Locations of Club Ultimate Teams Playing at 2015 Nationals

USA Ultimate's 2015 National Club Ultimate Championships starts tomorrow! A total of 21 states/provinces from the eight geographical regions are represented at this year's USAU National Championships, with California sending the most teams (5) of any state. Seven states/territory – California, Colorado, D.C., Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington and Wisconsin – have teams in each division.

State/Province location of qualifiers to 2015 Nationals, all divisions

1st: California (5 teams)
2nd: Massachusetts, Washington (4 teams)
3rd: Colorado, DC, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin (3 teams)
4th: Georgia, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Texas (2 teams)
5th: British Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Quebec (1 team)

NOTE: Locations based on State/Province/District per team page on USAU

HISTORY: Maps of team at Club National in 2014, in 2013

"Free Random Exposure" for Ultimate

As 48 teams start heading to Frisco, Texas, for USA Ultimate's National Championships, here is some advice for all ultimate teams to consider during their travels:

TEXT:
Dom of Seattle Riot had a great idea last year. Let's keep up the momentum this season!

"leaders/friends,
you know how women's ultimate is trying to promote exposure to young girls and parents to get these girls excited about playing ultimate...

did you know that portland state has a women's softball team and that wachusett has a men's lacrosse team? me neither, nor did I care until I noticed on my last couple of flights that everyone (airport security, random strangers) were asking them questions (did you win? what position do you play?) all because they all were traveling in team gear.

I propose that we ask our teammates to make a small effort to travel in our awesome team gear AND that we ask fellow women's club teams to travel in their team gear, too.

some individuals already do it but if we could get a lot of the teams doing it, people notice. it's a small effortless act that I think might actually give women's ultimate some free random exposure and get people to ask us questions about the sport that we love so much. 

nothing mandatory or special, just a soft request with a purpose behind. we all have our tank tops and sweatshirts and hats and comfy sweatpants and we're often sharing a flight with our teammates.

why not?

spread the word."


[via Fury; h/t Fury]

T-shirt Fundraiser for D.C. Club Ultimate Teams

For a limited-time, a T-shirt is for sale as a fundraiser for the three Washington, DC-based club ultimate teams competing at USA Ultimate National Championships. The shirt design is inspired by a SLUDGE image (that borrowed heavily from a pre-2014 Ambiguous Grey's logo) for a published post commemorating the achievements of local D.C. ultimate teams at Regionals of the 2015 Triple Crown Tour postseason.

Info: A limited-edition t-shirt to raise funds for D.C. club ultimate teams to go to Nationals. White shirt featuring the logos of Ambiguous Grey (Mixed), Truck Stop (Men), & Scandal (Women) in place of the 3 stars of the DC flag above 2 red bars of the flag.

Price: $19.89

Buy: DiscStore.com

Revised 2015 National Championship Logo (Frisco, TX)

The 2015 National Championships for club ultimate teams starts next month - that's in a few days! - in Frisco, Texas.

FR15CO!


[Original logo by Five Ultimate]

Club Ultimate Team Logo Alphabet Quiz (2015)

Can you guess the club ultimate teams from their alphabet letter?

HINT: Logos are from a portion of the 48 teams that qualified for 2015 Nationals.

Record Breakdown of Teams at Nationals

Pools and seeding for the 2015 USA Ultimate National Championships were released last night. The 48 ultimate club teams participating at Nationals have a combined record of 951 wins and 335 losses (0.740 winning percentage). Here's a breakdown of their wins/losses and winning %.

Highest winning percentage in each division:
Boulder Love Tractor; 0.963
Boston Brute Squad; 0.935
San Francisco Revolver; 0.923

Most games played in each division:
New York Metro North (40)
Raleigh Phoenix (36)
Philadelphia Patrol (32)

Most wins in each division:
New York Metro North (31)
Boston Brute Squad (29)
Philadelphia Patrol (27)

Fewest losses in each division:
Boulder Love Tractor (1)
tied Boston Brute Squad, San Francisco Fury (2)
San Francisco Revolver (2)

Most losses in each division:
Chicago Nemesis (16); the only team at Nationals with a losing record
Kansas City Prairie Fire (12)
San Francisco Polar Bears (10)

Fewest wins in each division:
tied Raleigh Ring of Fire, Toronto GOAT (9) - the only teams at Nationals with single-digit wins.
Vancouver Traffic (12)
tied Seattle Birdfruit, Philadelphia AMP (17)

Fewest games played in each division:
Chicago UPA (20)
Vancouver Traffic (17)
Raleigh Ring of Fire (17)

Games Played	# of Teams
40	1
30-39	15
20-29	27
10-19	5

NOTE: Data analysis above is only on the ultimate club teams that qualified for the 2015 Championships.

