USA Ultimate Fall 2010 magazine

J R W O R L D S I N T E R V I E W 5 • Y C C R E C A P 8 • B O D C A N D I D AT E S 2 9 • P H I L LY F U S I O N 3 6

USA

ULTIMATE

O F F I C I A L M AG A Z I N E O F U S A U LT I M AT E — FA L L 2 0 1 0

USA ULTIMATE Ultimate Players Association 4730 Table Mesa Dr., Suite I-200C Boulder, CO 80305

SIGHTS SET ON SARASOTA Club teams gear up for the big show

Dave Gregg Daniel Broudy gets up over everyone in the pack for DiscNW at the 2010 YCC.

USA Ultimate 4730 Table Mesa Dr. Suite I-200C Boulder, CO 80305 303.447.3472 www.usaultimate.org info@usaultimate.org USA Ultimate Board of Directors Peri Kurshan - President Gwen Ambler – Vice President Seth Grossinger – Treasurer Joshua Seamon – Secretary Ben Banyas William Bartram Audrius Barzdukas Jason Chow Mandy Eckhoff Matt Farrell John Terry Henry Thorne USA Ultimate Staff Matthew Bourland – Championship Series & New Media Manager Melanie Byrd – Director of Membership & Sport Development Dr. Tom Crawford – Chief Executive Officer Will Deaver – Managing Director of Competition & Athlete Programs Byron Hicks – Championship Series Manager Andy Lee – Director of Marketing & Communications Anna Schott – Membership & Sport Development Manager Meredith Tosta – Director of Coach & Youth Development Erin Wolter – Office Manager

USA Ultimate is a non-profit organization and serves as the national Governing Body for the sport of Ultimate in the United States. Founded in 1979 as the Ultimate Players Association (UPA), USA Ultimate is one of the first flying disc sport organizations in the world and the largest, with more than 40,000 members and a national volunteer network.

USA Ultimate USA Ultimate is the official publication of USA Ultimate, published quarterly. All ideas expressed in USA Ultimate are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of USA Ultimate, the National Governing Body.

USA Ultimate assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.

Editor-in-Chief Andy Lee Editor Kelley Kneib Advertising Complete rates and specifications are available online at www.usaultimate. org/sponsors Change of Address USA Ultimate is not forwarded by the post office.

To update your address, please contact USA Ultimate.

For a complete list of contacts, please visit www.usaultimate.org

In the previous issue: the second-place finisher in the Mixed Division of the Idaho State Championships was misidentified.

Mountain View High School placed second. Also, in the team photo of the Junior World’s Open Division Team on p. 51, Eli Kerns (middle row, far left) was misidentified.

table

02 03 04 05 08 12 16 20 22 24 26 28 30 31 36 40 42 44

of

contents

A Letter From the Editor

V 30. 3

A Call to Action

President's Column Club Restructuring

A Letter to Our Members Q&A For WJUC

With WJUC Team USA members Maddie Roorbach and Matt Barnes

2010 YCC Girls Recap

DiscNW and TYUL Give Lasting Impressions

2010 YCC Mixed Recap

California Earns Its First YCC Mixed Title

2010 YCC Open Recap Fertile Grounds 2010 Club Masters Preview 2010 Club Mixed Preview 2010 Club Open Preview 2010 Club Women's Preview Coaches' Playbook presented by Five Ultimate Zone Defense Variation

What's the Call?

2010 Board of Directors Candidates Philly Fusion Injury Timeout

Pain Around the Kneecap

Above the Competition Building the Foundation

USA Ultimate News & Notes

Mission Statement

To advance the sport of Ultimate in the United States by enhancing and promoting Character, Community, and Competition.

On the Cover: At the 2010 Labor Day Championships in Santa Cruz, CA, Manisha Daryani of Fury catches the disc for a big gain of yardage against Zeitgeist’s Cheryl Prideaux in pool play. Fury went on to win theWWW.USAULTIMATE.ORG tournament 15-10 over Riot.1 PHOTO: Alexander Yuen

A

L E T T E R

F R O M

T H E

E D I T O R BY: Andy Lee, Editor-in-Chief

A Call to Action In my last column, I pointed out that one of the things I’ve been extremely impressed with was the community aspect of Ultimate, as well as the deep, talented, passionate and committed pool of volunteers that drive the sport in the United States. Without them, the sport would not be as successful as it is, nor would it have the potential that it has. So, in this edition’s column, I would like to issue a call-to-action and further engage the Ultimate community to help promote the sport to a wider audience.

Steve Kotvis

One of the initiatives I would like to develop is a more robust pipe- think outside the box and develop unique solutions to what we line of news and information that is of interest to athletes and fans perceive to be challenges. Thankfully, our network of volunteers alike. The implementation of our new website has provided us with has consistently been the answer to many of these hurdles. Colleca significantly improved marketing and communications vehicle tively, we can churn out higher quality content in greater quantities that can help us reach a wider audience and tell our story. But the on a more regular basis. key to accomplishing that task is the consistent generation of fresh, If you would like to become one of our Regional Communication interesting and insightful content. And the solution lies with you – coordinators, please feel free to contact me at andy@hq.usaultimate. the same community that always seems to step up to the plate and org in order to learn more about these opportunities, or visit the support Ultimate in different capacities.

“Get Involved” page of usaultimate.org for a specific volunteer posting.

Specifically, USA Ultimate is searching for a dedicated network of Regional Communication Coordinators across the country to assist with the creation and collection of content for our various communication platforms, specifically usaultimate. org and USA Ultimate magazine. And by content I mean stories, columns, event reports, photos, video or even just ideas – anything that would be of interest to Ultimate enthusiasts. We are searching for writers, columnists, photographers and sideline reporters who would be interested in contributing to this cause, as well as volunteer content managers that can assist with the collection of material on a semi-regular basis.

Is there a major tournament in your geographical area that warrants coverage on the national scene? Is your grassroots Ultimate program or local league doing something that is interesting?

Is there an athlete or coach that deserves some recognition for accomplishments on or off the field of play? Do you have a strong opinion you would like to share in an effective and constructive manner? Did you capture some great images that you want to expose to some more eyeballs? If so, we would love to have you on board as a contributor!

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USA

As a relatively small non-profit NGB with limited resources, our aspirations may in some cases exceed our realistic capabilities, thus we need to

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

P resident ’ s

C olumn

BY: Peri Kurshan, President USA Ultimate Board of Directors

Club Restructuring

With all of the fanfare that the college restructuring process has received, many people are unaware of the fact the USAU is undergoing a club restructuring process as well. The timeline for the college vs. club restructuring was purposefully staggered in our Strategic Plan, in order to be able to devote significant attention and resources to both.

While college restructuring is at a later tially dividing teams into tiers based on skills clinics for the college players. This stage of development (see inset), club performance, which would provide a more and other models will be explored so that restructuring is still at a much earlier stage. meaningful experience to players at all lev- opportunities tailored to the goals of college The club restructuring process was kicked els and increase the playing opportunities teams can be offered in the fall. off early this summer, when a task force for teams that are normally eliminated early - Local players (such as league or pick-up was convened to identify some basic goals in the series. players) tend to get involved in Sectionals that the restructured club series should - College teams that participate in Club if it’s close and maybe Regionals as well if achieve. The 25-person task force was Sectionals or Regionals are often primarily it’s local, but otherwise are not particularly made up of a diverse group of volunteers looking for early-season opportunities to invested in a team or season. These playthat were chosen to represent an array of play, train, prepare for the winter/spring ers may be better served by a structure that experiences, in terms of geography, level season, and ‘hook’ people on the sport. offers more local playing opportunities at of play, as well as many other factors. The They are looking for accessible playing the level they are looking for. These opporcareful selection of a task force that repre- opportunities focused on player and team tunities could be provided through USA sented almost every significant cross sec- development, and we should be offering Ultimate-based structures in partnership tion of our playing membership ensured them playing opportunities tailored around with local leagues, for example by hosting that careful consideration would be given that (skills development, training, coaching, state/regional inter-league competitions. to the needs of all these diverse groups and recruitment). A great model for this type (Continued on pg 29) when formulating a plan. of event is being One of the insights to come out of the task pioneered by the force meeting was the identification of Michelle Ng and three main groups of players, with very Sara Jacobi of different needs, that currently participate “Without Limits”, in our club series, and that we would like an organization · Regular Season to the restructured club series to better serve: dedicated growing womClub teams, College teams and Local play· 10 Regions Ultimate ers. While our present structure offers each en’s · DI, DIII, Developmental Conferences and Regionals Without of these groups something currently, it is (see Limits article in not tailored as well as it could be for any · DI & DIII Championships particular one given what they are trying to this issue). This · Strength Bids get out of it. The main goal of the restructure fall they put · Scaled Regional Tournaments would be to better match expectations and together a tournament, Philly goals with specific playing opportunities. · More/Better Playing Opportunities Fusion, which Thus: included 2 tiers We have heard your feedback and now the changes are here.

- Club teams that practice and travel and of club play as compete in a season, with their sights on a well as a college Understand the reasons why, how bids will be allocated and goal related to an end-of-season competi- division. more at usaultimate.org.

After tion, be it Sectionals, Regionals or Nation- rounds were Watch two episodes of the Ultimate Nation on the topic and als, should have their playing opportunities over on Saturread in-depth guidelines on how this affects your college tailored around that. This means having a day, the club team today! more structured regular season, and poten- players hosted

College Restructuring in Effect for 2011 Season

WWW.USAULTIMATE.ORG

3

A LETTER TO OUR MEMBERS

BY: Tom Crawford,

Dues Restructuring

USA Ultimate Chief Executive Officer

BY: Peri Kurshan, President USA Ultimate Board of Directors

Dear USA Ultimate Members, We are four years into the USA Ultimate strategic plan and our sport is growing by leaps and bounds. To keep pace, for the first time in 7 years we will be implementing a dues restructuring and increase in 2011.

1) G rowth of the sport and enhanced member benefits: This increase will help us do all the things we need to do and you the members want us to do. Some examples include: • I nvesting in youth development programs to bring thousands of new players to the game • I ncreasing the quality of “USA Ultimate” events as guided by our restructuring task forces •E xpanding opportunities for college athletes in the fall and throughout the year, while recognizing the opportunities already uniquely provided to this set of members.

• L aunching a beach division and creating competitive opportunities and programs •M aking a significant investment in a new business technology platform that will create a standardized set of operating systems that our leagues and associations can tap into if desired, and will give us long term operational stability. This is timely, critical and expensive!

2) S ustainable sport business model and national non-profit best practices: Significant strategic decisions and investments over the past few years have resulted in deficit budgets, which is not a sustainable course. While we continue to manage this very carefully, this can put our organization at risk as it limits our ability to raise new sources of revenue. This is simply because we become too big a risk for outside sponsors or funding agencies to invest in as a stable partner. Continuing to operate in deficits for multiple years also puts us out of compliance with the professional standards for operating a national non-profit. While our past budget decisions have been strategic and have not put the organization at short-term risk in any way, it is not feasible or responsible to keep operating in this fashion.

3) C hoices: A new dues structure that gives us the flexibility to offer variable and multi-year options to our long-term members choices on how to become or stay a member of USAU.

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USA

4) M arket compatibility: Reasonable increases will bring our dues structure closer to the average National Governing Body (NGB) while still providing great value. For example, long term commit-

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

ted members will be able to have experienced no dues increase for 12 years with the new five year option. The graph below represents a comparison of our current rates to other NGBs.

NGB DUES

80

AVERAGE NGB DUES ($)

This restructuring was carefully researched and considered by the Finance Committee and Board of Directors. We worked hard to strike the right balance between keeping Ultimate as inexpensive as possible, while making sure we have the resources we need to serve our members and our sport at the highest possible level. The increase is necessitated by several factors:

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Youth

HIgh School

College

Adult

Coaches

Other NGB’s

39

46

50

53

69

USA Ultimate

20

20

30

40

25

We are pleased that we have managed through these past 7 years without any increases, and now need to restructure. Thank you to all our members for your understanding, and we look forward to describing the success of the important investments described above. Our plan going forward, will be to make smaller incremental changes to keep any adjustments minimal and almost unnoticeable.

The new dues structure is outlined below: Renewal Options

1 year

Member Level Youth (under 19 in HS)

$29

College

$50

2 year special offer

3 year

5 year

Available in December 2010 only

$5 discount/yr

5th yr free!

Multi-year membership not available for this level

$80

$135

$200

Adult

$50

$80

$135

$200

Player/Coach

$60

$90

$165

$240

Coach

$35

$50

$90

$140

Friend/Family

$25

$36

$60

$100

Lifetime (Anyone eligible)

$900

$750 - Join by 12/31/10 and save $150

” QA

“

AND

with WJUC Team USA members Maddie Roorbach and Matt Barnes

Congratulations to the USA Open team for earning the Gold medal over Canada and the USA Girls team for bringing home the Bronze over Australia at the World Junior Championships in Heilbronn, Germany this past August. USA Ultimate sat down with Maddie and Matt to talk about their experiences with Team USA on the world stage.

Q: How does it feel to bring home a medal for your team and the USA?

Q: What was your team’s philosophy?

MB: Beyond words. I didn’t take my medal off for about 2 days after we got them.

MB: Our team’s philosophy remained the same throughout the entire tournament. “It was all about us.” It did not matter who we were playing against because we believed that the only team that mattered was our own. We couldn’t control anything about who we played against, or what they did, but we could control everything about how we played and that is what we tried to do.

MR: It’s certainly not something I thought I would ever have the chance to do. Granted, it’s not the Olympics and we’re not all having sponsorships thrown at us, but it’s an incredible feeling to know that we were influencing (hopefully positively) the perception of America and Americans; that we were playing for our country and the stars and stripes. I’m not an overtly patriotic person usually, but I have never been more proud to be American.

Q: How was playing on this team unlike any other you’ve experienced to date?

MB: This team was different than any other I’ve been on in so many ways. The amount of talent, intensity, and effort was unlike any other team I’ve been on. Also different was the fact that this team was brought together for only 1 tournament and only 1 purpose. We had to represent USA Ultimate in the best possible way and only had 2 weeks together to do that.

MR: There are very few people, and fewer teams, in any sport, that have had been lucky enough to experience the genuine trust, respect and love that I think our team had. I could never have predicted that after two weeks we would be family, but we absolutely were. I certainly have never been a part of any team or organization with that kind of absolute trust and respect. A large part of that needs to be credited to our coaches, because they worked to create that type of environment, but the cementation of our bonds with each other just speaks to the character and the goodness of all the girls.

Q: How did you like the Team USA coaches?

MB: Team USA’s coaches were perfect for the job. They did exactly what was needed in order to get us ready to play our best. A lot of what they did was work on overarching principles and then allowed us to simply go out and play Ultimate. I think the coaches did a great job of letting us play like we all know how to rather than forcing us into a system or specific tactics.

MR: It takes an incredibly dedicated, good person to be willing to spend weeks of their lives doing everything coaching entails (applications, tryouts, planning, coaching). I count myself lucky to have been given the opportunity not only to learn from my coaches, but also to play for an international championship with them. I have incredible respect for those eight; we couldn’t have asked for better.

MR: “Relentless positivity.” That and win. When John first started sending us emails at the beginning of the summer, he talked about how we were going to be relentless with our positivity and with our play and with our spirit. I will admit that, at first, I thought the phrase was a tad cliché, but looking back, it describes perfectly that last 24 hours I spent there.

Q: How did you get in the right frame of mind before going to compete?

