Monday, October 31, 2016

Spirit Of The Game

This is an annual tradition of reposting this "ghost" story on Halloween.  

Ripley's Believe It or Not featured Ed Headrick's unique request upon his death for his cremated ashes to be entombed into a commemorative namesake golf discs. Headrick passed away in August 2002.

Discraft facilitated molding the Last Flight Memorial Discs and making Ed's unique last wish to have his ashes incorporated into discs a reality. Ed's ashes were incorporated into a very special blend of elite plastic into the immortal XL™ and APX™ molds. It was "Steady" Ed's wish that once he passed away his ashes be incorporated into discs so that his soul could fly freely.


"When I die, I want to be made into a Frisbee."

[via original post]


Hammy Halloween

Have a fun and healthy Halloween.


[Adapted from In The Bleachers]




Sunday, October 30, 2016

Ultimate Frisbee Shows Up on Halloween Meme

This Halloween meme updated from 2015 claiming tongue-in-cheek to prevent candy to children that wear certain costumes ropes in "Ultimate Frisbee."

If your child's costume promote "Ultimate Frisbee," PLEASE LEAVE OUR PROPERTY IMMEDIATELY.


Not at my household!




Saturday, October 29, 2016

AUDL Themed Halloween Costume Ideas

Combine your interest in pro ultimate and the need to dress up for Halloween with an AUDL-inspired costume ideas.

1. Aviator (Los Angeles)
A pilot from the early 1900's.

2. Nightwatch (Nashville)
A site's night watch prevents unauthorized access overnight.

3. AlleyCat (Indianapolis)
A homeless feline.

4. Spider (San Jose)
A Web crawler is an Internet bot which systematically browses the World Wide Web.

5. Roughneck (Dallas)
An oil rig worker


6. Growler (San Diego)
A vessel used for carrying drink (typically draft beer).

7. Mechanic (Detroit)
A person who repairs and maintains machinery.


RELATED: Top-5 pro ultimate Halloween costumes.


Friday, October 28, 2016

Infographic: 2015 USA Ultimate Annual Report

USA Ultimate's 2015 Annual Report is 64 pages long. What this colorful recap adds up to is: USA Ultimate had a very busy and successful year in 2015. 

2015 USA Ultimate Annual Report - By the Numbers [via USAU]


Thursday, October 27, 2016

Seattle High School Ultimate Makes SCTop10

Zach Heffron's (Nathan Hale High School) full layout one-handed score catch during hit #4 of ESPN's SCTop10. Nathan Hale HS won Washington State boys ultimate championship in 2014.





Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Data Visual: WUGC 2016 Spirit of the Game Scores

open bracket (ultimate) designed a beautiful data visualization of SOTG scores from the 2016 World Ultimate & Guts Championships for all the ultimate divisions.

data visual via



How To Craft Candy Corn Cones

'Tis the season to be sweet and corny. 

Why not craft some candy corn cones for your late October ultimate games?


What You Will Need for temporary candy corn cones:
(1) roll of white tape
(1) roll of yellow tape
(1) scissors
(8) orange cones

Steps
1. Cut a piece of white tape and adhere to the top of the orange cone.

2. Cut a piece of yellow tape and adhere to the bottom of the white-tipped orange cone.

3. Repeat steps 1 + 2 on the remaining cones.

4. Don't forget to bring cones for your ultimate game.


[Idea reposted from original]


Tuesday, October 25, 2016

All-Star Ultimate Tour 2016 Game Results

The 2016 All-Star Ultimate Tour completed their 10-game schedule in July and August. The team of college women ultimate players posted a (3-7) record allowing 135 goals and scoring 121 total goals. Combining the 2015 game results, the All-Star Tour now posts a (9-10) all-time record.

Game Results of 2016 All-Star Ultimate Tour.
[Halftime score: indicated by tick mark within scoring bar.
Scoring: All-Star in yellow/blue according to worn jersey; opponent in black] 

(2-4) = AST record in July 2016
(1-3) = AST record in August 2016

(3-2) = record of All-Star team when leading at halftime

5 = # of 1-goal games at halftime

5 = # of games decided by 2 goals

12.1 = average goals per game (10 games)

+5 = largest goal differential in a win (vs Phoenix)

-6 = largest goal differential in a loss (vs Traffic)

-1.4 = average goal differential (10 games)

NOTE: The 5th AST game ended early due to a player injury.

