UKU MT2 Preview:

Can anyone topple Bear Cavalry?

Smatt: Whilst I have a bit of personal bias from playing for Bear Cavalry, Mixed Tour 1 was fairly straightforward for us. Our closest game in terms of the score was the semi final against Cambridge Black. I fully expect Cambridge to once again be our toughest opposition, especially as they are combining their teams. They had two strong teams at MT1 and had some good results. Black lost to Black Eagles in pool play and Bear Cavalry in the semi but would finish in 3rd place, and White only lost to Cambridge Black in the quarter, going undefeated on Sunday to finish in 5th. Of all the teams in attendance, I think Cambridge have the best shot to steal a result from the Bears.

Matt: Yes. Cambridge will unite to create a stronger team and as we saw in the semi, if half their team can take 11 off Bears then their whole team definitely stand a chance of winning.  If Bristol Mixed weren't losing a lot of their Nice Bristols girls then they'd be a threat but I don't think they'll be able to compete this weekend. Thundering Herd will have confidence after their surprising final appearance but Bears have probably sussed out their main threats. RGS are still a new team and didn't have a full training session last weekend so I can't see them taking down Bears just yet.

Herd Mauled by Bears in Sunny Cardiff - Mixed Tour 1 Report

Matt Dathan reports on Mixed Tour 1 in sun-soaked Cardiff

Bear Cavalry took Thundering Herd to the slaughter to draw first blood in this season’s mixed tour. 

On yet another sunny day on the fields of Cardiff, Herd went into the final still milking their fine 13-10 semi-final victory over Bristol, but their performance was less than legendairy. It all looked to be going well for the Londoners in the first half as they kept up with the Bears, trailing by just one point at half.

Theo Tizard (Bear Cavalry) gets high over the Herd.

Former Bears handler Cian Ó Móráin was a constant thorn in their side and was opening up too many breaks for their liking. But tactics maestro Dave Tyler put his thinking hat on at half time and pulled out a masterstroke to contain the Irish playmaker, stifling his leftie throws.

World Games Special: Roundup and Predictions

World Games Special

Hopefully you’ve followed the series and are up-to-date with all the teams competing in Cali, Colombia over the next week. If you missed any of them, you can find the pieces here.

The Opening Ceremony has already happened, and games start on Sunday. This should be a terrific tournament, and rumours are that there'll be large crowds for the Ultimate games.

Thanks to the amazing efforts of the Ultimate community and ulti.tv you will be able to watch all of the games: here! You can find the full schedule here. 
More live streaming links: 
http://core.enetres.net/CoreV1/Share/DEE56DFCB3E64BCC88376576A57D5481028?rnd=%27+Math.random%28%29

http://www.senalcolombia.tv/juegosmundiales2013/ 
(Click on senal en vivo ^^)

VOD at bottom of here.

GB’s games are:

vs Canada - Sunday, July 28th - 4pm,

vs Colombia - Sunday, July 28th - 10:10pm,

vs Japan - Monday, July 29th - 2:30pm,

vs Australia - Tuesday, July 30th - 1:10am,

vs USA - Tuesday, July 30th - 5:30pm,

3v4 – Tuesday, July 30th - 10pm,

1v2 - Wednesday, July 31st - 12am.

Amazing Score Reporting System for Ultimate at World Games 2013

We will have the opportunity to follow the games trough an incredible score reporting interface called WING.

It will give highly detailed stats of each player and team like: game time, time outs, goals, assists, D's, drops, pulls, touches during the game or during the tournament; also a fresh new tool which draws the disc trajectory. Plus player profiles, team roster and much more cool stuff. Here are some sneak peak screenshots:

and here is where you can find it: www.conceptoocho.com/wing

And finally – money where your mouth is time!

Finally, it feels like other countries are catching up to the traditional giants of ultimate, Canada and the USA. When only the top 13 players are selected from each nation, that effect is only magnified. For the first time, it feels like anyone can beat anyone – and that should make for a thoroughly exciting competition.

My predicted final standings for the tournament are

1. USA

2. Canada

3. Great Britain

4. Australia

5./6. Japan/Colombia (there is no placement game for these positions).

DP’s predictions (so hard to make these but here goes, prove me wrong please!) are

1. USA

2. Japan

3. Canada

4. Great Britain

5./6. Australia Columbia

What are yours? Comment below.

