Townsville Ultimate Disc

Important Announcement

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This blog is no longer being monitored or updated.
For all up-to-date news and announcements, please go to www.tsv-ultimate.com.

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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Introducing the Captains!

Last week was not quite the Sorting Ceremony at Hogwarts but at least everyone was put into their teams and are no longer lost souls wandering around the fields. Without further ado, let’s introduce the team captains and their respective colours.

Red Team
Not much is known about the red team… No that’s a lie. The red team has been headed by 4’5” boy wonder Mattie Hamilton for as long as I can remember. Maybe the Sorting Disc felt that there has to be some balance in the height department and so sorted 8’10” Rob Dehollander into the team. Rob Dehollander has arms that have been compared to the wingspan of a C-130 and it will be interesting to see how the red team fares this semester.

Tie Dye Team
The team with the most dazzling colours probably picked it to make up for their lack of skill on the field. Jokes. Led by Finny, the tie-dye team has always been a force to be reckoned with. To top it off, Finny’s a giant party dog so I hope this team is ready for a fun-filled semester.

Green Team
Travelling from all the way across the ditch is kiwi Scott Adams. Seriously where did we find this guy and how did he obtain captainship that quickly? Is he really that good? Let’s hope his throwing abilities are as good as his strapping abilities because if they are I reckon the green team will make it far this season.

Yellow Team
Bob. Seriously, Bob. When are you gonna quit your job and just play Ultimate full-time? Apparently one of the more senior players in the league, Bob has not been the same ever since returning from America. Watch out for his signature “Praying Mantis Catches the Fly” play.

Purple Team
Experience: 0. Fun: 10. That’s the best way to describe the purple team with new captains Phangbang and Phil at the helm. These guys seem to be more interested in partying than playing Frisbee but let’s be honest; so is everyone else in this league. If you’re looking to party this semester, I suggest you start turning in your applications for the purple team.

Blue Team
The blue team is led by a yank from halfway across the world. Nothing is known about Joe except he’s from Maryland and has a pierced left ear. Will he be able to complete more passes than change the number of ear studs he has? Only time will tell.

White Team
When a man who is qualified to play in the masters still plays in the Townsville Ultimate Disc League, it makes you ponder a few things. Chris Ende is serious enough most of the time, but when he gets on the piss he turns into… Let’s just say he turns into something else. White team; look out for (or look after) your captain come pub crawl!

Orange Team
The orange team had the first pick of the draft this semester and it is no surprise they chose number one draft pick Christian Pitt. Hailing from the University of Pittsburgh, I heard that Christian is a division one player from ‘murica but down we have no idea what that means down under. Rumour has it that he has a permanent game face on; can we get some photos as confirmation?

Pink Team
The pink team chose this colour because they wanted to raise awareness for breast cancer this semester. Chris Palazzi really cares about cancer research and breast cancer is one area he is particularly interested in. I applaud them for dedication to the cause.

Black Team
What happened to James David!? This is going to be weird for me not seeing James captain the black team. Will O’Suv be able to fill his shoes? If he can throw as many assists as Finny can hit on Norwegians then I think it shouldn’t be a problem. The black team also has the brother of trick shot champion and American All-Star Ultimate player Brodie Smith, Riley Smith, on their side this semester.


That was the introduction to the teams and the captains. Let’s hope everyone will have their team names and jerseys sorted out by Wednesday. Until then, have a good week!

Friday, August 16, 2013

State of the Villainous Empire! Part 3


Now to conclude where we currently are at:

Halibut is looking to be one of the biggest spectacles for the year. North Queensland will be sending three teams (two from Townsville, one from Cairns) which is a massive achievement! QUDA will be subsidising any QLD player that needs to travel more than 500kms to get to Brisbane. THANK YOU QUDA! In other news, the jerseys look amazing (massive props to Alysha Broit for the original design)! Just don’t stare at the centre for too long!

Nicky Smith has been extremely busy drumming up support for the Women’s Development Conference that is to be held in September this year. The goal of the conference is to improve recruitment and retention of women in Ultimate. Topics for discussion will be the possible restructure for the Women’s Season, recruitment strategies, the impact of Uni Games changing formats from mixed to Open and Womens, and barriers facing Women from regional areas. If you’re keen to help out, please contact me townsvilleultimate@gmail.com.