MB: I like to take a moment right before the final huddle to clear my mind of everything except the game I am about to play. That gets me into a focused mindset and allows me to play my best.

MR: Personally, I like to listen to music and close my eyes before warm-up starts. Once the game starts, I’m completely in it until it’s over (and sometimes after that).

Q: What’s on your warm up playlist?

MB: I’m not the pregame music type. But standing on the field before the finals and hearing our national anthem was by far the best pregame music I’ve ever heard.

MR: Lots of rap and pump-up songs, but by the end of the tournament “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz was our team song. We listened to it before most games (and had our pre-game dance party listening to it), and I’m pretty sure we all knew every word by the end.

Q: Matt, did you think going into the Gold medal game that you had a good chance to win?

MB: We always believed that the only thing that mattered was our team. We approached the finals no differently than any other game in the tournament. We focused on the things we could control: our effort, our intensity, our own playing and didn’t let anything else matter.

Q: Maddie, how did your team approach the bronze medal game?

MR: After losing the game in semis in universe point, the entire team was mentally exhausted. We all had envisioned the moment of grandeur when we received our gold medal, (continued on pg 38)

WWW.USAULTIMATE.ORG

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Steve Kotvis

GIRLS DIVISION By: Erik Grindal

Pittsburgh’s Gretchen Dausch comes down with the disc in a crowd of players.

DiscNW and TYUL Give Lasting Impressions This August in Blaine, Minnesota I attended The Youth Club Championships and watched some fantastic games in the Girls’ division. The YCC tournament, held every summer, brings together the best under the age of 19 Ultimate players in the United States for a two-day tournament with Girls’, Open, and Mixed divisions. Teams are made at the state level after intense tryouts. This year the Girls’ division was the smallest, with only five teams in it, but they hailed from across the country and brought with them a spectacular amount of skill.

Many of the players competing had just returned from competing in the World Junior Ultimate Championship in Heilbronn, Germany.

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USA

By the end of the first day, Seattle had made a statement that they were the team to beat with a 4-0 record. Later on the second day Minnesota would again challenge them in the finals for first place.

While some teams are still coming into their own, this year we saw the well-practiced and tight-knit team from Seattle repeat as YCC champions. Seattle was by far the best trained team under windy conditions and demonstrated endurance and skill, throwing passes and running plays that seemed uniquely designed for the cool weather. DiscNW handler Savanna Ryan showed incredible accuracy as the best upwind thrower of the tournament. Her passes cut through the

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

wind in a way that made it look like just any other day. She helped to score several crucial upwinders and was recorded with a total of 11 Ds, taking the third most in the division. The second big play maker in the Seattle line up was Michaela Fallon who at 5’11” was hard not to notice. She was a huge asset scoring 3 of Seattle’s finals points and getting her share of Ds. One teammate made the comment, “She is a machine!” Michaela will be sorely missed next year as she moves to Tufts University and gets a taste of the college scene.

Talking with the players after the finals, I learned that Minnesota was happy with their performance but will definitely gunning for first place next summer. However, out of the five teams in the Girls’ division, I was drawn not to the first or second place team but rather the fourth ranked team TYUL from North Carolina. This team was the smallest of the five, but showed real passion and tenacity.

I spoke with the coaches for North Carolina early on the second day after a crushing 0-4 record on Saturday. Surprisingly, there wasn’t any sign of frustration with the players but a sense of pride in the player’s efforts and quick learning. Not only was the team small, but two of their starting players had actually just picked up the sport two months prior to the YCC. Additionally, with such a small team they

Steve Kotvis Kate Benjamin of DiscNW snags the disc out of the clutches of Moxie’s Kristine Fedorenko.

WWW.USAULTIMATE.ORG

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Dave Gregg

Steve Kotvis

(LEFT) Handler Tess Garvey of Minnesota goes for a big throw over the DiscNW cup.

Dave Gregg

(RIGHT) Belle’s Beth Kaylor winds up for a forehand as Minnesota’s Robin Fassett-Carman runs up to mark.

TYUL’s ratchet sneaks an IO through the Moxie cup.

had never had a full game with their full roster until they stepped on the fields in Blaine. On Sunday, things finally began to come together for the Triangle Area girls. After comparing their Saturday records and seeing how few players TYUL had, Pittsburgh’s Moxie felt fairly confident they were going to win. But TYUL didn’t let that stop them and they fought their way upwind for a game changing point, securing their first win of the weekend.

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TYUL’s troubles were actually brought about by past success. Last year the team was at its best and placed second in the tournament.

However, after losing most of their players due to age restrictions, TYUL was looking all over the area so they could put together a team for the tournament. Consequently, half their team was filled with relatively inexperienced players who were new to the sport of Ultimate. The returning girls from 2009 went to their school’s cross country teams and pulled some of their friends – which meant these girls could handle serious physical exertion. After 2 days of running up and down the field, as they were stretching and several runners commented how their legs felt “numb” and “a little like Jell-O.” Despite the soreness, the rookies could not stop saying how much they enjoyed the sport and that they couldn’t wait to come back.

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

One of the newcomers, Caitlin Ball, who started playing only two months earlier, ended up nearly being the MVP of the tournament as the highest scoring player with 15 goals and the highest number of defensive blocks at 15. She caught nearly almost all of her points from teammate Shellie Cohen who herself threw the second-most assists (17) and took second in total defensive blocks (12). Watching the connection between these two players, I knew that they had something special. With the experience gained at this tournament, TYUL could prove to be a contender next year.

There will be a lot of excellent players coming back in 2001 and so it’s hard to guess who will win it all. Could it be TYUL, the young team who could return with some more experience from their new players? Or will Seattle win it again, continuing their reputation as the team to beat? Or perhaps Minnesota Nice will come back “not so nice” and battle their way to victory, rather than taking the runner-up spot. While it was a small division this year compared to the past, we will hopefully see a growth in the sport and girls’ division, and see even more talent out there duking it out on the fields in Minnesota.

YCC GIRLS FINAL STATS

DisCNW — 11 Player

Assists

Goals

D’s

2 - Julia Bladin

4

3 - Savanna Ryan

1

2

4 - Simone Barley-Greenfield

1

7 - Arianne Lozano

2

2

8 - Thanh Huynh 11 - Aimie Kawai

1 1

15 - Claire Revere

1

18 - Lucia Childs-Walker

1

21 - Michaela Fallon

7 1

1

3

2 1

7

1

33 - Margo Heffron

YCC GIRLS Division Final Standings

1 Seattle (DiscNW) 2 Minnesota 3 Cincinnati 4 Triangle Area (TYUL) 5 Pittsburgh (PHUL)

Team Spirit Rankings 4.80 Pittsburgh (PHUL) 4.57 Triangle Area (TYUL) 4.50 Cincinnati 4.33 Seattle (DiscNW) 4.16 Minnesota

Individual Spirit Nominees Cincinnati- Caitlin Harley Seattle (DiscNW)- Aimie Kawai Minnesota- Kaylaanne Glick Pittsburgh- Nicole Elway TYUL- Meg Duffy

1

7

1

3

34 - Kirstie Barton

5

43 - Rachel Acker

1

81 - Lani Nguyen

1

99 - Shira Stern Totals

5

3

25 - Emman Kahle 27 - Julia Snyder

2

1

12 - Katherine Benjamin

22 - Sarah Edwards

TO’s

5 11

11

5

47

Assists

Goals

D’s

TO’s

MINNESOTA — 7 Player 0 - Meg Lake 1 - Rachel Johnson 2 - Kristen Anderson

1

3 - Gemma Wilson 4 - Tess Garvey

1

5 - Aly Fassee-Carman

1 3

1

9

1

5

2

1

2

5

6 - Luci Holte 7 - Emma Peaslee 8 - Robin Fassett-Carman

1

11 - Mara Saltzman

3

12 - Frieda Manthei

2 1

2

1

5

13 - Cece Spencer 17 - Rachel Stiyer 18 - Briana Mork

2

19 - Alyssa Belsito 21 - Sam DeBlieck 23 - Rachel Richman 24 - Alexa Schroeder 29 - KaylaAnne Glick

1

1

1

1

30 - Kylie Stumph 33 - Mary Thomas 39 - Kajsa Beatty

3

45 - Adalia Dixon 52 - Erynn Schroeder

2

1

3

18

Totals

7

7

15

51

WWW.USAULTIMATE.ORG

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Dave Gregg

MIXED DIVISION

California Earns Its First YCC Mixed Title Competing in its first Youth Club Championships, the Bay Area Happy Cows made quite an impression, beating fellow offensive powerhouse BUDA (Boston Ultimate Disc Alliance) 12-7 to earn the Mixed title. Despite being a fourth seed, the squad from Northern California swept its pool play bracket before dispatching talented teams from Denver and Seattle in the championship bracket to set up a showdown against one of the pre-tournament favorites.

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As in most of Sunday’s games, brutal winds proved to be a factor, especially for two squads that relied heavily on its offensive prowess to advance to the medal round. Despite the challenging conditions, Happy Cows’ handlers Nathan White and Sam McClure made things look relatively easy, methodically and effectively working the disc upwind with confidence. With additional

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

Minneapolis’ Zach Mekler gets up for a lofty pass in front of Bay Area’s Simon Higgins as Jenna Dailey anticipates the continue.

contributions all day from “sky artist” Simon Higgins, the Happy Cows struck first, opening up a 1-0 lead with an upwind score.

The ensuing downwind point proved to be a cinch as a McClureHiggins hookup made it a 2-0 advantage. The Happy Cows then put BUDA at a 3-0 deficit with another upwind score, this time courtesy of Gabriella Meffert from Higgins.

Under the gun, BUDA began to respond as standout Will Herold connected with Angela Zhu to get on the board, 3-1. Another quick downwind score by Herold cut the Happy Cows’ lead to one and all of the sudden BUDA was back in contention, albeit temporarily.

A quick hat trick by Higgins tripled the Happy Cows’ lead 6-2 after receiving the disc in the endzone on unanswered points

Steve Kotvis

Steve Kotvis

Steve Kotvis Dave Gregg (clockwise FROM TOP) Micromachines celebrate a sick goal by one of their teammates.

Madison jams out on their warmdown jog.

Bay Area’s Cassie Sakai makes the catch as DiscNW’s Tian Chuan Yen tries to get position on Jackson Waite-HimmelwrighT. BUDA’s Jason Milan stretches to get around the mark of DiscNW’s Khalif El-Salaam to get a forehand off to teammate Matt Bandes.

from three different handlers – White, McClure and Jackson Waite-Himmelwright. As the deficit approached the realm of insurmountable, BUDA’s Danny Katz found Sarah Robinson to make it 6-3.

As the Cows continued to click on all cylinders, they easily picked apart BUDA’s zone defense as White scored consecutive goals from McClure and Spirit winner David Hwang to all but put the game away at 8-3. With the game well in hand, both teams traded the next four points until the soft cap came on with the score 9-5. Another quick score by Lisa Pitcaithley made the score 10-5 and the game to 12. After trading a couple of more points, the game eventually ended exactly how it started, with White finding Higgins in the end zone to finish of BUDA 12-7.

Despite arriving in Blaine as complete unknowns to the rest of the field, the Happy Cows finished a perfect 6-0, including pool play wins over Madison, Minnesota and Arkansas. Unfazed by strong opponents, perhaps the truest test of their mettle came against the top-seeded host squad from Minnesota. That matchup featured a 10-9 win on double game point to push their record to 2-0 in pool play and officially put them on the map as a contender. Then, ousting established name brands like DiscNW and BUDA in the championship bracket put an emphatic stamp on their overall victory.

In 2011, the Happy Cows will surely look to repeat and build on its success, but next time won’t have the element of surprise to its advantage.

WWW.USAULTIMATE.ORG

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YCC MIXED FINAL STATS

HAPPY COWS — 12 Player

Assists

Goals

D’s

TO’s

3

11

1

10

0 - Daniel Zakaria 2 - Monisha White 3 - Gabriella Meffert 7 - Nathan White

1 4

1

8 - Eugenah Chou 11 - Cassie Sakai

YCC MIXED Division Final Standings 1 Bay Area 2 Boston (BUDA) 3 Seattle (DiscNW) 4 Fayetteville 5 Chicago 6 Madison 7 Minnesota 8 Denver

Team Spirit Rankings 4.83 Fayetteville 4.50 Denver 4.50 Seattle (DiscNW) 4.00 Bay Area 4.00 Boston (BUDA) 4.00 Madison 3.83 Chicago 3.83 Minnesota

Individual Spirit Nominees

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Bay Area - David Long Boston (BUDA) - Kate Roosa Chicago - Tasha Arrants Denver - Erika Hiromitsu Seattle (DiscNW) - Mark Sampayan Fayettevile - Adeeb Haroon Madison - Avery Johnson Minnesota - August Kramer ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

14 - Sam McClure

5

15 - Jackson Waite-Himmelwright

1

17 - Wyatt Pettyjohn

1

20 - Nicholas Petru

1

22 - Abel Johns 26 - Lisa Pitcaithley

4

2

29 - Ben Renga 33 - David Hwang

1 1

2

37 - Benjamin Kato 50 - Simon Higgins

1 1

6

2

53 - Jessica Olson Totals

3 2 1

12

12

8

33

Assists

Goals

D’s

TO’s

BUDA — 7 Player 1 - Rebecca Schneyer 2 - Matt Bandes

1

5 - Trevor Griesman

1

7 - Sarah Adams

1

8 - Angela Zhu

1

1 1 2

9 - Leah Berlin

1 1

10 - Kate Roosa 11 - Vincent DeFelice 13 - Charles Marokhovsky

1 1

3 4

16 - Ankit Sood

2

17 - Kira Lou

1

1

18 - Zachary Pozniak

1

19 - Karissa Tabtieng 20 - Will Herold

2

1

1

22 - Jason Milan 23 - Danny Katz

4 1

2

8

28 - Ross King

4

48 - Qxhna Titcomb 49 - *unknown* 55 - JJ Stevelman

1 2

81 - Sarah Robinson

2 1

99 - Jeffrey Hetzel Totals

7

7

1 2

1

8

35

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Steve Kotvis

OPEN DIVISION By: Matt Spillum

Fertile Grounds Looking across the fields where the 2010 Youth Club Championships open teams were warming up, one is afforded a view of some of the best youth programs in the country. The Colorado team drilled as their opponents from the Delaware Valley got loose nearby, while Pittsburgh’s Impulse and North Carolina’s RiDISCulous did much the same on another field. But this season brought some less familiar faces as well. Walking to the field where the threetime defending champion DiscNW team was preparing, I noticed a number of very tall boys in Statue of Liberty-bedecked jerseys that said NYC on them. A glance at the event guide told me that this was Nebraska Youth Club, not a Big Apple program like you might think. Meanwhile, as long-time youth giants BUDA warmed up, another first time participant, Boise’s Swordfight, trickled in perhaps fifteen minutes from game time. Watching these two new teams prepare to compete against youth Ultimate royalty begged the question: How did they get here?

16

USA

The Youth Club Championships Open Division often seems like a reunion for the most storied youth Ultimate hotbeds in the country.

Over its six-year history, such stalwarts as BUDA and DiscNW have brought teams of some of their best and brightest to Blaine to square off with sides from Pittsburgh, Colorado and Minnesota.

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

Minnesota’s sidelines watch to see if Austin Dircks stays in after coming down hard.

