Yet another full year of ultimate! This blog published 100+ posts this year covering topics related to the sport of ultimate. Thanks for visiting and reading when necessary.
2018's Best-Of based on traffic
Top 18 Posts in '18
18. MLB's MVP Mookie Betts credits Frisbee throwing
17. USA Player Stats from 2018 World U24 Ultimate Championships
16. AUDL Opening Day
15. Women players in the AUDL
14. NFL's Nick Foles has Ultimate Frisbee skills
13. United Ultimate League: unsuccessfUUL Crowdfunding
12. Review of AUDL jerseys (2017 season)
11. AUDL betting lines
10. Prize Money Won during Triple Crown Tour (2018 Season)
9. Results of 2018 Club Nationals, U24 Worlds, WUCC, WMUCC, YCC, WJUC
8. CHART: Medal History at WFDF World Ultimate Club Championships
7. Madison Radicals win their 1st AUDL Title
6. Retrospective on MLU: A conversation with Nic Darling
5. Ranking of AUDL Team Cleats
4. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau Addresses WJUC 2018
3. Comparison: Seed vs Finish of Club Teams at 2018 Nationals
2. Maplewood, New Jersey Proclamation of "Ultimate Days"
1. Q&A with the Indy Red organizers
Past B-O's: 2017.. 2016 .. 2015 .. 2014 .. 2013 .. 2012 .. 2011 .. 2010 .. 2009 .. 2008
|SLOG| A place for Sludge deposits. Flicking about ultimate, Frisbee, flying plastic discs, and more. (There's more?)
Monday, December 31, 2018
Saturday, December 29, 2018
The Sky is Red Documentary Drops Teaser Trailer
The Sky is Red met its crowdfunding goal last year. The documentary aims to film the untold story of the push for gender, race, and class equity in the growing world of ultimate frisbee from 1968 to the present. The film will help REDirect the focus of what has historically been images of white men playing the sport of ultimate.
Watch a glimpse of The Sky is Red:
The Sky Is Red Documentary Teaser Trailer 2018 from The Sky Is Red Documentary on Vimeo.
Visit the Sky is Red website and consider supporting their efforts.
Watch a glimpse of The Sky is Red:
The Sky Is Red Documentary Teaser Trailer 2018 from The Sky Is Red Documentary on Vimeo.
Visit the Sky is Red website and consider supporting their efforts.
Friday, December 21, 2018
Part 1: A Conversation about Major League Ultimate with Nic Darling
It has been 2 years since Major League Ultimate decided to shutdown. MLU completed 4 seasons with memorable innovations until the abrupt stoppage in December 2016. SLUDGE spoke with Nic Darling about many various MLU topics with Nic who provides candid behind-the-scenes insight.
Nic Darling was the Executive VP and Founder of Major League Ultimate from late 2012 until December 2016. During Nic's tenure at MLU, he became the face of the organization as the host of MLU's podcast Cleats and Cufflinks, the lead in MLU's 'Speaking Ultimate Frisbee' segments, and was called on to broadcast some games.
Below is part 1 of multiple part series documenting our conversation.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
December 2016
SLUDGE: Take me back when you found out about the decision to cease operations of Major League Ultimate.
Nic Darling: We had just moved into our new offices. There were hints a couple of days before this, that this was a possibility.
SLUDGE: Were the hints communicated to you? Or you were just sensing them?
Nic: Kind of communicated. It was like stuff got wishy-washy that wasn't wishy-washy prior. I had some inkling of what was going on. We talked very, very regularly with all the major investors. But yeah, the final decision was still a surprise on some level, even though maybe it shouldn't have been. But you could see the context. There were three days where I'm thinking, "Something bad is coming, and I'm not really sure what it is. What's going on?" And then three days later, it's like, "Okay. That is what's going
on."
I'm pretty direct, or had been at least for the year prior to that, where we had some deals moving forwards for financing and I would be ask the investors, "Are we good? Everybody's on board, we're okay? Are there any metrics we need to be able to hit to make sure we're good?" And so, we would do check-ins.
There was always anxiety… The rug can be pulled out from you at any moment when your business is based on investors. It can disappear in a second. My first startup, a software company that I was in, we had a patent lawsuit that came up. Investors were like, "Yep, we're done." And, we're done. And we're just done. And it's just the way these things go... There's only so much protection you can build in, so you always have a background level of anxiety.
There was something different with this one. And I don't have a good explanation of what exactly happened, oddly.
SLUDGE: Unpack that for me.
Nic: Okay. I would have been less surprised if we chose to end operations right after the end of the 2016 season than I was after making several positive moves through the fall. An investor-funded business always has a certain amount of uncertainty and the time of most instability is when the end of an agreement is in sight and the next round of funding is not yet secure. By the beginning of December 2016, I was fairly confident that we had secured funding for 2017. After the 2016 MLU Championship [August 2016] I did not yet have that confidence.
SLUDGE: Any other issues, in retrospect?
Nic: The problem is that there were different philosophies as to how the company was gonna run over the years. So some people thought, "Hey, maybe we can make this sort of a subsistence thing, and we can find some mechanisms for leveraging people's volunteerism and stuff and just running things that way." But in the last year or two we had a shift, to "Let's make this a real company, let's run it like a real company. Let's go find what we need to survive. So let's find new investment, let's find this." And that started to be the philosophy through 2016, and it felt like that's the direction we were headed in. So yeah, there's some surprises there. And I still don't have all of the background reasons why the plug got pulled.
SLUDGE: It seems like you - of all people - deserve to have those answers.
I think I could have them, probably, now, if I wanted to go back and have the conversation. I just haven't. For me, another thing that I think is important to understand is that this job, for me, was really brutal. It was more than double full time. I worked constantly. I missed weddings, and parties, and family events, and anything you can imagine. I worked every day, I worked every night. During the season, I traveled all the time. And there was certainly a part of it being over, once I finally got over the shock of that, and the painful part of having to lay off a bunch of people, and all that stuff, where I remember I was sitting in the office by myself cause I was closing everything down, and I'm like, "Maybe this is for the best. I'm tired. Drinking too much, and I'm stressed out, I don't feel good. Maybe it's not all bad."