World Games Previews: Colombia

James Burbidge ends his fantastic World Games Previews with the hosts Colombia!

Colombia

The Lineup

Yina Cartagena

Maria Angelica Forero

Yina Mendoza

Elizabeth Mosquera

Laura Ospina

Eliana Rico

Antonio Barrera

Julio Duque

Alexander Ford

Julian Gaviria

Luis Miguel Ibargen

Mauricio Martinez

Santiago Montano

About the Team

Mixed is not a feature of Colombian ultimate, but combine the top players from each of the divisions and they form a fierce mixed team. Youth ultimate is exploding in Colombia, and that is reflected on the team too – several of the players have opted for World Games rather than the u23 competition in Toronto, and most have come through the juniors programme.

Colombia’s women’s teams have been particularly dominant in the last few years (2 golds for the junior team, 4^th at WUGC2012), and their women will be one of their strongest assets in Cali. Yina Cartagena in particular looks like that potent combination of a cutter with big throws. Meanwhile Elizabeth Mosquera has the height to match-up with any team’s deep cutters and Laura Ospina has a nose for the goal.

On the men’s side, Mauricio Martinez controls the Colombian’s offense as one of their more experienced handlers. Luis Miguel Ibargen made a name for himself at Junior Worlds last year and Santiago Montano won MVP of the mixed division at WUGC in Japan. Meanwhile Julio Duque has been playing with Colony in Australia where he made enough plays to merit his own highlight reel.

Coaches and Expected Playing Style

Like Japan the Colombian team is not particularly tall and relies on the speed to generate offense. Expect to see a pair of male handlers getting the disc into the hands of their dominating female cutters who are extremely comfortable breaking the force or hucking it deep. Colombia are an extremely passionate team, and on the defense this translates as an exciting – bid-heavy - man-to-man play. Whilst they have previously been known for having their own interpretations of the rules and spirit of the game, in recent years they won spirit medals at international tournaments.

The team is coached by Andres Polani, a fixture at club team Matanga, and Andres Angel, a player/coach for one of Colombia’s more successful international teams, Euforia.

 

Luis Miguel Ibargen lays out for the disc.

Expected Finishing Place

Whilst the home crowd and lack-of-travel advantage is not to be underestimated, it remains to be seen whether Colombia has what it takes to translate success on the junior level to that at the elite senior level. Whilst I don’t expect them to go necessarily go winless, I also don’t expect them to break into the top 4.

6^th

That's that done but now the playing begins! DP @ tSG.

World Games Previews: Team Canada

James Burbidge covers Team Canada in the fifth instalment of his World Games Previews.

Team Canada

The Lineup

Candice Chan

Caroline Cadotte

Mira Donaldson

Danielle Fortin

Catherine Hui

Anne Mercier (captain)

Andy Collins (captain)

Cam Harris

Morgan Hibbert

Jeff Lindquist

Mark Lloyd

Nick Menzies

Adrian Yearwood

About the Team

For the first time Team Canada’s male component will be made up more of GOAT players than those from Furious George. Adrian Yearwood, Mark Lloyd, Jeff Lindquist and Cam Harris have all been standout players for the Toronto club team in the last few years. However, Morgan Hibbert from Furious George is probably the biggest name on the team, and is accompanied by teammate Nick Menzies and (ex) Furious player Andy Collins (who appears to have retired from Club). You can see most of these players in action here.

The ladies of the team come from three different teams: captain Anne Mercier and Danielle Fortin come from the Toronto-based Capitals; Candice Chan and Mira Donaldson and Catherine Hui from the Vancouver-based Traffic; whilst Caroline Cadotte is the sole representative of Montreal’s Odyssee.

Standout receivers on this team are Morgan Hibbert, Jeff Lindquist and Catherine Hui. Expect Anne Mercier, Danielle Fortin, Adrian Yearwood and Nick Menzies to anchor things at the back.

 

Jeff Lindquist makes an unconventional break throw.

Coaches and Expected Playing Style

Coached by another familiar name of Canadian ultimate – Jeff Cruikshank – expect this team to bring a fierce competitive spirit to the tournament. Whilst this has occasionally spilt over the top in past competitions, no-one can deny that Team Canada brings a gritty defense more than capable of making comeback runs.

