DC Truck Stop Online Store

Without notice, the D.C. Truck Stop's Merch & Swag has been replaced by an online store run by Oak Creek. The deadline to pre-order Truck Stop jerseys is just around the corner -- Friday, September 2.

Light/White jersey....$50 

Front: "DC Ultimate" across the chest with the Truck Stop logo in the upper right.
Very light tire treadmarks appear diagonally. 

Back: A 3-star 2-bar D.C. flag mashup with semis as the bars.
Cavalier sponsorship on the lower portion just above the team name.

Dark/Black jersey....$50

Front: Red DC-flag/Truck logo amalgamation  across the chest. Truck Stop logo on right sleeve. 

Back: Cavalier sponsorship on the lower portion  above Washington DC.

Consider some other Truck Stop while you have your credit card out.

Truck Stop Glory Hole bottle coozie....$10

DC Truck Socks....$16

US Beach Open to Debut in November 2016

The inaugural US Beach Open is scheduled for November 2016 in Santa Monica.

Info: The US Beach Open is a high level 4-vs-4 mixed gender beach ultimate tournament seeking to promote and be a proving ground for true gender equity on the beach ultimate field. Our goal is to give players and fans of ultimate the opportunity to experience the mixed (2/2) 4-vs-4 beach game at a high level and see what a phenomenal iteration of our sport it truly is.

When: November 5-6, 2016

Where: Santa Monica, California

Two Mixed Divisions: College and Pro; seeking 16 teams in each division. Rosters are capped at 6 men & 6 women.

Prize Money: $1000 (in cash) to Pro Division winner

Field Size: 46 meters long x 25 meters wide

Bid Deadline: September 15th

Bid Fee: $500 for Pro, $400 for college

Breakdown of 2016 USAU Triple Crown Tour Bid Allocations

The 48 bids to Club Nationals were allocated to the 8 geographic regions. The South Central region with 2 bids in Women's, plus 3 bids in both Men's and Mixed is the top region in bids. Compared to last year, the South Central  region increased their bid total by 3 teams (~43%). For the first-time in TCT history (since 2013), no region was allocated more than 3 bids in any division.

The regions with the most bids...

in the Men's Division = South Central, Northeast (3)

in the Mixed Division = South Central, Mid-Atlantic, North Central (3)

in the Women's Division = Northwest, Southwest (3)

Bids Allocations to the Regions (2013-2016)

Overall Regional Bids Compared to 2015

Regions with an increase in bids: Southwest (+3), Mid-Atlantic (+2), Southwest (+1)

Region with no change in bids: Great Lakes

Regions with a decrease in bids: Northeast (-3), North Central (-1) Northwest (-1), Southeast (-1)

RELATED:  2013 . 2014  . 2015

2016 Ulty Results Coaching Academy

The 2016 Ulty Results Coaching Academy (URCA) online conference starts up today.

Registration is free giving virtual attendees access to quality presentations from experienced presenters from the ulti community.

• Simple Ways to Create an Athletic Team Culture by Ren Caldwell
• The importance of empowering captains by Manisha 'Slap' Daryani
• Designer Habits by Alex Davis
• Winning with Spirit by Ben van Heuvelen
• Helping your players' achieve internal and external victories by Mauricio Moore
• Ensuring training transfers to the pitch: how to structure sessions & drills to drive differential learning by Jools Murray
• Keep. It. Simple: The do's and don'ts of talking in the huddle by Mario O'Brien
• How to generate buy-in and commitment by Mish Phillips
• Stack Talk: Understanding Three Common Offensive Sets by Keith Raynor
• Girl talk: Developing a young women's team by Ráchel Tošnerová
• Increasing your team's compliance to your training program by Melissa Witmer

Register.

E.R.I.C. Speak Up Tour 2016-2017

The Early Recognition Is Critical (E.R.I.C.) school clinic begins its 22-city tour today in Dallas, home of the Roughnecks. Last week, Beau Kittredge announced the tour last week which is meant to:

• Teach youth to be healthy, active and aware of their bodies
• Educates youth on cancer symptoms in non-scary way
• Learn a new fun, non-contact sport and the importance of Spirit of the Game
• Teach them to speak up and call their own fouls (because ultimate at that age doesn't and shouldn't have referees, which helps them understand the incredible important skill of conflict resolution)
• Apply what they learned to life, respect and help others and to SPEAK UP when something feels wrong

Map via SKYD, updated by SLUDGE

Not cited in the E.R.I.C. tour details is the overlap with AUDL cities. According to the list of Am-E.R.I.C-an tour locations, the clinic plans to visit American Ultimate Disc League cities. Though, the map shows 20+ locations including 3 stops in North Carolina while there are just Charlotte and Raleigh  AUDL teams. E.R.I.C. and the AUDL have a partnership that was announced in November 2014. 