Nic Darling was the Executive VP and Founder of Major League Ultimate from late 2012 until December 2016. During Nic's tenure at MLU, he became the face of the organization as the host of MLU's podcast Cleats and Cufflinks, the lead in MLU's 'Speaking Ultimate Frisbee' segments, and was called on to broadcast some games.
Below is part 1 of multiple part series documenting our conversation.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
December 2016
SLUDGE: Take me back when you found out about the decision to cease operations of Major League Ultimate.
Nic Darling: We had just moved into our new offices. There were hints a couple of days before this, that this was a possibility.
SLUDGE: Were the hints communicated to you? Or you were just sensing them?
Nic: Kind of communicated. It was like stuff got wishy-washy that wasn't wishy-washy prior. I had some inkling of what was going on. We talked very, very regularly with all the major investors. But yeah, the final decision was still a surprise on some level, even though maybe it shouldn't have been. But you could see the context. There were three days where I'm thinking, "Something bad is coming, and I'm not really sure what it is. What's going on?" And then three days later, it's like, "Okay. That is what's going
on."
...a huge surprise to everyone...We had some deals in the works that I was really excited about. You could call it a shock. There were just a couple of days of oddness that preceded it.This is still a huge surprise to everyone here, because new offices, new ticket sales team, all this good stuff going on. We had some deals in the works that I was really excited about. You could call it a shock. There were just a couple of days of oddness that preceded it.
I'm pretty direct, or had been at least for the year prior to that, where we had some deals moving forwards for financing and I would be ask the investors, "Are we good? Everybody's on board, we're okay? Are there any metrics we need to be able to hit to make sure we're good?" And so, we would do check-ins.
There was always anxiety… The rug can be pulled out from you at any moment when your business is based on investors. It can disappear in a second. My first startup, a software company that I was in, we had a patent lawsuit that came up. Investors were like, "Yep, we're done." And, we're done. And we're just done. And it's just the way these things go... There's only so much protection you can build in, so you always have a background level of anxiety.
There was something different with this one. And I don't have a good explanation of what exactly happened, oddly.
...there was still a long way to go before [Major League Ultimate] was turning a profit.I know the basics of it; there was still a long way to go before this company was turning a profit. And while that seemed to be pretty well communicated between all of the parties involved, I started to get the sense in those days leading up, that it wasn't as well communicated as I thought.
I would have been less surprised if we chose to end operations right after the end of the 2016 season (July 2016) than I was after making several positive moves through the fall.
SLUDGE: Unpack that for me.
Nic: Okay. I would have been less surprised if we chose to end operations right after the end of the 2016 season than I was after making several positive moves through the fall. An investor-funded business always has a certain amount of uncertainty and the time of most instability is when the end of an agreement is in sight and the next round of funding is not yet secure. By the beginning of December 2016, I was fairly confident that we had secured funding for 2017. After the 2016 MLU Championship [August 2016] I did not yet have that confidence.
SLUDGE: Any other issues, in retrospect?
Nic: The problem is that there were different philosophies as to how the company was gonna run over the years. So some people thought, "Hey, maybe we can make this sort of a subsistence thing, and we can find some mechanisms for leveraging people's volunteerism and stuff and just running things that way." But in the last year or two we had a shift, to "Let's make this a real company, let's run it like a real company. Let's go find what we need to survive. So let's find new investment, let's find this." And that started to be the philosophy through 2016, and it felt like that's the direction we were headed in. So yeah, there's some surprises there. And I still don't have all of the background reasons why the plug got pulled.
SLUDGE: It seems like you - of all people - deserve to have those answers.
I think I could have them, probably, now, if I wanted to go back and have the conversation. I just haven't. For me, another thing that I think is important to understand is that this job, for me, was really brutal. It was more than double full time. I worked constantly. I missed weddings, and parties, and family events, and anything you can imagine. I worked every day, I worked every night. During the season, I traveled all the time. And there was certainly a part of it being over, once I finally got over the shock of that, and the painful part of having to lay off a bunch of people, and all that stuff, where I remember I was sitting in the office by myself cause I was closing everything down, and I'm like, "Maybe this is for the best. I'm tired. Drinking too much, and I'm stressed out, I don't feel good. Maybe it's not all bad."
"Maybe this is for the best. I'm tired. Drinking too much, & I'm stressed out, I don't feel good. Maybe it's not all bad."And I rode that feeling for months. And that was the time period where I could have sat down with the people involved and got better answers, and I just never really did. I don't think that there's anybody that wouldn't give me the answer. The investors are great, I still have a lot of respect for them. They treated everybody really well with the exit, which is abnormal when a company closes down.
The investors are great, I still have a lot of respect for them. They treated everybody really well with the exit, which is abnormal when a company closes down.I'm pretty sure I could probably get better answers. They're probably just gonna tell me it's my fault. I don't know if I want to know that.
SLUDGE: How much future planning was already done for the next year's (2017) championship game?
Nic: We always had a challenge, in that, the reason it was in Philly is cause MLU headquarters was in Philly and the production level that went into that was really hard for us to do anywhere else. Now it looked like the 2017 championship was going to be determined not by us but by the title sponsor. We were in conversations with a few different companies to title sponsor that game and that would've had a large determination on where we held it. Both the size of the venue, the type of venue, and in the end, probably the city location.
We were in conversations with FOX Sports and Comcast to do a live national broadcast of that game.
Aftermath
SLUDGE: Was it ever considered, for some departments of MLU to continue as an offshoot?
Nic: Absolutely. [Production Manager] Matt Gray and I batted that idea around a lot. We looked at different ways of doing it. I think he even shot a couple of games for the AUDL, as a kind of test of the thing. But there's just no money in it. There never was money in it. You have to monetize it and nobody on the AUDL side was doing that. We looked at other sports, and there were more possibilities there. But everybody wanted to pay the barest minimum for that kind of coverage, so there wasn't really a lot to do with it. Now, again, given some time and some runway, could we have spun up a media company out of that, that might have been able to work around Ultimate? Yeah, it’s possible. I think there's an opportunity there for sure...just like there's space around any sport. But you gotta find corporate partners, it's the only way to make it happen. Gotta find people with money, who have something to sell.
But there's just no money in it. There never was money in it. You have to monetize it...I think there's an opportunity there for sure...just like there's space around any sport. But you gotta find corporate partners, it's the only way to make it happen.