Since all games were played on the road, here are the records of when All-Star team wore their yellow (1-4) versus their blue (2-3) jerseys:



Monday, October 24, 2016

ANOC World Beach Games 2019 To Include Beach Ultimate

The ANOC World Beach Games is a millennial sporting event that will engage and inspire youth through beach sports, entertainment and an innovative social media and digital engagement platform. San Diego was awarded the inaugural World Beach Games only four months after local officials even heard of the event in October 2015.

One year later (October 2016), the Association of National Olympic Committees delayed the $135 million games until 2019. The ANOC World Beach Game is now rescheduled to October 10-20, 2019; still in San Diego.

image via
And, beach ultimate ("Flying Disc) is one of the nearly 20 sports currently featured to be played at the ANOC World Beach Games. The beach version of ultimate is called beach ultimate.

The canceled 2016 World Series of Beach Ultimate/World Championships of Beach Ultimate concept could either help determine eligible teams for the World Beach Games, or could be replaced entirely by this international beach event. [UPDATE 10/27] WFDF's World Championships of Beach Ultimate (WCBU 2017) will serve as the qualification event for WBG 2019.

The 2019 World Beach Games would add another international ultimate competition to be played in the United States, The 2018 World Ultimate Club Championships is scheduled for July.  In addition, The World Games will be played in Birmingham in 2021.



SPOTTED: All-Star Ultimate Tour 2016 Calendar

Just noticed this All-Star Ultimate Tour posted a calendar schedule (below) from their 2016 summer tour.

This calendar visual appears to have borrowed from SLUDGE's 2015 and 2016 versions.

Well done!


Saturday, October 22, 2016

Vox Populi

Let's set the record straight.

Evan Lepler = The Voice of Ultimate.

Alec Baldwin = The Voice of Flatball.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Locations of WFDF World Ultimate Club Championships

Seven different countries have hosted WFDF's World Ultimate Club Championships (WUCC). The international ultimate club team tournament began in 1989 originally played biennially until 1999 when it became a quadrennial event. The United States will repeat as WUCC host for the 2018 tournament. Canada and the UK are the only other countries to have hosted WUCC multiple times.


Location History of WUCC
2018: Cincinnati, Ohio USA
2014: Lecco, Italy
2010: Prague, Czech Republic
2006: Perth, Australia
2002: Honolulu, Hawaii USA
1999: St. Andrews, Scotland UK
1997: Vancouver, BC Canada
1995: Millfield, England UK
1993: Madison, Wisconsin USA
1991: Toronto, ON Canada
1989: Cologne, Germany


Country Hosting of WUCC (11 events)
3 = USA
2 ea = Canada, United Kingdom
1  ea = Australia, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy


Thursday, October 20, 2016

TBT: New York, New York Ultimate

If you are looking for a teaser for the upcoming world premiere of the ultimate frisbee documentary, then look no further than Amazing Games.

This episode profiles Kenny Dobyns and his New York club ultimate team as they prepare and compete for the 1989 UPA Club Championships in Washington, D.C. The producer of Flatball, "Cribber," also played on this prolific NYNY team. Yes, this is the episode where Dobyns delivers his famous list about his life priorities.



The segment begins with the host and former football player, Bob Chandler, stating: " In this amazing game, [ultimate players] have to be both receivers as well a quarterbacks."

Later, Chandler explains: "They play an obscure game for no money and no fame. And yet they're as driven as any major league star." More: "There's no coddling for ultimate players. No outside support. No glamour. No glory."

The sport of ultimate Frisbee is defined as: combining "the flashing feet of soccer, the driving passes of football, the fluid moves of basketball, and the strategies of all three sports."

 

+++++++

[7:15] "F.C.U., I.C.U." stands for Full Contact Ultimate, Intensive Care Unit.

[3:54] Look at those tall orange cones to mark the field! Did they not have sports cone in the late 80's?
Ken Dobyns on the sideline looking to throw into the end zone.


Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Interview with ESPN Announcer Robyn Wiseman

Robyn Wiseman temporarily traded in her ultimate headband for a headset to provide commentary for ESPN's coverage of USA Ultimate's 2016 Club Nationals. She admitted it was challenging and fun in a way she had never experienced (and she wasn't just talking about a Portillo's chocolate cake shake).