Most of these places have had, to one degree or another, a vibrant, growing youth Ultimate scene for some time now. Youth Ultimate’s growth, however, is not to be denied. From 2003, when only two state high school championships were sanctioned by the UPA, to this past spring, which saw that number grow to twenty-three, the fastest growing portion of the Ultimate community continues to sprout in new places.

In Boise, that growth began with a few enthusiastic kids who brought what they learned at recreational leagues back to their schools, and a couple of coaches who wanted to make sure that people had the opportunity to learn the sport in a positive and productive environment. Camron Newton, one of Swordfight’s captains, had started off as a soccer player but remembers seeing his “best friend Kyle having a blast playing Frisbee, so from then on I vowed to play.” Newton’s high school, Borah, had a club squad coached by Alex Lachance, and the core of the squad supplemented its training by joining a team in the Southern Idaho Disc League (SIDL) in Boise. There, they met kids from other schools, like co-captain Ty Swain, who decided to set up school teams of their own.

Steve Kotvis Steve Kotvis

DAVE GREGG (clockwise FROM TOP) BUDA’s Jordy Diamond throws a high backhand over the mark of DEVYL’s Eli Graves.

Colorado’s Aaron Zemel gets in motion on offense for a quick give and go.

Jesus Caballero of Minnesota maintains possession of the disc on a difficult catch.

Nebraska’s Ultimate scene also sprung from the meeting of growth-oriented adults and enthusiastic pockets of youth players.

Outside of the college teams in Omaha and Lincoln, and some scattered pickup games, very little Ultimate existed before 2007 in Nebraska. That year also saw the formation of the Lincoln Ultimate Disc Association (LUDA), which began working on holding leagues and organizing tournaments to grow the sport.

The need to work with youth players became apparent later.

“When we set our goals for 2009-2010,” LUDA co-founder and NYC coach Seth Colaner recalled, “we realized that a near vacuum existed where youth Ultimate should have been. I wanted to help provide those opportunities that I didn’t have as a high school kid obsessed with Ultimate, so I volunteered to head up the effort.”

With the existing scene consisting of a few teams that already existed but had no structure, and several pockets of interested kids who had no team, LUDA brought needed organization to the mix. Perhaps most crucially, Colaner noted, LUDA “reached out to USA Ultimate Youth Development Director Meredith Tosta and Luke Johnson, our regional youth coordinator, for guidance.”

Similarly, the active involvement of SIDL in forming the Southern Idaho Youth League (SIYL) led to more organized outlets for youth

players in the area. When Swordfight coach Suzie Walter was first asked to help coach the nascent team at Timberline High School by a club teammate, she immediately said yes: “That was a nobrainer… what started as a great group of kids that wanted to learn a fun new sport in 2009 and won the spirit award and took third at the State Championship that same year grew to having to form two teams for the 2010 season.” The end result was a Timberline Varsity team winning Idaho’s State HS tournament. Swordfight captain Ty Swain, one of those Timberline players, also noted the role of the local community in making youth Ultimate in Boise a success: “All in all, Swordfight players have not been a product of our high schools, our coaches, our city league teams, et cetera, but a product of the city of Boise and the Ultimate players that reside here.”

Both Colaner and Walter looked at the difficulties of finding more volunteers and coaches as the most difficult obstacle facing their growing youth scenes. As Walter puts it, “one of the biggest challenges is finding enough volunteers to help these schools.”

Colaner adds that, “we’d really like to see parents and teachers take the lead on school teams; up to this point, all the coaching and organizing has been done by area college and club players.

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17

DAVE GREGG Steve Kotvis

We hope that as more kids start playing competitively, more of these people will get involved.”

While roaming the sidelines at YCC, it was apparent that type of involvement was beginning. While it would be no surprise that the local Minnesota teams have huge family contingents on the sidelines, it is customary for even the most distant teams to have a solid core of chaperones/spectators/relatives there. Certainly, the number of Nebraska license plates spoke of the beginnings of that involvement Colaner referred to. As Darren Dietrich, a parent of one of the NYC players, put it this way before the games Saturday, “I just thought this was a bunch of guys horsing around… I didn’t know how big this sport was. Over time, [John] has been involved at school and in SOUL, the Omaha league… it’s just been a great experience for these kids.”

18

USA

A fairly sizeable contingent of parents followed the Nebraska team throughout the weekend. Their support and help was definitely a welcome thing, as NYC struggled to score against the more experienced teams at the tournament. Still, the weekend was a rousing success. In the words of Coach Colaner, “fielding a YCC team was one of the goals we set for ourselves last fall, and watching that goal realized on the field in Blaine was a tremendous feeling. Although we didn’t win a game, giving

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

(LEFT) DEVYL’s Quinn Hunzicker gets D’d up by two Minnesota players.

(RIGHT) BUDA’s Kevin Norton extends for a big layout D against DEVYL’s Paul Klimkowski.

our players the chance to measure themselves against the best young talent in the nation was the best learning experience they could have had, and they all came back home more excited about Ultimate than ever.”

As for our other newcomers, their edge in overall experience and their relative proximity to such Ultimate hotbeds as Oregon and Washington State made their first visit to YCC a success on the field as well. The Swordfight boys managed third place, winning two long, close battles with Minnesota Superior to finish an outstanding tournament. Camron Newton, Swordfight co-captain, recalled that, “the spirit circle after the game was like one big team; both teams having the utmost respect for one another.

Minnesota and Idaho will always be friends!”

As the teams began to drift to their cars and busses, there was no difference between the old guard and the newer programs.

Traded jerseys and camaraderie brought everyone together in one big group. The boys from Nebraska and Idaho had been initiated into the YCC family forever. Somewhere, right now, the next newcomers to YCC are learning the game, gathering to practice, either on their own or with a little help from a club or college player or two.

YCC OPEN FINAL STATS DeVYL — 11 Player

SEATTLE (DISCNW) — 6 Assists

Goals

D’s

TO’s

1 - Chris Aguero

Assists

4

5 - Michael Sender

1

8 - Tyler Kunsa

2 - Andrew Featherston

2

3 - Kilian Marsh

2

1

4 - Ross Smith

2

5 - Louis Cohen

1

3

11 - Scott Xu

1

5

7 - Julian Peterson

4

1

4 4

1

8 - Max Sutton

1

TO’s

2

1

6 - Colin Featherston

10 - Justin Baughn

D’s 1

1

9 - Eric Shaw

1

2

1

1

2

1

1

8 - Robin Fassett-Carman

13 - Quinn Hunzicker 14 - Loren Whitaker

1

15 - Dennison Beachis

3

10 - Daniel Broudy 11 - John Reynolds

1

17 - Eli Graves

13 - Conor Crowley

22 - Jesse Daugherty

14 - Justin Lim 17 - Nolan Walsh

23 - Billy Sickles 29 - Evan Walter

Goals

0 - Sam Merritt

3 - Adam Fischette 4 - Zach Kauffman

Player

3

2

31 - Paul Klimkowski

1

1

21 - Domonic Cavalero

3

22 - Jesse Bolton

1

23 - Mike Cavanaugh

35 - Matt Weintraub 37 - Matt Wright

1

26 - Remi Schneider

38 - Caleb Williams

2

27 - Henry Phan

45 - Brendan Vogt

1

33 - Jake Lemmen

48 - Michael Pohling

88 - Casey Bateman

55 - Mathieu Savarit-Cosenza

95 - Natan Lee-Engel

6

4

1

64 - Connor Lynch 76 - Trent Dillon

1

Unknown Totals

2 11

11

1

Totals

6

6

9

23

1 4

17

YCC OPEN Division Final Standings

1 Delaware Valley 2 Seattle (DiscNW) 3 Southern Idaho 4 Minnesota 5 Boston (BUDA) 6 Denver 7 Pittsburgh (PHUL) 8 Cincinnati 9 Triangle Area (TYUL) 10 Nebraska

Team Spirit Rankings

4.83 Cincinnati 4.67 Nebraska 4.33 Seattle (DiscNW) 4.33 Southern Idaho 4.33 Triangle Area (TYUL) 4.00 Boston (BUDA) 3.83 Denver 3.71 Minnesota 3.00 Pittsburgh (PHUL) 2.71 Delaware Valley (DeVYL)

Individual Spirit Nominees BUDA - Eric Biggs Cincinnati - Joe Findley Denver - Erik Sandersen DeVYL - Evan Walter DiscNW - Julian Peterson Idaho - Camron Newton Minnesota - Ben Swanson-Hysell Nebraska - Emmitt Graeve Pittsburgh - Himalaya Mehta TYUL - Brayton Maxson

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19

2010 USAU CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW

MASTERS MIXED OPEN WOMEN’S

By: Mike O’Dowd

THE 2010 MASTERS DIVISION IS SHAPING UP TO BE ONE OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE FIELDS IN RECENT YEARS. THERE ARE HUGE VOIDS TO BE FILLED AND PLENTY OF NEW MASTERS-AGE PLAYERS TO FILL THEM. AFTER WINNING BOTH THE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2009 AND THE 2010 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN PRAGUE THIS SUMMER, TROUBLED PAST WON’T BE COMING TO THE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS THIS YEAR. GOING OUT ON TOP PROBABLY FEELS PRETTY GOOD AND LASTS A LIFETIME. Surly, last year’s runner-up in Sarasota and Prague is the odds-on favorite to take top honors. The Beyondors out of the Southwest region would be a close second because they have reloaded with nine Colorado players and recently eligible ex-Santa Barbara Condors. The Northeast is looking very strong with three bids and the Mid-Atlantic has some serious talent. The biggest news in the division is the imploding of a team from Colorado and the absence of Mileage and Troubled Past. Colorado will not send a team to the Club Championships for the very first time. Proving that the politics of Ultimate and team formation can play a big part in each city’s ability just to be able to play and have a team – clearly demonstrating that team organizers prove to be the true engine that drives the sport.

Surly (CN) – Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN This year is basically a combination of Surly’s 2010 Worlds team and the 2009 Club Championship team. The big pickups at Worlds were Ron Kubalanza, a great thrower and cutter; Ricky Eikstadt, starting handler and ball control guy; and Don Tom, handler defender, and glue for D-line offense. Coming back to the team from 2009 (but not at WUCC) are Allon Katz and Steve “Peaches” Ridgely, both Carleton alums, and Paul Anderson, a longtime Minnesotan who is now an out-of-region pickup. Surly’s stars remain the same: Eric “Turtle” Lonsdorf and Dave Boardman on offense; Mark “Paco” Enright anchoring the D-line. Surly continues to dedicate their seasons to their late friend and inspiration Marty Bakko.

Beyondors (SW) – Santa Barbara, CA The Colorado contingent was the strength of this region for a long time and this year many of them will fortify the already talent-rich Beyondor team. Standouts Buzz Ellsworth, Scotty Bennett and several other Rocky Mountain players join forces with old rivals Steve Dugan and Greg Husak. The Beyondors were up 3-0 on last year’s champion Troubled Past in the semifinals and then the Florida heat kicked in. They lost several players to exhaustion and were a mere shell of themselves. The Beyondors were undefeated up until that semifinal game and were the odds on favorite to win it. Look for them to bring some determination and a strong will to win to Florida.

GLUM (NE) – Ottawa, ON

20

USA

Having earned a strength wildcard last year, the Northeast has three bids to Nationals. Glum is reloaded and ready to contend at the Club Championships. Glum won the Northeast region again this year over DoG,

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

Jeff Albenberg

who until 2009 had captured 13 consecutive regional titles. Without much pre-series play, this team could be the dark horse coming into the tournament.

DoG (NE) – Boston, MA DoG’s story is the same as it’s been the last three years. They lost another couple players, the most notable being Eric “Zaz” Zaslow, who decided to play with Championship qualifiers Real Huck in Chicago, where he’s been a professor of mathematics for the last 10 years. DoG added Jason Flock and a few others from Colorado, and with the weakened field this year (no Troubled Past, O.L.D. S.A.G., or Mileage), they could make a serious run. DoG has the ability to hang around and out percentage the other team. Michael Cooper was their MVP last year and is playing again this year with teammate Simon Verghese, a huge goal-scorer. DoG hasn’t played as much this year as in previous years (eight tournaments in 2009 versus only four this year), so they might still have some learning to do in Florida.

Boneyard (MA) – Cary, NC Boneyard came into Mid-Atlantic Regionals as the top seed and had no problems exiting as the champs. Now that they have added more open players from Ring of Fire they just might have enough to be a Club Championship semifinals team this year. Boneyard’s unbelievable ability to play up to the competition makes them a very unpredictable team to go up against.

Chesapeaked (MA) – Washington, DC Chesapeaked is also a wildcard at any tournament they play.

Troubled Past folding gave them a few more solid players to make them a serious team to contend with. Chesapeaked is easily one of the most exciting teams to watch with talent and leadership to get far in the Club Championships.

Brian Snyder of Troubled Past gets up over Surly’s Allon Katz in the 2009 USAU Club Championships finals.

Figjam (NW) – Calgary, AB Figjam out of Calgary looks to carry the torch of the powerful Northwest. Figjam picked up several major players from around the region and after a strong showing at the Canadian Championships look to make their mark on the Club Championship level. Team Captain, Al Carswell, has been playing with several different American teams each year at the Club Championships. Now that his team is in the running, Al can lean on his knowledge working with the most talented group in the region.

Ball & Chain (SO) – Atlanta, GA After last year’s 9th place finish at the Club Championships, Ball & Chain continues to be strong and play at many open tournaments as a team in the spring and fall, including a strong 5th place finish at the Grand Masters Championships. Captains Dan Powers, Charlie Yood & Dan Konisky have kept together the Atlanta based core with players like Rex Taylor, Chris Dawson and Chris Hatton. Ball & Chain has also added in a great mix of talent, youth and experienced players including two former Chain players, three new pickups from Miami, a few from the Mileage breakup, and some tremendous young talent from men’s open/mixed division.

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21

2010 USAU CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW

MASTERS MIXED OPEN WOMEN’S

By: Steve Sullivan

Perhaps more so than any year in recent memory, the mixed division has been in a state of upheaval in 2010.

Impact players have traded allegiances, regional strength has realigned and competitive new teams have sprouted from previously dormant communities.

Still, several powerhouse programs remain, with early season results proving their reign of success is far from over. Now that the stage is set for Sarasota, here is a preview featuring this year’s field of competitors.

NORTHWEST The Northwest, long the standard-bearer for the division, has perhaps felt the greatest affects of the shake-up. Failing to capture a strength bid at last season’s Championships and falling well short of qualifying for a size or growth bid, they are limited to sending two representatives to the Championships despite fielding several teams with skill enough to challenge on Saturday in Sarasota.

San Francisco’s Mischief, a one-time national champ, is still lurking as a title contender. While their core continues to age, the Smith brothers remain a threat, Adam Leventhal keeps making big plays and the newly added Justin Safdie brings another weapon to an extremely experienced roster. Mischief enters the Championships as the top team from the Northwest after an impressive victory over a deep field at Regionals.

22

USA

New to the scene are the Bay Area’s Polar Bears, combining men from YR with a solid set of young women. After prevailing in arguably the toughest section in the country and heading to Ripon as the top seed, they finally took a loss to a regional foe, but beat up on Seattle’s Swagger to earn the second bid. If Bob Liu and Greg Marliave get hot and Adam Raity’s bombs are on, the Polar Bears could end their inaugural run to Florida with a deep run into bracket play.

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

NORTHEAST Similarly stacked with talent, the Northeast at least benefited from a third bid this season. That seemed little consolation considering that teams which finished 2nd and 4th at the WFDF World Championships this summer were seeded outside the top three at Regionals. After a wild weekend in Devens, deserving teams like Quiet Coyote and Depends on the Jersey saw their season come to an end.

