rachel H, Greg F, Colin C, Joe S, Robert H, Matt O, Isaac C, Tyler W, Joe F, David C.

Briny Foam Roller

Imagine bringing a foam roller AND pickles/juice to your next Ultimate game as ONE item. After months of testing prototypes, I invented a foam roller with a built-in pickle jar!

The "PICK & ROLL"TM

• Foam roller, a cylindrical piece of extruded hard-celled foam, helps with localized self-massage increasing blood-flow within the muscle.
• Pickle juice, which is high in sodium helps the body retain fluids, and helps to eliminate cramping. The average pickle spear contains nearly twice the amount of sodium than a sports drink.

No longer will you have to lug around 1 foam roller AND 1 jar of pickles! Just grab the PICK & ROLL. By combining these two important products for athletes, this all-in-one hybrid is going to revolutionize Ultimate sidelines and athletic recovery in the 21st century!

Pick & Roll prototype

DC Breeze Website Updated

The website for the AUDL team DC Breeze has finally been updated! The last noticeable online update was nearly four months ago! For the last 3/4 of the AUDL season, their website did NOT change! WWWTF?

The last time the Breeze webpage was updated was mid-May of 2013. The DC Breeze were fourth in their division with a 2-3 record. Since that time, the DC Breeze played 11 more professional Ultimate games and the 2013 AUDL season ended in early August. The Week-5 standings remained throughout the season.

Screengrab of DC Breeze website before recent update

No links are available on the recently updated http://the-dcbreeze.com. More sponsors fill the page border and this text replaced all of the homepage news:
"THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT
The DC Breeze thanks all of our fans for their support in our inaugural season. Please be patient as we upgrade our website to serve you better for the 2014 season!"

Screengrab of DC Breeze website (Sept 11, 2013)

Best of the Ultimate Beasts

Humans sure are doing a superb job of playing Ultimate. But, which animals (can you imagine?) would excel at Ultimate?  Whether planning for the future inter-species Ultimate game, or applying it as a metaphor for player recruitment, use your human brain to dream up your starting seven species.

Jimmy Leppert of Skyd recently provided insight on his starting 7 non-humans.

I compiled visuals based on answers by Leppert & Pranksters (below):

Leppert's starting 7: receivers = dolphin, cheetah; defense = dog, bluefin tuna;
handlers = orangutan, bear; captain = lion.

Middlebury Pranksters' starting 7: golden eagle, bluefin tuna, blue whale, giraffe, black mamba, cheetah, boa constrictor

My starting 7: receivers = dog (border collie), giraffe; defense = octopus, falcon; handlers = chimpanzee, kangaroo; captain = tiger.

Triple Crown Tour Prize Money

With nearly $40,000 awarded to Ultimate players during the 2013 pro league seasons ($14,700 in MLU; $25,000 in AUDL), prize money is becoming commonplace in Ultimate. Gone are the days when players are playing for "nothing," or even "making zero dollars playing Ultimate."

[UPDATED 10/21/2013]
FINAL Money Leaders in the Triple Crown Tour for teams in (M)en, mi(X)ed & (W)omen divisions, as of 10/21:

Total = $26,250. Fourteen different club teams won prize money in 2013 TCT 

[9/10/13] Money Leaders in the Triple Crown Tour for teams in (M)en, mi(X)ed & (W)omen divisions:

Triple Crown Tour Money Leaders [$18,750 total; as of Sept 9, 2013]

Nearly $30,000 is available for USAU's Triple Crown Tour. Per TCT Guidelines: "Prize money will be awarded in recognition of competitive excellence and in order to help offset some costs for teams that are invested in and committed to the Triple Crown Tour season." The most one team could earn = $9,250.

NOTES:

• Total TCT prize money = $29,250; TCT guaranteed* prize money = $24,750.
  *The majority of prize money is awarded to winners of the 5 scheduled tournaments and the end of the regular season #1's. Only teams who win the "Triple Crown" - winning the US Open, the Regular Season, & the National Championships - are eligible for an extra $2000 bonus.
• Pro/Elite Challenge = Terminus & Philly Invite 
• Elite/Select Challenge = Colorado Cup & Emerald City Classic
• Pro Flight Finale = Bay Area Invite

For a 27-player roster, $74.07 is the highest payout an Ultimate player can earn per prize. The most an Ultimate player in the TCT could earn = $342.59.

Another Ultimate License Plate

Another Ultimate license plate! This one from "The Natural State" with a UPA license plate frame.

Arkansas license plate "ULTIMAT"

[via Little Rock Ultimate]

Fall 2013 Schedule

Sludge begins their 31st season!

Week# : Date : Time : @ Location [updated 11/07/13]
-->Find fields --> WAFC Sched

Week 1: Sept 7: Bye

Week 2: Sept 14: !!DOUBLEHEADER!! 1pm AND 3pm @ Sligo #1B, #1A (lower)

Week 3: Sept 21: 1pm @ Sligo #2B (upper)

Week 4: Sept 28: Bye

Week 5: Oct 5: !!DOUBLEHEADER!! 11am AND 1pm @ Sligo #2A (upper)

Week 6: Oct 12: BYE...to DC (Hi to OBX)

Week 7: Oct 19: !!DOUBLEHEADER!! 2pm AND 4pm @ Anacostia #3, #2

Week 8: Oct 26: 1pm @ Key #2

:Post-Season:
Pool Play: Saturday, Nov 9 @ Key
10am - field #1
12pm - field #2
2pm  - field #3

Tournament: Sunday, Nov 16; TBD

An Ultimate Problem

If this is THE Ultimate problem, then having a flat, grassy field closed on a sunny day is runner-up.

Field Closed (Alexandria, VA)

Triple Crown Tour 2013 Season Rankings

For the seventh and final time, USA Ultimate posted their club team rankings for the Triple Crown Tour. As noted on their website, the USA Ultimate Club Rankings Algorithm becomes more accurate later in the season as more valid scores are provided by club tournament directors and teams.

Women . Mixed . Men.

Women 
Within the top 16 teams, there was very little movement of ranking. Fury (18-3) was ranked #1 throughout the entire season. Nightlock (#14) was the only Top-16 women's club team during the season to be ranked outside of the Top-16.

Top-25 women club teams and their rank movement during the season.

To further display this lack of movement in the women's team rankings, you can see the consistency of rankings throughout the season:

By request, here's the women club team ranking points throughout the season:

Mixed
There is consistency within the Top-10 mixed teams throughout the season. Blackbird (#10) is the only Top-10 team that dropped below 10th place. The Top-4 mixed teams - AMP, Polar Bears, CLX, Slow White - remained in the top 5 during the whole regular season. Love Tractor (#25, not shown) was the only team, besides AMP & CLX, to be ranked 1st (on August 7).

Men
Florida United (on 7/24) was the only other #1 team besides Revolver (11-4). Lots of movement toward the end of the season to settle final rankings.

DATA SOURCE: USA Ultimate