SLUDGE: The other two efforts that I thought MLU had that was of value were the Fantasy platform and the stats system.
Nic: That was great, wasn't it? The fantasy thing was insane. Stats, fantasy, our websites, all that stuff, we way overachieved on all that.
SLUDGE: Back in December of 2016, you said that the stats would remain intact and online, but stats have since been removed.
Nic: I was actually surprised to see the main site had come down, and the [stats] portion of it. We were working off of...I can't remember, Luke would know better…I think Google Cloud services for that, and that was one of the expenses that got dropped by the investors. We still have the data, but the system isn't there to publicly display it.
SLUDGE: How invested were you in the MLU?
Nic: Most of mine was sweat equity. So I made very little money for a long time. [chuckle] And that's how I have equity. But that equity gets diluted over the years as you bring in more money. And in the end, when things go south, part of that shutdown deal is... those brand assets, anything, gets taken by the investor that has the most control. So I don't have control of those assets anymore.
I think there's plenty of opportunity to do something with [MLU assets]. I don't think that that's a closed door at all. In fact, somebody approached me a bit ago with an idea, and I passed them on to the investors.
However, I think there's plenty of opportunity to do something with them. I don't think that that's a closed door at all. In fact, somebody approached me a bit ago with an idea, and I passed them on to the investors. I don't know what conversations are happening now and, again like I said, it isn't 'til this conversation that I've thought about it, but I have kind of...since February [2017] I think is when I finally finished up everything with MLU... I've just shut it out. I haven't paid attention to it. I haven't... I mean, I still need to get the trophy to the investors, I haven't done that. So the MLU Championship trophy is sitting in my house.
Retrospective
SLUDGE: Do you ever have any "aha" moments related to the MLU?
Nic: Oh, I have those all the time. I have those at the gas station sometimes. [chuckle] Retrospect is a beautiful thing. You look into the past and you can always make the right decisions and the right choices. And those constantly occur to me. This is something we could have done or this is the way we could have done that. And frankly that occurs to me in anything that I do. I have a lot of tendency to be looking backwards at what I've done and trying to learn.
One of the things I think we could have done that we actually talked about earlier in the years of the MLU and that just didn't get traction with all of the stakeholders, was taking some lessons from what players associations do and trying to blend that to what we did as a league.... I am constantly coming upon ideas that we could have applied at MLU to engage the players more fully that would have had a positive effect on that part of the MLU business.
"How could we have done a better job engaging the players in the actual process of running and growing the league?" That would have been a more effective method than paying them $15 extra dollars a game.
It just depended on the level of buy-in, which goes back to that, "How could we have done a better job engaging the players in the actual process of running and growing the league?" That would have been a more effective method than paying them $15 extra dollars a game. Right? And I think we all knew that. We just couldn't figure out how to do it, with all of the other things that we had to accomplish.
Now we were always strangled for resources, not just monetary but human. And so as thin as we were stretched, some of those would have been difficult to accomplish without significant buy-in from our investors and people understanding why it was important.
MLU Store
SLUDGE: It was reported there was 500+ orders at the end of December 2016 after the MLU had ceased operations.
Nic: That was awful, totally forgot about that until you just brought it up.
SLUDGE: Sorry. After all of that hard work that you've done for four years, were you surprised at this reaction of so many people showing interest with their wallet?
Nic: I don't know. I think people wanted to grab a piece of history. We expected it. So it wasn't surprising. I expected people to come out. We always sold stuff, people bought stuff, but just never on that scale all at once, but we were also dirt cheap. [chuckle] But, yeah, piling all that stuff, that was a rough couple of weeks, getting those orders out.
That's another thing people forget, we ran an entire retail store as well. That was crazy.
SLUDGE: It must have been hard for you since you're already dealing with this cease operations, but then still having this obligation to send out all those swag orders.
Nic: Picture an old cowboy movie, and your horse dies, and you sit there, and you watch the vultures come down and get the horse.
##
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Ultimate: The First Five Decades
Ultimate history repeats itself by publishing another tome chronicling the 50 years of ultimate.
ULTIMATE–The First Five Decades, Vol. II (2005-2018)
Contents:
• Recap of Volume I
• Introduction
• Chapter 1. Ultimate Plants Its Feet (2005-2009)
• Chapter 2. Divergent Visions Take Root (2010-2013)
• Chapter 3. Competing Priorities Bloom (2014-mid-2018)
• Chapter 4. Local Disc Organizations and Leagues
• Chapter 5. Equity & Diversity in Ultimate
• Chapter 6. WFDF and World Overview
• Chapter 7. Where Does Ultimate in the USA Go Now
Price: $39.50 plus shipping & tax
(US shipments will begin in February.)
ULTIMATE–The First Five Decades, Vol. II (2005-2018)
Contents:
• Recap of Volume I
• Introduction
• Chapter 1. Ultimate Plants Its Feet (2005-2009)
• Chapter 2. Divergent Visions Take Root (2010-2013)
• Chapter 3. Competing Priorities Bloom (2014-mid-2018)
• Chapter 4. Local Disc Organizations and Leagues
• Chapter 5. Equity & Diversity in Ultimate
• Chapter 6. WFDF and World Overview
• Chapter 7. Where Does Ultimate in the USA Go Now
Price: $39.50 plus shipping & tax
(US shipments will begin in February.)
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Matthew "Rowan" McDonnell: 2018 AUDL MVP
In October, Matthew "Rowan" McDonnell won the AUDL MVP for the 2018 season. Rowan becomes the 5th player to win the Most Valuable Player in the 7 seasons of the American Ultimate Disc League, and the first player from the East Division to win the award. Rowan made the First Team All-East AUDL in 2017. The MVP is quite an accomplishment for someone who only discovered ultimate in seven years ago.
In early October, The Washington Post ran a hype article for the DC Breeze player, and Rowan was quoted in a Washington Times article in July 2018.
Rowan's stats were impressive - 4.7 assists/game, 3.8 goals/game, and 393 completions (95.50%), plus 1.1 blocks/game on defense - over 10 games of the Breeze's 14-game regular season.
AUDL is selling a commemorative poster of Rowan:
Rowan's local (New London, Connecticut) paper published a profile of the AUDL MVP.
Rowan recalls his first time witnessing an ultimate Frisbee game; it was in 2011.
