Competitions

One of the best ways to improve your skills and enjoy Ultimate to its fullest extent is attending competitions. This is where it's at! You get to travel with your mates, play ultimate, party, and generally be all-round successful at life and stuff or at least relive your glorious moments from the day on the field. But seriously, flights are cheap and billeting is easily provided so really you shouldn't have to struggle in the financial department to attend one or two competitions a year or as crazy many as you want. Start putting away some money for these now, you won't be disappointed.

There are many different types of tournaments. Varying number of days, beach or grass, fun, State level, National level, International, Mixed, Open's, Women's, Hat tournaments (team is picked out of a hat for duration), King and Queen Hat tournaments (individual plays on newly created teams each game), party based tournaments, "boutique" party based tournaments aka. Byron Badman's Birthday Bash in Nov.? etc etc. the list goes on!

Many non-serious competitions will usually offer a pick-up team or can slot you onto a team IF you aren't up for organising a group of 10 - 20 people to attend with you. Or with Hat tournaments, the object is not to have a team to begin with and to play with many new players, often with Worlds level players alongside you (eg. Melbourne Hat). If you know enough people from other towns and cities who want you on their team you can maybe even start doing this for more serious comps. But whatever you do, don't miss out because you don't have a team, because that's not an excuse.

Now having said this, Halibut is coming up. Halibut is the best regular Queensland Mixed Tournament and usually runs out of Brisbane around the end of July (my Birthday), though this time the beginning of August. This time Stef Rappazzo the Mayor of Slamtown, is hosting the tournament in the Gold Coast. Last year he was Tournament Director of this event and it was a beautiful affair with creative new additions from previous years including the addition of much needed new shorts, Halibut shorts. This time around it will probably be even better as he's running it from home. I believe it'll be a weekend after uni semester 2 has kicked off, but very close to the start.

The spiel from the AFDA (Australian Flying Disc Association) website.
Halibut - Queensland Mixed Ultimate Championships
dates
6th-7th August, 2011
venue
Carrara Sports Park - Gold Coast
format
Mixed Teams
cost
TBC
includes
All the usual Halibut goodness
website
quda.org
directors
Stefan RappazzoMatthew Boevink

So now that you know, start talking amongst your mates, see who wants to go, whether you want to go as a team or pick up on a team and learn from some new people or whatever. Pick a few other comps for later on! Melbourne Hat I would highly recommend, except it's fucking cold and wet there, but those problems can be counteracted somehow which I haven't yet figured out. Usually the limiting factor in Townsville for team formation is girls so find as many of them as you can who'll be here in August and take them to beach for a throw. Pretend it's for social reasons, but really keep that underly focus inside your head of improving their throwing technique and layout abilities so that they can be Halibut ready by August (no sexism intended). If you need extras start talking to players from the host city, usually there are people who miss out and don't get on a team...you might have to cause...shotgun, Sarah and Dee and Sam already. Anyone I missed, shotgun.

Lastly, Townsville usually gets an automatic spot for Mixed Nationals which is held in October in Melbourne this year. With the majority of Townsville's players having only just tasted tournament level ultimate at Regionals here this year, the extra experience of more tournaments is necessary to prepare you to tackle the bigger, longer, tougher ones so that you can contribute more and more to the team. Whether that experience provides a physical test of your abilities, mental strengthening, or makes you more aware of areas you can improve or are good at before next time, then it is well worth investing in to make that progression up through the ranks and to help develop Townsville Ultimate by upping your own skill level! Get your arse to some more tournaments already! What are you waiting for! Visit www.afda.com

President out.