SLUDGE: How did you score this cool gig as an analyst for Nationals coverage?
Robyn Wiseman: The short version: get hurt, get sidelined for some of the biggest ultimate tournaments of the year, talk to people a lot

Long version: My husband connected me to Evan Lepler in person at the 2015 D1 College Championships in Milwaukee to give him some thoughts and information about the college women's division. Since then, Evan and I have talked about ultimate many times. In 2016, I've seen Evan probably a dozen times between AUDL games, College Nationals and WUGC. At WUGC, I talked to Evan for like two straight hours at a bar after the games were done. He actually introduced me to one of my idols, and then watched me fan-girl pretty hard. I mean you don't get to meet (USAU Hall of Famer) Suzanne Fields everyday and talk about ultimate with her! I think he was impressed that I knew as much as I did about her career. Then he and I talked about ultimate for an unknown amount of time.

Flash forward to about a month ago, I was driving around rural Northern Wisconsin for work and got a call from Evan. He thought that given my "not playing at club nationals due to my ACL recovery" status and our past conversations about ultimate, I could be a good fit for the gig. I had a somewhat informal information with Andy Lee from USAU, and he made the recommendation to ESPN.

SLUDGE: You referred (via Twitter) to this gig as "a dream come true." What does that mean?
RW: 2016 has been a year of a lot of heartbreak and building, from the ACL injury standpoint. Commentating itself was not a dream I ever had. I will say I really admire people who have the opportunity to say intelligent things about sports, especially women who do it. The opportunity to do that at an event I was expecting to play in at the beginning of the year, and then suffering a season-ending injury, the opportunity to contribute to club nationals and the dialog around it was a dream.

Honestly, commentating was never something I thought that I'd be good at or ever have the opportunity to do, I mean, I work in disaster response and recovery grant management--I have no experience at all in commentary.

SLUDGE: So, zero experience in game commentary or game announcing?
RW: Non-existent. In high school, I volunteered to announce at middle school basketball tournaments...but that's hardly the same.

SLUDGE: How did you prepare for Nationals?
RW: I tore my ACL. That's sort of snarky, but true.

Having ACL surgery in July, meant that I just came back from watching high level ultimate at WUGC. I was in the mode of "watch as much ultimate as possible." I got to watch US Open film, All-Star Ultimate Tour, random games that teams posted, streams from the Elite-Select Challenge and Pro-Elite Challenge. I spent an awful lot of time on a couch, on an exercise bike, or doing physical therapy in front of the computer screen. I watched teams across divisions from around the world (Australian Nats, Windmill Windup, etc.) and from the past (thanks USAU archived games, please post more!).

I am probably the most up to date on all the current teams and players I have ever been!

Also, I played against every team I talked about at some time in my playing career, many of the best players (at tryouts, Lei Out, Beach Nationals, club and college tournaments over the years), and spent time watching them at nationals.

SLUDGE: Your commentary remarkably painted the nuances of game action. Though, you self-evaluated that your commentary "wasn't perfect." What area(s) need improving?
RW: I enjoyed a lot, but also found things challenging.

I really enjoyed sharing my perspective about the game. I mean, I watch ultimate with players I coach a lot, and talk about things I see happening that I want them to pay attention to. Things like how people get open, how they time cuts, spacing and development of plays, how players maximize yards on cuts/receptions, how they break the mark, how they position themselves and move. Those are the things I find most interesting. I just stuck to what I'm interested in, which is a little selfish, but also made it less intimidating.

I generally struggled or felt very uncomfortable with the more broadcast specific parts of the gig. The opening where I'm on camera, the introductions of teams, talking over highlight packages, interviewing people on camera. Those were difficult for me, because I was nervous and had problems remembering how long the highlight clips or non-live clips were going to be. I also never knew how many camera angles they would show in re-plays or where a re-play would pick up in the game play, so I never knew how long to talk.

I also felt weird hearing the production in my headset while I was trying to talk. It was hard not to get distracted or stop talking. I think I abruptly stopped talking a few times because of people talking in my headset.

One of the coolest things about the experience was just "going for something" totally out of my comfort zone and doing it. I mean, it's out there now, and I can't take it back or re-do it. That in itself is scary to me, because I like to make sure what I put out there for the world to see is the best version of whatever I'm doing. It was a huge growth experience for me mentally to do something like this, especially as I'm struggling mentally with recovery from a new type of injury for me. It encouraged me that I can try new things and be successful in other ways, besides just as an athlete on the field.

