Friday, November 28, 2014

Designs for AUDL 2015 Season

7H1NK1NG 4B0U7 PR0 UL71...

Here are design concepts attempting to combine "2015" and American Ultimate Disc League. Can't unsee D15C!
 Or, this one.

Throwvember

Our submission to Get Horizontal's #THROWVEMBER, which is almost as much fun as this fall month.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

TRYptophan PLAYING Ultimate

turkey_frisbee Gobble up plenty of Ultimate playing time in DC*...

Thursday, Nov 27
10am @ Polo Fields [pickup]

Friday, Nov 28
10am @ Polo Fields [WAFC's annual Turkey Digestive]

Saturday, Nov 29
10am @ Polo Fields [pickup]

*weather-permitting

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Explaining Ultimate Frisbee

With Thanksgiving approaching, it's inevitable conversation will lead you to having to describe "Ultimate Frisbee" to a family member.

Below are six published descriptions of the sport of ultimate. If you need a printout to pass around, use this definition. Otherwise, pick and choose your words from these fine examples:

The game is played 7 versus 7 with 70-yard fields and 20-yard end zones. The scoring is similar to football, by passing the disc up and down the field to score in the end zone. However, you cannot run with the disc once you receive a pass. "Ultimate," as it is casually referred, is a non-contact sport, but collisions and injuries are inevitable. The game is self-officiated, so sportsmanship and honesty are two main components of Ultimate.
via

Ultimate is constant movement. It mimics sports like football and basketball — there's a lot of sprinting, change of direction, agility. It takes a lot of hand-eye coordination. It also demands flexibility, endurance and proper hydration.
via

In sports terms, ultimate Frisbee combines the nonstop action and athletic endurance of soccer with the passing skills of football. Played on a field similar to a football gridiron, the object is to score by catching a pass in the opponent's end zone.
via

Ultimate frisbee is a mixture between Australian Rules (AFL), netball and gridiron. The game is self-refereed meaning there are no referees. The game is played on a rectangular field that is 100 metres long with a maximum of seven players on the field at one time. The object of the game, like gridiron, is to move the disc down the field and into the end zone.
via

Ultimate frisbee, where teams of seven race to pass the frisbee to a player in the opposite "end zone". There's a lot of running, falling over and skidding, a bit like American football, without the bruising macho element.
via

"Playing a game of Ultimate Frisbee actually resembled a game of rugby, only that there was no contact between players and a disc in place of a ball. Teams start out at their end of the field, when the defence team throws the disk as far away from the opponent's "end zone" as possible. The "end zones" are on each ends of the field, equivalent to the space behind the "goal line" in American Football. The offence team then may pick up the disc and start making their way across the field by throwing the disc from player to player. Those holding the disc may only pass it on by throwing. Each team earns a point by successfully catching the disc while standing in the "end zone". However, if the disc drops at any point, possession changes. The winning team is the one that scores the highest number of points in a fixed amount of time, determined before the game, or the first team that reaches a certain predetermined number of points, before that time had passed."
via

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Giving Thanks

Do you read or have you visited this SLUDGE blog?

And/or, follow SLUDGE via twitter??

And/or, RT'd or favorited any SLUDGE tweets?

And/or, shared any SLUDGE posts with others???

Sincerely, a huge "Thank You!" to you.

Thanks!

Monday, November 24, 2014

Ultimate Players Deserve Sport-specific Cleats

Dear Cleat Manufacturers,
Data show that the sport of ultimate is popular. Currently, Ultimate players needing cleats wear cleats designed for other sports.

Cleats exist for individual sports like baseball, cross-country, football, golf, lax, soccer, softball and track. Cheerleaders have their own shoes! Disc golfers have specialty footwear. Even coaches have their own kicks!!

The sport of Ultimate has been described with characteristics of basketball, soccer, tennis and football. While each of those sports have distinctive design features for their sport's footwear, shouldn't Ultimate??