Boston’s perennial contenders, Slow White, head to Sarasota with the deepest roster they have assembled since back-to-back trips to the national finals.

The 2010 edition has set their sights high with the return of Rusty Ingold-Smith and Jasper Hoitsma plus the emergence of Middlebury alums Liz Hand and Chris Waite. Their convincing 15-4 victory over District 5 solidifies them as one of the favorites for a Championship title.

In District 5 (D5), John Korber has consolidated all of Connecticut’s previously scattered talent under one banner. After drawing in key pieces from Puppet Regime’s demise and boasting several of the division’s top women, including long-time Slow White captain Kendra Frederick as well as Liz Middleton and Judy Winglee from Godiva, D5 is deep and athletic. Despite having the nation’s longest winning streak snapped in the Northeast Regional final, there is no reason to think this team is incapable of rolling all the way to a USA Ultimate Championship.

Combining the talents of Canadian duo RIP and ONYX, Snowbirds could prove to be surprise spoilers in Sarasota. Using a stable of quick, skilled men to set

CENTRAL On the other end of the spectrum, the Central was loaded with Nationals bids. After earning a strength bid last season on the backs of departed One Trick Pony and also gaining a growth bid, they are sending four teams to Florida.

While no mixed team from Minnesota’s twin cities has been able to survive more than a couple years without reshuffling, there has always been plenty of talent in the area. Drag’n Thrust leaders Dave Klink and Mike Berseth have led the team to an impressive season thus far, winning Chicago Heavyweights then Regionals, setting themselves up to make a potentially deep run in Florida.

Before Regionals, Ames’ Chad Larson Experience (CLX) was the likely favorite to win, not just the Central but also the USA Ultimate Championship. Kevin Seiler leads one of the deepest, most athletic, experienced and balanced teams in the division. After dominating all comers in Europe this summer at the WUCC, they have been unable to solve regional opponent Overhaul, who have handed them their only two losses this season. Despite coming in with the Central’s second bid, CLX could be still be poised to finally capture the National title that has eluded them for years.

A collection of current and former UM studs like Ryan Purcell and Becky Malinowski lead the way on Michigan’s new arrival, Overhaul, a team that has the potential to beat anyone. With mixed early season results, it’s unclear how they’ll stack up against the division’s elite and will prove an exciting team to watch late in the competition.

Iowa City’s Scientific Method is the beneficiary of the region’s surprising fourth bid. With Derek Gottlieb and remnants of ICE, they certainly have some skill and experience to fall back on, but will need all of it to find any success in Sarasota.

SOUTH Winner of the second strength bid allocated at last year’s Championships, the South appeared to have two dominant teams heading into Regionals, only to find that there were several contenders capable of earning a trip to Florida.

higher seed which overlooks them could be in for a shock.

SOUTHWEST Like the Northeast of a few years ago, the Southwest has started to see a steady increase in the number of quality teams in the region.

While this depth hasn’t yet settled into any sense of stability, it may soon pay off with improved finishes at the Championships and, ultimately, strength bids.

LA Metro, a qualifier last year, looked as if their Championship hopes were shot while captain Keegan Uhl battled illness throughout the Series. But the big man is back and after leading his team to a Regional title, is ready to do some damage on the national scene in Florida. LA Metro has had a bit of an up and down year, but could be hitting their stride at just the right time.

Tucson’s Barrio, the Region’s defending champion, is back for more, hoping that 2010 is the year they can finally take the next step after three straight quarterfinal exits in Sarasota. Jeff Grobe is as unguardable as ever and this team tends to play up in big moments.

In the backdoor regional finals, they held off talented newcomer 7 Figures 13-15 for the second bid to the 2010 Championships.

MID-ATLANTIC One region where change has them headed in the wrong direction is the Mid-Atlantic. Despite being home to the Championship title holders, now defunct Axis of C’Ville, and others who have enjoyed great success in recent years, it will be surprising to see any team from this region make a similar impact in Florida this October.

While perennial nationals contenders AMP are still around, the Philly team has struggled all season and may find themselves on the outside looking in when the power pools come around. Gone are key play-maker Sean Murray and defensive stalwart Jeff Larz, but Raha Mozafari is still one of the best women in the division and this team has a long history of October success. They will need to rely on that Championship experience to maintain their run of quarterfinals.

North Carolina’s mixed landscape remains talented but in flux, as each year they present a new sectional champ. This year’s winner, Raleigh’s wHagonweel, takes the Mid-Atlantic’s second bid over DC’s Renegade. Showing few positive results outside their own region the season, it is unclear if wHagonweel can play with the consistency necessary to go far in Florida.

Bil Elsinger

up deep shots to their big, athletic women, they run one of the most balanced mixed offenses in recent memory. Despite laying low prior to the Series, this team is capable of upsetting just about any team at the Championships.

Atlanta’s Bucket hasn’t played much this season, but have been exceptionally good when they do. Adding Michael Arenson from Sub Zero and a couple ex-Chain Lightning men provides greater depth to last year’s quarterfinal roster. With their only loss of the year coming to District 5 in the finals of Chesapeake, this athletic team should be rewarded with a very high seed going into Sarasota.

Two Texas teams head out of the Region with the second and third bids, both remixes of previous Championships qualifiers. Tom Etchinson leads Hangtime-reunion team Conspiracy Theory, hoping their height and throws can get them back into the hunt in Sarasota.

Meanwhile, Chewbacca Defense has morphed into Dirty Birds, a huck-happy team with very athletic women. With a big Labor Day win over Southwest Champ LA Metro, this team has shown that any

Axis of C’Ville’s Chase Sparling-Beckley makes a spectacular high layout D against Barrio at the 2009 USAU Club Championships.

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23

2010 USAU CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW

MASTERS MIXED OPEN WOMEN’S By: David Belsheim

THE USAU CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES HAS FINALLY ARRIVED. 275 TEAMS FROM ACROSS NORTH AMERICA PARTICIPATED IN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES QUALIFYING EVENTS, BUT THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE CHAMPION. HERE’S A LOOK AT THE TOP CONTENDERS IN THE OPEN DIVISION. Ironside (NE) - Boston, MA

MATT LANE

With an undefeated record of 33-0 going into Regionals and three major tournament victories, Boston is poised to win their first championship since 1999. Ironside may have lost over a third of their semifinals roster from last year, but this year’s reduced roster has a winning formula. Matt Rebholz (#4) anchors Ironside’s offensive line, providing reliable distribution to veteran handlers Adam Simon (#20) and Josh Markette (#34). Captain Jeff Graham (#21) leads Ironside’s talented receiver corps. Jim Foster (#18) Danny Clark (#77) and Seth Reinhart (#2) are equally dangerous as continuation cutters where they can take advantage of teams that lack depth in the 6 and 7 spots. On defense, Ironside has the height and speed to match up against top receivers on Revolver and Chain with Colin Mahoney (#19) and Will Neff (#7) preventing teams from hanging anything deep. Jacob Goldstein (#10) and Seth Crockford (#9) run the defensive unit from the back. Perhaps more importantly, Ironside picked up Brandon Malacek (#13) from Madison who gives Ironside a quick strike option

Josh Ackley sparks Johnny Bravo’s comeback run with a nasty high layout catch D USA

against GOAT’s Colin Green to2010 win 16-14 in the 2009 USAU Club Championships prequarters. « FALL 24 ULTIMATE

off the turn from anywhere on the field. This year’s Ironside has superb team chemistry and an indomitable will to win. A first place finish at NE Regionals will surely give them a #1 seed going into the Championships and put them in excellent position for the title.

Revolver (NW) - San Francisco, CA Revolver reloaded after last year’s finals loss and now fields a starstudded roster comparable to Chain and depth that should keep Revolver competitive without playing Beau Kittredge (#50), Robbie Cahill (#10) and Mac Taylor (#40) on every point. Revolver’s record reflects what you would expect from a team that has been training since early spring. Injuries and fatigue have kept Revolver from performing as sharp as they were at Worlds where they won the World Championship quite convincingly over Sockeye. Defensive specialist Martin Cochran (#28) suffered a broken right hand and Kittredge injured his shoulder at Labor Day. Fortunately, there’s still plenty of time for Revolver to heal and refocus. Robbie Cahill anchors the offensive handler line with Ashlin Joye. Revolver has the fastest offensive line in the country with Beau Kittredge, Josh Wiseman (#6) and now Bart Watson (#29) running downfield. Watson is particularly valuable to Revolver as he has taken over Mac Taylor’s role as a downfield handler and frees Taylor up to concentrate on defense. The collapse of JAM also landed Revolver key veteran players Brian Garcia (#1) and Taylor Cascino (#80). Garcia fills in quite nicely as a continuation cutter on the O-line while Cascino provides stability on D and takes some of the pressure off Mark Sherwood (#14). Revolver also added Sam Kanner (#32) of Bodhi and Russell Wynne (#7) to their defensive rotation. Nick Handler (#11) returns to provide increased depth. This year’s Revolver is certainly stronger than last year but the team will have to overcome fatigue and a tougher road at nationals if they hope to become the next USAU champions.

Doublewide (SO) – Austin, TX Doublewide was a relatively unproven team thus far with an abbreviated elite club season record going into South Regionals.

But Doublewide’s convincing win over Chain Lightning in the South Regional finals has put the rest of the division on notice.

The team is stacked with tall, athletic players with the potential to overpower any other team on the field as demonstrated by their win over Chain. Historically, Doublewide has had excellent handlers but few dominant cutters. Recent additions Jacob Anderson (#17), Brodie Smith (#10), Chris Gibson (#30), Ryan Bigley (#42) and Kevin Richardson (#19) change the dynamic of the team and turn Doublewide into a true championship contender. David Melancon (#6) serves as Doublewide’s primary offensive handler, with Max Cook (#4) and Stephen Presley (#22) supporting him underneath.

Matt Randal (#19) and Kurt Gibson (#20) also drop huge forehand bombs and opponents will have to be wary of the deep shot on a turn. Doublewide also has plenty of workhorses to keep the disc moving throughout the field with Scotty Berens (#0) returning to join Michael Natenberg (#18), Casey Hogg (#1) and Rory Orloff (#24).

Doublewide barely missed out on their first semifinals appearance last year in a close game against Sockeye and it seems they’ll get their first chance to avenge their loss in pool play.

Chain Lightning (SO) – Atlanta, GA After a long season of training for the World Championships in Prague and a disappointing 4th place finish, Chain’s challenge this year will be to bring the focus and intensity that won them their first USAU championship in 2009. Chain elected to sit out most of the club season and so they’ll be facing several opponents for the first time in Sarasota. The reigning USAU champions return the majority of their starters from last year though the losses of Josh Markette and Joel Wooten hurt. Paul Vandenberg (#25) and Greg Swanson (#18) return as primary handlers with Josh Zipperstein (#2), A.J. Tiarsmith (#31) and Dylan Tunnell (#78) now joined by veteran cutters Sam Chatterton-Kirchmeier (#14) from Sockeye and Kiran Thomas (#20) from Doublewide. On defense, standouts Robert White (#34), Will Locke (#9) and Peter Dempsey (#10) are joined by Jolian Dahl (#60) from Johnny Bravo, who will likely replace Joel Wooten as Chain’s match for Beau Kittredge. Chain also picked up mixed division standouts Robert Runner (#4) as well as 6’7” Taylor “Tree” Goforth (#88), both of whom are expected to make an immediate impact on the field. Chain certainly has the pieces to put together another championship season but they’ll face stiff competition from a rejuvenated Ironside and deeper Revolver.

Truck Stop (NE) – Washington D.C. Truck earned their first major tournament victory at Colorado Cup and looks stronger than ever. Captain Brian Stout (#22) is finally asserting dominance downfield and Truck’s army of lefties makes them dangerous. The addition of Ironside defenders Adam Sigelman (#8) and Ryan Todd (#10) gives Truck the poise to convert and pull off wins against the best offensive lines. Their win at Mid-Atlantic Regionals will give them their highest seed yet going into the championship.

Sockeye (NW) – Seattle, WA Sockeye may have lost most of their players from their championship years, but they’re still talented enough to knock off the best teams when they’re hot. Just ask Chain Lightning, who lost to Sockeye in the semifinals at the World Championships this summer. Sockeye is young but talented all around and they just might make another championship run.

Johnny Bravo (SW) – Boulder, CO Bravo, like Sockeye, is another perennial powerhouse. The team has quietly achieved a 7-2 record against teams at nationals and is one of the only teams to have beaten Revolver. Bravo’s roster is also deeper than it has been in the past. Bravo is one of the few elite teams to have a dedicated coach which will help with game management in a big tournament like the USAU Club Championships.

Ring of Fire (MA) – Raleigh, NC This year’s Ring is smart, experienced and explosive. Ring gritted out tough victories against Rhino, Streetgang, Truck Stop and GOAT where they may have faltered just a year ago. Ring’s losses to Truck Stop and Southpaw at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals guarantees that no team in their Championship pool can expect to easily advance to the power pools on Thursday.

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2010 USAU CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW

MASTERS MIXED OPEN WOMEN’S

By: Leila Tunnell

THE WOMEN’S CLUB SCENE UNDERWENT MANY EXITING RENOVATIONS THIS YEAR, WITH SOME HISTORICALLY DOMINANT TEAMS CHANGING THINGS UP AND SOME NEW TEAMS STEPPING INTO THE SPOTLIGHT. IT HAS BEEN A LONG SEASON FOR THE TOP TEAMS WHO ATTENDED THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (WUCC) IN PRAGUE AND BURN-OUT MAY BE A FACTOR GOING INTO THE SERIES AFTER MONTHS OF COMPETITIVE PLAY. While some teams remain powerful, we will be seeing a few fresh faces in Sarasota this year including newcomers Revoloution from the st. Louis area and Montreal’s Storm. No doubt it will be an exciting weekend in Sarasota with these teams to watch!

Fury (NW) – San Francisco, CA Coming off their World Championship victory in Prague and their fourth consecutive USA Ultimate club national title, Fury looks as strong as ever. This year Fury gained some young and athletic college grads who will contribute to their aggressive, fast-paced defense. Look for vets Nancy Sun, Alicia White, Alex Snyder and Georgia Bosscher to continue leading Fury’s smart and composed offense. Per usual, Fury suffered a few losses this season to regional rival Riot, but Fury continues to demonstrate formidable mental toughness and consistently beat Riot when it counted in the finals of both Labor Day and ECC. With a loss to Riot at NW Regionals, Fury will be looking at a likely #2 seed for the Club Championships but don’t count this team out just yet. Fury will be gunning for the top spot no matter who the competition is.

Riot (NW) – Seattle, WA Riot continues to rely on the same dynamic and aggressive game that carried them to the finals of the USAU Club Championships in 4 of the last 5 years. With the addition of two ex-Brute handlers, Rohre Titcomb and Emily Baecher, they have a lot of extra fire power to capitalize on their all-star cutting lineup of Miranda Roth, Sarah “Surge” Griffith, Liz Duffy and Shannon O’Malley. Boasting the three victories over Fury this season and intimidating athleticism, Riot knows they have the ability to take the trophy, but must maintain the mental composure to get the job done in Sarasota.

Traffic (NW) – Vancouver, BC Hailing from Vancouver, BC, Traffic posted it’s most important win of the season in the Northwest Regionals backdoor game, upsetting Zeitgeist to claim the third bid. Anchored by Kira Frew and Tasia Balding, Traffic has ample experience to go far in the Club Championships with their fast breaks and big hucks.

