Pro Ultimate Costume Ideas

What started as a finding the perfect Halloween costumes for Casey (the mascot of Seattle Cascades) turned into project involving a few more AUDL West teams.

Costume ideas from other West Division teams:

 L.A. Aviator minion! Putting those goggles to good use.

San Diego Growlers? San Diego gr-OWL-ers.

Cowabunga, San Jose!

Scary Ultimate Pumpkin Carvings

Ultimate is all fun and games, but there are plenty o' scary moments. Good thing ultimate is a team sport.

A Hospital Pass? AHHHHH-timate

Catching the pull. Especially when there are swirling winds.

Forgot Cleats. Those words give you chills!

High stall hammer. Totally nerve wracking.

TMF. The "surprise" TMF is the worst Team Misconduct Foul.

Candy Corn Cone

Well, my million-dollar idea was all sketched out ready to be crowdfunded by the masses, until...

one last search on the google machine resulted in...

photo via

proving my idea was not original.

May all Halloween-themed ultimate tournaments be graced by candy corn cones!

Fun facts about Candy Corn.

DC Breeze Swaying Truck Stop Players

Preparation for the 2016 season is starting early this year, and the American Ultimate Disc League's DC team is already hauling in players from DC's elite men's club team, Truck Stop.

The DC Breeze's 2016 roster currently includes a total of 8 players from the 2015 Truck Stop roster. This number is expected to increase after Sunday's tryouts. As a comparison, the 2015 Breeze team rostered only 5 Truck Stoppers (based on 2014 Truck roster).

The 5 new signees are big names with plenty of pro ultimate experience — they combined for 55 goals + 82 assists in 10 games with the 2015 DC Current (MLU).

New [Truck Stop]
David Cranston
Alan Kolick
Markham  Shofner
Nicky Spiva
Jeff Wodatch

Returning [Truck Stop]

David Boylan-Kolchin
Ben Feng

Brad  Scott

Returning [Medicine Men]

Matt  Kerrigan

RIP Salt Lake Lions

Salt Lake Lions were winless (0-14) in the 2014 AUDL season, then had their 2015 season canceled one month before the season was to start. At the time, the league said the team planned to return in 2016.

However, in early October 2015, the AUDL announced they "reached a mutual agreement with the Salt Lake owners through which the league will retain franchise rights, and will not be reintegrating the Lions team next season." So, the Lions were winless in 2014, gameless in 2015 and now lifeless for 2016.

R.I.P. Salt Lake Lions (2014, 2015, 2016)

For a team that did not participate in the 2015 American Ultimate Disc League season and was later dissolved before the 2016 season, Salt Lake still has an online presence.

1. Salt Lake Lions website
The website is still up and running, and even actively selling season tickets for a 2016 season.

[Salt Lake was a rare pro team to post attendance (and weather updates) after each game, which led to this season aggregate.]

2. AUDL Official Store
Shop online at http://shop.theaudl.com/collections/salt-lake-lions and you will still find 2 products affiliated with the Lions; a mug and Tshirt — typical parting gifts.

3. West Division Teams
Three out of the six West teams currently list the Lions as a division rival.

Screengrabs from websites of  (clockwise) San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose.

4. Social Media
Salt Lake Lions Facebook with 1,962 likes recently posted on October 16, while their twitter account (@SaltLakeLions) with 921 followers has been quiet since mid-August. Neither of these sites have announced the team's demise.

Pro Ultimate Replica Jerseys

Sixty pro ultimate jerseys are now available. Anyone with $3,070* in their bank account could be the proud owner of all team jerseys. What a time be be alive!
*excludes shipping and handling

Major League Ultimate
MLU Replica Jerseys for the 8 teams are made by Canterbury.
Price: $59.99

Buy: http://major-league-ultimate.myshopify.com/collections/replica-jerseys

----------------------------------------
American Ultimate Disc League
Choose from 25 different AUDL teams's Replica Jerseys - available in a white and a dark option.
Price: $50
White/Lights

Darks

Buy: http://shop.theaudl.com/collections/custom-jerseys

Also, one "TEXpansion" team is already pre-orders for their jerseys: Austin Sol white & dark.