The feats of Ultimate - as a sport - deserve attention and so, too, Ultimate players' feet.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Pro Ultimate (Season 2014) Pic Dump

Here is a random collection of images from the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) & Major League Ultimate (MLU) teams during the 2014 pro Ultimate season.
via

UltiPhotos: Full Coverage - San Francisco Dogfish at Seattle Rainmakers - 4/19/14 &emdash;
Chris Ballew of the band, The Presidents of the United States, threw the ceremonial first pull at the Seattle Rainmakers game versus SF Dogfish. [MLU, April 19, 2014] via

UltiPhotos: Highlights - New York Rumble at Boston Whitecaps 4/12/14 &emdash; Boston Whitecaps vs. NY Rumble
It's the "game disc" because it is labeled so. [MLU, April 12, 2014]  via

UltiPhotos: Full Coverage - Seattle Raptors at Vancouver Riptide 4/19/14 &emdash; Riptide_Raptors_20140419_193627_JBP01096
A hammer looks right-side up from my perspective. [AUDL; April 19, 2014]  via
UltiPhotos: Full Coverage - Portland Stags at San Francisco Dogfish 4/26/14 &emdash;
Portland Stags share a moment (with a foam roller). [MLU; April 26, 2014] via

New York Empire used the baseball stadium scoreboard to display by-quarter scoring. [April 26, 2014]

UltiPhotos: Full Coverage - New York Rumble at Philadelphia Spinners 4/26/14 &emdash; MLU Spinners vs. Rumble
Did you say Mohawk? Or "No Huck"?? [MLU; April 26, 2014] via

Blindfolded or not, EYE know it's a score! [MLU, May 10, 2014] via
Who caught the disc first? Isaac Saul by a nose! [MLU, June 8, 2014] via

UltiPhotos: Sandy's Photos - Philadelphia Spinners at New York Rumble 6/8/14 &emdash; MLU Philadelphia Spinners vs New York Rumble 6/8/14
This human Rumble chair looks uncomfortable. [MLU, June 8, 2014] via
Stripes and camo are a bold pairing for this AUDL ref. He's the ref, right? [AUDL, July 15, 2014] via


At Week 5's ESPN3 Game of the Week, Commissioner Gordon was being interviewed, but the Wildfire players' warm-up deserves all the attention. [AUDL, May 9, 2014]  via

UltiPhotos: Highlights - Portland Stags at Vancouver Nighthawks 5/24/14 &emdash; Nighthawks_Stags_20140524_202703_JBP00918
I believe I can fly! [MLU, May 24, 2014] via

Ashlin Joye fan wearing a Spiders (AUDL) hat & a Dogfish (MLU) jersey. [July 18, 2014] via

UltiPhotos: Sean's Photos - 2014 MLU National Championship Game &emdash; MLU Championship Vancouver Nighthawks vs. DC Current
Kolick fan updates Alan's face. [MLU, July 19, 2014]

Seven camera views during the AUDL Championships. [posted Nov 14, 2014 via AUDL Facebook]
Thank you to all photographers who capture the sport of Ultimate. Special appreciation to UltiPhotos.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Ultimate Treadmill

If your treadmill is the ultimate field, then you may interested in this prototype.

This treadmill is designed for ultimate players offering four surfaces - grass, turf, sand, and indoor, plus four levels - tractice, scrimmage, pool play, and finals. An attachment of an ultimate disc for the front of the treadmill may be sold separately.


Any takers?

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Winless Teams in AUDL 2014 Season

Nathan Jesson published his offseason questions for the American Ultimate Disc League. Seven questions for the league as they move into their 4th season.

One stat of winless teams in each AUDL division jumped out:
In the West Division, Salt Lake City Lions went winless (0-14).
In the Midwest Division, Detroit Mechanix also went winless (0-14).
In the East Division, Rochester Dragons and Philadelphia Phoenix went a combined 0-22 against the rest of the division.


Data Source via Skyd

RELATED: AUDL 2014 season snapshots.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Pinterest Co-Founder is an Ultimate Frisbee Player

Did you know one of the founders of Pinterest played Ultimate in college?

Frisbee with Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp [Financial Times; 08.01.14]

Hannah Kuchler met up with Evan Sharp, the co-founder of Pinterest, to get a frisbee throwing lesson. They met on a field in San Francisco where as Sharp explained his Pinterest Ultimate frisbee team "beat Square and Twitter last season." The online social network is currently valued at $3.8 billion.

The article includes this great quote from Evan Sharp: "When I have free time, which I wish I had more of, playing frisbee is a great way to get outdoors and have a bit of fun."
Sharp with an orange Discraft Ultrastar [image via Matthew Reamer]
The August FT article adds this nugget that while at University of Chicago, "Sharp was a college champion at ultimate frisbee, where teams of seven race to pass the frisbee to a player in the opposite "end zone". There's a lot of running, falling over and skidding, a bit like American football, without the bruising macho element."

The published piece also mentions that he plays disc golf.

Read the full article.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Force Elektro Tricks Up Trickshots

Team captains from Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) determine the ENTIRE campus will be the boundaries for their Ultimate game. Lots of twists, turns, jumps and, well, let the action speak for itself...

