What about the Women?

My Canada Games Council coworker, who plays for a certain ladies team based in Toronto and Ottawa, asked me why I haven't done a women's preview. It's simply a matter of time to replicate a similar preview to that of the open pool.

However, I can list the ladies teams, and give some previews on the teams I know or have seen.

Capitals- Ottawa/Toronto

3 losses all season, 2 coming to Fury and one to Riot. Score wise, a close game with Vancouver at Flowerbowl. No Borders and Boston Invite titles this season.

So many great players from both cities to comment on. Just as Ali Lemay returns from injury, reports are Shannon Elliott will miss CUC 2007. Both great throwers.

#5 Anne Mercier is the one to watch. Lead U of O to a University Nationals title, starred at the World Juniors, a regular player in the UPAs in Sarasota at 16.. hopefully she'll play well for a long time.

Traffic- Vancouver

Have not seen them play, but I am sure no one is taking them lightly. With veterans who played on the 2003 National championship team that won a worlds berth, they know how to win. If the Capitals have a weakness, they will attack it.

Storm- Montreal

A strong 5th place showing at the Boston Invite. A much stronger game against the Capitals in Boston than the one at No Borders.

Sonia Krajicek is a well known performer. Alison Fischer and Amy Richardson are great throwers. Marion Van Horne is as great a player as she is an academic. Marion is already a fan favorite, so I don't need to say any more.

Team Alberta- Alberta

No one in the east knows what to expect from Team Alberta, but the expectation is that this will be a tough team, bigger and better than the one present at flowerbowl.





Diggers- Toronto

Toronto team with a mix of quality veterans and athletic newcomers. 10th at Boston. 3rd at No Borders.

Dark horse possibility. Wish I had seen them play more.

Crush- Vancouver

Another Vancouver team, that is seeded 3rd out of the west according to the CUPA site.

Scarlett- Ottawa

Great story here. After a inaugural season in which many players got
great experience and developed through Scarlett, Ottawa's second
team was hurt badly by a surprising number of Stella call ups (Sully Duhaime, Kate Crump, Nancy Symons, etc) and coed defections during year two. It was a VERY tough season, but many new players got nationals exposure and that helps the city.

Year 3 rolls around, and the Ottawa/Toronto merger allows Scarlett to have players otherwise not available to them. Amanada Sage, Carrie Lugg, and Vanessa Lyon are great examples. Justine Price and Deb Murphy are also on board, two of the most experienced players and coaches in Ottawa. As expected, the results and the experience are much better. Scarlett followed up her first top 10 finish at Montreal Jazzfest with a top 10 at No Borders.

Cheryl Wadasinghe and Sam Morris are two of the new players to watch. Cheryl's work ethic for off field workouts is impressive. Morris is tabbed as a natural athlete.

Salty-Halifax

This team is coached by former GLU player Scotty Macdonald. Awesome Guy.

This team has traveled to play top teams all summer, and one hopes this pays off at nationals.





QUB-Quebec City

Every single guy on the circuit reminds me how "great" this team is.

I see a lot of athletes on this team. I wonder how long it will be until this team makes a jump in the standings consistently.

Dice- Barrie?

Cross referencing the CUPA list and the CUC 2007, I guess that Dice may be the team name for Barrie's entry.

If that is the case, I look forward to seeing to former North Bay players- Deb Dugas and Pam Chadbourn leading the cause.

I think Barrie's ultimate program will continue to grow with its rising population. How much bigger can Toronto 'suburbs' reach?

Psycho- North Bay

Don't know them. Lots of great players come from North Bay though. The UWO women's team can attest to that.

Another plug for the annual Northern Flights tourney in North Bay. It rocks.

Amazone- Sherbrooke

Unknown (readers, help me out!)

Update: Sherbrooke insiders tell me this is the 1st Nationals experience for this team. The team will be led by Sherbrooke coed ladies who did not make nationals. The team will be similar to Chikitas (Jazz Fest) team that finsihed 3rd at Montreal Jazzfest. However, a few key women from Jazz will be playing for coed team Gecko during CUC 2007……set expectations accordingly.

Feisty- Toronto

13th at No Borders.

Glow- London

Interesting to see some London participation. GLOW is a new team, lead by some of the ladies who played either for coed team LUCifer or for the Western University team.

One player to watch will be Tanya Jackson. During College UPAs in the spring of 2006, the Western men's team took Ms Jackson with us to compete in open. Given that the fall before was her first taste of ultimate, I can attest that her performance as a solid o-line cutter was awesome. She helped us qualify out of Michigan sectionals, and she'll be a machine at nationals also.