Brute squad (NE) – Boston, MA

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Brute is looking strong after their first ever finals appearance in 2009 and a 4th place finish in Prague. This season Brute was plagued by ACL tears to handlers Dory Ziperstein, Tabitha Bennet and Ozone vet Julia Echterhoff. But this formidable blow to Brute’s handler line has been supplemented through the skill of Vivian

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Zayas and Dominique Fontenette and the absorption of powerhouse Godiva vets VY Chow and Tracy Woo. Wins over the Capitals at Philly Fusion gave them some good momentum into Northeast Regionals, where they easily took the top spot. Brute will definitely be looking to return to the Championship finals, this time expecting to be a little more comfortable playing in the big leagues.

Capitals (NE) – Ottawa and Toronto, Canada The Capitals continue to be one of the most physically aggressive teams. Their offense relies heavily on handler Anne Mercier and dominant cutter Alyson Walker. At Northeast Regionals, the Capitals did not get a chance to play for first place against Brute Squad after a 12-10 loss to Bent in pool play, but did earn the second bid in a backdoor rematch where they won 15-5 over Bent. Between Canadian Nationals, WUCC and the USA Ultimate series, they have had a long season to build and should be coming into the postseason strong – if they can fight the fatigue of having to peak three separate times during an extended season.

Scandal (MA) – Washington D.C. Scandal, on the rise last year, has emerged as the new dominant team out of the Mid-Atlantic. They rely heavily on players Jenny Fey and Johanna Neumann to move the disc down field aggressively to superstar athletes, Sandy Jorgenson and rookie Octavia Payne.

Scandal’s victory at Chesapeake and their 3rd place finish at Philly Fusion, including a victory over Brute Squad, prove that Scandal is ready to compete late into the weekend at Sarasota. Their one point Mid-Atlantic Regionals win over Phoenix will greatly help them out in their seeding.

Nemesis (CN) – Chicago, IL A very tall and athletic team (and in spite of the loss of deepthrower Jessi Witt), Nemesis showcases an aggressive deep game led by Sally Mimms, Jess Hellyer and ex-Fury player Erin Percival.

A tournament victory at Chicago Heavyweights and a solid finish at ECC gave the team quality experience and confidence against some top teams. Nemesis took care of business at Central Regionals with a solid performance over other Championship qualifiers Pop and Revoloution and is poised to surprise some teams in Florida.

Showdown (SO) – Austin, TX, Showdown started the season strong with close games against Fury and Riot at Texas Shootout but seems to have lost steam, possibly due to mental and physical burnout from training for Worlds.

Showdown boasts impressive skill and positivity, led by all-star Cara Crouch, handler Sarah Blyth, Tina Woodings and the heart of women’s Ultimate, Michelle Ng. Despite some disappointing losses, when this team clicks, it clicks, and they could certainly make a big turn-around heading into the Club Championships.

Ozone (SO) – Atlanta, GA Ozone was hit hard this year with the losses of many players including Julia Echterhoff, Shanye Crawford and two-time team USA member Deb Cussen. Despite a rocky regular season due to that roster dent, they are still a threat with Angela Lin and Katherine Wooten behind the wheel, the addition of ex-Fury player Kate Wilson, and several Junior Worlds players. Despite the setbacks, Ozone is a powerful program that always seems to climb back in to bracket play at the Championships.

Marshall Goff

Phoenix (MA) – Triangle Area, NC Phoenix is a new team out of North Carolina founded by Lindsey Hack, Cate Foster and Leila Tunnell that also showcases Backhoe vets Sharon Crawford and Tania Reitz. Phoenix plays with ample energy and enthusiasm, but the youth of the program led to some regular season inconsistency, including a disappointing finals loss at Mid-Atlantic Regionals. Their pre-season victory at Winston Cup Challenge and respectable performances at Chesapeake and Philly Fusion, including a win over The Caps, showed that this team has the tools for Sarasota success. Whether or not they have the post-season experience to wield these tools effectively remains a question.

Molly Brown (SW) – Boulder / Denver, CO Molly Brown, a new team on the elite circuit, already made an impression with their victory at Colorado Cup and close games against top teams at Labor Day. They are an athletic and aggressive team led by captain Anna Schott, and veteran Coloradoans Jana Krutsinger and Leah Ledenbach. Fueled by newcomers Lindsey Cross (USC), Dena Slattery (Nemesis) and Kath Ratcliff (Zeitgeist), Molly Brown has had trouble staying consistent against some of the top teams, but their energy and determination may carry them to big wins here in the home stretch. Winning the Southwest Region over rivals, Safari, Knock-Out and Jackwagon will give them the highest seed at the Club Championships Colorado has seen in quite a few years.

Brute Squad’s Lauren Nelson sets a low mark on Fury’s Lakshmi Narayan in the 2009 USAU Club Championships finals.

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Presented by

COACHES ’

PLAY B OO K BY: Kyle Weisbrod Illustrations By: Tony Porter

Zone Defense Variation

Over the years, there has been a huge proliferation of zone defenses in the sport. Teams that are most successful at playing zone D tend to have multiple zones that are variations off of a basic zone structure.

The variations use minor position changes to alter the space on the field that the offense can attack. These changes create opportunities for blocks as the offense is unable to adjust to the new positioning.

Some zones are particularly effective against an opponent due to the weather conditions or the opponent’s skill set.

Highlighted below are two variations off of the standard Force Middle or 3-3-1 zone defense that can provide your defense with a different look. The zones are described by their differences from the standard zone set and include a look at positional responsibilities as well as the zone’s strengths and weaknesses.

4-Person Cup Zone Defense The 4-2-1, or four person cup zone defense, is a popular defense at many levels in women’s Ultimate and effective against teams that lack strong overhead throws or in difficult throwing conditions.

The 4-2-1 defense is similar to a standard zone except the short-deep joins the cup. This allows the cup to cover more area, and prevent and contain throws through or around the cup. The bigger cup comes at the expense of a weakness behind the cup that can be exploited by good hammers and scoobers.

Handler movement that crashes the cup from the backfield is also difficult to stop and can open up holes through the cup.

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In the 4-2-1 there are four players in the cup, two points (on the outsides) and two middles (See Figure A). These four players are responsible for containing the disc and preventing throws through the cup.

The zone always forces the disc to the middle of the field with one of the points marking. The two wings are responsible for preventing continuation throws around the cup and for throws over the cup when the disc is on the opposite side of the field from them. The deep is responsible for throws further downfield.

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The large cup forces handlers to reset throws backwards in order for them to get around the cup on the continuation. The 4-2-1 is slightly stronger on the sidelines where the cup can slide around to force even deeper resets to move the disc around the cup. If handlers are not positioned well, the offense will often have a tough time moving the disc around the field and get pushed further and further back.

Trap Zone The trap zone defense allows open throws to one sideline and then traps the disc there; utilizing the sideline to make throws difficult.

There are multiple variations on the trap zone – the most frequent variable is the designation of responsibilities when the disc is trapped on the line. Below is one effective way of running a trap zone defense. The example that follows will be for a zone that traps on the forehand sideline (for right-handers).

The positions in a trap zone are push-point, middle-middle, trappoint, weak-side wing, trap-side wing, short-deep, and deep-deep.

The push-point is responsible for marking the thrower whenever the disc is not on or near the trap sideline, forcing the thrower toward the trap sideline. The push-point should be in position to stop reset throws directly backfield and be ready to cut off continuation throws off of resets back to the break side of the field.

The middle-middle is directly downfield of the thrower and is responsible for throws downfield. The trap-point is positioned horizontally to the middle-middle and is also responsible for throws downfield. These three players, the push-point, middle-middle, and the trap-point, should be positioned to take away downfield throws and throws to the break side of the field while creating an inviting lane to throw to the trap sideline.

The weak-side wing is positioned in the gap between the on-side point and the middle-middle and is responsible for preventing throws through that gap and containing the offense if the disc breaks around the cup. The trap-side wing is positioned behind and off of the trappoint and is responsible for containing the offensive receivers on the trap side of the field. This wing must be in position to prevent the offense from gaining too many yards on throws to the trap sideline, but should make the side look inviting by allowing the offense to gain some yards as they move the disc toward the trap sideline. The shortdeep is positioned behind the middle-middle and the trap-point and is responsible for preventing throws over those two defenders. The deep-deep is positioned behind the short-deep and is responsible for deep throws. Figure B illustrates the trap zone defensive positions

while the disc is in the middle of the field. The whole defense is positioned in such a way that the offense can gain easy yardage by moving the disc to the trap sideline. However, once the disc moves to that sideline in Figure C, the defense adjusts and utilizing the sideline, clamps down to make throwing options difficult.

Within five yards of the sideline the defense adjusts on the “Trap!” call of the middle-middle. As indicated in Figure C, the trap-point now marks and is positioned to prevent throws straight back field. The push-point is positioned in the lane even with the thrower in order to prevent inside-out breakmark throws across the field.

The middle-middle is positioned downfield of the push-point and takes away downfield throws across the field. The trap-side wing is positioned on the sideline taking away throws directly down the sideline. These four defenders (the trap-point, push-point, middle-middle, and trap-side wing) are essentially playing a four person cup that is positioned horizontally to prevent throws off of the sideline. The weak-side wing covers the area behind the cup even with the disc and slightly downfield and is positioned to prevent overhead throws.

The short-deep moves to cover deep throws down the trap sideline.

The deep-deep is positioned to prevent throws over the cup further downfield.

PUSH POINT

The trap zone defense is a particularly effective defense in cross-wind conditions with the trap forcing the downwind side of the field. Because the defense overloads the trap side of the field when the disc is on or near the sideline, one solid breakmark throw can result in the defense being out of position and an easy score for the offense, so the trap zone is less effective if there is one great thrower or the wind is not difficult to throw through.

Utilizing variations off of a basic zone allows a defense to throw multiple different looks at an offense while reducing the amount of time spent at practice teaching different defensive sets. You can throw complexity at your opponent while keeping it simple for your players!

PUSH POINT

P resident ’ s

C olumn

Club Restructuring Continued (Continued from pg 3) Other topics that will be addressed by the restructuring process are:

to address how such an event would fit into the club series as a whole.

- regional boundaries

At the conclusion of the task force meeting, a smaller steering committee made up of staff, board and other volunteers was charged with putting together a plan that will address some of the goals and priorities outlined above. Our goal is to have a draft of such a plan ready for the Board to discuss at the January Board meeting and then for public feedback shortly thereafter. As with the college restructuring process, some changes may begin to take effect in the 2011 club series, while more far-reaching changes will likely begin in 2012.

- t he growing masters/grand masters divisions and how they fit in to the series -w ays to showcase the highest levels of competition in venues that will attract fans and media attention -o pportunities to invite international teams to come compete against the top US teams A plan is currently being developed to create a “US Open” event comprised of both high-level competition (to address the last two bullet points), as well as workshops, training opportunities, family-friendly gatherings and other events to bring in participants from across the Ultimate spectrum. Any club restructure will have

We’re very excited at the array of playing opportunities that a restructured Club Series will bring to all our club members, and are working hard to ensure that the plan is put together in a careful and thoughtful way, while making sure to give people plenty of notice to any changes that may affect them.

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w h a t ‘ S

t h e

c a l l ?

BY: Jon Bauman, Chair of USA Ultimate Standing Rules Committee STANDING RULES COMMITTEE

As players of a self-officiated sport, it is our responsibility to know the rules. This column features answers to your rules questions and clarifies common misconceptions about the rules.

If you catch the disc and the defender runs up to you and says “1…2…”, and you say “fast count,” because they didn’t say “Stalling,” and they look at you like you’re from Mars, what’s the next thing you say?

A

It depends what the marker does at that point.

If they resume their count at “1”, you should play on as they’ve taken the corrective action prescribed by rule XIV.B.7. Otherwise, you may either call “violation” or call “fast count” again. If you call “violation”, play stops and the stall will resume at “1”, assuming the violation is not contested. If you call “fast count”, play does not stop, but chances are that if the marker didn’t correctly resume the stall after the first “fast count” call, they aren’t familiar with the proper procedure. It may be better to call “violation”, stop play and clarify the situation.

While handling, my defender started his stall count at “stalling 5…6…7”, so I called “violation,” which subsequently stopped play. We then checked the disc in and he started his stall count back at “stalling 1….” My problem is that by calling “violation” all of my cutters had to stop play, which puts the defense at an advantage. Is there a better way to handle the situation?

Q A

A fast count is defined by rule XIV.B.1.a and applies when a marker fails to say “stalling”, counts at intervals of less than one second, or skips a number. If you do not wish to stop play you may call “fast count”, but the consequence is that the marker must resume at the count reached minus one, which is 4 if you call it immediately. However since skipping multiple numbers constitutes a violation beyond the definition of fast count, you also have the option to call “violation”, stopping play and returning the count to 1 (if uncontested).

The same opponent did this three times throughout the game, is there some kind of repercussion for repeat offenses that stop play unnecessarily like this instance (like yardage gain)?

Q A

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In an observed game, misconduct fouls can be assessed for unsportsmanlike conduct such as intentionally violating the rules. Repeated misconduct fouls may result in yardage penalties and/or ejection. However, in an unobserved game there is

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no such recourse. As a self-officiated sport, the rules are based on the premise that no player will intentionally violate them. In these situations it falls upon the players to be understanding of honest mistakes and to educate about the importance of spirit in the case of intentional abuse.

Q

Let’s say I establish a left-foot pivot for 3 counts, then I call a time-out. After the timeout, can I switch to a right-foot pivot?

A

Rule VI.B.5.c describes the procedure for resuming play after a time out and does not make any special requirements about the establishment of the pivot. Since rule XVI.J.2.c allows the pivot to be reset during any stoppage of play, switching feet after a time-out would be legal, but you still lose all your fantasy points for calling the time-out.

To submit rules questions, please email src_chair@usaultimate.org

Scott Roeder

Q

2 0 1 0

U sau

B O A R D

C A N D I D A T E S B O A R D

Becoming a board member is one of the best ways to incorporate your ideas into the future of the sport. With so many new and exciting initiatives being started and continually improved upon, it’s a very special time to be a part of it all and serve our membership.

program. And, of course, I continue to play, both for casual pick-up teams and for a new club team that is fighting for a bid to Nationals.

This combination of experiences gives me a perspective that I believe is necessary as the Board undertakes a wide variety of projects.

The USAU Nominating Committee presents to you the candidates for the 2010 election (2011-2013 term). You, the members have the important opportunity and responsibility of electing the board members who will protect your interests, oversee USAU operations and steer the course of direction for the future of the sport. Each candidate’s statements include their expertise and how they will shape policy and define strategy in years to come.

USA Ultimate has the opportunity to improve the playing experience for members at all levels, which I believe we can accomplish by prioritizing the following work:

At-Large

Northeast

Sam Dinning Stephen Hubbard Colin McIntyre Josh Seamon

Mandy Eckhoff Jeremy McNamara northwest Frank Flores Ann Huang Mike Payne

AT-LARGE Sam Dinning

Washington, DC

samdinning@gmail.com

As our sport continues to grow, USA Ultimate is faced with new challenges in meeting the demands of an increasingly diverse membership. In restructuring the College Series, improving elite competition, strengthening youth programs, and reaching out to potential new players, the Board must be mindful of the fact that the growth of the sport depends on the development and consideration of all levels of play.