[DATA via USAU; compiled by SLUDGE]

RIP Yogi Berra (1925 - 2015)

Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra passed away on Tuesday at the age of 90. What an amazing life! A couple of his Yogi-isms:

via

AUDL 2015 Season Highlights

American Ultimate Disc League posted their highlight video for the 2015 season.The supercut of offense and defense highlights shows 28 total plays featuring 13 AUDL teams.



Team frequency on AUDL 2015 Season Highlights video:
San Jose =  6
Madison = 4
Los Angeles = 3
Seattle = 3
Atlanta = 2
Jacksonville = 2
Vancouver = 2
Chicago = 1
Indianapolis = 1
Montreal = 1
Raleigh = 1
San Francisco = 1
Toronto = 1

Not all AUDL teams were included in the video. Twelve (12) teams (48% of the league) are missing in the season highlights:

• Five out of 7 East Division teams; DC, New York, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Rochester
• Four out of 7 Midwest Division teams; Cincinnati, Detroit, Minnesota, Pittsburgh
• Two out of 5 South Division teams; Charlotte, Nashville
• 1 out of 6 West Division teams; San Diego

Flatball Film Releases Movie Poster

"Flatball - A History of Ultimate" which crowdfunded in spring of 2014 took another step by releasing its movie poster. Wasting an opportunistic pun, no flicks are shown on the movie poster.

Yes! You read the correctly - Alec Baldwin is narrating!

Prominently pictured is Pat King (New York, New York) readying to spike the disc as Brent Russell (San Diego/LA Iguanas) sits on the ground.

The Flatball globe insignia appears to be borrowed from the Wham-O 165-gram World Class Frisbee.

Ultimate Tournament Director Appreciation Day 2015

Today is Ultimate Tournament Director Appreciation Day!

From local leagues to national events; from hats to Worlds, ultimate tournaments happen because of these hardworking individuals. Tournament Directors (TDs) do so much – schedule, budget, plan, setup, field lining, feeding, measuring, calling, emailing, confirming, directing, cleanup, score reporting and so much more – to organize competition for the sport of ultimate. For these reasons, September 18th is a day to take time to appreciate Ultimate Tournament Directors.

Want to celebrate Ultimate Tournament Director Appreciation day?
Post an appreciative message on social media, and tag your TD &/or the tournament.

Use the hashtag "#ThxUTD" so everyone can follow the conversation.

Copy and post any of these UTD Appreciation Day images into your social media.

Design your own image for Ultimate Tournament Director Appreciation Day and post it somewhere online.

Hug your TD (if you see them in-person).

Send a thank you email to a TD of an ultimate tourney you attended this past year.

Why celebrate Ultimate Tournament Director Appreciation day?
Join this grassroots movement to publicly recognize these important leaders in the sport of Ultimate.

D.C. Ultimate Teams Sweep Regional Titles

Congratulations to Washington, D.C. club ultimate teams Truck Stop, Ambiguous Grey, and Scandal for winning their divisions at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament over September 12-13.

Truck Stop posted a (9-10) record during the regular season and entered as the #1 seed in the Men's Division. Truck won their first 3 games on Saturday, and then beat the #3-seed Pittsburgh Temper by the score of 11-8. The 4 consecutive wins is Truck's longest winning streak of the season.

Ambiguous Grey entered the Mixed Division tournament as the 4-seed and went (3-0) during Saturday's pool play.  In Sunday's semifinals, AG upset AMP (the  #1 seed) and went on to win the finals 13-7 over Love Bomb from Ben Avon, Pennsylvania. Since August 2nd, AG has won 14 consecutive games.