Kudos to the camera work, production, and editing of Frisbee-Trickshot-turned-Campus-Tour video!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Frisbee Questions by Seth Meyers

On a recent Late Night with Seth Meyers,  Jack McBayer was asked to rehash a story from 2008 about a Frisbee. Seth Meyers (who happens to have a dog, Frisbee) asked Jack about the flying disc incident that occurred on the set of a Mariah Carey's music video.

[Season 2 (2014), Episode 27]

After the story, Seth asks: "Nobody asked you to play Ultimate Frisbee either?"
Jack McBrayer: "Not yet..."

----

Watch the referenced (2008) video of "Touch My Body" where Mariah Carey throws a flying disc with Jack McBrayer.
Screengrab of Mariah Carey tossing a Frisbee.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Comparison: U.S. Teams at Worlds vs Nationals

A comparison of how the 12 U.S. club ultimate teams finished at the two prestigious ultimate tournaments in 2014 - WFDF's World Ultimate Club Championships (August 2014) and USAU's Triple Crown Tour National Championships (October 2014).


2 teams finished the same at Nationals and at Worlds - Drag'N Thrust (1st) & FURY (2nd).
4 teams finished better at Nationals than at Worlds.
5 teams finished worse at Nationals than at Worlds.
1 team that played at Worlds did not qualify for Nationals.

The 3rd place team at Worlds in the Men and Women's division both finished 1st at Nationals - Johnny Bravo & Scandal.

[DATA SOURCEs: WFDF, USAU.]

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Salt Lake Attempts to Woo Women Ultimate Players for Team

Salt Lake Lions have always been verbose with their tryout details; last year, they posted a full job description for a professional Ultimate player. To prepare for the 2015 AUDL season, the Lions posted some general details for all ultimate players, and then got really specific about the "type" of player they seek for the rescheduled November 15th combine.

DETAILS OF THE 2-PART COMBINE

WHAT:
Salt Lake Lions 2014 Combine! This year's Combine will be longer, harder and will require even more of our athletes. We've restructured the event to have less down time, more action and a more impressive outcome. There are only 28 spots on the Lions roster - do you have what it takes to fill one?

WHY:
To find the best talent from the surrounding mountain states and the Big Sky region! To put that potential to good use, make a name for Ultimate in Utah and propel the sport into the future!

FOCUS:
Among other things, the Lions staff members are looking for throwing ability, field awareness, in-game decision making and grace under pressure. Although the staff is particularly deft at recognizing potential, you should be in good physical condition at the time of the Combine. We expect you to have a regular workout regimen and to know the rules of an AUDL game - you will be playing in a refereed AUDL-style game during the Tryout.

Then, within the tryout details, the website goes a step further under "Additional Info" to single out a specific type of player...
"Yes, women can compete in the AUDL - we'd like to be the first team with a professional female player. If you're a woman, ask us about a discounted rate!"




In Salt Lake's September 2014 e-newsletter, the Lions offer two types of discounts - one for males; one for females. The item under REDUCED COMBINE PRICES reads: "LIONESS - $20 off for female participants. Yes, woman [sic] can play in the AUDL!"

That's right, women ultimate players even get their own discount code of "LIONESS." Get it? (Because lioness is a female lion.) Is this discount kind of sexist? A discount for college students, okay; but, this discount is not dissimilar to a ladies' night bar promo.

Screengrab of Salt Lake Lions 9/26/2014 email
I'm all for encouraging females to play in any/all levels of the sport of ultimate. However, this is an overt approach by the Salt Lake Lions where the motivation is misguided as organizational gain (hey, we wanna be first!) rather than unconditional support of women players.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

MKBHD in WIRED


Marques Brownlee (aka MKBHD) is a Columbia High School graduate, a former New Jersey Hammerhead player (2013), a New York Rumble player (2014), and a Garden State club ultimate player, who was profiled due to his popular YouTube channel in the November 2014 issue of WIRED. The tech magazine boasts a circulation of 3 million.

The backdrop of his portrait shows an on-screen MKBHD in his traditional outfit - an Ultimate top. The blue one is the classic DUMP + SWING shirt.
Page 42 of WIRED (Nov 2014)

Brownlee has been previously interviewed by Ultiworld (August 2013) & USA Today (September 2014).  View his reviews.

Text from the last paragraph in WIRED: "Brownlee is currently balancing this one-man production with his senior year of college and—of course—playing professional Ultimate Frisbee for the New York Rumble."