XX- Toronto

Another Toronto team.

UPDATE: Sources say this team is made up of ladies from the coed team Zen Asylum (who did not qualify for nationals) and friends.


Catfish- Ottawa

A local team I don't know. I look forward to seeing the team and what they bring to the field.

UPDATE: According to the Ottawa coed legend Andrew 'Batch':

"I believe Catfish is the BigFish (Ottawa co-ed) women."

If this is the case, will the team be able to sneak Gavin Thompson in for a naked point? It will be interesting to see the ladies of Big Fish (and friends) play.

We're getting so close....

I am really excited about Nationals, as I am sure everyone is.

People are probably wondering about the weather. Based on the current forecast, we're looking at rain Thursday, followed by nothing but sun until finals. The wind is predicted to be at 15KM/Hr during the tourney, max. Mother Nature has decided to' let the boys (and girls) play'.

I'm guessing that due to others posting the blog address on various sites, there is a lot of traffic from people who I don't know. I hope you are enjoying the site.

I (and contributors) have a lot of content ideas post nationals, but we're going to give them justice after the nationals hubbub ceases.

Nationals Open Preview- British Columbia

The Latin Motto for British Columbia is Splendor sine occasu ("Splendour without diminishment").

Vancouver has stood as the standard for ultimate in Canada during this decade. Most notably, the exploits of Furious George have served as the benchmark of other open teams. Ultimate leagues in cities such as Kelowna are growing, and soon these cities will perhaps send teams to Nationals.

This year, Vancouver and the province sends two teams- Furious George and Blackfish.

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Furious George

Years Of Existence: 12 Years

Past Results:
2007: Flowerbowl- 2nd , Solstice- >5th (0-3 in Sat Elite Pool Play)
2006 CUC: Did not compete.

Top Players: Andrew Lugsdin, Jeff Cruickshank, Mike Grant

Players to Watch: Former Goat and Queens star player Adam Melnyk, Oscar Pottinger, Morgan Hibbert

Analysis:
Can we all agree that GOAT winning Flowerbowl (and two games versus Furious) was great for the upcoming nationals? If that doesn't happen, is there really a true rivalry?

Let's give the Monkey their due. 3 UPA titles, a world championship title in 2004, a roster full of great players, and years of dominant play.

Far too many people are offering predictions regarding the CUC final. I will say only what we can be sure of- Furious has every reason to have their full squad at CUC and play to win the tourney.
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Blackfish

Years in Existence: 2
Past Results:
2007: Flowerbowl- 7th (Elite), Solstice- approx. 4th (Elite B)
2006 CUC: 5th

Top Players: Aaron Koenig, Adam Silverstein, Pat Gatien

Players to Watch: Brad Touesnard

Analysis:

This team may serve as the B team in Vancouver, but by no means will they be second rate at Nationals.

The team has a lot of familiar faces to Ontario and Eastern Ultimate. Kierran McConnell (Grand Trunk), Adam Silverstein (Phoenix), Brad Touesnard (Jerk Factory) and Pat Gatien (SeVen) provide skills to the locals on this team.

Word from the team's results in their second season has been positive. Competing in the ultra tough northwest, Blackfish has competed in the big tourneys and will only benefit from doing so.

Silverstein, a national level fencer, provides well know leadership and is able to lead by example. How this team does against Eastern opponents in the first day of the tournament will be exciting to watch.
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Nationals Open Preview- Prairies

Geographically vast. Beautiful wheat fields and rocky mountains. Oil and precious metal rich. Self proclaimed as politically ignored and isolated. This is the Canadian Prairies.

Teams from this region are located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Regina, Saskatchewan, and Calgary, Alberta.



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Invictus- Calgary

Years in Existence: 2nd 'new' year... Before that there was the D&D club and RWBB but the rebirth of Invictus is in it's second year.

Past Results:
2007: Flowerbowl -3rd Solstice- 7th (Estimated)
2006 CUC: Did Not Play

Top Players: Dustin Hong (offense), Jesse Robertson (Defense) & Eric Froese (Overall)

Players to Watch:The Defense...

Analysis:
A Calgary insider has simply said about this team " All out every point on defence.... If "O" can score, they'll be a force. "

Annual team name changes typically indicate internal problems- leadership squabbles, player defection and turnover, and general frustration from results. It now seems that Calgary Open has their sh^t in order, and are ready to assert themselves as more than a legitimate top four squad at Nationals.