TOUR SCHEDULE

2016 

8/29 Dallas

9/6 Austin

9/12 Minnesota

9/19 Madison

9/26 Detroit

10/3 Chicago

10/24 Nashville

10/31 Charlotte

11/7 Raleigh

11/14 Jacksonville

11/28 Atlanta

2017

Jan 

San Diego

Los Angeles

3/6 Indianapolis

3/13 Cincinnati

3/20 Pittsburgh

3/27 Washington

4/3 Philadelphia

4/10 New York

Foul Called on The Economist's Mention of Ultimate Frisbee

Back in August 2016, The Economist published an article about how tech leaders stayed fit. Mentioned was Sergey Brin who known as an enthusiastic ultimate player. The ultimate reference from the article:"Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder, pushes his body to the limits in a variety of sports: skydiving, rollerblading, roller hockey, "ultimate Frisbee" and high-flying trapeze."

The double quotation marks used with the words "ultimate Frisbee" did not sit well with Andrew Work, Editor-in-chief of Harbour Times (Hong Kong).  So, he wrote this matter-of-fact Letter to the Editor which The Economist published on August 27th.

Work's Letter to the Editor titled "Stamina a requirement" reads:

Ultimate Frisbee is a real thing, not an oddity requiring quotes around it as if it were a strange metaphor of a sport (Schumpeter, August 13th). It is recognised by the International Olympic Committee. The World Flying Disc Federation manages global tournaments and enforces the World Anti-Doping Agency's regime. Some in the sport cautiously avoid the trademarked Frisbee name and are pushing for the sport to be called Ultimate. Indeed, the disc officially used is not that of Frisbee's trademark owner, Wham-O, but is typically a Discraft manufactured disc. It may be time to update your style guide to include this magnificent sport. It is definitely time to surrender the quotes. It truly is Ultimate.

[Compilation] Tournament Logos from USA Ultimate 2016 Triple Crown Tour

A compilation of USA Ultimate tournament logos from the Triple Crown Tour's club ultimate 2016 season.

Regular Season

Postseason

[SOURCE: via USA Ultimate TCT events]

Dylan Tunnell (Atlanta Hustle) Wins AUDL 2016 MVP

The American Ultimate Disc League announced their MVP of their 2016 season.  A player who needs no introduction(?)... Dylan Tunnell.

Tunnell won the award over Jimmy Mickle (Dallas Roughnecks), Mischa Freystaetter (Jacksonville Cannons),  Mark Burton (Seattle Cascades) and Peter Graffy (Madison Radicals). He becomes the first AUDL South player to win MVP honors. As the AUDL pointed out, Tunnell is only the 3rd player to win MVP honors in the 5 seasons of the league.

Atlanta Hustle expanded upon Dylan's disposition via reddit:

As mentioned here Dylan is a unique talent. He makes many difficult things seem effortless and it is easy to take for granted how good he is. But, what I would love for the general ultimate community to know is he is as good of a person as a player. We ride together to weekly practices so I've had the chance to talk to him at length about ultimate. Two Dylan stories I want to share: 

I met with Dylan to recruit him before our 1st season. We discussed many things. He had moved from Open to Mixed and was spending more time on family than ultimate. He was forthcoming with his skepticism of pro ultimate. He is wholly committed to the ideals of spirit of the game. He believes in self officiation and was hesitant, but not against, playing with referees. What I told him was that this was an opportunity because, as part of the Hustle, he would be in a position to influence the direction of our franchise, ultimate in Atlanta, and pro ultimate. I know that was a more significant draw to him than competing in front of a crowd, in a big stadium, or getting paid (I think coach Miranda Knowles joined our staff in part for the same reason). In his two years with us he has taken that role seriously and had a lasting impact on our culture. He's single handedly converted like 8 people into Magic players. 

Dylan is a firefighter and EMT. He usually works 24 hour shifts. He routinely gets off a shift at 7am and hops in a van for a roadtrip. This year on Memorial Day weekend we hosted the Roughnecks. He was unable to get his shift covered. He was conflicted because he feels a deep obligation to his teammates. This was a big game for all of us and he wanted to be there for them. So he cleared with his bosses to have his unit stationed at the stadium during the game. He was going to play but his partner was on the sideline ready to pull him if they got a call. They were backups so they were only supposed to get called if another unit was already responding to a call. Dylan warmed up and, sure enough, he has to leave right before opening pull, but too late to make a roster substitution. He missed about 10 points, maybe the whole 1st quarter, but he came back. First point in he threw an assist to Vickroy (without much of a warm up either). He had to leave again at the end of the 4th quarter with the team down 3. He played only 14 points but had 4A. For me, this is an example of Dylan's character. He is driven by a strong sense of duty and responsibility in all aspects of his life. 

When Dylan found out that he won he laughed. He gave all the credit to his teammates.

Of note, Dylan Tunnell won the MVP at the 2011 USA Ultimate Club Championships amongst open (men's) teams as a player for Atlanta Chain Lightning.

TBT: When Kurt Gibson Stole the AUDL Trophy

After the Roughnecks won the 2016 American Ultimate Disc League championship, the Dallas team was to receive the AUDL trophy after they were presented with their prize money ($20,000); Kurt Gibson had other plans.