SLUDGE: Did you have any gaffes during the broadcast?
RW: During the women's finals I said that Shira Stern has "the softest hands" or something to that effect. I meant as a receiver she does not doink the disc. The way it came out made it sound ridiculous. I certainly didn't mean that she has soft, smooth hands, I mean, she could...I wouldn't know! I meant that for such an explosive player who attacks discs hard, she never deflects a pass...and it came out all awkward. Lol.

SLUDGE: Besides the Boston Sweep, what were your takeaways from the 2016 club tourney? 
RW: The gap is closing between the bottom and the top in the women's division. Heading into the tournament, few people would have expected to see two new teams in the Pro Flight and close games between who they may have characterized as the middle or bottom tiers with the top tiers. I think there were definitely surprises for everyone; even though the top 4 seeds were in semis and the top 2 seeds in finals, the journeys of some of those top 4 teams had bumps along the way that would never happen in past seasons.

Also, wind throwing is one of the most crucial skills people can develop to level-up their game. I mean, at the Elite Club game, it's hard to develop your game and keep improving. But even the best ultimate players at the top of the game have room for improvement in their throws. The difference between successful teams and players at Club Nationals and those that struggled was the ability to throw in the wind. Successful teams had numerous players with a wide range of upwind throws and release points that hold an edge until the disc is caught. If you have that you're going to make a bigger impact on the field. Unlike athleticism, this is a skill that is almost entirely built upon hard work and getting reps, at least at the elite level of ultimate. I mean, I'm a thrower...I know this. But it's validating that I can say something like that to the women I coach and back it up by showing them footage of pool play this year.

SLUDGE: Did you learn anything new about ultimate at 2016 Nationals?
RW: I'm trying to increase my knowledge and understanding of vertical stack offense. All the teams I called games for played a lot of vertical stack or side stack. I loved it. So much knowledge to gobble up and process! So excited to go to work with it.

SLUDGE: How do you keep current on your ultimate knowledge and expertise?
RW: I watch a lot of ultimate. Actually, it's almost embarrassing how much I watch and think about ultimate. Any game film I can get my hands on, I watch. Across all divisions and levels of play.

I also find that coaching keeps things pretty current. As a coach I constantly am looking for strategies or adapting strategies for my players to fit our strengths or attack an opponents' weakness. I will often think about the things I see in a game I watch and then talk about it with people from that team or people who have played against it.

When I'm healthy, I play as much ultimate as possible; again, across the country in different areas, with different people, in both women's and mixed. I believe it's only a positive thing to be exposed to as many different strategies and think about incorporating successes/strengths into your game.

SLUDGE: What is your approach in providing details when you were commentating?
RW: During the game play, talking in the booth really was just having a conversation with Evan. Evan knows a lot about ultimate, but I've definitely been exposed to more strategies and tactics with my playing and coaching background. The on-air conversation really paralleled some of the conversations about ultimate we had in the past at Worlds or College Nationals. When someone asks you open ended questions to pick your brain, they genuinely want to know what's going on. Evan's interest in what i was thinking and seeing is genuine, so my responses were honest and genuine too.

It is very similar to how I talk about the game with players I coach, I mentioned that already. If I wasn't responding to a question from Evan, I was trying to make a point that I thought was interesting about a player - how they develop cuts or get open, how they take a line on a bid for a disc, etc. I'm really working with a lot of players on making safe, aggressive lines on discs to make plays, so there were a lot of comments on that. It's a pretty big topic right now in ultimate. I tried to highlight players who do those things right so other people can learn from the best people doing those skills.

SLUDGE:  Were you given an idea of how many were watching the live streams? 
RW: I have no idea how many people watched any of the streams live or have seen them since then.

SLUDGE: What advice would you give others seeking to be part of an ultimate game announcing crew?
RW: 1) Start developing your knowledge of the game and how you talk about it with others.
One thing I generally feel confident in, is that I can watch a game, quickly pick up on strategies that are developing and describe it to someone. My experience in ultimate says that watching/dissecting film or live games and coaching are the two best ways to build this part of the equation. You do not need to be an elite player to recognize the strategies that elite players use on the field. You just need to watch, think/analyze, and practice describing/teaching to others.

If you're interested in color commentary, you need to think beyond the surface stuff. Who is touching the disc, who scores, who is throwing, etc. You need to think about the HOW and WHY more. How are they doing those skills? Why are they doing those skills in those situations? How did the play develop? And then, you identify trends. You should be able to talk about those things.