Rowan: "I didn't even know what it was, but I felt immediately hooked. The first thing I saw was this kid throw it 70 yards, and I was like wow, I want to do that."
Later in the article, Rowan admits: "All I knew is that I wanted to play Ultimate."
Rowan continues: "Shaping my life around a fringe sport was never easy. But I purposely chose to do that because I figured, if I kept getting my name out there, and if I kept coaching and gaining experience for myself, it would eventually allow me to make a career out of Ultimate."
Rowan (Th-rowan?) McDonnell is a member of of the DC men's club ultimate team Truck Stop, coach of the American University women's college ultimate team, and founder of American Ultimate Academy in Washington, DC, which offers trainings and summer camps.
In early October, The Washington Post ran a hype article for the DC Breeze player, and Rowan was quoted in a Washington Times article in July 2018.
Rowan's stats were impressive - 4.7 assists/game, 3.8 goals/game, and 393 completions (95.50%), plus 1.1 blocks/game on defense - over 10 games of the Breeze's 14-game regular season.
AUDL is selling a commemorative poster of Rowan:
Rowan's local (New London, Connecticut) paper published a profile of the AUDL MVP.
Rowan recalls his first time witnessing an ultimate Frisbee game; it was in 2011.
Rowan: "I didn't even know what it was, but I felt immediately hooked. The first thing I saw was this kid throw it 70 yards, and I was like wow, I want to do that."
East Lyme native carves out career in Ultimate Frisbee [The Day] |
Later in the article, Rowan admits: "All I knew is that I wanted to play Ultimate."
Rowan continues: "Shaping my life around a fringe sport was never easy. But I purposely chose to do that because I figured, if I kept getting my name out there, and if I kept coaching and gaining experience for myself, it would eventually allow me to make a career out of Ultimate."
Rowan (Th-rowan?) McDonnell is a member of of the DC men's club ultimate team Truck Stop, coach of the American University women's college ultimate team, and founder of American Ultimate Academy in Washington, DC, which offers trainings and summer camps.
Labels:
audl,
DC Breeze,
quote,
rowan mcdonnell,
truckstop
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
All Bashed Out Honors Former Ultimate Teammate
Long before Philadelphia Flyers' famous mascot Gritty debuted, the Masters Division club ultimate team from the Northeast Region All Bashed Out featured their own. A summer article highlighted the heartfelt honor to their former teammate. However, the article was incorrect on how All Bashed Out involved the puppet. Instead of starting 6-versus-7 for the first point, as the article stated, ABO's seven players would be on the line with one player holding the yellow puppet to begin the first point of the game.
The team from New York, dubbed All Bashed Out, have been playing either with or against each other for more than 10 years. About a year ago, their good friend and teammate died of colorectal cancer at the age of 33.
"This team has kind of morphed into a memorial team for him," Lucas Murphy told Global News on Sunday.
This time of year is particularly hard for the team, as July 28th was their friend's birthday.
It has become a tradition for the team to start tournaments with six men on the field, while a puppet on the sideline acts as the seventh.*
"We have a puppet act as an avatar for our friend because he was really into puppets," Murphy said. "We were a close group of friends that were mean to each other, so we say, 'that puppet is just as good as he is.'"
*UPDATE: The puppet starts with All Bashed Out on the field.
Sandy Canetti (Ultiphotos) captured All Bashed Out on the first point of the WMUCC championship game:
All Bashed Out won the silver medal in the Masters Men Division at WFDF 2018 World Masters Ultimate Club Championships.
All Bashed Out puppet |
From the Global News' article (July 2018):
An American ultimate frisbee team participating in the Ultimate Frisbee World Championship this week in Winnipeg will start the tournament a man short, in memory of their teammate who passed away after a battle with cancer.The team from New York, dubbed All Bashed Out, have been playing either with or against each other for more than 10 years. About a year ago, their good friend and teammate died of colorectal cancer at the age of 33.
"This team has kind of morphed into a memorial team for him," Lucas Murphy told Global News on Sunday.
This time of year is particularly hard for the team, as July 28th was their friend's birthday.
It has become a tradition for the team to start tournaments with six men on the field, while a puppet on the sideline acts as the seventh.*
"We have a puppet act as an avatar for our friend because he was really into puppets," Murphy said. "We were a close group of friends that were mean to each other, so we say, 'that puppet is just as good as he is.'"
*UPDATE: The puppet starts with All Bashed Out on the field.
Sandy Canetti (Ultiphotos) captured All Bashed Out on the first point of the WMUCC championship game:
@AllBashedOut took on Boneyard in the @WMUCC at the Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba. All Bashed Out played in memory of @AlbanyUltimate alum and close friend Ryan West. Boneyard won the contest 15-8, but All Bashed Out won so much more. So proud of these guys. pic.twitter.com/ABVlONQ1N0— Sandy Canetti (@SandyCanetti) August 8, 2018
All Bashed Out won the silver medal in the Masters Men Division at WFDF 2018 World Masters Ultimate Club Championships.
Monday, December 17, 2018
Oddball AUDL Gift Ideas
With the gift season in mind, here are some unusual AUDL team products that still need to make it out of Research & Development:
Austin Sol Shade Tent
Minnesota Wind Chill Windbreaker
Raleigh Flyers Fly Swatter
Labels:
audl,
logo remix,
RnD
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Prize Money Won by Club Ultimate Teams in Triple Crown Tour 2018
Fifteen (15) club ultimate teams won prize money totaling $29,750 during the 2018 Triple Crown Tour season; each division had five (5) different club teams win money. Seven (7) teams pocketed multiple TCT prize money wins — AMP, Brute Squad, Fury, Love Tractor, Mixtape PoNY, and Revolver.
New York PoNY sits atop the prize money leader board with $7500 which includes their Triple Crown bonus. Boston Brute Squad won the most prize money in women's division with $4500 and Philadelphia AMP topped the mixed division in prize money with $4000. Collectively, these 3 club ultimate teams won over 50% of the prize money in the 2018 season.
RELATED: Prize Money Leaders in 2017
Updated from September 2018
New York PoNY sits atop the prize money leader board with $7500 which includes their Triple Crown bonus. Boston Brute Squad won the most prize money in women's division with $4500 and Philadelphia AMP topped the mixed division in prize money with $4000. Collectively, these 3 club ultimate teams won over 50% of the prize money in the 2018 season.