Hopes are high in Cowtown, really high. Dustin Hong is a sensational player who is well known across the nation for his play.
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Mangina- Regina

Years in Existence: 4+ years

Past Results
2007: 0-2 Two Losses to General Strike
2006 CUC: Did Not Play

Top Players: Jaime Bishop (Captain)
Players to Watch: The tall Ukrainian kid... oh wait, they all are.

Analysis:
After two solid performances at CUC 2004 and CUC 2005, Mangina returns to nationals after a one year hiatus. Finding information on this team has been difficult. They have attended no major UPA or Canadian tourneys, and only General Strike seems to have had the chance to play them.

This nationals should give the rest of Canada a glimpse of how far Regina ultimate has developed. A Saskatchewan team (by the way, having VC Ultimate misspell Saskatchewan on all tournament apparel was a major embarrassment) did the province proud at university nationals last fall. It's Regina's turn.
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General Strike- Winnipeg

Years in Existence: 4+ years
Past Results:
2007: 6-1 Minneapolis Invite- 3rd
2006 CUC: Did Not Play

Top Players: Kyle Parker, Danny Saunders

Players to Watch: Aaron Dobson, Garrett LeBlanc, Scott Warwaruk

Analysis:

Like many of the other western teams, General Strike returns to Nationals.

Long a city with a dominant coed team at the national level (Chaos represented Canada at the 2004 World Championships), The open program has not shared the same level of success, but definitely competes with the majority of top teams in Canada.

General Strike will look to secure a quarterfinal spot, and will fight with a large majority of teams for final position after the big 2 (or 4).
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Nationals Schedules Are Up- All Divisions.

Please Click on the image to go to the Nationals main web page. All schedules are available.


The Prairie and BC previews will be up tomorrow. Quality time with the fiance must be had.

Nationals Open Preview- Quebec Teams

In the world of Canadian Ultimate, Quebec teams are generally comprised of players with speed, speed, and more speed. It's terribly inaccurate to generalize an entire province, but La Belle Province has a group of teams that fit the athletic reputation this year.

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Mephisto- Montreal

Years of Existence: 12 (12 Nationals)

Past Results
2007: CUT- 7th, Boston Invitational -7th, No Borders 1st
2006 CUC: 2nd (6-2)

Top Players: Mark 'Shaggy' Zimmerl, Jean-Philippe Gérin, Eric St-Amant, Dan Fassina

Player(s) to watch: Pol Latouche

Analysis:
Directly from Dan Fassina, longtime Mephisto leader and Team Canada Masters 2004 member.

"This will be Mephisto's 12th Nationals. Our first Nationals was in Toronto in 1996 so we're coming full circle. We've made it to the quarters all twelve times, the semis seven times and to the finals twice in that stretch."

Mephisto has quietly been a top finisher at Nationals throughout the past decade. They seem to rely heavily of team speed, great chemistry and of course, a great talent base that gets the job done.

Despite losing players such as Chris Keith, Trevor Pound, and Scott Willis, the Mephisto Machine has seen no ill effects this season. Solid performances at CUT and Boston preceded a champion performance at No Borders this season.

Expect this team to be in the Quarters.
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Les Q- Quebec City

Years in Existence: 6 +

Past Results:

2007: Boston Invite- 24th, JazzFest- 5th, No Borders- 12th
2006 CUC - 7th

Team leaders:
Jean-Philippe Champagne (Captain), Eric Dion (Offensive line), Martin Gagnon (Defensive line)

New players to watch:
David Guay, Jean-François Tremblay, Etienne Larivière, Vince Bergeron, Philippe Bélanger-Dorval

Analysis:
The Q comes this year to nationals with lots of new, young, athletic and energetic players. Q lost many offensive starters, this year tournaments result has not been as good as previous results. However, Q's late season results has once again raised expectations. This team exemplifies a fast and quick moving disc team that loves the Handler Iso.

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Magma - Montreal

Years in Existence: 4 + Years

Past Results:
2007: TUF- 3rd, Boston- 21st, Jazz- 15th, No Borders- 5th
2006 CUC: NA

Top Players:
Jean-Levy Champagne, Daniel Champagne, Lorne Beckman

Players to Watch:
Stefan Aebi, Pierre Lavoie, Martin Cloake

Analysis:
Four years ago, Erick St Amant lead this team, and the future looked bright. Last year was a step back for Magma, but they reloaded this year. Like him or not, the addition of Lorne Beckham might have been a huge blessing for the club. A huge presence in Montreal Ultimate, Lorne capatained and guided a coed team (Camelot) to a Nationals title last year.