In order to fully appreciate this broad spectrum of concerns, the Board must have representatives that have engaged many of these issues. I graduated from Bowdoin College in 2009, where I captained our relatively small but regionally competitive team. Currently, I coach at the high school level in a very young

College Development – The growth of college Ultimate involves two equally important aspects: modifying existing structures of competition, and providing support for new and mid-level teams. This dual approach can help bring college Ultimate to the highest possible level while not forgetting that our sport can only continue to grow with the strengthening of the college game.

Local Leagues – The vast majority of Ultimate players didn’t learn the game with Nationals in mind, but rather grew as they played in their own cities and towns. By channeling initiatives through local leagues, USA Ultimate can ensure greater representation of league interests and can help improve the quality of play at the local level.

Club Series – As USA Ultimate embarks on the restructuring of the Club Series, several goals should guide the decision-making process: maximizing top-tier play, increasing the parity of competition, and improving the overall quality of tournaments. These issues have been a source of frustration for many players over the years, and the reevaluation process provides a great chance to finally address them fully.

Communication – It is often easy for those who devote countless hours to Ultimate to understand the nuances of play and process, but this does not always translate throughout the game. By improving the channels through which we reach out to players, USA Ultimate can help broaden engagement with and understanding of the sport.

In each of these areas there are clear opportunities to improve the Ultimate experience for all USA Ultimate members, regardless of where they play the game.

Having played for and led teams in Boston, MA; Washington, DC; Portland, ME; and Cape

Town, South Africa, I have engaged with issues facing a huge variety of Ultimate players.

I hope to bring these lessons and perspectives to the Board of Directors to help ensure that the changes made in the coming years enhance the game for all involved.

Stephen Hubbard San Diego, CA stephenghubbard @gmail.com

Hello Ultimate Community, I have been playing, watching, writing about, coaching, observing, thinking about and loving this sport since high school. Even though I adore Ultimate, I think there are many things that could be better.

I believe that a culture of professionalism and well designed presentation of our sport is very important not only for marketing Ultimate to outsiders, but also for increasing fun for the people involved. I will push for the allocation of resources to provide for large scoreboards, painted field lines, and well trained Observer crews for every single game at tournaments.

Additionally, I support the effort to hold the finals of high level events inside a stadium of some sort. Sarasota is a great place for most of our Club National Championships, but it does not facilitate large amounts of nonplaying spectators for the finals. A large part of what made the Andrew Fleming ESPN catch at the WUCC so amazing and popular to the outside world was that the clip showed a packed stadium.

One of my biggest complaints with how Ultimate is played today from summer league to the highest level club tournaments is the poor rules knowledge of most players. We play a self-refereed sport for crying out loud!

If a referee from some other sport didn’t know his sport’s rules, it would be major problem but we seem to accept it. When every player knows the rules well, games are more fastpaced (“foul-contest’s” last 5 seconds instead of minutes), more fair, and more fun. I would look to mandate a rules test for the teams playing in College and Club Regionals. Also, I would urge the Standing Rules Committee

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C A N D I D A T E S

Similar to other NGBs in the U.S., USAU is governed by a Board of Directors that is a blend of elected and appointed directors. The board is informed and makes decisions via a series of Committees made up of Board members and key volunteers from the community, each with a staff liaison to help it function and provide continuity.

C A N D I D A T E S

to do some serious rewording in order to make the 12th Edition more intuitive and in line with how players actually think about the rules as well as publish Official USAU Rules Interpretation (both written and video demonstration) so players have more common ground to stand on when applying the rules.

B O A R D

At its core, Spirit of the Game has a simple definition: mutual respect between opponents and respect for the game - Sportsmanship. To think Spirit of the Game is much, much more than this is to lose focus of what is important.

SOTG can sometimes be a internal struggle when games are close, but we all have been part of games that are intense but played with the utmost sportsmanship. On the other hand, we all have also been part of games with “spirited” players that turn unsportsmanlike when they the soft-cap horn blows. It must be the role of the USAU to work to create the right tournament framework and a culture of mutual respect so strong that we can play with fiery competitiveness to the limits of our abilities while also maintaining the sportsmanship that makes playing sports so worthwhile - this will be my guiding principle if I am elected to the USA Ultimate Board of Directors.

Thank you for reading, I hope to earn your vote. If you’d like to learn more about me and some of my thoughts about Ultimate, check out my Facebook group, “Stephen “Pumba” Hubbard for USA Ultimate Board of Directors.”

Colin McIntyre

Ann Arbor, MI

colinmcintyre@gmail.com

submitted several proposals for consideration by the USAU Board and Staff to help address issues of player safety, member representation in the rules revision process, fairness in eligibility rules, and adequate notice and responsible implementation of new rules and regulations for the Series, among other issues. I hope to become a member of the Board so that I can more effectively continue my efforts to promote responsible, but timely, improvements to the sport and to the organization. In my professional life, I am a recently licensed attorney; I believe my skill set from that arena could transfer well to participation on the Board.

Claremont, CA, I headed back east to start teaching high school math in St. Johnsbury, VT and begin my career playing club mixed Ultimate. This summer marks my 18th year playing Ultimate.

In terms of other issues, a few other priorities of mine include promoting improved rules knowledge among players, expanding the Observer Program, and establishing a USA Ultimate policy encouraging tournament organizers to space playing fields safely. As the election draws closer, I hope to take advantage of any additional opportunities to flesh out my views on these issues.

development and technology management, as well as a passion for policy work. In all aspects of my life, I am direct and not afraid to state, and stand by, my opinions, as evident by my active presence on the USAU forums.

Also, I am proud of my ability to analyze and work with big picture ideas, and at the same time dive right in and personally get results at the on-the-ground level.

Over the past seven years I have learned how to get things done inside the world of Ultimate.

In three years I built a varsity Ultimate program, founded the VT HS Ultimate League, VT State Champs, and St. Johnsbury Academy Invitational, which has grown into the largest HS Ultimate tournament on the east coast. As a USA Ultimate Coaching Instructor, I have run more clinics and certified more coaches than anyone else. In 2008 I was elected as As a candidate for the Board, my top priority an at-large member to USA Ultimate’s Board is to improve the flow of ideas from the of Directors. I have served on the Nominating membership to the organization. The energy Committee, where I was instrumental in and creativity of the membership are assets expanding the Board election process and on that were not fully utilized by USAU. I am very the Executive Committee, where I hold the pleased with USA Ultimate’s efforts to reach position of Secretary. In addition to chairing out in new ways to the membership with the World Game Committee, which oversaw initiatives like the recently released Webcast. all aspects of Team USA’s development, I If elected, I will support additional efforts in this worked as one of Team USA’s managers, same vein and I pledge to open new avenues coordinating local logistics and live blogging for interchange between the membership and event coverage (http://bit.ly/worlds2009). the leadership of USA Ultimate.

I have extensive experience in web portal

Josh Seamon

St. Johnsbury, VT My involvement with the jseamon@gmail.com USAU has been extensive in recent years. I have served My favorite memory of on the Standing Rules Ultimate occurred on July Committee for three and a half years, receiving 20th, 2009. At about 10pm an invitation to join after actively participating on that excruciatingly in discussions regarding the revisions that hot and humid night in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, went into 11th edition. Since becoming I lugged 30 pounds of Team USA’s laundry certified in February 2008, I have observed to a waiting taxi that took me to a nearby four USAU Championships (College and Club), laundromat. For two hours, I washed, dried, in addition to a number of experimental events. folded, and waited, surrounded by the neon I also participated in the Observer Manual surrealism of Kaohsiung’s streets. For most revision meeting earlier this year and was the of the duration I was accompanied by USA lead author of a rules application video project Ultimate’s Meredith Tosta, who joined me on for future use by players and observers alike. the curb for a discussion spanning life, the I began playing Ultimate in 2001 and have universe, and everything. played at all levels including leagues, a college B-team, a mid-Region Club team, and College and Club teams that qualified for the USAU Championships. I also coached the University of Michigan men’s team this year. I have served as Sectional Coordinator in the past and have organized and helped organize a number of additional tournaments. Through my time spent playing, coaching, observing, and organizing Ultimate, I’ve become aware of a number of issues I’d like to see addressed by USA Ultimate.

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In my capacity as an active USAU member, I

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That night is the highlight of my Ultimate career because it represents the pinnacle and diverse range of ways I have been allowed to serve Ultimate in the United States. It is that broad-ranging service to the greater good of Ultimate that I cherish above all else and makes me a strong candidate for reelection to USA Ultimate’s Board of Directors.

I found myself on that curb in Taiwan because I have been lucky enough to lead an incredibly enriching life inside the world of Ultimate. After playing high school Ultimate in Amherst, MA, and college Ultimate in

My primary goal over the next three years will be to double the number of youth players in the United States. It would be my pleasure to continue to serve USA Ultimate and achieve this goal. For more information about my candidacy, please visit www.

JoshSeamon2010.com.

NORTHEAST Mandy Eckhoff

Quincy, MA

eckhoffa@hotmail.com

In the year and a half I have been on the USA Ultimate Board of Directors the organization has transformed from the UPA to USA Ultimate and taken significant steps to advance the sport and broaden its participation base and appeal.

Overall knowledge of and participation in Ultimate has expanded, we’ve been featured on ESPN and developed relationships with business and organizations to that will help to market and further promote the sport.

In the middle of these large changes, the organization has remained committed to providing opportunities to learn and compete to its members.

And, as the organization has grown and developed, the underlying structure of the

As the organization continues to grow, I believe it is important to maintain focus on the things that make the game of Ultimate and the Ultimate community unique. One of these aspects is the Spirit of the Game. This dedication to promoting and encouraging sportsmanship through self-officiating is an essential aspect of the game which should continue to be highlighted at all levels of play.

Additionally, because of the uniqueness of the sport and the man positive benefits of playing, I think it is important to continue to develop, maintain, and promote opportunities for women, young and old, to play Ultimate.

As a Board member, I would like to continue to develop new ways to highlight promote the spirit of the game during various levels of competition and identify new ways to encourage more women to play Ultimate through the development of women’s teams, leagues and coaches.

I am very excited about this time in the development of our sport and hope to continue to contribute my skills, energy and enthusiasm to the growth of Ultimate as the Northeast Representative. Thank you for your consideration and support!

Jeremy McNamara Albany, NY

jeremy.mcnamara @gmail.com

experience better.

I need your vote to help make your Ultimate

In both my job and as president of AUDA, I hold myself to a very high standard and I will bring the same work ethic to the USAU Board of Directors; not only for me, but for everyone else that works there as well. As an engineer, I work with a team to identify problems or areas for improvement and quickly create optimal solutions; ideally before the issue becomes a problem. I approach everything with great attention to detail and don’t stop until the work is done. In the two short years leading AUDA, the organization has become incorporated as a not-for-profit, grown from a single summer league to three leagues (competitive, social, and women’s), and more than doubled the number of players.

Since re-branding there have been problems with the lines of communication between the USAU and members in both directions. I am a huge proponent of open communication and would like to see a clearer twoway dialog between the USAU and its members. Additionally, while the new website may have taken a step forward visually, it has taken a step backward in usability. It is no longer easy to find tournaments, leagues, or events. Simply navigating the website has become very difficult. Helping players find places to play should be a primary goal of the site and the USAU. Ultimate has grown to the point where it is showing up on the mainstream radar with increasing frequency. I think the USAU has done a great job growing Ultimate among youth and we need to continue that. As Ultimate gets even bigger, the USAU mayhave to consider some rule changes. I don’t know what, if any, rules should be added or changed, but I think we need to keep experimenting with progressive rules to test their effect. I like that the USAU has already tried some active calls at Nationals and I think additional experimentation can only help the sport continue to grow.

I’m always available for questions, concerns, and criticisms; right now and if elected to the board. Email me about anything at JMacForUSAUBoard@gmail.com and I’ll get right back to you. Bottom line, I come in with high expectations and I do my very best to get everything done.

Frank Flores Emeryville, CA

floresfrank@hotmail.com

My Name is Frank (Frankus) Flores. Originally from Wellesley, MA, I now live in the San Francisco Bay Area (Emeryville). I have been playing the game of Ultimate since high school and competitively now since 1989 where I began at UMass Amherst. I have played in every division short of Women’s (not for lack of trying) and on almost every continent since then. I continue to play competitively and unconditionally love this wonderful sport.

Ultimate has definitely shaped me into the person I am today. Most of my extended family have entered my life directly through our sport and I continue to learn more about myself and the world around us by spending time with these incredible people and in this sport.

C A N D I D A T E S

As an Ultimate player in New England, member of the Boston Ultimate Disc Alliance Board of Directors and league organizer, I believe that I can represent the New England Region and its views on various changes and issues facing Ultimate as a sport and USA Ultimate as an organization. I would like to continue talking to players, organizers, coaches and parents in the region to learn about what issues they would like to see addressed as the sport continues to grow.

first played Ultimate in Albany summer league which led me to college Ultimate with RPI Trudge. I’m currently a player on Destructors, a new mid-level mixed club team in Albany.

For the last two years I’ve taken the lead role in running Albany Ultimate Disc Association (AUDA) as a board member and President.

Outside of Ultimate, I work as a mechanical design engineer at Covidien and teach chemistry courses at Siena College. In the past I’ve worked in the finance department of the AIDS Council of Northeastern New York, a local not-for-profit.

B O A R D

organization has also had to change to keep pace. I feel fortunate to have contributed my energy, enthusiasm and unique set of skills as a business consultant, attorney, and member of other non-profit Boards as well as my experience playing Ultimate at the collegiate, recreational, and club level to help implement these important organizational changes such as updating and revising the Conduct Policy to include a process allowing members to appeal decisions of the administration, revising the existing Bylaws and draft a Diversity Policy. These changes, which aren’t particularly glamorous and will never make the highlights reel of ESPN, are essential to ensure that the organization has a solid structural and organization foundation from which to further develop and grow.

Qualifications Over the years, I have TD’ed sanctioned tournaments and served as a sectional and regional coordinator for the USAU. I’ve been a coach, a captain, and run youth training camps. I understand the game, the organization that oversees it, and of course the people that play. in my professional life, I am a Director for a multi-million dollar real estate development company. I also serve as the Chair for my City’s Planning Commission.

I have a BA in Business and a Masters in Planning and actively volunteer for multiple non-profit organizations from Big Brother/ Sister to Meals on Wheels for Seniors.

Views I love our game. It has more than influenced me to be a better human being. I respect the Spirit of the Game™ and have been satisfied with the growth of the sport. We have not compromised the principles by which the sport was built on, yet we have seen membership grow exponentially and the international competition rise out of this hard stance. I see our game played in the Olympics and on National Television. I also see it continue to be played the way it was originally intended. I’m old school with visions for the new.

Conclusion I bring years of experience to the board, both within the game and professionally. I am always excited to contribute to the groups and organizations that have contributed to me so much in the past. I would be proud to serve on the Board and represent my friends and the entire USAU membership.

First off, a bit about me. I’ve been playing Ultimate for eight years at various levels. I WWW.USAULTIMATE.ORG

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Ann Huang Seattle, WA

Hi, I’m Ann Huang and I am running for the position of Northwest representative on the USA Ultimate Board of Directors. I have been involved in Ultimate in various ways since 2000: playing summer pickup; recruiting college women; organizing College Sectionals; captaining league teams; TDing Northwest Mixed Regionals, and now as just a player on a Seattle coed team. Throughout my decade of playing, I have constantly been impressed by how the hard work of everyday players has evolved Ultimate.

