USA Ultimate's Masters Championships with 88 teams competing concluded last weekend. No #1-seeds won their divisional championship. The 11-seed Ottawa Solstice was the lowest seed to win a division (Grand Masters - Women).
Masters - Women
Oakland Golden Poppies (2) 15-8 over Seattle iRot (1); Denver Molly Grey (5) won 3rd.
Masters - Men
Seattle Voltron 2020 (6) 15-11 over North Carolina Boneyard (1). Denver Johnny Encore (3) won 3rd.
Masters - Mixed
Bay Area Cool Biz (3) 15-4 win over Minneapolis Hey Babe (3); Nashville/Huntsville Old #7 (8) won 3rd.
Grand Masters - Women
Ottawa Solstice (11) 15-8 over Boston Boston (2). Atlanta Atlantiques (7) finished 3rd.
Grand Masters - Men
Minneapolis Surly GM (3) 15-10 win over Colorado Johnny Walker (1); Santa Barbara Eldors (2) won 3rd.
Great Grand Masters - Men
San Francisco Relics (2) 15-11 win over Chicago CHRONIC (5); DoG (3) won 3rd.
All the winners won 100 free custom UltraStars courtesy of Discraft. American teams that were tops in their division qualify to represent the United States at 2020 World Masters Ultimate Championships in Australia.
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.
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
Coincidentally, the 2015-2017 Masters Championships was held in Aurora, COLORADO. In 2018, the Masters Championships will be held in Aurora, ILLINOIS.
Aurora is the second most populous city in the state of Illinois and its the nickname is the "City of Lights" because it was one of the first cities in the United States to implement an all-electric street lighting system in 1881.
Per USAU: The Masters Championships will be held at the Stuart Sports Complex in Aurora, Ill., 40 miles west of Chicago, July 20-22, 2018. Ultimate Chicago, the Aurora Area Sports Alliance and the Aurora Area Convention and Visitors Bureau will serve as the local organizing committee (LOC) for the event. Ultimate Chicago also served as the LOC for the National Championships held in Rockford in 2016.
USA Ultimate's Masters Championships with 75+ teams competing concluded last weekend. Two top seeds out of the 6 won their divisional championship. The 5th-seed Minneapolis Surly C.O.U.G.A.R.S. was the lowest seed to win a division (Masters - Women).
Masters - Women
Minneapolis Surly C.O.U.G.A.R.S. (5) 15-10 over Ripe (7). iRot (2) finished 3rd.
Masters - Men
Denver Johnny Encore (3) 15-10 over Rest Stop (6). All Bashed Out (10) finished 3rd.
Masters - Mixed
Chicago UPAARP (2) 15-11 win over Members Only (10); 512 finished 3rd.
Grandmasters - Women
Boston Boston (1) 12-11 win over J2 (2); Sidearm (4) finished 3rd.
Grandmasters - Men
Minneapolis Surly (2) 15-12 win over Johnny Walker (1); No Country (3) finished 3rd. Great Grand Masters - Men
San Francisco Relics (1) 13-10 win over Old and in the Way (2); wreckAge (11) placed 3rd.
And finally, a congratulations to the last 2 #MastersNats Champions: URAAP & Boston Ultimate! Thanks all for a great weekend. 🏆👏🙌 pic.twitter.com/6Up2nJgqCf
# of Teams by Division
Women's Masters (30+) = 16
Men's Masters (33+) = 16
Mixed Masters (33+ for males / 30+ for females) = 12
Women's Grand Masters (37+) = 6
Men's Grand Masters (40+) = 16
Great Grand Masters (50+ for males / 45+ for females) = 11
We stopped by the banana stand to have a sit down with first-time Nationals-qualifiers No Touching! from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
BACKGROUND: According to their team bio, No Touching! is: "Defined by their core values of Passion, Practice, and Sobriety, No Touching is thrilled to introduce the National Championship to their one-of-a-kind style of ultimate, and they demand to be taken seriously. Seriously. Self-described as the most exclusive club team in Minnesota, and famed throughout the upper Midwest for their complex defensive schemes and unpredictable offense, look for No Touching to carry an unconscionable streak of good luck throughout the tournament. Easily recognized for the regiment of children and toddlers that fill their sideline, and, of course, by the iconic Banana Stand that follows them everywhere (unless it's too much of a hassle), No Touching is pleased to announce that their average age qualifies for the Master's division. With their wealth of experience, history of mediocrity, and enduring love of ultimate, they're looking forward to #MakingNationalsFunAgain."
SLUDGE: How long has your team been playing together?
No Touching!: Season 4, Episode 8: Nationals SLUDGE: What were your team's goals (not the scoring kind) for the 2016 club season?
NT!: Same as they've always been!
1. Have fun.
2. Don't take ourselves too seriously.
3. Share in banana-stand-debauchery.
4. Qualify for regionals. SLUDGE: What are keys to your success in the 2016 season?
NT!: 1. Drink more. Suck less.