Looking at the results, it's been an up and down year for Magma. They can't be happy with their result at their home tourney (Jazz) but they were playing their best ultimate at No Borders, just before Nationals.

Perhaps the most difficult team to predict in the tournament. Regardless of finish, Magma is on the rise again.
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Sherbrooke- Sherbrooke

Years of Existance- One

Past Results
2007- None
2006 CUC- Did not attend

Top Players: ?

Players to Watch: ?

Analysis:
This is yet another team that has formed for a run at Nationals, because their province secured extra bids due to 2006 CUC results, and because CUPA expanded the Open tournament by 4 teams.

The team was put together on a first come, first serve basis. They want a chance to play teams like Furious and GOAT, and they'll get a very good lesson.

Sherbrooke is known for having highly spirited teams, so make sure you have some funny cheers when facing them.
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Nationals Open Preview- OntarioTeams

Ontario... Different things to different people throughout this great land.

Here is the preview for all Open teams competing at CUC 2007 from the Ontario region. It features the defending national champion, a perennial top 4 finisher, three feeder teams who are top 10 in the country, and some enigma/unknown teams that are hard to review.


GOAT- Toronto

Years in Existence: 6

Results:
2007: 22-3
2006 CUC Finish: 1st (9-0)

Top Players:
Dave Janssen, Andy Ouchterlony, John Hassell, Colin Green

Players to Watch:
Lowell Heppner, Ian Brooks

Analysis:
GOAT looks to defend their national title, knowing full well that Furious has rsvp'd their intentions to take it away.

Everyone is excited about the Furious-GOAT matchup, as well they should be. GOAT went to Flowerbowl this year and won two games against the Monkey. What does this mean? Nothing, except that we have a legitimate rivalry.

One of the things that impresses me about GOAT has been their ability to acquire new players from both Torontula and Grand Trunk. True player development is a concept lost on many an ultimate player/team.

This is a big year for GOAT.
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Phoenix- Ottawa

Years in Existence: 6

Past results:
2007: 13-7 - 10th at Syracuse, 16th at Boston, 2nd at No Borders

Past nationals results:
2006-4th,
2005- 3rd
2004- 3rd

Top Players:
John Haig, Mike Wronski, Paul Cobb, Luke Phelan, Ian Graham, Simon Teather

Players to Watch:
Kielan Way, Jamie Craig, Paul Sutton

Analysis:
Phoenix enters this year's nationals looking to build on a strong 2nd place finish at No Borders. After losing all but 7 players from the 2006 roster, Phoenix has reloaded with key members of last year's Firebird roster and a number of new faces who impressed at spring tryouts. Dave Brook, who had coached Firebird for the past two seasons, makes his first trip to Nationals as the head coach of Phoenix.

Phoenix stalwart John Haig and Mike Wronski return from last year's team to lead the O line. Look for Hagan Riglin, Wronski and Adam Amos-Binks to handle on O, while John Haig, Kielan Way, Jo Lestage and Derek Hodgson make up the cutters.

The loss of past Phoenix regulars has been a huge plus as a result of improved chemistry and dedication to fitness/intensity. Already, Phoenix has equaled the same results of last year, and heads into Nationals ready to roll.

This team has a lot of depth, good coaching, and they want a "place at the table".
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Grand Trunk- Toronto

Years in Existence : 4

Results:
2007-
2006 CUC : 3rd CUC '06

Top Players:
Brent Jackson, Brant Carson / Steve Tam, Adrian Yearwood, Peter Jamieson

Players to Watch:
Jeremy Eckers, Warren Tang / Tim Chapman Smith, Taylor Martin.

Analysis:
Like Firebird, Grand Trunk has lost a large number of players to their parent Club. However, the Elephant has been able to procure very solid prospects from Torontula and Roy. Season long improvement saw the team finish 5th at Motown Throwdown last weekend.