RELATED: Prize Money Leaders in 2017
Updated from September 2018
Labels:
chart,
Fury,
New York PoNY,
Philadelphia AMP,
TCT,
usaU
Thursday, December 06, 2018
San Francisco FlameThrowers: AUDL Trailblazer
It came as a great shock that one of the more successful American Ultimate Disc League teams was folding. San Francisco FlameThrowers posted a 45-25 (.642) regular season record, advanced to the postseason 4 of their 5 seasons, twice finished 1st in West Division (2016, 2017), had an interesting mascot, participated in the first semi-pro mixed ultimate game, and won the AUDL title in 2017.
Beyond their on-field performance, the FlameThrowers were an exemplary franchise. Let their stated values and mission live on as the benchmark for all current and future AUDL teams.
As some of you will know by now, the FlameThrowers will not be playing in the AUDL in 2019. We are sad to have made the decision, but we just did not see a way forward to create a sustainable business in this market.
For those that think about Ultimate as a spectator sport, here are some of the key things we’ve learned on this journey. First, Ultimate is incredibly spectator/fan-friendly and we continue to believe people will watch it. Second, the Ultimate community by itself is not large enough (even in the Bay Area!) to provide the fan base necessary to support a team financially, but broader awareness of the sport still lags far behind, as seen in the difficulty in landing a significant sponsorship after several years. Finally, operational excellence takes time to build and requires great relationships with service providers and partners; we thank them from the bottom of our hearts for all they did over the years.
The FlameThrowers sign off with "Flame On!"
Beyond their on-field performance, the FlameThrowers were an exemplary franchise. Let their stated values and mission live on as the benchmark for all current and future AUDL teams.
OUR VALUES: Passion, Excellence & Improvement
Passion
We are passionate about the sport of Ultimate. A team sport played with a flying disc instead of a ball. A team sport played by athletes of all kinds, across gender formats. We love playing it, and we love watching it. And we are equally passionate about creating opportunities for the sport of Ultimate to have a positive impact on society by promoting teamwork, "Spirit of The Game", equity, and conflict resolution.
Excellence
We believe in striving for excellence on and off the field. On the field, we will strive to win through the effort of our players, the intelligence of our strategies, the energy from our fans, and the sheer joy of play embodied in the Spirit Of The Game. Off the field, members of the Flamethrowers organization strive for the same levels of excellence across all areas of our lives. We believe that the pursuit of excellence, in and of itself, is at the core of success, and that all associated with the team will be proud to be a part of that pursuit.
Improvement
We acknowledge that the sport of Ultimate reflects the imperfections in society at large. Male participation is significantly higher than female participation, and there is a severe lack of racial and economic diversity. We believe that striving for gender, racial, and economic diversity is critical to making the sport of Ultimate the best that it can be. We intend to play a positive role in helping to improve access to opportunities for everyone to play at the highest level and showcase their talents to the world.
OUR MISSION: Grow, Unite & Sustain
Grow The Sport
We believe that growing participation in the sport will increase the positive impact of Ultimate, and we believe that showcasing the best athletes, competing at the highest level, will inspire new participation. We want to grow the sport of Ultimate at all levels and across every division (open, mixed, and women). We also believe that spectators and sponsors can provide the support to fund the growth of the sport at all levels, and in all communities, and we intend to continue and increase our efforts to bring new players and fans to the sport.
Unite With Others
We cannot grow the sport alone. You can't play a team sport without teammates and a team can't play a game without an opponent. To accomplish the first part of our mission we must work with others. This means supporting organizations like the Bay Area Disc Association (BADA). It means participating in a professional league, the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL). Working with others inevitably involves compromise, but it also allows us to achieve more than we could alone. We look forward to expanding our partnerships with Ultimate organizations whose mission and values align with ours. It also means working with the Ultimate community, particularly the youth in our community. We are committed to the SOTG and we insist that our players, coaches, and staff model that behavior on and off the field.
Sustain Progress
We want to bring our sport to hundreds of millions of new players, and it is simply not possible to do that in a few short years. It is the Ultimate community that will sustain us over the course of this long journey, and it is the participation and support of the players, coaches, parents, fans, and countless others that will enable us to succeed. All of the owners of our organization have been members of the Ultimate community for decades, and it is an integral part of our passion for the sport. We cherish the opportunity to give back to the sport of Ultimate, and we are always searching for new partnerships and creative new solutions that will help us to bring Ultimate to as many people as possible.
In a parting email, the FlameThrowers continued their graciousness. Their email text in full:
Dear Friends of the FlameThrowers and the Bay Area Disc Community,
When we contacted Josh Moore over 6 years ago and began our journey with the FlameThrowers, we had a vision of professional ultimate taking its place alongside the great spectator sports. While we always knew there would be challenges along the way, the FlameThrowers ownership group believes that those challenges warrant a pause.
We are incredibly proud to have represented San Francisco ultimate and the Bay Area in the AUDL and to the world at large. We are delighted to have been at the forefront of providing women opportunities to play on the same field as men. We are thrilled to have won the 2017 AUDL Championship and seen our players featured on ESPN’s Top 10 as well as receive numerous AUDL accolades. And we consider ourselves fortunate to have given those amazing players an opportunity to showcase the joy of the sport.
Our hopes for the future include continued involvement in spectator/fan-focused ultimate, particularly in a more gender-equitable format. We have advocated for more local flexibility in game formats and believe that experimentation at this stage of spectator Ultimate’s development is critical. And we have long hoped for coordination between the AUDL and the USAU to ensure player safety and reasonable workloads over the season.
We wish all those competing, producing, and otherwise involved in the AUDL all the best in 2019 and beyond. And we again thank all the players, partners, youth groups, Laney College, Bay Area Disc Association and countless others for supporting us along the way and helping make the FlameThrowers a reality.
The FlameThrowers sign off with "Flame On!"
Labels:
audl,
San Francisco FlameThrowers,
sotg
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Former AUDL Teams
The 2019 AUDL season is projected to have 21 teams in 4 divisions across the United States and Canada.