Recap: Final Standings in Triple Crown Tour

Here's a recap of the final standings in the 2015 Triple Crown Tour divisions - Men, Mixed, Women - compared to 2014. The Top-16 in each division are based on results at Club Nationals, the final tournament of the Triple Crown  Tour season.

Movement (Teams )in the Top-16 by Club Division, 

Movement (#s) in the Top-16 of Each Club Division

Division	UP	DOWN	NO CHANGE	NEW
Men	6	5	1	4
Mixed	2	5	2	7
Women	6	6	1	3

USA Ultimate Goes Mobile

On October 10, USA Ultimate released their mobile app called "USA Ultimate."

ad via USAU Magazine

Info: The official USA Ultimate mobile app brings the latest news, videos, championship event results & schedules, magazine and more to your mobile device.

Price: Free via iTunes & Android.

Back to the Future Day

Date: October 21, 2015
Time 4:29 PM

Welcome to the future!


The Frisbie pies tin used as a prop in the BttF Trilogy accurately shows the imprinting on this pie tin, but the prop incorrectly shows a 3-pointed star in the middle. For more in-depth details about the Frisbee/Frisbie cameo, go to Futurepedia.

Ultimate Got 99 Problems but Ditch Ain't One

Out of the ashes of NexGen Network, which ceased operations on December 31, 2014, rises....

Ditch.

[As predicted, this media venture was not a combination of company names.]

Reportedly financed by the E.R.I.C. founders, the new media company called Ditch introduced itself with a proclamation which does not address the sport of ultimate directly, but refers to a "unique community united by disc":

Welcome.
Ditch is for those who think about sports a little differently.
To us, your success on the field is not a value judgment of who you are as a human being. If you are tuning into that doctrine, we're not here for you.
We play for the chance to travel while competing with friends.
We play for the experience of belonging to a globally unique community united by the disc.
Ditch encourages unconventional spirits. We lionize the adventuring wanderer, we glorify the weird. We relish those that thrive when pushing the status quo.
We never know what the future will hold, but you can bet that we'll have a good time when we're there. With our lifestyle, the potential roads are limitless.
We are Ditch. Thanks for joining us.
Grab a bag.
Pack light.

screengrab via Ditch facebook, bolding & highlighting by SLUDGE 

Ditch's first live-streaming of games will cover a USA All-Star team vs Manila Spirits in Manila, Philippines on November 11 (vs Philippines) & 13 (vs Japan).

Dig ditch at: @ditcheverything . http://ditchmedia.tv/

CNN Interview of WFDF

CNN host Richard Quest spoke with Robert Rauch (World Flying Disc Federation president) about ultimate and the sport's chances of being played in the Olympics. WFDF was granted full recognition by the IOC in August 2015. At the end of the interview, Quest retrieves a red Wham-o Frisbee as a prop and asks Rauch to convince him that ultimate is "worthy of the Olympics."  

Screengrab via CNN video

DC Breeze Pro Ultimate Tryout for 2016 Season

Less than one month after the club ultimate season ended, DC's American Ultimate Disc League team has scheduled their tryouts for the 2016 AUDL season. The Breeze's November 1st tryout date is just over 16 weeks after their 2015 season ended. The November date is the earliest tryout the Breeze have ever scheduled.

AUDL Season Start	Breeze Tryout Date
April 2013	January 26, 2013
April 2014	February 1, 2014
April 2015	February 22, 2015
April 2016	November 1, 2015

NOTE: Multiple tryouts were scheduled for each season, only the very first of the season is demonstrated above. 

WHEN: Sunday, November 1; 2:30pm - 5:45pm

WHERE: Long Bridge Park (Arlington, VA)

COST: $40 in advance / $55 at the door (if space is available)

The D.C. Breeze finished the 2015 AUDL season with 2 consecutive wins and a record of (7-7), placing them 4th place in the East Division. In the 4 seasons the Breeze have played in the AUDL, their only winning season was in 2014 with a (10-4) record and a playoff appearance.

Obama Daughter Photographed with Frisbee

During a college visit, Malia Obama - eldest daughter of the President of the United States of America - was photographed in close proximity of an ultimate disc. The white disc is stamped with Brown University's annual ultimate tournament called Huck a Hunk (or Huck a Hunk o' Burning Pumpkin).