Scandal posted a record of (10-9) during the regular season was the top-seed in the Women's Division tournament. Outscoring their opponents 39-10 during Saturday's pool play, Scandal went (3-0). Scandal continued their domination with a 9-point quarters win and a 13-point semifinals. The division finals was Scandal's closest game where they beat Philadelphia Green Means Go, 12-8.


By winning the Mid-Atlantic region, all three teams earn a bid to USA Ultimate's National Championships in October 2015.


[DC flag image of AG logo updated by SLUDGE]

Breakdown of Nationals Qualifying Teams by Seeds at Regionals

Forty-eight teams qualified at Triple Crown Tour postseason Regionals weekend for the 2015 National Championships. Most top-seeded teams qualified for Nationals, while many other lower-seeded teams also earned bids.

Metro North (Northeast region, Mixed) was the lowest seeded team (5th) to qualify for Nationals. Ambiguous Grey (Mid-Atlantic region, Mixed) was the lowest seeded team (4th) to win a region.

#1 seeds (43.8%); #2 seeds (33.3%); #3 seeds (16.7%); #4 seeds (4.2%); #5 seeds (2.1%)

List of all qualifying club ultimate teams with their seed at Regionals and their Regionals finish.

Performance by Top-Seeded Teams at 2015 Regionals

How did the #1 seeded teams perform at 2015 Regionals?

Over 70% (17/24) - the exact rate in 2014 - of #1 seeds won their 2015 Regional Tournaments held last weekend.

(#) in Finished 1st indicates seed at Regionals 

Of the 8 top seeds in each division...
Men's Division: 87.5% won their Region; 100% qualified for Nationals.
Mixed Division: 25% won their Region; 62.5% qualified for Nationals.
Women's Division: 100% won their Region; 100% qualified for Nationals.
OVERALL: 70.8% (17/24) won their Region; 87.5% (21/24) qualified for Nationals.

The 3 teams seeded #1 at Regionals that did not qualify for Nationals were all in the Mixed Division -- Steamboat (Great Lakes); Mental Toss Flycoons (Northwest), and Mischief (Southwest)

RELATED: 2014 History  .  2013 History . 

Qualifiers for 2015 Club Nationals

Here are the 48 club ultimate teams that won their region's bid(s) and earned a spot at the National Championships in October.

Congratulations to all qualifying teams.

[Data via USAU]

Triple Crown Tour Regionals 2015

All 8 Regional Championships for the Triple Crown Tour take place this weekend. After Sunday, we will know all 48 club ultimate teams that have earned their region's bid.

Below is a map indicating where each region's championship is being hosted and also the number of bids in each division.

Good luck to all participating teams!

Fall 2015 Schedule

Sludge begins their 35th season this weekend!

Week# : Date : Time : @ Location [updated 9/25/2015]
-->Find fields --> WAFC Sched

Week 1: Sept 12: 12pm @ Montgomery Hills #2

Week 2: Sept 19: !!DOUBLEHEADER!! 10 am AND 12pm @ JFK Fields #1

Week 3: Sept 26: 11am @ Key #2

Week 4: Oct 3: BYE

Week 5: Oct 10: BYE...to DC (Hi to OBX)

Week 6: Oct 17: !!DOUBLEHEADER!! 11am AND 1pm @ Sligo #2B

Week 7: Oct 24: 1pm @ Sligo #2A

Week 8: Oct 31: 1pm @ Sligo #1A

:Post-Season:
Pool Play: TBD

Tournament: TBD

Use of Movement-Tracking Sensors by NFL, AUDL

According to this Quartz article, NFL players will be wearing movement-tracking devices to collect performance data.

A similar initiative - players wearing sensors that feed data - was tested at the AUDL's pro ultimate Championship in August. Player movement info via Peeq Data may be available as early as the 2016 AUDL season.

Per Quartz: They'll be too small to notice, but the sensors attached to players in the 2015 football season will certainly shake up the sport. The NFL is set to make each player that much "smarter" this year.

Starting with season opener of the New England Patriots against the Pittsburgh Steelers, movement-tracking sensors will be embedded on each football player's shoulder pad that can wirelessly emit unique radio frequencies.

These devices will generate an enormous amount of real-time usable statistics, and could dramatically change the way fans and teams watch and analyze games, who will now be able to see just how fast a player is running, his position, and the distance he traveled. The NFL has partnered up with RFID tracking company Zebra to equip every stadium with 20 receivers, CIO reports.