Semester 2 League has commenced! Thank you to all that participated in Market Day and for coming down for the first come and try night. The league will formally kick off on Wednesday the 14th of August. I believe the pub crawl has been scheduled in for Friday the 30th of August and that the theme is, Zombies. Not sure how the, “If you come dressed the same as someone else you’ll have to have a drink off” will work… Perhaps it’ll be amended to the “survivors that are too lazy to make a costume”… I’m sure we’ll find out one way or another!

Canberra will be hosting Mix Nationals this year and I’ve confirmed with AFDA and QUDA that Townsville will be sending a team. Unfortunately the Townsville City Council Travel Grants that we’ve received in years past have had a significant cut to its funding. What was about $150 per person for interstate national tournaments, has been reduced to $200 between four people. There are provisions for larger grants for larger groups but it’s not guaranteed. We might need to look at fundraising. Thoughts and ideas are always welcome so let Finny or I know.

2013 has been an eventful year so far and there is still plenty to come! If you want to become involved with the club have a chat with Finny or I, there is always something to be done….. muhahahhahahahahaha

Chris
 

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Townsville Super Villains League Season 1

Monday night concluded the first season of TSVL. For those who are unaware, TSVL is Townsville's premier Ultimate league featuring the best players from the city. It was a chilly "winter's" night in Townsville but the players did what they had to to turn up the heat.

Bronze Medal playoffs

Sex Panthers VS Wooden Spoon All Stars No Name

The 3rd/4th place playoff was between Sex Panthers and Wooden Spoon All Stars No Name (who in the name of the Lord thought this one up?) and WSASNN added three super duper incredible players to their lineup. Joe, Eric, and Phangbang, who all missed the entire season due to lack of presence, showed up and fired the WSASNN into third place. The general consensus is that Eric should quit Ultimate and consider a career as a ballerina instead.

Grand Finals

Demigods VS Fiery Biscuits

The grand final match saw a very stacked Demigods (seriously who comes up with these names) go up against David Dehollander's Fiery Biscuits (come on guys! really!?). To improve their odds, Dehollander and Swan both had to borrow some super awesome armsleeves to help boost their juju. This allowed David to throw some backhands of FREEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOM but to no avail because let's face it; is there anyone in this league who can stop the receiving abilities of Finny?

So Demigods were crowned Champions and Finny won the MVP award (did I hear someone say "fixing"?). No honestly though congratulations to them.

Fiery Biscuits won the "Most Spirited Team" award and Mark Ivan Ross "Hairy Legs with REALLY short footy shorts" Franich took home the individual accolade for that category.

The next season starts on September 2nd. Maybe the St Mary's Kids can get their names on the plague, who knows? Until then, let's not have dicks for fingers!

Friday, August 9, 2013

State of the Villainous Empire! Part 2


Picking up from where I left off:

Three members played on teams at Nationals this year. Swan and Dee both played with Cherry Bomb whilst Matt Finn played with Slamtown. Both teams provided a great learning experience for the players involved. Hopefully next year there’ll be some more representatives out there!

After a few misfires our AGM was finally held on the 1st of May. The minutes will be posted as soon as our Treasurer sends me the attendance list. The Committee had a reshuffle and some fresh blood was brought in for the Secretary position:
President – Chris Ende
Secretary – Josh Phipps and Phil English
Treasurer – Matthew Hamilton
Matt Finn agreed to stay on as the League Director and also took the non-elected appointment of Vice President.

This year saw the second running of the NQ Hat and the first time being hosted in Townsville. After Cairns hosted a successful and enjoyable NQ Hat last year, the pressure was on for Townsville to be at least on par. Once again Townsville Blogger David Phang (in one of his shorter entries) was on hand to record the event http://townsvilleultimate.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/north-queensland-hat-ii-2013.html

The AGM in May was the first announcement to the membership that the Townsville Super Villain League was in the process of being formed. This league is comprised of four teams and each member was drafted into a team by the captains. The aim of the league is to cater for players that have developed beyond what the beginner league can provide, to provide a training environment for teams to build structure, and provide a higher level of ultimate for players to develop in preparation for upcoming tournaments. The Grand Final for Season 1 is scheduled for Monday the 12th of August. If you’re interested in taking part in Season 2, please contact either Matt Finn or Scott Adams.