There have been 14 teams that used to play in the American Ultimate Disc League; they are:
Buffalo Hunters
Charlotte Express
Cincinnati Revolution
Columbus Cranes
Connecticut Constitution
New Jersey Hammerheads
Philadelphia Spinners
Rhode Island Rampage
Rochester Dragons
Salt Lake City Lions
San Francisco FlameThrowers
Seattle Raptors
Vancouver Riptide
There have been 14 teams that used to play in the American Ultimate Disc League; they are:
Buffalo Hunters
Charlotte Express
Cincinnati Revolution
Columbus Cranes
Connecticut Constitution
New Jersey Hammerheads
Philadelphia Spinners
Rhode Island Rampage
Rochester Dragons
Salt Lake City Lions
San Francisco FlameThrowers
Seattle Raptors
Vancouver Riptide
Monday, November 26, 2018
Nashville NightWatch and San Francisco FlameThrowers Cease AUDL Operations
According to the American Ultimate Disc League announcement on November 21: "Nashville NightWatch and San Francisco FlameThrowers franchises will not return to play in the AUDL for the 2019 season. Effective today, the owners of both franchises are ceasing operations."
Coincidentally, NightWatch and FlameThrowers are two of the three AUDL teams that compound their two-word team name into one with including capitalizing the second word. AlleyCats are the remaining compound team name.
Statement from San Francisco FlameThrowers:
Statement from Nashville NightWatch:
Both organizations have indicated interest in a women's (semi)-pro ultimate league.
Coincidentally, NightWatch and FlameThrowers are two of the three AUDL teams that compound their two-word team name into one with including capitalizing the second word. AlleyCats are the remaining compound team name.
Statement from San Francisco FlameThrowers:
Although the FlameThrowers ownership group remains passionate about the future of spectator ultimate, we struggled to realize our vision of support across men's, women’s, and mixed in the current environment. We will continue to be involved in the sport's development and look forward to the day when we can present and promote ultimate in the most inclusive way possible. [Ultiworld]Statement from San Francisco FlameThrowers:— Sludge Ultimate (@sludgebrown) November 24, 2018
(via Ultiworld) pic.twitter.com/wiHYQSi5Ze
Statement from Nashville NightWatch:
We would like to thank our players and supporters from the last 4 years. Going forward we will not be playing in the AUDL. We are going to turn our efforts into building our community through club efforts and focusing on our Professional Women’s team, Nashville NightShade.— NashvilleNightWatch (@NashNightWatch) November 21, 2018
We would like to thank our players and supporters from the last 4 years. Going forward we will not be playing in the AUDL. We are going to turn our efforts into building our community through club efforts and focusing on our Professional Women’s team, Nashville NightShade.
Both organizations have indicated interest in a women's (semi)-pro ultimate league.
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Maplewood, NJ Proclamation Honors the 50th Anniversary of Ultimate Frisbee
The township of Maplewood, New Jersey, honors the 50th anniversary of Ultimate Frisbee with a proclamation declaring November 22 and 23 as "Ultimate Days."
Whereas, in 1968 Columbia High School student Joel Silver introduced to the student council the idea of (Ultimate) Frisbee.
Mayor Victor De Luca declares November 22nd and 23rd as Ultimate Days in the Township of Maplewood.
Maplewood, NJ proclamation [photo via The Village Green] |
Whereas, in 1968 Columbia High School student Joel Silver introduced to the student council the idea of (Ultimate) Frisbee.
Mayor Victor De Luca declares November 22nd and 23rd as Ultimate Days in the Township of Maplewood.
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
College Goals
When you instill strong family values, your children's college priorities are set high.
Question: What are your goals when you get to college?
Chip Flagston: Make the Frisbee team.
Hi & Lois comic [June 10, 2018], abridged |
Chip Flagston: Make the Frisbee team.
Multi-panel reformatted to fit |
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
MKBHD Schools Joe Rogan on Ultimate Frisbee
MKBHD, wearing a black WFDF hoodie, gives a primer on Ultimate (Frisbee) to Joe Rogan on the Joe Rogan Experience episode #1186. While MLU highlights roll, MKBHD coolly explains the ins-and-outs of the game, history of the sport, and the (semi-)pro league.
WATCH: Marques Brownlee Explains Ultimate Frisby
Joe Rogan: Do you play, like, that Frisbee...disc golf?
Joe Rogan: "I did not know this was even a thing."
Joe Rogan: If you asked 'When was ultimate Frisbee invented?' I would have said: "A couple of months ago."
Joe Rogan: "This actually looks really fun."
WATCH: Marques Brownlee Explains Ultimate Frisby
Joe Rogan: Do you play, like, that Frisbee...disc golf?
Joe Rogan: "I did not know this was even a thing."
Joe Rogan: If you asked 'When was ultimate Frisbee invented?' I would have said: "A couple of months ago."
Joe Rogan: "This actually looks really fun."
Monday, November 19, 2018
CHS Celebrating Ultimate Frisbee's 50th Anniversary
What: The 50th Anniversary Celebration of Ultimate Frisbee
When: Friday, November 23, 2018
Where: Maplewood, NJ
Columbia High School is hosting a 50th Anniversary Celebration for Ultimate Frisbee. Founded in the parking lot of the New Jersey high school in 1968, Ultimate is now played by over 7 million players worldwide.Join CHS for an evening celebrating the Past, Present and Future of this unique sport. Dinner and drinks will be served as well as other activities including a silent auction, video/photo display and jersey exchange.
This event is SOLD OUT.
+ + + +
Ben Harris, a senior at CHS and a member of the varsity ultimate Frisbee team for the last three years, said: "It's fun to be really competitive and also have a good time. It's the No. 1 sport at the school right now, so anyone who wants to play should give it a try."
Friday, November 16, 2018
MLB AL MVP Mookie Betts Credits Frisbee Throwing for His Swing
Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts was just named 2018 Most Valuable Player in the American League. He hit a major league-leading .346 with 32 homers, 80 RBIs and 30 stolen bases as the leadoff hitter for the World Champion Red Sox. The 2018 season was Mookie's 5th Major League Baseball season. Betts throws (the baseball) and hits right-handed.
According to this Boston Globe article, "Mookie Betts is diving into J.D. Martinez's bag of tricks":
[h/t Evan Lepler]
According to this Boston Globe article, "Mookie Betts is diving into J.D. Martinez's bag of tricks":
When [Red Sox teammate] J.D. Martinez first started bringing his big bag of toys into the clubhouse...his teammates didn't know what to make of it.