Do Work

Was the 26th President of the United States also a coach for ultimate offenses?

Photo taken at museum in Poughkeepsie, NY

"Do your work, do it up to the handle, then play when you have time and if you are worth anything, enjoy that too." (attributed to Theodore Roosevelt)


I could not find an internet source that Teddy ever said the above quote, but he did say: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Theodore Roosevelt

MLU President and Commissioner Jeff Snader Steps Down

Text via MLU...
Jeff Snader, in cooperation with the MLU's Board of Directors and Management, has decided to step down from his position as the Commissioner and CEO of Major League Ultimate. As of this weekend, Jeff will no longer be involved in the day to day management of the Company. He will, however, maintain a role within the company as a founder and investor.

Jeff Snader's statement regarding this transition: "Sometimes you have to step back and look at what is best for the league and its people and sometimes you have to make tough decisions. Over the last three years we've truly achieved some amazing things that everyone who was a part of it can be proud of. However, the MLU is ready for a new chapter and I think it would be best to have someone new lead the charge to push the MLU to new heights. It's a bittersweet day for me but I know this is the best path for the MLU and I'd like to thank all of the great people I've had the pleasure to work with over these last three years. I look forward to supporting all of the them from the board room and the stands on game day. I'm looking forward to chasing a few other projects I've been thinking about so you'll be sure to hear from me. I'm also excited to get back to coaching which is my first love when it comes to ultimate."

I'm excited to support the MLU from the board room and the stands this year. I know the MLU is in good hands and is primed for big things.

— Jeffrey Snader (@JeffSnader) September 8, 2015

[h/t reddit]

Truck Stop in 2015 Triple Crown Tour

Washington D.C.'s Truck Stop has been competing as a Pro Flight club ultimate team based on their top-8 performance at last year's Nationals. During the 2015 Triple Crown Tour regular season, Truck Stop has 9 wins out of 19 games. In those 9 wins, Truck won by an average of 5.7 goals (9 games); Truck lost by an average of 1.7 goals (10 games).

At 2015 US Open Ultimate Championships, Truck finished tied for 3rd with a (3-3) record and +14 point differential. Truck Stop lost to San Francisco Revolver - the eventual champions - in the US Open semifinals.

At Triple Crown Tour Pro-Elite Challenge 2015 (Colorado Cup), Truck finished 9th with a (3-3) record and +13 point differential. Truck Stop lost to Chicago Machine in pre-quarters.

At Triple Crown Tour Pro Flight Finale 2015, Truck finished 4th with a (3-4) record and +8 point differential. Truck Stop lost again to San Francisco Revolver - the eventual champions - in the PFF semifinals.

(0-3) = Truck Stop's record in first games at 2015 TCT tournaments.

3 games = longest winning streak by Truck Stop in 2015.

3 goals = largest deficit in a loss; twice.

8 = # of games lost by 1-goal or 2-goals.

Truck Stop as the #1 seed will seek to reverse that first game curse and post their longest winning streak (4 games) at this weekend's Mid-Atlantic Regionals bracket-style tournament.

Seattle Riot Show Off Their Cutting Skills

In addition to cutting up defenses, Seattle Riot show they can also apply cutting skills off the field.

next level pic.twitter.com/KvCF7sdIrR

— Seattle Riot (@SeattleRiot) September 7, 2015

Battle of Pro Ultimate Championships Hosts

On the second weekend of August 2015, the two pro ultimate leagues finished their seasons. Both leagues championship games were hosted at a venue of Major League Soccer teams. On August 8, Major League Ultimate held their MLU Championship at PPL Park - home of the Philadelphia Union. The next day, American Ultimate Disc League's championship was hosted in San Jose Quakes' Avaya Stadium.

Nearly a month later, the two MLS host teams - Philadelphia Union (7-14-6) @ San Jose Quakes (11-10-5) - faced off last night. Watch the highlights.

SJ took the early lead, 1-0; PHI battled backfor a 2-1 win.

2015 Triple Crown Tour Prize Money Leaders

During the 2015 Triple Crown Tour season, fifteen (15) club ultimate teams have won prize money totaling nearly $20,000.