Mike Payne

Oakland,CA

mikepayne@gmail.com

• Expansion of competitive college Ultimate to the thousands of medium/large campuses that do not have sustained programs

USA Ultimate NW Region • Establishment of long-lasting corporate members, I’d be honored sponsor relationships with companies and excited to receive that are large enough to support television your vote! I have a lot of broadcast of key games/tournaments, but energy, ideas, focus, and relevant experience also share values with the majority of USAU that I will bring to the table as I represent members As a fairly young player, my personal work the Northwest membership, and to help lead 2) Ensuring members’ voices are heard in Ultimate has had its ups and downs. In USA Ultimate in the next stage of its evolution.

Earlier this year, the name of our organization high school, I enthusiastically led a team of I am: borrowed athletes to a loss against a more • A 17-year player and coach (I was fortunate changed from ‘Ultimate Players Association’ experienced, less athletic team. Learning to recently bring a gold medal back to the USA to ‘USA Ultimate.’ Let me be clear – I am in favor of the new name! However, the name about the stack after that experience was from 2010 WUCC as a Captain of Revolver) change begs the question – ‘going forward, revolutionary! Four years later, after cocaptaining Pansy (the Carnegie-Mellon/Pitt • A former 2-term USAU Board member what is the role of our members in helping consortium that has spawned Danger! and (including serving from 2006-2008 as the to determine the future of Ultimate?’ The fact that our organization’s name no longer Money Mellons), the years of savage games, President of the USAU) tough recruiting seasons, and prematurely • A successful professional with 10 years of includes the word ‘players’ (along with other complaining knees led me to a deliberate experience in consulting and biotechnology changes, like the fact that 25% of our Board members are appointed by the Board rather step away from Ultimate. I found it all too management than elected by the membership) suggests easy to use my move to the Northwest in • The father of a 2-year old son with a wicked that we no longer need 100% player control.

2005 as an excuse to stop playing. lefty backhand (!)

However, I am worried that if the pendulum When I decided that it was time to get back swings too far the other way, Ultimate players There are two things that are particularly into Ultimate, it was more difficult than I will be unhappy with ‘where our sport ends had anticipated. Trying out for teams was important to me as a potential Board member: up.’ As a Board member from 2011-2013, I am one thing, but I also felt a huge disconnect 1. Planning for the ‘next generation’ of committed to working with our membership with the elite community that I was used to Ultimate in the USA to determine a level and method of input that being part of. It was disconcerting that one 2. Ensuring that USAU members have the our membership can feel comfortable with year away from Ultimate could make it so amount of input they want, into the current over the long term. This is your sport, and I hard to get back involved. Instead of reading and future governance of Ultimate in the USA want to ensure that you guide its future!

USAU newsletters and nodding my head 1) Planning for the ‘next generation’ of Thanks so much for your consideration – I to the articles as I once did, I found myself hope to receive your vote. asking myself, “Why do I even care about this Ultimate in the USA article?” As much as I respected and admired What do you want Ultimate to look like by PS. I will be using my Facebook page (www. the voices of the elite players writing and the year 2017? Will Ultimate be televised facebook.com/MikePayneUSAU) to host reporting, I wondered where the voice of on ESPN? How many millions of people will discussions (and thus answer questions, get the average player was. The one that had play Ultimate regularly? Will Ultimate be input, etc.) – please visit the page and click played years of just league or the adult player on-track to be an Olympic sport? Can (and ‘Like’ to follow the campaign! that had just finished their first hat league – should) Ultimate be required PE curriculum people who we want to connect with. for middle-schoolers nationwide?

I am running for the Board because I believe These are questions we have to start that there needs to be a member who is partly answering now! removed from the Ultimate community. As someone who loves Ultimate and has spent Between 2006-2008, I helped lead the time away from it, I want to contribute to the creation of USAU’s current Strategic Plan.

Board the opinion of a more average player. I That plan includes many of the exciting want to reach the players in hat leagues, the changes you’ve seen (or heard about) recently, ones who are just showing up to pickup, and including expansion of youth, implementation even the perspective player walking their of divisional playoffs and regular seasons in dog past a game. With my experience as a both college and club, increased number/ board member and board fellow on several quality of observers, and the new USAU Seattle non-profits, I hope to give back to the website. However, the current Strategic Plan USA Ultimate community by making the best expires in 2012, and these plans take a long of my background and experiences.growth time to put together because we get input that Ultimate has seen particularly in the from thousands of members, and write them last decade. While the UPA has done well as carefully to ensure success. So, we need to get started on the next Strategic Plan (for

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B O A R D

C A N D I D A T E S

ann.huang@gmail.com

a player association if you believe that our 2013-2017) soon! I am excited to apply my sport can benefit from soliciting new points professional skills and experience with the of view and from drawing on an expanded prior USAU plan, to get this job done right. set of talents at the Board level, then I offer Just a few areas I think that the 2013-2017 my commitment to use all of my experience, Strategic Plan will need to address are: skills and abilities to help Ultimate reach the next stage in its development as a sport. • Expansion of youth programming to include younger (8+years) players, and more active participation of parents

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

Name Email Address

City, State Term Expires/Region

Gwen Ambler

gwen.ambler@usaultimate.org

Seattle, WA

At-Large Representative, 2009-11

Ben Banyas

ben.banyas@usaultimate.org

Pittsburgh, PA

Mid-Atlantic Representative, 2010-12

William Bartram

william.bartram@usaultimate.org

Seattle, WA

Northwest Representative, 2008-10

Audrius Barzdukas audrius.barzdukas@usaultimate.org Los Angeles, CA

B O A R D

2010 USAU Board of Directors

Southwest Representative, 2010-12

jason.chow@usaultimate.org

Amherst, MA

At-Large Representative, 2010-12

Mandy Eckhoff

mandy.eckhoff@usaultimate.org

Somerville, MA

At-Large Representative, 2009-10

Matt Farrell

matt.farrell@usaultimate.org

Colorado Springs, CO

At-Large Representative, 2010-12

Seth Grossinger

seth.grossinger@usaultimate.org

Minneapolis, MN

Central Representative, 2009-11

Peri Kurshan

peri.kurshan@usaultimate.org

Boston, MA

Northeast Representative, 2005-07, 2008-10

Joshua Seamon

josh.seamon@usaultimate.org

St Johnsbury, VT

At-Large Representative, 2008-10

John Terry

john.terry@usaultimate.org

Atlanta, GA

South Representative, 2009-11

Henry Thorne

henry.thorne@usaultimate.org

Pittsburgh, PA

At-Large Representative, 2006-08, 2009-11

C A N D I D A T E S

Jason Chow



2011 USAU Board of Directors Candidates OFFICIAL BALLOT USAU Members may either mail this ballot to USAU headquarters (photocopies allowed) or cast votes online at www.usaultimate.org At Large Candidates (All USAU members vote for one only)

NORTHWEST Candidates (Only USAU members from the Northwest Region may vote for one only)

c

Sam Dinning, Washington, D.C.

c

Stephen Hubbard, San Diego, CA

c

Frank Flores, Emeryville, CA

c

Colin McIntyre, Ann Arbor, MI

c

Ann Huang, Seattle , WA

c

Josh Seamon , St. Johnsbury, VT

c

Mike Payne, Oakland, CA

c

___________________________________

c

___________________________________

c

___________________________________

Northeast Candidates (Only USAU members from the Northeast Region may vote for one only) c

Mandy Eckhoff, Quincy, MA

c

Jeremy McNamara, Albany, NY

c

___________________________________

Election rules: Each member in good standing may only vote once, electronically or via mail. If you vote online, you may update your ballot up until 5:00pm MT, November 3. If both an electronic and paper ballot are received from the same voter, only the electronic ballot will be counted.

Name: _______________________________ USAU ID or last 4 digits of SSN: _________ City/State: ____________________________ You must provide the information above so we can verify your membership status and ensure your vote is entered only once.

Mail to:

USA Ultimate, 4730 Table-Mesa Dr. Ste I-200C Boulder, CO 80305

Must be postmarked by November 3

WWW.USAULTIMATE.ORG

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Ph i lly Fusi o n I ns p i r e s Wi thout Li mi t s By: Michelle Ng and Sara Jacobi

In March of 2010, Michelle Ng, captain of Texas Showdown, approached Sara Jacobi from Boston Brute Squad, with an idea to defray some of their teams’ costs from competing at the 2010 WFDF World Club Championships in Prague: run a women’s club tournament in the fall. Little did they realize, it would turn into much more than just a fundraising idea. Michelle and Sara share the story behind Without Limits, a movement designed to empower women’s Ultimate players to build up the women’s Ultimate community and create more quality playing and learning opportunities.

“Never in my four years of college Ultimate have I seen so many women’s teams together at one time. This awesome tournament gave both our new and veteran players the chance to learn from women’s club players and served as a huge inspiration to my team.”

- Meredith Schuessler, Bucknell captain It only took us a couple of months to realize that we could turn the Philly Fusion into something really unique and special. From our experiences with women’s Ultimate at both the college and club levels, we knew that both the college and club divisions stood to benefit from a closer relationship, and we saw this tournament as an opportunity to share our vision with other teams. We decided to bring together some of the best club teams in North America in an elite club division, the top local and regional teams in a regular club division, and college teams from all over the Midwest and East Coast in a college division.

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It was important to us to have all divisions at the same tournament.

College teams stand to benefit from having club players serve as coaches, mentors, or role models, and even from just watching club players play – noticing how confidently they cut, catch and throw; the way club teams use spacing on the field; and the way they move the disc quickly. On the flip side, club teams can see huge benefits through recruitment of the top college talent in their area and by making college players see that the potential for playing on a club team is a possibility. Club teams can also benefit from building a fan base of college players who will cheer them on, come to their fundraiser events, and generate interest in the sport. By building relationships between the two divisions, we hope to encourage the overall development of Ultimate.

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

With this vision in mind, we created Without Limits, an initiative promoting women’s Ultimate through tournaments, skills clinics, resource manuals and opportunities for interaction between female ultimate players of all ages and skill levels. Michelle had already run several tournaments designed to encompass these goals, such as Midwest Throwdown and Women’s College Centex, but we wanted to formalize our vision for the women’s division in order to garner the support of more players and teams.

Our goal for Philly Fusion was to allow teams to play meaningful, competitive games, while also allowing for as much interaction as possible between teams and divisions who might not normally interact. We envisioned rookies coming to their first tournament and having the opportunity to watch greats like Vivian Zayas (Brute Squad) and Cara Crouch (Showdown) play, then learn from them at a skills clinic at the end of the day. We felt this would not only inspire the next generation of college players, but also challenge club players to realize how big of an impact they can have in their local Ultimate communities. Brute Squad has a long history of involvement in the Boston Ultimate community, and this season, Showdown has worked hard on developing a closer relationship with their local college teams and local Ultimate communities. (continued on pg 38)

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37

Ph i lly ( c o nt i nu e d ) In order to encourage interaction between the various teams at Fusion, we did a number of things. First, we specifically sought out a field site in Lancaster County, PA that could accommodate everyone.

Finding a location that could accommodate 40 teams was no easy feat, but allowing everyone to play at the same field site meant that it was very easy for players to walk a few fields over to watch games in another division. Secondly, we asked all of the elite club teams to write bios before the tournament and we highlighted specific “games to watch” each round to build some excitement about the weekend and to give younger players and teams some guidance about which games might be exciting to check out. We also organized a trade show and a skills clinic Saturday afternoon in order to create opportunities for interaction, allow local club teams to recruit, and build a sense of camaraderie between players.

of different skills, from cutting to throwing for distance to breaking the mark. In total, we were able to offer 16 stations and each player had the opportunity to sign up for two sessions. Close to 350 players attended the clinic. It was incredible to watch some of the best club players in the game breaking things down for the college players and building up their confidence and skill sets.

Our hope is that everyone involved with Philly Fusion will bring what they learned back to their respective teams and Ultimate communities, and that this will create momentum for an even bigger movement. Imagine the impact that we can make collectively, even if ten teams in the club division work together to build more opportunities. We appreciate all of the people who helped make this event happen, especially Greg Connelly, Carly Maconaghy, and our friends on Phoenix. Please check out our website (http:// withoutlimitsultimate.wordpress.com) and let us know if you would like to get more involved!

At the trade show, club teams set up games to allow college players to compete for prizes, sold merchandise and handed out small freebies like stickers and candy. Hundreds of college women milled around checking out the various tables, talking to each other, and just generally hanging out and having a good time. It was awesome to see players from different teams interacting, and the next morning, many college players were sporting gear from their new favorite club teams and had water bottles plastered with new stickers.

Immediately after the trade show, we hosted a skills clinic where players from Showdown, Brute Squad, and Phoenix taught a variety

” QA

“

AND

with WJUC Team USA members Maddie Roorbach and Matt Barnes (continued from pg 5)

and it was hard to believe/accept that we weren’t going to have the opportunity; that our ride was up, essentially. It wasn’t, though.

We still had the bronze medal game. This is where the relentless positivity comes in. Even though we weren’t playing in the stadium for gold, and even though we’d all basically spent the remainder of the day in a state of disbelief and sadness, when we cleated for the game against Australia, it was like a switch was flipped. Every person stepped onto the field ready to play, completely invested. No one sulked; every single person handled the situation with maturity very rarely present across the board. We were relentless. And we played the bronze medal game like it was the gold medal game. I’m still so impressed by the determination and grace displayed.

Q: What was it like travelling with such a big entourage of parents, players and coaches?

USA

MB: Shout out to Meredith, she had everything under control so that we only had to focus on playing. Another huge shout out to our team doctor Jamie Nuwer who helped us all to stay healthy and made sure we could play our best. The parents were amazing the entire time. It was great to have such support at the fields, bringing us snacks, drinks, and supporting us at every game. It was also huge to have the girls team at our games when they weren’t playing. It was a lot of fun to support them and then have them supporting us as well. It was really great to have so much support on the sidelines.

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Michelle Ng (left) and Sara Jacobi (right) thank the participants of Philly Fusion for making it a success.

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

MR: Like I said, our team (coaches included) bonded with a strength I’m still surprised by. The parents were an integral part of the experience and were our biggest fans. It was fun traveling with the group; people would stop us and ask us what we were doing, especially in the airport in Boston. Telling a stranger you’re leaving that night to represent the USA in an international sports arena is a heady conversation.

Q: What was the highlight of the whole experience for you?

MB: The overall highlight has to be the opportunity to meet, play, and hangout with so many of the best players from around the country and around the world. It was a real privilege to represent the United States of America and USA Ultimate and I know I speak for the whole team when I say that every time we put on the jersey, we worked as hard as we could to represent the country well.

MR: I hope this doesn’t sound passé, but the highlight of the trip for me was meeting the incredible people I spent two weeks with.

I was a little disenchanted with Ultimate when I arrived at training camp, and I was considering taking a year off. As I got to know the girls and the coaches, and as we started coming together as a team and caring for each other, it was hard to imagine my life without Ultimate. Every person on the team reminded me, in their own way, why I play the game.

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I N J U R Y BY: Dr. Jamie Nuwer, MD, MSIII Illustrated by: Sierra Simmons Photographs by: Anna Nazarov

T I M E O U T

Pain Around the Kneecap

Pain around the kneecap (patella) area is the most common Type of knee pain experienced by both athletes and non-athletes. Pain around the kneecap can also be felt as pain in the front of the knee (anterior knee pain). This article will focus on the most common cause of pain around the kneecap called Patellofemoral Syndrome (PFS).