As a General Member of the QUDA Board, I was invited to participate in the QUDA Strategic Planning Meeting that was held on July 6th in Brisbane. This meeting was highly productive and the future is looking good with QUDA making a substantial commitment to Regional Development particularly for Mackay, Charters Towers and Cairns. If there is something that you feel strongly about and would like to see some action, feel free to contact me townsvilleultimate@gmail.com. 

Some of the commitments to Regional Development from QUDA are supporting Mackay in becoming an Incorporated Club. This is an important step for regional clubs as they’re often tasked with the responsibility of running a league. Being incorporated means that the club is recognised by the law as an entity much like an individual. This protects the club’s members and often allows the club to pursue grants independently of QUDA. QUDA is also assisting with discs, coaching courses and providing material for Ultimate to be delivered in schools. Certainly exciting times lie ahead for Mackay! 


On August 10th Charters Towers will have its Healthy Lifestyle Festival and we’ve been invited to participate in an exhibition match to raise awareness of the sport. QUDA is throwing in some money to help with the cost of fuel for the Villains that are travelling. Make sure to let me know if you’re keen to attend and put on a great spectacle for the people of Charters Towers and hopefully they’ll start asking why it isn’t in their schools! 

Part 3 will be next week so until then, may your evil plans pan out well!

Evil Genius

Monday, August 5, 2013

State of the Villainous Empire! Part 1

The year kicked off with the locals partaking in some pick up indoor ultimate at the Aitkenvale PCYC. It was great to try a different form of Ultimate but unfortunately the venue really wasn’t up to scratch. We’ll look into this again after the semester 2 league and hopefully we can find a more suitable venue.

Shortly before the semester 1 league kicked off, Duncan informed us that he was leaving for WA (I’m really concerned about this trend of President’s moving to WA….). Duncan has been with the club for many years and has been a great contributor to the sport, not only at JCU but also through his work and community engagements. You will be missed sir!

Our Regionals campaign had a somewhat slow start this year with QUDA giving people minimal notice of when (and where) it would be held. Fortunately this was offset with a generous subsidy from QUDA which was around $150 per person to attend (Thank you QUDA!). A full write up by David Phang is available on the blog http://townsvilleultimate.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/northern-regionals-2013.html

The QUDA AGM was held on the same weekend as Regionals and the QUDA committee had some fresh blood elected in.
President - John McNaughton - president@quda.org
Secretary - Jo Ashdown - secretary@quda.org
Treasurer - Myall Hingee - treasurer@quda.org
General Members - Chris Ende, Emma Briggs

A part of my role is looking after Regional Development. At this stage that has primarily been securing funding for regional teams to attend Halibut, assisting with the establishment of Mackay as a new club, and supporting the group in Charters Towers to establish some regular pickup. In the not too distant future I hope to see a School program being rolled out and hopefully some support for players wanting to try and make the U19 team next year. If you have any ideas or concerns, feel free to contact me townsvilleultimate@gmail.com. 

Semester 1 League was the largest Townsville has seen, 173 active members across 10 teams (we wanted to push for 12 teams but with Duncan leaving we didn’t have the captaincy capacity)!  As far as results go, it was certainly a motley arrangement with the undefeated Fluro Fantasy going down to the bottom placed Purple Haze in the final round robin round. This result cost Fluro Fantasy the minor premiership and seemed to have a cascade effect as they narrowly lost to Tie Dyenosaurs in the semi-finals. It only goes to show, you gotta win them all! Congratulations go to The Seagulls for winning the final over the Tie Dyenosaurs.

Townsville had two representatives attend the U23 training camps, Dee and Matt Finn. By all accounts both played extremely well and it is encouraging to see Townsville players being considered for National Team selection. I have no doubt that Dee can make the team in 2015 if she keeps at it. Hopefully QUDA will attempt to bridge the gap between regional centres and high level ultimate player development in the coming year.

2013 was the first year that Townsville (and Queensland) sent a team to Division 2 Nationals. The team was formed with the strong core of Townsville players from Regionals and members of Firestorms Ignition, UQ Lovers and Griffith A-Team. Undoubtedly considered the underdogs by many, the team jelled together extremely quickly and we showed how strong we can be once we unleashed our inner mongrel!  A full write up by our injured correspondent David Phang (for those interested, rolling your ankle two weeks before Nationals is not a recommended training regime) is available on the blog http://townsvilleultimate.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/nationals-division-two-mens-open.html

Part 2 will be next week so until then, scheme well!

Evil Genius