2. Don't cut anyone.
3. Don't practice.
4. Age with grace.
SLUDGE: What were biggest factors in qualifying for 2016 National Championship?
NT!: 1. The wind and winning the flips in the 3rd place semis and finals.
2. Jeremy Keiser's pep talk before the CLX game where he prepared everyone for our inevitable loss. "CLX is wayyy better than us. And they're going to score up wind. We can't get down on ourselves when they do. I mean, they're really, really good." SLUDGE: What is your team most looking forward to when you play at 2016 National Championships?
NT!: #MakingNationalsFunAgain SLUDGE: What advice would you give to teams seeking to qualify for 2017 Natties?
NT!: What IS your team? Is it your name? Is it your jerseys? Is it your leadership? Is it the sum of your players?
If you want to experience change as a team, be more consistent. Find people who share your goals and see ultimate the same way you do and stick with them. Stop trying to "trade up" and focus on development instead. We've had 4 fantastic seasons because we've always focused on having fun. Winning has never been that important to us. 3 years later, everyone has found their niche because no one is worried about losing (or proving) their place on the team. By allowing every player a permanent role, the focus changes from oneself to one's team. Now our sum is greater than our parts.
Also, you probably shouldn't take any of our advice because you probably haven't given up on your dreams yet due to your expanding waistline and greying hair. Go make mistakes while you're young! Then retire and play for fun and maybe... just maybe... some year it'll be windy enough for you to qualify for Nationals too!
None of the same teams are participating in consecutive weekends, though some of the same players are! According to Josh Murphy, the roster overlap (or, "double-dipping") of club team players that participated at TCT PEC (July 30-31) AND at Masters Nats (August 5-7) = ~5.5%.
@oshadega@sludgebrown Just over 1000 rostered in each event, so closer to 5.5% double dipping.
You'd be correct if the clue was: He's a Grand Masters Division ultimate player who plays on Ozark Hillbillys from Fayetteville, Arkansas and he's known as "Dr. Doug" (a.k.a Double D).
Doug Behrend appeared on the March 25, 2016, episode of Jeopardy! Doug, professor of psychological science at the University of Arkansas, led with $9200 after two rounds and then correctly answered Final Jeopardy! giving him a 1-day total of $16,401.
UPDATE [3/29/2016]: As defending champion, Doug's next show was 2nd after two rounds with $15,000 and correctly scored Final Jeopardy! winning a day's total of $22,900, finishing in 2nd place on the March 28th episode.
The 3-day Masters Ultimate Tournament to crown the champion of Masters and Grand Masters divisions starts today in Aurora, Colorado. Good luck to all teams!
This year's USA Ultimate Masters Championships are scheduled for July 24-26 in Aurora, Colorado. A total of 48 teams descend upon Denver's suburb to play a 3-day tournament. There are 16 Masters Men (33+ years old), 16 Masters Women's (30+ years old), and 16 Grand Masters teams (40+ years old) will compete for the 2015 championship.
Top seeds in each division are:
Masters Men: Raleigh-Durham Boneyard
This year's USA Ultimate Masters Championships are scheduled for July 18-20 in Sarasota, Florida. There are 15 Masters Men (33+ years old), 10 Masters Women's (30+ years old), and 14 Grand Masters teams (40+ years old) will compete for the 2014 championship.
This continues the format of Men and Women Masters plus Grand Masters divisions play concurrently at one national championship event.
Based on team listings in the Event Guide, the 39 teams represent 21 states at the Masters Championships. Four states – Florida, Minnesota, Pennsylvania & Texas – have teams in each division.
USA Ultimate's 2013 Masters Championships are scheduled for July 26 - 28 in Denver, Colorado. There are 16 Masters Open (33+ years old), 16 Masters Women's (30+ years old), and 16 Grand Masters teams (40+ years old) who won their Regionals to compete for the 2013 championship.
This is the first year where Grand Masters, Masters and Women's Masters all play at one national championship event. As Randy Ricks said, "Welcome to the future of age-segregated ultimate."
Based on a quick glance of the program, Old Line is the only Grand Masters roster with a woman.
Also, good luck to Henry!
Congrats to the winning teams:
Masters Women: Godiva (Boston, MA)
Masters Open: Surly (Minneapolis, MN)
Grand Masters: No Country (Brattleboro, VT)
USA Ultimate's recently published team rosters. Based on the published data, the chart below displays the twelve (12) Masters teams that qualified for the USAU National Club Championships, their seed, how many players on their published roster, plus the team's average age and its age rank. These teams play Oct 25-28 in Sarasota, Florida.
NOTES: Masters Division is limited to players 33 years and older in the year of competition.
The average age of the twelve qualifying Masters teams players = 37.9 y.o.; N = 321.
Chesapeaked holds the 10th seed and has the oldest average aged with five rostered players aged 50 or older; the oldest being 55.
Crawl - the only other team with a 50+ player (51 y.o.) is seeded 12th, but is youngest in average age.
Crawl & Chesapeaked each have one player on their rosters aged "32."
Every player on the published roster was factored into the calculations.