One thing that Evan emphasized to me, is the tone I speak in when talking about ultimate. When I'm talking on air, I needed to bring energy and speak slower than I normally would when excited. I have been practicing that at college practice this fall..it was helpful during the broadcast!


2) Connect with people

I mean, if I never talked to Evan about ultimate in the past, he never would have thought about my name when they were looking for someone. Some of the easier, low-barrier things I've done include writing a blog, writing some articles, helping cover college/club tournaments, doing interviews for ultimate sites or blogs, coaching, volunteering to talk to the media about ultimate for your team(s), running leagues, etc. Those are easy things to start expanding your "media" experience in ultimate. The more you get your name out there, the more credibility you can establish.

3) Watch sports and think about what you value in analysis
Watch other sports and reflect about how those analysts describe things that are happening. What things do you appreciate? What things annoy you? What do you want to hear? What adds value?

Outside of ultimate, I watch a lot of basketball. Analysts are using game-specific terms, like boxing out, rebounding, fouls, etc. Analysts are talking about positioning and movement and how a shot or fast break developed. Apply that to ultimate: someone should be able to understand what an "around backhand" is or what a fake or mark is based on watching the game in context. I assume people are smart and can figure it out, and could follow when I described why those things matter in a particular instance.

##


Tuesday, October 18, 2016

World Premiere of Flatball Scheduled at Carmel International Film Festival

You saw the movie poster.

You've seen the movie trailer.

Now you can see the world premiere of Flatball, the documentary on Ultimate Frisbee is scheduled on Sunday, October 23 at 12:30pm at the the Carmel International Film Festival in California. Buy $10 tickets.

From the press release: Beau Kittredge, star of last summer's undefeated USA Men's Team at the London World Championships, exclaimed, "Finally, a film that explains the birth and quirks of the sport I love. It neatly ties the history to the future with the silky bow that is Alec Baldwin's voice. Even as a six-time world champion I didn't know the giants whose shoulders I stand upon. It's a special treat to have a great player like Dennis Warsen also have skills behind the camera; it allows the story to be told as only an Ultimate player could." And Dante Anderson, former Team Canada player and captain, called FLATBALL a "great flick: heroes, villains, movie stars, love, hate, war and peace, the thrill of victory, and the agony of losing your girlfriend by saying something on national TV."

Flatball listing in CIFF catalog

Alec Baldwin has been busy recently with a role in the animated film, The Boss Baby [Dreamworks] as well as playing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live.


Monday, October 17, 2016

L.A. Times Crossword Provides Ultimate Clue

Today's L.A. Times crossword seeks 15 letters to fill the 28-across clue: Football-like sport played with a disc. 
This answer was definitely more obvious than NYT crossword clue in September.

[h/t Amy]



Lauren Sadler Layout Catch Score Highlight

The Brute Squad-Iris match on Saturday produced some serious highlights. This one by superstar Lauren Sadler (Boston Brute Squad) showcases perfect timing tracking down the trailing edge into the end zone for a one-handed layout catch score.



Washington D.C. Scandal Ultimate Swag

Only 2 days remain until the ordering deadline (October 18 11:59 am) for swag from Washington D.C. Scandal. All tops sport the 3 stars, 2 bars D.C. flag motif. Support your local women's club ultimate team.

Available wearables:

Sublimated jersey (short sleeve) in black or white ...... $59


Electro jersey (short sleeve & long sleeve) in white or black ...... $29

Hydro shorts in grey ...... $23



[via Five Ultimate]

Sunday, October 16, 2016

WFDF 2018 World Ultimate Club Championships To Be Played in Lebanon

...Ohio. Lebanon, Ohio.

WFDF and Ultiworld are reporting the tournament will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio, though the geographical truth is the international ultimate tourney will be played ~30 miles north of Cincinnati. Specifically, the tournament - Men's Mixed and Women's (no Masters) - will be held at the Lebanon Sports Complex. The finals may be scheduled elsewhere; perhaps in Cincinnati.

The WUCC have been played in the United States twice before; in Honolulu, Hawaii (2002) and Madison, Wisconsin (1993).



Friday, October 14, 2016

Boston Brute Squad Visits Montreal Iris in Offseason Friendly

The Montreal Royal (AUDL) in association with Montreal Ultimate Association, the Quebec Ultimate Federation and Montreals Ultimate Feminin program are hosting a friendly match between Boston Brute Squad and Team Quebec (Iris) on October 15th. Brute Squad has won back-to-back USA Ultimate Nationals Championship in 2015 and 2016. Iris took 2nd at the 2015 Canada Ultimate Championships and finished 13th at 2016 USAU Championships. Boston is (3-0) all-time versus Iris during the 2015-2016 club seasons.  