At a glance, it appeared to be a gym bag full of Phys Ed equipment: a red heavy-duty dodgeball, Frisbees for disc golf, and almost everything else anyone would need for a family field day. It looked like he had raided a Play It Again Sports, but everything in the bag was a tool he used to refine his swing.
The Frisbees caught Betts's eye. When he threw one, he realized how closely the motion resembled the one he used to swing a bat.
Betts: "You just throw it, and it kind of simulates the swing."
[h/t Evan Lepler]
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Philadelphia AMP History at Club Nationals
Philadelphia AMP (Mid-Atlantic Region) qualified for the USA Ultimate Nationals every year since 2005. In 2018, the Philly mixed club ultimate team won the USA Ultimate Club Championship. AMP was coached by Patrick Sherlock.
Prior to the 2018 season, AMP had finished in the Top-5 four times including a runner-up finish in 2017, and finished in the Top-10 nine times in 12 seasons.
NOTE: Donkey Bomb (2000-2005) preceded the AMP (2006 - current) team name.
Labels:
chart,
Philadelphia AMP,
snapshot,
TCT,
usaU
Monday, November 05, 2018
New York PoNY History at Club Nationals
New York PoNY (Northeast Region) qualified for the USA Ultimate Nationals 8 times since 2005. In 2018, the men's club ultimate team won the USA Ultimate Club Championship. PoNY was coached by Berend Van Heuvelen, Bryan Jones and Jimmy Leppert.
Prior to the 2018 season, PoNY had never finished in the Top-5 and finished in the Top-10 only twice.
Prior to the 2018 season, PoNY had never finished in the Top-5 and finished in the Top-10 only twice.
Labels:
chart,
New York PoNY,
TCT,
usaU
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Comparison: Seed vs Finish of Club Teams at 2018 USA Ultimate National Championships
The 4-day 2018 USA Ultimate National Championships were completed in San Diego, California , over October 18-21. The top sixteen (16) teams from each division - men, mixed, women - were in competition.
Here's how each team in the 3 divisions finished compared to their pre-tournament seed. Biggest movers - up and down - also noted.
Women Division
Very little movement in the top-7 seeded teams.
UP(+): San Diego Wildfire (+7); Portland Schwa (+6)
DOWN (-): Madison Heist (-4); Columbus Rival, Raleigh Phoenix (-3)
Mixed Division
The top seed won the championship in a division with lots of movement.
UP(+): New York XIST (+5); D.C. Space Heater, San Francisco Blackbird, New Jersey Jughandle (+3)
DOWN (-): San Francisco Polar Bears (-5); Minneapolis Drag'n Thrust, Boston Slow White (-4)
Men's Division
Lots of movement in this division.
UP(+): Michigan HIGH FIVE (+6); Austin Doublewide, Minneapolis Sub Zero (+5); Denver Johnny Bravo (+4)
DOWN (-): Boston DiG (-9), Madison Club (-6); Vancouver Furious George (-4)
Here's how each team in the 3 divisions finished compared to their pre-tournament seed. Biggest movers - up and down - also noted.
Women Division
Very little movement in the top-7 seeded teams.
UP(+): San Diego Wildfire (+7); Portland Schwa (+6)
DOWN (-): Madison Heist (-4); Columbus Rival, Raleigh Phoenix (-3)
Mixed Division
The top seed won the championship in a division with lots of movement.
UP(+): New York XIST (+5); D.C. Space Heater, San Francisco Blackbird, New Jersey Jughandle (+3)
DOWN (-): San Francisco Polar Bears (-5); Minneapolis Drag'n Thrust, Boston Slow White (-4)
Men's Division
Lots of movement in this division.
UP(+): Michigan HIGH FIVE (+6); Austin Doublewide, Minneapolis Sub Zero (+5); Denver Johnny Bravo (+4)
DOWN (-): Boston DiG (-9), Madison Club (-6); Vancouver Furious George (-4)
Monday, October 22, 2018
Results of 2018 USA Ultimate National Championships
USA Ultimate's 2018 Triple Crown Tour concluded in San Diego, California, on Sunday. Two club teams won for the first time while a perennial won their 11th title.
Men
New York PoNY [#3 seed] won their first club championship with a finals win 15-7 San Francisco Revolver [#1 seed]. PoNY's win also earned them the Triple Crown.
Mixed
Philadelphia AMP [#1 seed] won their first club championship with a 13-8 victory over Seattle Mixtape [#3 seed]. This was a rematch from last year's final.
Women
San Francisco Fury [#2 seed] won their eleventh club championship with a 14-13 win over Boston Brute squad [#1 seed]. This was a rematch from last year's final, which was also won by Fury by the same exact score. Brute Squad (27-1) was undefeated in the 2018 season until the championship game.
Men
New York PoNY [#3 seed] won their first club championship with a finals win 15-7 San Francisco Revolver [#1 seed]. PoNY's win also earned them the Triple Crown.
Mixed
Philadelphia AMP [#1 seed] won their first club championship with a 13-8 victory over Seattle Mixtape [#3 seed]. This was a rematch from last year's final.
Women
San Francisco Fury [#2 seed] won their eleventh club championship with a 14-13 win over Boston Brute squad [#1 seed]. This was a rematch from last year's final, which was also won by Fury by the same exact score. Brute Squad (27-1) was undefeated in the 2018 season until the championship game.
Labels:
Fury,
logo remix,
New York PoNY,
Philadelphia AMP,
TCT,
usaU
Friday, October 19, 2018
Semifinalists at 2018 USA Ultimate Nationals
After two days of competition at USA Ultimate Club Championships in San Diego, four teams in each division have advanced to the semifinals. All #1 seeds have advanced, as well as the 3-seeded team in each division. Teams have played according to seed in the Men's and Women's divisions.