Offensively I’d expect them to use their match-ups in one-on-one situations as much as possible, isolating cutters in as much space as possible. With a tall set of male cutters and a speedy set of female ones, they should have a strong deep game – great if it’s working, tough on a small roster if it’s not.

Expected Finishing Place

So far they’ve played the US team twice, and split the results – the first match can be watched here. Canada has a strong team, comprising players who have been consistently exposed to Ultimate at the highest level. That experience should tell in a competition like this, but I don’t see them overcoming the US.

2^nd

World Games starts this Sunday, watch out for viewing links soon and keep supporting our GB teams in Toronto! DP @ tSG.

World Games Preview: Japan

James Burbidge takes a look at Team Japan in the fourth instalment of his World Games series.

Team Japan 

The Lineup

Enzu Eri
Ito Madoka
Namikiri Kaori
Inomata Sanako
Fujikawa Akina
Otsu Keiko

Sameshima Satoru
Matsuno Masahiro
Takahashi Yasuo
Tanaka Mizuho
Kurono Masashi
Shiba Keiichiro
Furuzawa Takanori

About the Team

Matsuno Masahiro is the name that stands out here. Recognized around the world as the best player to have come out of Japan, he was picked 5^th in a mock draft in 2009* and invited to play with Furious George for the US club series in 2010. Against North American competition he is usually the defender to draw the toughest match-up (having guarded Beau in the 2009 World Games, will he do the same this year?), and is usually the spark on offense: he is very speedy and has very quick, big, accurate throws. However, he was mysteriously sidelined for much Japan’s campaign at WUGC 2012 – they (and spectators like myself) will be hoping that problem doesn’t occur again.

The other notable name on the men’s side of the team is Kurono Masashi – he is the only player not to come from the dominant Buzz Bullets team, instead playing the last few years with Sack [edit: apparently he has recently moved to Buzz Bullets]. He lead the Japanese Open team in combined stats at WUGC 2012. Standout handlers for that team, Tanaka Mizuho and Takahashi Yasuo also make the team, and it is worth noting that Tanaka is returning for his second World Games, alongside Sameshima Satoru.

On the women’s side of the team players are drawn from a wider pool, including UNO, MUD and Huck. Returners to the World Games team include. Fujikawa Akina lead the combined stats for the gold-medal winning Japanese team at WUGC 2012, closely followed by Enzu Eri  Both dominated in assists, so expect them to step up as handlers for the team. Inomata Sanako was second in goals at WUGC 2012, she and the and equally speedy Ito Madoka are likely to be key receivers for the team, streaking deep and getting free in the endzone.

 

Enzu Eri catches ahead of USA's Kaela Jorgensen. Picture courtesy of Neil Gardner at nzsnaps.com

Coaches and Expected Playing Style

The distinctive Japanese playing style took the world by storm back in Perth in 2006, and whilst the specifics of it have changed since then, in principal most Japanese teams play the same way. Lead by two Buzz Bullets and a MUD player (part of the 2009 team), I would expect typical Japanese Ultimate from this team.

On offense their small-ball skills are lethal as their handlers break the mark, throw precise lead passes and use give-and-go dumps extremely effectively to get around the defense. Their long game usually relies on putting quite a lot of edge on the throw and being extremely precise – they tend to go around defenders, rather than floating it out for a play to be made. Defensively, this team will probably be one of the few with some extremely well-drilled zones and junky sets in their arsenal. Unlike the cups and walls of yore, these zones will be poachy, floaty and include some man-marking, designed to confuse and frustrate the offense. Traditionally the single-sex Japanses teams have had great success with these zones, but it remains to be seen how effective they will be in an elite Mixed setting.

Expected Finishing Place

Again, a team that could finish anywhere, from 1^st to last. However, I expect the direct style of play other teams will be able to bring (i.e. put it high and jump for it), and the small rosters to play against the Japanese.

5th

*other notable names include Beau at 2^nd, Dylan Tunnell at 12^th and Tom Rogacki at 65^th.

WG coverage Update from ulti.tv: WFDF have just completed the contractual details and it is all looking good, no links to where the coverage will be yet but as soon as we get them we will post them everywhere. But here is the schedule for your timezone. Keep supporting our GB athletes in Toronto playing now and on their way to Cali! DP @ tSG.