[PHOTO via]

[PHOTO via]

[h/t Bama Secs]

Comparing Final Standings: USAU Men Division

Comparing last year's final standings with 2015's final standings shows 6 teams moved up (improved), 5 teams moved down (worsened), and 1 team did the same (no change), with 4 new* men's teams.

Pro Flight
Four of the same teams from 2014 will continue to compete in the Pro Flight (Top-8 teams).
New to Pro Flight: Seattle Sockeye, Chicago Machine, Austin Doublewide, KC Praire Fire
Out in 2015: Denver Johnny Bravo, Toronto GOAT, Portland Rhino, Atlanta Chain Lightning

Biggest Moves
Up 11: Chicago Machine
Up 8: KC Prairie Fire
Up 7: Seattle Sockeye, Minneapolis Sub Zero
Down 9: Toronto GOAT, Portland Rhino
Down 13: Denver Johnny Bravo

NOTES: Arrowed lines indicate upward movement in the final standings.
At Nationals. the tournament is structured for teams to tie for 3rd, 7th, 9th and 15th.
Madison Club, Philadelphia Patrol, Michigan High Five, and Florida United did not compete at 2014 Nationals and are "new" in the Top-16.

[Data scraped via USAU]   

RELATED: Mixed. Women

Comparing Final Standings: USAU Club Mixed Division

Comparing last year's final standings with 2015's final standings shows 2 teams moved up (improved), 5 teams moved down (worsened), and 2 teams - the top 2 teams - did the same (no change), with 7 new* mixed teams.

Pro Flight
Four of the same teams from 2014 will continue to compete in the Pro Flight (Top-8 teams).
New to Pro Flight: Boston Slow White, San Francisco Polar Bears, D.C. Ambiguous Grey, New York Metro North
Out in 2015: Boston Wild Card, Bay Area Mischief, Columbus Santa Maria

Biggest Moves
Up 8: San Francisco Polar Bears
Up 6: Boston Slow White
Down 6: Boston Wild Card
Down 7: Atlanta Bucket

NOTES: Arrowed lines indicate upward movement in the final standings.
At Nationals. the tournament is structured for teams to tie for 3rd, 7th and 9th. 
Ambiguous Grey, 7 Express, Love Tractor, NOISE & BirdFruit did not compete at 2014 Nationals and are "new" in the Top-16.
Chicago UPA & NY Metro North are new teams as of 2015 season.

[Data scraped via USAU]

RELATED: Men. Women.

Comparing Final Standings: USAU Club Women Division

Comparing last year's final standings with 2015's finals standings shows 6 teams moved up (improved), 6 teams moved down (worsened), and 1 team did the same (no change), with 3 new teams.

Pro Flight
Six of the same teams from 2014 will continue to compete in the Pro Flight (Top-8 teams).
New to Pro Flight: Denver Molly Brown, Raleigh Phoenix
Out in 2015: Atlanta Ozone, Austin Showdown

Biggest Moves
Up 6: Denver Molly Brown
Down 4: Atlanta Ozone
Down 5: D.C. Scandal
Down 9: Austin Showdown

NOTES: Arrowed lines indicate upward movement in the final standings.
At Nationals. the tournament is structured for teams to tie for 3rd, 7th and 9th. 
Raleigh Phoenix & New York Bent did not compete at 2014 Nationals and are "new" in the Top-16.
Montreal Iris is a new team as of 2015 season.

[Data scraped via USAU]

RELATED: Men. Mixed

On This Day The AUDL Was Announced

Four years ago today the American Ultimate Disc League was announced to the world. Their press release from Omaha, Nebraska, described the new professional sports league as: "The AUDL is structured as a national professional men's ultimate disc league set to begin play in 2012."

Eight teams started the 2012 inaugural season and the league has been adding teams every year. In 2016 - with the recent expansion in Texas - the league has a total of 27 26 teams.

UPDATED: 11/2/2015

Back from the Beach

Thanks, OBX! Another fun time at the annual SLUDGE on the BEACH retreaTournament.

Locally-sourced end zone line for beach ultimate field.

2OBX15

SLUDGE on the beach starts has begun!

Discraft Comics

Not only does Discraft produce excellent pieces of flying plastic, they also publish some funnies. Below are a few gems:

via

via

via

AUDL Expands to Texas

TEXpansion!