One GT insider predicted that the expectations should be a place in the Quarters, and semi's if everything clicks. Those are fair expectations. It will be interesting to see if the veteran leadership can extract optimal performance under the home town pressure.
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Firebird- Ottawa

Years in Existence: 4

Results:
2007 (8-13) TUF, Boston Invite, No Borders
2006 Nationals: 6th (4-5)

Top Players:
Kevin Korecki, Travis Webb, Erik Hunter, Brennan Lee, (I'm not naming myself)

Players to Watch:
Allen Amos Binks, Brent Gerhert, Jake Hirsch Allen

Analysis:
Firebird lost many players to Phoenix during the off-season. However, both teams are now under the same leader and working under one club system. This has lead to a better structured and more efficient club. FINALLY!

Taking on many new players with huge athletic upside, there has been a lot of ups and downs this season. However, the results have been similar to last year's team, and the expectation of a similar performance at Nationals is very possible.

It should be also noted that Firebird continue to benefit from an improved juniors program, thanks in large part to one Jesse Bolan.
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Roy- Toronto

Years in Existence : 4

Results:
2007 : (10-10) TUF (record?), Jazz, No Borders, Motown
2006 CUC: 11th (2-6)

Top Players:
Trevor Johnston/Jeff Lynn

Players to Watch (New Prospects):
Jeff Lynn, Trevor Johnston, Mark Gravely.

Analysis:
Roy had a great first season in 2004, and then seemed to be in a progressive decline in the following seasons. In 2007, the slide in performance seems to have stopped. Featuring an amazing o-line striker (#78), Roy provided a great game for Firebird at No Borders, losing on universe point. A very athletic and spirited match, hopefully a preview for Nats.

Insiders are hopeful of a finish in the 10-15 range at Nationals. The team is building for the future, but that doesn't stop them from making life difficult for other teams.

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Too Bad- Toronto/Various

Years in Existence: Long before I got on the scene. (10 +)

Results:
2007: 9th at TUF, No Surf (3-4), 11th, No Borders , 14th Motown
2006 Nationals: 9th (4-4)

Top Players:
This is a Pickup team. Let's just say Harry Burkman and his dogs "drive the bus".

Players to Watch:
Alex Davis, Eric Lau

Analysis:
It's a world qualifying year, so the roster of Too Bad might be negatively affected. Harry has a large roster of players to pick up from at any given tourney, and the talent level vary considerably. Generally, the players are older, know how to implement a 5 person cup, and can jack the disc. Former Queen's standouts Alex Davis and Eric Lau bring some speed to the party.

"Who Bad? Too Bad." I'm afraid you Bad.
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Hottenanny Pussywillows/ Seek the Righteousness- Newmarket/Aurora

Years in Existance: 1

Results:
This Year: None
2006 CUC: N/A

Top Players:
Drew Watts, Ryan Adams, Craig Harding

Players to Watch:
Drew Watts, Craig Harding, Danny Van Willigen

Analysis:
Capitalizing on the CUPA cash grab (allowing 20 Open teams), this team that is principally located in the Aurora/Newmarket region has put a team in for Nationals.

The names that were going to play for this team potentially were impressive. The team still features some of the athletically gifted players developed through the University of Western program (Harding, Watts) but is missing some of the heavy hitters (Hassell, Carnes, Brownhill, Hislop, Frey, Wotherspoon, Shore, Trainor) that lost to a GOAT heavy Torontula 12-8 at University Nats 2006.

Expected lots of running, lots of hucks, and a serious amount of bids. Ryan Adams, a veteran of college ultimate through his time at Guelph and Western, will provide some solid handling.

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705 Ultimate- Barrie

Results:
This Year: None
2006 CUC: N/A

Top Players:
Curtis Kile

Players to Watch:
Everyone

Analysis:
Yet another team benefiting from the expansion of open Nationals, and the number of regional bids solicited by Ontario teams from past Nationals.

Barrie Ultimate is still in its infant stages, but former Nads player Curtis Kile is calling on his North Bay ex-pats to help develop Barrie's game. If done right, teams from Barrie will benefit from this Nationals experience.

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NADS

Years in Existence: Many

Team Results:
2007: 6th at No Borders
2006: Did not Play

Analysis:

One only has to go back to 2005 to see a very solid NADs team finishing top 6 at Nationals. For a small city, North Bay has developed many a strong "Frisbee Football" player. North Bay is alos home to the co-ed tourney (Northern Flights) with the best party.

No one is completely sure who will play, or if Nads will definitely show for their morning games, but you know that this team will excel at hucking. It's the other team's job to shut it down.

One of the possible players, Scott Stinson, could be the game breaker deep threat needed to ensure a quarterfinals birth. The Beast (as many know Scott) is a massive athlete who is one of the most spirited players in the men's game.