Men's Division
Raleigh Ring of Fire (4) v San Francisco Revolver (1) New York PoNY (3) v Seattle Sockeye (2)
Mixed Division
Boston Snake Country (5) v Seattle Mixtape (3) Washington DC Space Heater (6) v Philadelphia AMP (1)
Women's Division
Denver Molly Brown (4) v Boston Brute Squad (1) Seattle Riot (3) vs San Francisco Fury (2)
Men's Division
Raleigh Ring of Fire (4) v San Francisco Revolver (1) New York PoNY (3) v Seattle Sockeye (2)
Mixed Division
Boston Snake Country (5) v Seattle Mixtape (3) Washington DC Space Heater (6) v Philadelphia AMP (1)
Women's Division
Denver Molly Brown (4) v Boston Brute Squad (1) Seattle Riot (3) vs San Francisco Fury (2)
Play continues tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Choropleth Map: Club Ultimate Teams Playing at 2018 Nationals
USA Ultimate's 2018 National Club Ultimate Championships in San Diego starts on Thursday. A total of 19 states/provinces and the District of Columbia from the eight geographical regions are represented at this year's USAU National Championships, with California - again - sending the most teams (7) of any state.
All locations with 3 or more qualifying club teams are represented in all 3 divisions; California (M: Revolver W: Fury, Nightlock, Wildfire X: Blackbird, Mischief, Polar Bears), Colorado (M: Johnny Bravo W: Molly Brown X: shame.), Massachusetts (M: Dig W: Brute Squad X: Slow White, Snake Country), Minnesota (M: Sub Zero W: Pop X: Drag'n Thrust, No Touching!), North Carolina M: Ring of Fire W: Phoenix X: Toro), Washington (M: Seattle Sockeye W: Seattle Riot X: BFG, Mixtape) and Washington, DC (M: Truck Stop W: Scandal X: Space Heater).
All locations with 3 or more qualifying club teams are represented in all 3 divisions; California (M: Revolver W: Fury, Nightlock, Wildfire X: Blackbird, Mischief, Polar Bears), Colorado (M: Johnny Bravo W: Molly Brown X: shame.), Massachusetts (M: Dig W: Brute Squad X: Slow White, Snake Country), Minnesota (M: Sub Zero W: Pop X: Drag'n Thrust, No Touching!), North Carolina M: Ring of Fire W: Phoenix X: Toro), Washington (M: Seattle Sockeye W: Seattle Riot X: BFG, Mixtape) and Washington, DC (M: Truck Stop W: Scandal X: Space Heater).
Tuesday, October 09, 2018
New AUDL Commissioner Steve Hall
Steve Hall became the new commission of the American Ultimate Disc League at the AUDL’s Annual Owners' Meeting which took place in Chicago over October 7-8. Steve Hall succeeds Steve Gordon as AUDL Commissioner. Gordon, who retired from the position, leaves after 6 years as the league commissioner. Steve Hall has experience playing ultimate and as a member of the Board of Directors for Charlotte Ultimate.
Steve Hall - along with Albert Banks, John Boezi and Richard Whitcomb - currently co-owns the Atlanta Hustle [AUDL South division]. Hall and Banks previously owned the Charlotte Express, which ceased operations in September 2016. Steve Hall has experience on the AUDL Executive Council.
Via the AUDL: Most of his Ultimate career has been at a recreational level although he did participate one season with a Denver-based team, DUI.
Via StartEngine: Steve Hall is the Managing Partner of EHF Capital, LLC (Charlotte, NC), Co-Owner of the Atlanta Hustle and has served on the AUDL Executive Council since September 1, 2015. Steve commits approximately 20 hours per month in his role on the Executive Council - which is an unpaid position. Prior to EHF Capital, Steve was the Director of Investor Relations of Conversus Capital, the largest publicly traded portfolio of private equity funds with over $2.5 billion in assets under management.
Steve Hall - along with Albert Banks, John Boezi and Richard Whitcomb - currently co-owns the Atlanta Hustle [AUDL South division]. Hall and Banks previously owned the Charlotte Express, which ceased operations in September 2016. Steve Hall has experience on the AUDL Executive Council.
Via the AUDL: Most of his Ultimate career has been at a recreational level although he did participate one season with a Denver-based team, DUI.
Via StartEngine: Steve Hall is the Managing Partner of EHF Capital, LLC (Charlotte, NC), Co-Owner of the Atlanta Hustle and has served on the AUDL Executive Council since September 1, 2015. Steve commits approximately 20 hours per month in his role on the Executive Council - which is an unpaid position. Prior to EHF Capital, Steve was the Director of Investor Relations of Conversus Capital, the largest publicly traded portfolio of private equity funds with over $2.5 billion in assets under management.
Labels:
Atlanta Hustle,
audl,
Charlotte Express
Monday, September 24, 2018
Qualifying Club Teams For 2018 National Championships
All divisions within all 8 regions completed their Regional Championships to determine which club ultimate teams earned a bid to Triple Crown Tour's National Championships in San Diego, California.
See below for how the 48 Nationals qualifiers finished at Regionals along with how each team was seeded at Regionals.
21 out of 24 1-seeds at USA Ultimate Regional Championships qualified for 2018 National Championships; all 3 instances (Atlanta Bucket in Southeast*, Boston Wildcard in the Northeast, and Denver Love Tractor in South Central*) were in the Mixed Division.
*=1-bid regional division
1-seeded Teams Finish at Regionals
Men's Division: 4/8 #1s finished 1st at Regionals; all 8 #1s qualified for Nationals
Mixed Division: 4/8 #1 finished 1st at Regionals; 5/8 1-seeds qualified for Nationals
Women's Division: 6/8 #1s finished 1st at Regionals; all 8 #1s qualified for Nationals
The lowest seeded team to earn a bid to Nationals was 7th-seeded New Jersey Jughandle (Mid-Atlantic Region).
See below for how the 48 Nationals qualifiers finished at Regionals along with how each team was seeded at Regionals.
2018 Nationals Qualifiers by Division and Region |
21 out of 24 1-seeds at USA Ultimate Regional Championships qualified for 2018 National Championships; all 3 instances (Atlanta Bucket in Southeast*, Boston Wildcard in the Northeast, and Denver Love Tractor in South Central*) were in the Mixed Division.
*=1-bid regional division
1-seeded Teams Finish at Regionals
Men's Division: 4/8 #1s finished 1st at Regionals; all 8 #1s qualified for Nationals
Mixed Division: 4/8 #1 finished 1st at Regionals; 5/8 1-seeds qualified for Nationals
Women's Division: 6/8 #1s finished 1st at Regionals; all 8 #1s qualified for Nationals
The lowest seeded team to earn a bid to Nationals was 7th-seeded New Jersey Jughandle (Mid-Atlantic Region).
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