WHEN: Saturday, October 15 @ 7pm ET

WHERE: Complexe Sportif Claude Robillard

WATCH:

The event at Complexe Sportif Claude Robillard is being hyped "to crown the best North American team!" Over 300 miles (~5 hour drive) separates these two cities.



The Link published an article about the sports event.

From the article: "Back in Quebec, Audrey St-Arnaud thinks that Iris media visibility of any kind would be great simply for the grassroots —who could only follow the team through Facebook and Twitter—can have "something to aspire to."

St-Arnaud: "The little boys in elementary or high school have something to aspire to but the little girls, they have Iris but it's on social media. To have a real game that will be filmed, that will give them something to aspire to because we have had good players in Quebec for years but equity in the media is not the same thing." St. Laurent, who is also part of the Quebec Ultimate federation’s board of directors, wants to stress that equity is different from equality.

"We don’t aspire to have the same things the men have, we want a visibility that’s proportional," she said.

Meanwhile, Iris will look to continue to grow on the American scene and help grow the sport of women's ultimate in partnership with the semi-professional men's ultimate team Montreal Royal.

Another subtle sign of equity for the Quebec ultimate federation backed team is volunteering at each other's games. Women's teams would volunteer to sell beer at Royal games but the roles will be flipped as Royal players will return the favour and sell beer for the exhibition game.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

On This Day: The AUDL Announced Its Inaugural Season

Five years ago today the American Ultimate Disc League was publicly announced.


"First press release for the league is out!" [Twitter

Their 2011 press release 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."


The AUDL has since expanded to 24 teams and 4 divisions. Only two of the original AUDL eight teams are currently in the league.


Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Prize Money Won by Club Ultimate Teams in Triple Crown Tour 2016

Fifteen (15) club ultimate teams won prize money totaling $27,750 during the 2016 Triple Crown Tour regular season. Only 3 different women's club teams won money, while the men's and mixed divisions each had 6 different teams win prize money. Five (5) teams pocketed multiple TCT prize-money wins — Brute Squad, Revolver, Riot, Slow White and Truck Stop.

PEC = Pro-Elite Challenge
PFF = Pro Flight Finale
ESC = Elite-Select Flight Challenge
Natties = National Championships

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

UPDATED FROM previous posts; RELATED: 2015 TCT prize money.


Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Frisbee Spotted in Apple Watch 2 Commerical

Watch the Apple Watch commercial for the frisbee on the beach.

DON'T BLINK!

At the 55-second mark of the 1-minute ad, the beach scene shows an airborne orange flying disc traveling from the right of the screen as an outstretched arm (with Apple Watch on the wrist) grabs for the frisbee. It's unknown whether this is a beach ultimate scene of a completion or just playing catch on the sand.

screengrab of Apple commerical


BlockStack.TV Sharing Sludge Blog News

BlockStack - a news source for all things Ultimate - has begun sharing posts from the Sludge blog.

Thanks to BSTv for including the blog on their website along with other ultimate newsworthy sites. BlockStack started in the early 2000's as an ultimate video company, then went into podcasting. After a 3-year hiatus, BlockStack (BlockStack v3) returned as an online ultimate news consolidator.


Monday, October 10, 2016

Discover Ultimate


Discover the joy of playing a game of ultimate.

Friday, October 07, 2016

Do Not Pee, Or Else

Boston Dig recently reported a Team Misconduct Foul was issued to Houston's men's club ultimate team for public urination at 2016 Nationals.
In H.I.P.'s defense, there probably weren't warning signs like the ones at Amherst Invitational Ultimate Tournament.



Thursday, October 06, 2016

SNAPSHOT: Championships by Boston Club Ultimate Teams

Boston teams have combined to win 21 club titles at UPA/USAU Championships; twelve (12) by three different women's club ultimate teams, eight (8) by 3 different men's club ultimate teams, and one (1) by Slow White. Club ultimate teams from Boston have swept Nationals before this year's Boston Sweep -  in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998. Of note, two teams from Massachusetts — Boston Rude Boys (Men) and Amherst Zulu (Women) — won their division's championship in 1982.