FIGURE 1 Basic Knee Anatomy

PHOTO 1 Pain around the kneecap (patella) area is the most common type of knee pain experienced by both athletes and non-athletes.

Pain around the kneecap can also be felt as pain in the front of the knee (anterior knee pain). This article will focus on the most common cause of pain around the kneecap called Patellofemoral Syndrome (PFS). Other names for PFS include “anterior knee pain” and “patella tracking disorder”. The article will review the symptoms, causes, treatment, and rehabilitation of PFS. Untreated PFS can lead to arthritis, a permanent joint pain condition. This column is not meant to replace medical evaluation for your health problems. Always seek medical help for worrisome or persistent symptoms.

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USA

Patellofemoral Syndrome often starts as a nagging pain around the kneecap that slowly gets worse over time or just never goes away. Many athletes do not remember any injury to the knee. Other times the pain will start after an injury that bangs the front

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

of the knee against the ground or another object. The pain experienced can range from mild to severe and should be treated as soon as possible to avoid worsening of the pain. Often the pain will be worse when the athlete first stands after sitting a long time. The athlete may also notice pain with deep lunges, squats, or jumping exercises.

Leg extension exercises in the gym will also make the pain worse.

Though pain is usually the only symptom of PFS, some athletes feel or hear their knee crunching, grinding, or clicking. Occasionally athletes may even feel a sense of instability due to pain. Symptoms that are not experienced in PFS include swelling, locking, or inability to walk normally. Always see a doctor if you experience any of these symptoms.

The root cause of PFS is an irritation of the joint between the femur and the kneecap (see Figure 1). An injury where the kneecap is jammed against the femur can cause inflammation, bone bruising, or even small

tears in the joint lining that allows the kneecap to move smoothly. Usually an acute injury like this will slowly get better with rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory medicine.

However sometimes it lingers and becomes a chronic problem. PFS can also come on gradually if the kneecap is not perfectly aligned with its joint groove in the femur.

People who are “knock-kneed” are particularly susceptible to developing PFS because the kneecap does not move perfectly up and down in the joint. Instead the kneecap moves in the shape of a “J” which rubs the kneecap and femur bones together as the kneecap comes out of the joint groove at the end of the “J”.

Acutely, PFS should be treated with rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory medicine regularly for a week. If the pain persists, the athlete should start rehabilitation and modified training techniques. Untreated PFS can lead to arthritis, a non-reversible cause of knee pain.

at the hip/pelvis. The lower back should remain straight as you bend forward; there is no need to touch your toes by arching your back (this may injure your lower back). You can strengthen the hamstring with leg curls as well as squats, lunges, leg press, etc.

Photo 5 (below): A simple hip stability exercise. You can make this exercise harder by adding an ankle weight or therapy band.

Another hip exercise is lying on your side and raising your leg up sideways. You can also simply step up and down on a step sideways with one leg. Bend your planted knee slightly during all these exercises and try not to let it wobble.

PHOTO 2 There are five main goals of rehabilitation for PFS: 1. Stretch the iliotibial (IT) band

PHOTO 3

so extend your leg completely straight, turn your toes outward as much as you can and hold for 20-30 seconds.

2. Strengthen a particular part of the quadriceps (quad) called the vastus medialis oblique (VMO)

Photo 1: IT band stretching with a foam roller. Roll slowly across your IT band (from hip to knee)

3. Stretch the quad

Photo 2: VMO muscle. You can specifically

4. Stretch and strengthen the hamstring, and

focus on working the VMO portion of your quad by turning your toes outward during quad exercises (squats, lunges, leg press, leg extension, etc.)

5. Strengthen the hip stabilizing muscles (see Photos 1-5) Modified training techniques are designed to take pressure off the kneecap joint. When doing squats, lunges, and jumping never bend the knee more than 90 degrees. When initially getting back to these exercises, don’t bend the knee more than 30 degrees (“short arc” exercises). When 30 degrees is pain free then you can start bending deeper and slowly increase the bend every week until you get to 90. If you get to a painful bend point, stop and decrease the angle again.

Some people with PFS will never be able to tolerate 90 degrees; staying where you are pain-free is your goal for your training regimen. Many sports medicine physicians recommend stopping leg extension exercises completely for patients for PFS. Instead, substitute with leg press and squats. If you feel that you must do leg extensions then do extension in a short arc from 90 to 60 degrees. Beyond 60 degrees a force equal to about seven times the weight you are lifting is exerted on the kneecap joint. You can however use the leg extension machine to specifically strengthen the VMO. To do

Photo 3: Quad stretch. Push your hip forward and pull your heel up.

Photo 4 (above): Hamstring stretch.

The athlete is stretching the back leg in this photo. To increase the stretch, bend forward PHOTO 4

References: • Garrick and Webb. Sports Injuries, 1999 • Rouzier, Pierre. Patient Advisor, 2004 • Myer GD, Ford KR, Hewett TE. Rationale and Clinical Techniques for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Prevention Among Female Athletes. J Athletic Training. 2004; 39(4): 352-364 • Mandelbaum BR, Silvers HJ, Watanabe DS, et al Effectiveness of a Neuromuscular and Proprioceptive Training Program in Preventing Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in Female Athlete. Am J Sports Med. 2005; 33: 1003-1010 Special thanks to Elmo Agatep MD, Ariel Dowling MS/PhD candidate, and Anna Nazarov for their editing comments.

For more information about knee pain and other sports medicine topics, go to injurytimeout.org to review prior articles and other multimedia.

PHOTO 5

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A B O V E

T H E

C O M P E T I T I O N

BY: Tim Morrill, NSCA-CSCS, ACSM-HFS, USA-W

Building The Foundation Strength to Power: The Power Clean: Part three of a four-part series that teaches how strength and conditioning can improve your Ultimate game.

In Part One and Two of this four-part series presented some essential movements to develop foundational strength; the back squat, the front squat, and the dead lift. Proper execution of these movements will improve your overall strength, mobility and also aid in injury prevention. Ultimate, however, is an extremely fast and ballistic sport. Therefore, as Ultimate players, we need more than just strength; we need to be explosive! We need to be able to call upon our strength base to perform athletic movements in a rapid and explosive manner.

Effective methods of developing explosiveness include sprint training, plyometrics and Olympic Weightlifting (Chu, 1996). In this article I will discuss the Power Clean (and the Clean Pull). These movements allow us to rapidly and forcefully overload the triple extension movement; extension at the ankles, knees, and hips. Triple extension is seen commonly in Ultimate, each time we run, jump, and lay out.

In figures 4 a/b you can see the biomechanical similarities between the “sky” in Ultimate and the second pull of the power clean.

• Position the body with the:

A plethora of studies have found a correlation between training with the Olympic lifts and vertical jump performance (Janz, 2008). Though we have only discussed the power clean I encourage you to learn the other Olympic style lifts (i.e. Snatch, Power Snatch, Muscle Snatch, Hang Snatch, Split Jerk, and, Power Jerk). Ultimate is unique in that players careers tend to be long. Make it a goal to learn a new lift each off-season. Each season you will become a better lifter and athlete. Look forward to the winter issue where we will discuss some concepts in designing a quality training program.

First Pull (figure 2-3)

-Back flat -Chest held up and out -Head in line with the vertebral column -Shoulders slightly in front of the bar -Eyes straight ahead

• Lift the bar off the floor by forcefully extending the hips and knees • The hips should rise at the same time as the shoulders • Maintain a flat-back position • Keep the elbows fully extended and the shoulders over or slightly ahead of the bar Second Pull (figure 3-4a) • As the bar rises just above the knees, thrust the hips forward

POWER CLEAN (NSCA, 2008): Note: the term “power” in this situation, refers to the quarter to half squat position in which the bar is caught. A “clean” would entail catching the bar in the full knee flexed bottom position of the front squat.

Starting Position (figure 1) • Feet should be placed between hip- and shoulder-width apart with toes pointed slightly outward

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• Squat down with the hips lower than the shoulders and grasp the bar with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, outside of the knees, with the elbows fully extended

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

• Forcefully jump upward by quickly extending the hips and knees and plantar flexing the ankles • Keep the bar as close to the body as possible • Keep the shoulders over the bar and the elbows extended as long as possible • When the lower body joints reach full extension, rapidly shrug the shoulders upward with the elbows still fully extended • As the shoulders reach their highest elevation, flex the elbows to begin pulling the body under the bar • Due to the explosive nature of this phase, the torso is erect or slightly hyperextended, the head is tilted slightly back, and the feet may lose contact with the floor.

Brandon Baker

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4a

Figure 4b

Putting it Together The Clean Pull (figures 1 – 4)

• Think of the second pull as a vertical jump. Use forceful hip extension to move the bar.

• The combined efforts of the first pull, scoop, and, second pull are known as the clean pull. Simply pull the bar from the floor (first pull) then violently bring your hips through, shrug your shoulders and rise to the toes. Lower the barbell to the floor and repeat. The clean pull is extremely useful as an exercise by itself because it does not require quite as much technique yet you still accomplish explosive triple extension. Adding the catch is an optional fifth movement to make it the Power Clean.

• Contact with the hips is OK. This means you are getting fully extended at the hips.

• “Stick” the catch. Catch in the quarter-squat and emphasize getting the wrists parallel to the floor. Pause in this position, gain control and balance before standing up. Note: when weight gets higher it may be easier to catch in a full knee flexed position (Front Squat Discussed in issue # 2) this would be known as a Clean.

• BE EXPLOSIVE!!! The quicker you can apply the force to overcome the inertia of the weight, the faster you will become.

• Notice, the power clean is essentially a dead lift, followed by a clean pull and caught in the front squat position. Spending time developing strength using the front squat and dead lift (as discussed in issue 2) will allow for better execution of the clean.

Complete the Power Clean – the Catch: (figure 5) • Catch the bar in the power position (one half squat). To make this movement a full Clean, simply catch in the full knee flexed position of the front squat (as discussed in issue # 2).

Brandon Baker

• At the start of the lift take a big breath and set your back. Never pull with a rounded back.

Figure 5

• When begining to learn the power clean, use an empty barbell (as shown). Consult with strength and conditioning professional for technique advice. Once proper technique is achieved, the bar can begin to be loaded.

Tim Morrill is a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) who has worked with youth, collegiate and professional athletes through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), High Intensity Training (HIT), 365 Performance, and NCAA Divisions I and III. He has played Ultimate at the college, club and summer league levels around the country.

• Rise steadily in the first pull then violently accelerate through the second pull.

Reference: Baechle, T. R., Earle, R. W., (2008). Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. (3 rd ed.), (pp. 359) (pp. 352-353) Human Kinetics.

• Keep the bar close to the body throughout the lift.

Chu, Donald A. (1996). Explosive Strength and Power. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. (pp. 7 & 56)

• Make sure to shrug the shoulders as your reach full triple extension.

Janz, J., Dietz, C., & Malone M. (2008). Training Explosiveness: Weightlifting and Beyond. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 30 (6), 14.

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U S A Dates, Locations Announced for 2011 Championships USA Ultimate recently announced the dates, locations and host organizers for several 2011 championship events. Mark your calendars accordingly!

2011 USA Ultimate High School Western Championships Crystal Lake Sports Complex Corvallis, Ore. May 14-15 Hosted by: Northwest Ultimate Disc Association (DiscNW) 2011 USA Ultimate High School Eastern Championships Brandywine Polo Club Kennett Square, Pa. May 21-22 Hosted by: Philadelphia Area Disc Alliance 2011 USA Ultimate College Championships Pleasant View Sports Complex Boulder, Colo.

May 27-30 Hosted by: Grass Roots Ultimate

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advocates and experts will lead the effort and advise USA Ultimate throughout the decisionmaking process and the implementation of new initiatives. On the immediate agenda, short-term goals include establishing selection criteria for the 2011 Beach Ultimate World Championships, providing information and support to league and event organizers, and giving recommendations to the USA Ultimate Board of Directors regarding rules and marketing strategies.

USA Ultimate Announces Several College Updates Over the course of the last several weeks, USA Ultimate announced many updates and changes related to the 2011 college season, including eligibility rules, uniform requirements, rules and officiating updates, and competitive restructuring. Check out usaultimate.org for complete details, including a comprehensive look at details surrounding boundary redraws and bid allocations, and much more!

Early Registration for the 2011 USA Ultimate Organizers Convention Open Through Nov. 30

USA Ultimate Creates Beach Division

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Become a Part of USA Ultimate USA Ultimate currently has several jobs and volunteer positions available. If you are interested in becoming a part of our team, visit usaultimate.org to learn more about these opportunities. We are currently hiring a Competition & Athlete Programs Manager, as well as an Education and Youth Programs Manager/Coordinator(s). Interested and qualified individuals should review the application procedures online and submit their materials by Oct. 31. Several volunteer positions are also available. Join our team today!

Five Ultimate Named Official Merchandiser for 2010 USA Ultimate Club Championships USA Ultimate is proud to announce that Five Ultimate will be the official merchandiser of the 2010 USA Ultimate Club Championships, Oct. 28 - Nov. 1 in Sarasota, Fla. This season marks the first time that Five Ultimate will be the official merchandiser for this event. As official merchandiser, Five Ultimate will design and produce a full line of exciting, top-quality gear for participants and fans attending the event.

They will also provide their customary athlete hospitality area, providing entertainment and a positive event experience to all. If you’re in Sarasota during the championships, make sure you drop by the Five Ultimate display and check it out!

College Team Start-Up Kits Available

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In September, USA Ultimate announced the creation of a Beach Ultimate division and committee to organize, promote and administer the discipline of Beach Ultimate in the U.S. Recent passage of a proposal to create an official Beach Ultimate World Championships at last summer’s World Congress of the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) called for the identification of a sole entity as the official representative of Beach Ultimate for each country. Upon passage of the proposal, WFDF recognized current national associations as the governing entities for Beach Ultimate and encouraged them to embrace and support this new endeavor. As a result, USA Ultimate will immediately engage in the creation of beach-specific programming. A committee chaired by long-time beach organizer David Hammond and comprised of Beach Ultimate

ULTIMATE « FALL 2010

As Washington, D.C. gets set to host the 2011 USA Ultimate National Organizers Convention, a special early registration period remains open to attendees through Nov. 30. Scheduled for Feb. 26-27 in the nation’s capitol, the convention provides opportunities for various team, league and event organizers to communicate and share best practices with other participants and USA Ultimate representatives. It’s a great networking event and a valuable resource to many throughout the Ultimate community.

Gain insight from your peers, interact with colleagues from around the country, discuss topics of interest in open forums or listen in to a keynote speaker’s address.

The convention is open to both USA Ultimate members and non-members alike, however members are eligible to receive a special discounted rate. All attendees can receive an early discount if registered by Nov. 30. Come join us in Washington!

Questions? Contact us at nationalconvention@usaultimate.org

Interested in organizing a team at your college or university? Perhaps you already have a squad but are in need of some extra support.

USA Ultimate has everything you need with its College Team Start-Up Kit! This kit is designed to give your program all of the resources and materials you need for a strong start to the upcoming season, including: · Discraft 175g Ultra-Start Sportdiscs · Cones · Pocket-Sized USA Ultimate Rulebooks · Full-Color Posters · Skills & Drills Manual · Instructional Manual · Ultimate 101 Instructional DVD · Ultimate Fitness DVD · USA Ultimate College Championship DVD Order your kit today at usaultimate.org and take advantage of special rebate offers for qualifying teams.

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