Thursday, November 29, 2007

Team Canada Tryout Info

Nation,

I was asked to post this. It's directly from the CUPA site.


Team Canada 2008

The 2008 World Ultimate & Guts Championships are set to take place from August 2-9, 2008 in Vancouver, B.C. Canada will be sending a team to participate in each of the 6 divisions: Open, Women's, Mixed, Masters, Junior Open & Junior Women's. The core of each national team (except for the junior's division) will be the 2007 CUC champion for the respective division. Each team will be selecting additional players from across the country to add to their roster. Below is application information for each of the national teams.

Open Division: 2007 Champion Furious George

Furious George has now begun the process of selecting the team that will compete for gold in the Open division at next year's World Championships in Vancouver. If you are interested in playing on the team and you feel that you can be an important contributor then we would like you to apply as soon as possible and no later than Dec 31, 2007. You would be expected to travel to at least two tournaments on the west coast. Please send an email to furious@canadianultimate.com , telling us your:
  • Strengths as a player (what are you going to contribute to the team)
  • Experience (who you've played for and how long, please no mention of city league teams)
  • References (who can speak to your abilities and attitudes)
  • Age
  • Height
  • Commitment level/availability
  • Contact info

Mixed Division: 2007 Champion TFP

The application for the 2008 Mixed team is now available online. The deadline to apply is December 1st, 2007. 2007 Mixed Team Application

Masters Division: 2007 Champion Tombstone.

Tombstone, a Toronto masters team, was fortunate enough to win the Canadian bid to worlds which will be held August 3-9, 2008 in Vancouver, B.C.
We are seeking interested players from across Canada to join a core of Tombstone players at Worlds 2008. The main criteria for selection will be past "big game" experience and athletic ability. The qualification for the Masters division at Worlds 2008 is that a player must be at least 33 years of age by December 31, 2008.
Interested candidates should submit an email to list@turnerlist.com with a brief playing history, including teams to which the player has belonged and the tournament results of those teams. The email should also include a physical description (height, weight) and a general description of the role the player feels he could fill as well as a description of the players "Ultimate assets".
Interested candidates must submit a resume on or before December 1, 2008 in order to be considered for a spot on the Canadian Masters 2008 worlds team.
We look forward to hearing from you,
Selection Committee - The Canadian Masters 2008 Team

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Ultimate- Team Game or Game of Stars

Nation,

A quick discussion and poll question on an aspect of team composition in ultimate. First, let me give you a non-ultimate example:

It's the summer of 2007. The Boston Celtics, a once great franchise, are coming off a season where they compiled the second worst record in the NBA (24-58). A once great franchise is in trouble, leading the Celtics make two major trades to acquire future Hall of Famers Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. They trade almost their entire roster along with future draft picks to nab these two players. Pre season critics point out the fact that despite Boston now having the best 1-2-3 (Garnett, Pierce, and Allen) punch in the league, the big 3 have almost no one to play with. The Celtic management clearly went for a high risk/high reward rebuilding option. (For analysis of Kevin Garnett and his departure effect on his old team, see here)


So far, this high risk strategy has worked. Boston has started the season 11-2, lead by the approx. 60 pts/game these three players score. The Celtics have much less depth than last year, but attributing more salary to the top of the depth chart has produced much better start.

Can we say putting all of your salary cap money at the top of your depth chart lead to more success in the NBA? No, because there are very few Garnetts, Pierces and Allens out there. However, this example has lead me to ask the question:

Does an Ultimate team with several elite players outperform teams with greater depth?

If these hypothetical teams squared off 10 times, how many times would each team win? Ultimate doesn't have a salary cap, has more players on the field and is a different game. However, is it a game where one or several players can control the game, or does the team with greater depth/ overall talent have an edge?

My opinion is this:
  • I think that Ultimate is more like basketball than football. I think one or several elite players can make a difference
  • I think that it is on offence that these elite players can make the greatest significant difference
  • I think on defence, depth based teams will most likely enjoy an advantage.
  • I think a team that relies on a few elite players only succeeds when the stars complement each other. (E.g. Three great handlers versus Great Handler, Great Cutter, Great Striker)
  • I think when you can combine greater depth with greater elite talent, you get the New England Patriots of 2007. You also get Furious of the past decade in Canada, and so on.
Let me know what you think.