As the rest of the team posed for a photo with the large checks, Kurt spontaneously snagged the trophy off the AUDL Championship V table. As Kurt happily wags it in front of the cameras, you can hear AUDL Commissioner Steve Gordon hollering, "Not yet, not yet, not yet."

Fast Count! Ultimate Counting Children's Book

Following the wisdom of Crosby, Stills & Nash, here's a children's book for teaching them about counting. Oh, and introducing them to the most fun sport in the world....ultimate!

As a way to help your child learn about numbers, Fast Count! is for you. This unique book—which makes for a perfect gift—is already a favorite at many SLUDGE households.

Fast Count!
The Ultimate Counting Book  [Skyd Press]

Info: Learning to count from 1 to 10 is more fun when playing ultimate. This board book uses basic numbers to tell a rhyming story about the game of ultimate. Colorful illustrations were deftly crafted by Eli Neugeboren, an ultimate-playing parent from NYC. Words were penned by D.C. ultimate player and parent, Michael Hechter.

Price: $5.99 or buy online here.

Improving Posted Tournament Results using 2016 TCTPFF

The Triple Crown Tour's Pro Flight Finale was played in Washington state last weekend. 

The results (below) as posted by USA Ultimate is the status quo expected from the accepted tournament weekend format when playing ultimate.

WOMEN

1. Seattle Riot
2. Brute Squad
3. Fury
4. Molly Brown
5. Traffic
6. Scandal
7. Nightlock
8. Schwa
9. Phoenix
10. Heist

MIXED
1. AMP
2. Slow White
3. Drag'n Thrust
4. The Chad Larson Experience
5. Seattle Mixtape
6. Metro North
7. Polar Bears
8. Love Tractor
9. Birdfruit
10. Blackbird

MEN
1. Revolver
2. Truck Stop
3. Prairie Fire
4. Johnny Bravo
5. Rhino
6. Doublewide
7. Sockeye
8. Sub Zero
9. Inception
10. Brickyard

However, the first-to-last listing lacks the context of the tournament; READ: boring. Team's seed should be posted in addition to the tournament's final results. Sure, seed numbers can be found with some clicking into bracket play, but - just like score reporting - the more provided context of ultimate tournament results, THE BETTER.

The specific context is providing an understanding of how teams performed (final results) compared to its preliminary ranking (seed).

Here are snapshots of how posted tournament results can be improved. Displayed are the same 1-to-10 final results (right column) including the teams' seed (left column) plus a visual indication (green = broke seed; red = finished lower than seed).

Any other ways to improve posting of tournament results? Please share.

Triple Crown Tour Prize Money Leaders

A total of thirteen (13) club ultimate teams have already won prize money totaling $18,750 during the 2016 Triple Crown Tour regular season.  Four (4) teams have multiple TCT prize-money wins - Riot, Brute Squad, Slow White and Truck Stop. Still up for grabs is $3000 in each division for a win (1st) or place (2nd) at Nationals.

PEC = Pro-Elite Challenge
PFF = Pro Flight Finale
ESC = Elite-Select Flight Challenge

NOTE: No club team is eligible for winning the $2000 Triple Crown "bonus" since the same team has not won U.S. Open and Pro Flight Finale.

RELATED: 2015 TCT prize money.

Ultimate Disc Does Not Pass as a Slurpee Cup

Today and tomorrow is Slurpee ‪Bring Your Own Cup Day (#‎BYOCupDay‬)! Bring your own cup* and enjoy a Slurpee at 7-Eleven from 11am-7pm!

*PSA: Do not bring an ultimate disc as your oversized cup for the slushy frozen carbonated beverage. A regulation 175-gram, 10.75" ultimate disc exceeds 7-Eleven's 10-inch cup restriction.

Pro Flight Finale Snapshot: Women's Division

USA Ultimate's final regular season event of the 2016 Triple Crown Tour is happening in Vancouver, Washington this weekend. Here's a snapshot of teams competing in the women's division at the Pro Flight Finale.

[Seed] Team (Record), Date of last game played // NOTES
[1 ] Riot (18-2), 7/31 // 2nd at US Open, won TCTPEC
[2] Brute Squad (21-1), 8/10 // won US Open. (1-1) vs Riot
[3] Molly Brown (10-3), 7/31 // won 3rd @ TCTPEC, tied for 3rd @ US Open
[4] Fury (10-4), 7/31 // had 7-game winning streak in July
[5] Scandal (10-4), 8/8 // (1-0) vs Riot; (0-1) vs Brute Squad; (0-2) vs Molly Brown
[6] Traffic (5-3), 7/31 // fewest games played of TCTPFF W teams
[7] Phoenix (15-6), 8/5 // 11-game win streak to begin season
[8] Nightlock (6-6), 7/31 // started season with 4-game winning streak
[9] Heist (11-7), 7/31 // won Heavyweights 2016
[10] Schwa (9 -11), 7/31 // 2nd @ TCTESC

Women's Division teams

[SOURCE: Data via USAU; compiled by SLUDGE.  UPDATED since this tweet. Thanks Scott Dunham]