# of Championships by Boston Club Ultimate Teams
Lady Godiva (W) = 9
Death or Glory (M) = 6
Brute Squad (W) = 2
B.L.U. (W) = 1
Ironside (M) = 1
Rude Boys (M) = 1
Slow White (X) = 1


# of Boston Club Ultimate Teams Championships, by Division
Women = 12
Men = 8
Mixed = 1


Wednesday, October 05, 2016

Comparison: Seed vs Final Standings of Club Teams at 2016 USA Ultimate Nationals

Comparing the seed and finish of each 2016 USA Ultimate National Championships qualifying team in the men's, mixed and women's divisions. For the 2016 championship teams, the #1 seed held in only the men's division while the #2 seeded teams won in the mixed and women's divisions. Five teams from each division finished below their tournament seed. The 13th seeded team in all 3 divisions finished within the top-8 (Pro Flight) [SOURCE].

MEN

The top-2 teams finished according to seed. Eight (8) men's teams broke seed.
UP: Raleigh Ring of Fire (+10), Vancouver Furious George (+7), Austin Doublewide (+5)
DOWN: Chicago Machine (-9), Madison Club (-7), New York PoNY (-7)

MIXED

Seven of the top-seeded teams finished within the top-8 spots. Ten (10) mixed teams broke seed.
UP: Metro North and Blackbird posted the biggest jumps with a +6.
DOWN: Fort Collins shame. (-7); Pittsburgh Alloy (-6), Philadelphia AMP (-5)

WOMEN

The top-6 seeded teams finished as the top-6 teams. Five (5) of the 16 teams finished according to seed.
UP: Madison Heist posted the biggest jump with a +6.
DOWN: SD Wildfire had the worst fall with -7.

[DATA SOURCE via USAU]


Tuesday, October 04, 2016

AUDL Team Owner Jim Gerencser Talks About Semi-Pro Ultimate

Podcast Episode 139 of Going Deep with Aaron Watson talks with Jim Gerencser, owner of AUDL 2016 Champions Dallas Roughnecks (AUDL), minority owner of the Philadelphia Phoenix, the founder of E.R.I.C., plus supporter of many other ultimate-related projects.


Here are some podcast highlights:
[17:50]  Gerencser claims to be the #3 guy in in spending money on ultimate.

[21:00] ERIC Tour reaching (introducing ultimate to) 40,000 youths.

Dallas Roughnecks Roster
Kurt Gibson stayed at Jim's house...and gave him a "little break" on his rent.
Beau Kittredge is part-owner of the Dallas AUDL team.

Baseball compared to ultimate
Jim Gerencser: "Baseball is boring as fuck! Excuse my language. Holy shit!"

Goals for the Philadelphia Phoenix
[23:52] Support the build up of the team.
Get their social media going.
Try to put together a team to win the east next year (2017).
Not aimed to smush [Spinners]. "I think they're going away with us trying to do that."

Major League Ultimate vs American Ultimate Disc League
MLU: Great league for what they are doing....but it's B-level players. They still have a great product. Some things are better than what the AUDL does.

Jim referred to MLU as "more like a timeshare." He preferred owning a business, so he bought an AUDL franchise instead.

>Listen to the entire GDwAW podcast.


Monday, October 03, 2016

"Updated" Post-Tournament Logo of National Championships

Boston's sweep at the 2016 USA Ultimate National Championships earns a re-do of the Club Tournament in Rockford.



A runner-up to the Boston-ized logo (above) remembers the surroundings at the fields.


RELATED: Pre-Tourney logo update.


Sunday, October 02, 2016

Boston 2016 Club Ultimate Championships: One, Two, Three

All three Boston teams won their division championship today at 2016 USA Ultimate Nationals. Even more impressive is each team prevailed after trailing at halftime.


Mixed Division
Boston Slow White [#2 seed] won 15-11 (6-8 half) over Metro North [#8 seed] from Mianus, Connecticut. This is Slow White's first national championship.

Men's Division
Boston Ironside [#1 seed] won 14-13 (6-8 half) over San Francisco Revolver [#2 seed]. This is Ironside's 1st national championship.

Women's Division
In a repeat matchup from 2015, Boston Brute Squad [#2 seed] won 12-11 (7-8 half) over Seattle Riot [#1 seed]. This is Brute Squad's 2nd consecutive club ultimate championship.



Boston Rosters
Slow White
Ironside

Brute Squad