Why the "of course" verbiage? Might it be because Ultimate is the new golf??

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Phoenix visit Diego Garcia

What an appropriate way to salute the troops by the Philadelphia AUDL team!

Phoenix players Danny Bjorkman, Sam Esser, David Hampson, William Hoehne, Sam Morgan, Chris Schulze, Steve Rosso, Kyle Wolf, and accompanied by Steve Lienert (Head Coach) traveled to the South Pacific in conjunction with the Armed Forces Entertainment tour to spread and showcase the game of Ultimate.

Follow the Phoenix's journey nearly 10,000 miles away from Philadelphia to U.S. Navy Naval Support Facility (NSF) Diego Garcia via Facebook.


UPDATE (11/13): Phoenix made the front page of the Diego Garcia News!
image via
HC Leinert: "If ultimate brings you guys a little piece of home, then it was all worth it."

Monday, November 10, 2014

Skyd Magazine Anniversary

On this day in 2010, Skyd Magazine launched!
original logo

From its first post, Skyd's purpose was/is "to be a centralized resource for the latest in the sport and the culture. Our goal is to inform, inspire and continue to grow the sport of Ultimate through competent and reliable media coverage."

Congrats on 4 years, Skyd!
Skyd logo "updated" with 4 years by SLUDGE

Friday, November 07, 2014

Breeze Return to Washington, D.C. for 2015 Season

After one season playing on the cramped, unlined, AstroTurf field in College Park at University of Maryland, the DC Breeze announced they will play their home games of the AUDL 2015 season on Hotchkiss Field at Gallaudet University (800 Florida Ave NE, Washington, D.C. 20002). The GU turf field was updated in 2008, and the stadium capacity is 2,000.

image via d3football
This is a return to playing in the District for the American Ultimate Disc League's DC team that played at Anacostia High School during their first (2013) season.

[via DCB]

Skyd Fund 2015

Skyd Magazine's annual campaign has begun. After an incredibly successful 2014, Skyd seeks to raise $32,000 ($32kYD) to cover their 2015 operational costs for writers, videos, staff and general admin stuff. Show your support for this invaluable online portal for the sport of ultimate. Skyd Magazine keeps me up-up-updated on the regular. I expect it does the same for anyone else who plays/loves ultimate, so consider a donation of any size.

Go to: Donate to Skyd Magazine 2015 Fund


Thursday, November 06, 2014

Anniversary of First Intercollegiate Ultimate Game (1972)

On this date in 1972, the first intercollegiate Ultimate Frisbee game was played between Rutgers University and Princeton University. A crowd of "about 400" gathered to watch the match between these two colleges in New Jersey. The November 6th game was organized by Irv Kalb – a Columbia High School graduate and a freshman student at Rutgers.

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

Thanks, Lou

Lou Burruss, an author at Skyd Magazine, announced his decision to cease writing his column Win the Fields. Since September 2011 at Skyd, Mr. Burruss has published incredible insight into this intricate sport of ultimate. His articles were always relevant and worth reading (and re-reading).

For a summary, Ultiworld published a Top-10 of Lou's WtF articles.

TO: Lou
Thank you for sharing your words, thoughts, and expertise.

Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Five Ultimate to Expand into Europe

Five Ultimate, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA, is expanding operations into Europe. Five plans to have a store based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and serve European customers.

[h/t Get Horizontal]

Now, how will "5" covert to metric standards??

Beau Re-Signs with Spiders

Beau Kittredge, AUDL 2014 MVP, will return to the AUDL 2014 Champions San Jose Spiders for the 2015 season.

Beau signs with the Spiders in 2013 (left); in 2014 (right).


20132014
Facial ExpressionSneerSmile
FashionCoffeeshop chicBar-mitzvah formal
Body LanguageI know arm-folding.I just got a free hat!

The question remains whether his bobble head will be updated without the faux hawk.

Monday, November 03, 2014

Wicking T-Shirt, Hidden Mustache

I CAN'T UNSEE THE BLACK MUSTACHE IN THIS T-SHIRT IMAGE!!!

(via VC Ultimate / AUDL Store)
Is it in honor of Movember?
Or, is it because the world's leading facial hair expert works at University of Toronto??
Or, is it a nod to the Toronto Rush's fan club - RUSHtache???

Saturday, November 01, 2014

Do Over: October 2014

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


  • The Washington Post updates article to be "Current"
  • MLU Expansion plan
  • USAU 2014 Club Nationals: Recap [visual]; Champions
  • Scandal recognized by D.C. MayorPOLITICO