Two more teams were announced to the list of American Ultimate Disc League teams. Austin Sol and Dallas Roughnecks. Texas becomes the 6th state/province with multiple AUDL teams (California, New York, North Carolina, Ontario, Pennsylvania) in the league. Both teams are planned to play in the South Division, which completed its first season in 2015.

Also of note, the AUDL announced they bought back the franchise rights of Salt Lake Lions.

[h/t Ultiworld]

Prize Money Totals in Triple Crown Tour 2015

A total of fifteen (15) club ultimate teams have won prize money totaling nearly $30,000 during the 2015 Triple Crown Tour season. All three of the teams that won their division's championship are atop the leader board.

Club Ultimate Team	City	Winnings	Division	Wins
Revolver	San Francisco	$7500	Men	US Open #1, Pro Flight Finale #1, Nationals #1, Triple Crown Bonus
Brute Squad	Boston	$3500	Women	Pro Flight Finale #1, Nationals #1
Drag'N Thrust	Minneapolis	$2500	Mixed	Pro Flight Finale #2, Nationals #1
Riot	Seattle	$2500	Women	US Open #2, Pro Flight Finale #2, Nationals #2
Ellipsis	Melbourne	$2000	Mixed	US Open #1
Fury	San Francisco	$2000	Women	US Open #1
Mixtape	Seattle	$2000	Mixed	US Open #2, Nationals #2
Sockeye	Seattle	$1750	Men	Pro-Elite Challenge, Nationals #2
Chad Larson Experience	Ames	$1500	Mixed	Pro Flight Finale #1
Molly Brown	Denver	$1250	Women	Pro-Elite Challenge, Elite-Select Challenge
GOAT	Toronto	$1000	Men	US Open #2
Mischief	San Francisco	$750	Mixed	Pro-Elite Challenge
Cosa Nostra	Austin	$500	Mixed	Elite-Select Challenge
High Five	Ann Arbor	$500	Men	Elite-Select Challenge
Ironside	Boston	$500	Men	US Open #2

Total prize money = $29,750 (final; as of 10/5/2015). Breakdown of Triple Crown Tour prize money.

• Tied for 3rd place was Seattle Riot, who won money for three 2nd place finishes during the season. 
• With a 28-player roster, each San Francisco Revolver player would win $267.68 based on their total 2015 TCT winnings.
• The Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions were the only regions that did not win prize money in the 2015 TCT season.

Region	TCT Prize Money in 2015
Southwest	$10,250
Northwest	$6250
Northeast	$5000
North Central	$4000
International	$2000
South Central	$1750
Great Lakes	$500
Mid-Atlantic	$0
Southeast	$0

History: 2013 . 2014.

DC Club Ultimate Teams in Pro Flight

Congratulations to D.C. club ultimate teams for a strong finish to the 2015 Triple Crown Tour Season. All D.C. teams competing at the final tournament of the season finished in the Pro Flight - the top tier of club ultimate of the TCT. USA Ultimate's 2015 Nationals tournament concluded on Sunday where the top-16 club ultimate teams from 3 divisions competed for the championships.

Men

DC Truck Stop were (3-4) at the tournament, losing by 1 goal in the Quarterfinals to the eventual champion - Revolver. Just like last year, Truck finished in 7th place.

Mixed
DC Ambiguous Grey posted a (4-3) record over the long weekend and broke seed by 8 places with a 6th place finish.

Women
DC Scandal went (4-3) with wins over Phoenix, Schwa, BENT, and Ozone. They finished in 6th place.

RELATED: T-shirt fundraiser. Mid-Atlantic DC Sweep.

2015 USA Ultimate Club Champions

USA Ultimate's 2015 Triple Crown Tour concluded in Frisco, Texas, on Sunday with all #1 seeds winning their division's championship.

Men
San Francisco Revolver won their 4th club championship in 6 years with a finals win 15-9 (8-6 HT) over Seattle Sockeye.

Mixed
Minneapolis Drag'N Thrust completed a threepeat with a 14-12 (7-8 HT) victory over Seattle Mixtape.

Women
Boston Brute Squad won their first club championship with a 15-12 (8-3 HT) win over Seattle Riot.

-----------------------------

Strong showing by Seattle club ultimate teams; taking 2nd place in each division.