United States Ultimate
ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY TUSHAR SINGH
This year seven Canadian teams trav-
eled to Sarasota to participate in the USA Ultimate Club Championships.
MIXED ONYX and RIP joined forces to form
Snowbirds and earned their first bid to Sarasota. They started in a tough pool D featuring defending WUCC Champions Chad Larson Experience (CLX) as well as fourth seed Drag’n Thurst. The Snowbirds played the two top seeds tight, but the heat took its toll and they lost both of their opening games. Needing a win to main- tain a shot at the top eight, The Snowbirds defeated Conspiracy Theory and advanced to Friday with their dreams still intact. On Friday morning Snowbirds defeated Dirty Birds 15-11, which pinned them against LA Metro to determine who would advance to the recovery/crossover game. With the game tied at 14, LA Metro managed to squeak out the win. Snowbirds went on to beat wHagenweel and then exacted revenge on LA Metro defeating them 12- 11. This combined force of ONYX and RIP finished a respectable 9th.
OPEN This year, Furious George returned to
Sarasota after a two-year hiatus and drew huge crowds to their sidelines. Of particu- lar interest was the addition of Japanese superstar, Masahiro Matsuno of the Buzz Bullets. Matsuno led the Buzz Bullets to a Bronze at WUCC 2010 as well as lead- ing the tournament in points. While there
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Club CHAMPIONSHIPS
was a communication barrier with plays be- ing explained as they prepared to receive pulls he performed brilliantly and contrib- uted in every point he played. Thursday was an interesting day for the Monkey as they defeated both Truck Stop and Streetgang but lost to Chain Lightning. In the last
game of the day, Chain lost to Truck Stop, which led to a three-way tie for first. The tiebreaker sent Chain and Furious into the Power Pools. Friday morning featured one of the most exciting games of the tourna- ment where Revolver (WUCC Champions) faced off against Furious. Neck and neck throughout, both teams converted huge blocks for points. Furious played hard but Revolver outlasted them, and finished strong winning 15-12. The heartbreak- ing loss was tough on Furious. It seemed they had expended all their energy in their tight game with Revolver. A loss to South- paw (15-10) followed by 15-12 loss to Ring of Fire sent Furious to the bottom eight. Furious George, returning for the first time since 2007, finished 12th which bodes well for the future. While the older play- ers question their future, the youth have shown that they’re ready to play with the best.
MASTERS In the ever-volatile Masters division,
FIGJAM (West) and GLUM (East) provided Canadian supporters plenty to cheer about. The CUC finalists faced each other on a hot and muggy Thursday afternoon in Florida. GLUM pulled away at the start and never looked back cruising to a 15-5 victory. It didn’t get any better for FJ as they lost on universe to Chesapeaked followed by a loss to Surly. Seeded 7th going into the playoffs, FIGJAM lost to Boneyard. Gathering themselves after a relatively sober night, they defeated the legendary DoG, 13-10, followed by the
Beyonders, 15-12, to take fifth place and the Spirit Award. GLUM, meanwhile, were 4-1 going into pool play after having lost only to Surly. They entered the Champion- ship bracket against DoG, winning 15-11 and faced Boneyard in the semis. Playing an athletic squad GLUM trailed 14-10 and were moments from elimination when they went into overdrive. GLUM scored on O and then broke three points in a row to tie the game at fourteens. Boneyard retook the lead 15-14 after which GLUM scored and broke to take the lead 16-15. Boneyard played their offensive point out and both teams sent out star lines for the universe point. GLUM easily moved the disc for the first few throws but a heartbreaking drop gave Boneyard the disc. Only after a dozen closely contested passes was Boneyard able to thread a blade into the end zone for the win. GLUM suited up immediately for their Bronze match against Real Huck. GLUM won 15-8, securing the Bronze medal and celebrated in true fashion over the next two days.
WOMEN’S
The Women’s division boasted the larg- est contingent of Canadian teams with Storm, Traffic, and Capitals. The Canadian champions, Storm, came in seeded 15th and were immediately in for some tough games. After a rough Thursday, Storm played well and suffered a tight 15-12 loss to Safari. After a close game against Pop on Saturday morning, Storm had one last chance for a win in a rematch with Safari. The feisty Storm ladies pulled it out 10-9 and finished on a high note. With plenty of talent from former juniors
players and helmed by a few seasoned veterans it was a good tournament for Traffic. The finished Thursday with a 2-1 record. In the power pool, they dispatched Molly Brown, 15-3, but lost 15-6 to Riot. Meanwhile the Capitals cruised through their games against Bent and Safari be- fore facing a tough Scandal team who they only managed to beat 16-14. In the power pool Capitals lost to Fury 15-7 and defeated Nemesis 15-10 to guarantee a spot in the top eight. With the win they
Ultimate Canada Magazine —
www.canadianultimate.com
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