Club Ultimate Team	City	Winnings	Division	Wins
Revolver	San Francisco	$3500	Men	US Open #1, Pro Flight Finale #1
Ellipsis	Melbourne	$2000	Mixed	US Open #1
Fury	San Francisco	$2000	Women	US Open #1
Brute Squad	Boston	$1500	Women	Pro Flight Finale #1
Chad Larson Experience	Ames	$1500	Mixed	Pro Flight Finale #1
Riot	Seattle	$1500	Women	US Open #2, Pro Flight Finale #2
Molly Brown	Denver	$1250	Women	Pro-Elite Challenge, Elite-Select Challenge
GOAT	Toronto	$1000	Men	US Open #2
Mixtape	Seattle	$1000	Mixed	US Open #2
Mischief	San Francisco	$750	Mixed	Pro-Elite Challenge
Sockeye	Seattle	$750	Men	Pro-Elite Challenge
Cosa Nostra	Austin	$500	Mixed	Elite-Select Challenge
Drag'n Thrust	Minneapolis	$500	Mixed	Pro Flight Finale #2
High Five	Ann Arbor	$500	Men	Elite-Select Challenge
Ironside	Boston	$500	Men	US Open #2

Total prize money = $18,750 (as of 9/1/2015). Breakdown of Triple Crown Tour prize money.

The only regions that have not won prize money this year are Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.

Region	TCT Prize Money in 2015
Southwest	$6250
Northwest	$3250
Northeast	$3000
International	$2000
North Central	$2000
South Central	$1750
Great Lakes	$500
Mid-Atlantic	$0
Southeast	$0

Seattle Bird Fruit Scores 5, Wins Section

The sectionals for Washington Mixed Division on Saturday, August 29 was setup as a 5-team round robin. Seattle Bird Fruit played four 1-goal games during the entire day. In their last game of the day, Bird Fruit scored only 5 goals which were enough to win the section over the top-seeded Seattle Mixtape.

Mixtape 4 - 5 Bird Fruit [screengrab via]

Bird Fruit scored more goals (10) in their first game of the day than the total combined goals (9) in their last game.

All participating teams earned a bid to the Northwest Regionals based on bid allocations.

UPDATE: The National Weather Service reported 20 to 35 mph winds, with gusts of 50 mph, on August 29. It was very windy according to Gwen Ambler,

History of Triple Crown Wins and Runners-Up

USA Ultimate developed an historical infographic on the winners of each crown of their Triple Crown Tour since 2013.

via @TripleCrownTour

Since 2013, San Francisco Revolver has dominated the Men's Division - winning 7 of the 8 crown events! The Mixed Division has had more mixed results with 6 different teams winning an event. The Women's Division events have been won by four teams - San Francisco Fury, Washington DC Scandal, Seattle Riot, and Boston Brute Squad.

Which club ultimate teams took 2nd place at these same events?

Runners-up at Triple Crown Tour (2013-2015) by SLUDGE

Boston Ironside has the most 2nd place results in the Men's Division. Again in the Mixed Division, 5 different teams had a 2nd place finish. And, in the Women's Division, Seattle Riot placed 2nd in 4 out of 8 events.

[Data sources: 2013, 2014, 2015]
[Runners-up Chart compiled by SLUDGE]

Do Over: August 2015

Catch up on last month's noteworthy posts you may have missed...

Offense & Defense Rankings: AUDL & MLU

All-Star Ultimate Tour completed their 9-game schedule

WFDF (ultimate) was recognized by the Olympic Committee

Can you recognize ultimate frisbee?

Virtually Hurl Discs

DiscStorm is a video game where each player has 3 discs, and must attempt to hit enemies with the discs. When you have thrown all 3 discs, you must retrieve them in order to be able to throw them again; however when the player has no Frisbees you can perform a dash move that enables the player to cover ground quickly and collect their discs.

Info: The goal is to defeat all the enemies in each level, including the bosses scattered throughout the level at midway points.

"Fast and furious arena-based combat game DiscStorm tests your mettle to the limit as you hurl flying discs that ricochet around the game's arenas at break-neck speed in your quest to be the finest Disc Master around."

Available on: Windows, Mac OS X, SteamOS + Linux

Price: $11.99