Tony Leonardo's Collection of Ultimate Frisbee Writing
________________


_______________

2001 Paganello

2001 Pasticiotto

2001 College Nationals Dirt

2001 National Champions Carleton

Beach Ultimate Digs In

2001 Westchester Summer League Top 20 Rumors

2001 Purchase Cup

2001 Hingham

Village Voice Spec Piece

2001 U.S. Club Nationals
Open Preview
Women Preview
Open
Women
Mixed
Photos

2001 Turkey Bowl, CT

Festivus: South Bend, Indiana
Janus: Brooklyn, New York

Interview with Sam O'Brien

2002 Paganello
Final Writeup (Paga)
Final Writeup (UPA)

Interview with Gian Pietro Miscione (Jumpi)

2002 Yale Cup

2002 Boston Invitational/ Club Easterns

2002 Worlds Preview
Women
Open
Mixed
Masters

 

___________________________________________________


2002 WORLDS
HAWAII, AUGUST 2-10

Open Preview

Things get a little dicey after the top 16 seeds. But there are a few exceptions, most noticeably Mainz Feldrenner seeded 21st. In June this year they played an elite, small round robin tournament in Amsterdam. The defeated Clapham 17-15 before losing to Skogs in the finals. Featuring variations of an ISO offense and star Mohamed Boujataoui, Feldrenner will certainly surpass their seed.

But they have the misfortune of being placed in a vicious pool. San Francisco's Jam is bringing their full squad of 32 to Hawaii, and this includes numerous top American players, including the versatile Damien Scott and energy packet Toaster. This past season Jam made the finals of every tournament they played, including U.S. Nationals, losing only to the Condors. They are almost surely aiming to win this tournament.

Rumors have already reached these shores that Japan's Buzz Bullets are better than Japanese teams of old, and this includes the Japan National team at Worlds in 2000 which finished 8th and defeated DoG along the way. Fast, speedy and difficult to guard, the Buzz Bullets will make Pool E the toughest here...

Women Preview

The men's competition is boring. The real action is with the women. There are quality teams from top to bottom and no pool is a cake walk. Backhoe seeded 19th? These ladies lost to Lady Godiva in Boston two months ago by one point. Now there are 18 spots between them. That's parity.

It is a noticeable fact that many European squads chose not to come. There are only three European teams (England's Bliss and Finland's Discus and Espoo), and none are from Germany or Sweden. I have been told that the state of Women's Ultimate in Sweden has declined and may be affected by Mixed play.

Almost the entirety of action revolves around four countries: Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States. At the top are proven competitors Lady Godiva. But Godiva hasn't won an international tournament since the mid 90's and aren't known for their superiority at this event. It may be appropriately fair that Prime is placed in their pool, seeded hideously low at 9th due to a lackluster showing at U.S. Nationals. Both teams are certainly in the hunt for another Worlds title, with most of the Prime team owning the last one, Heilbronn in 2000...


Mixed Preview

This division is always hard to call, and it certainly isn't any easier with the addition of several clubs formed from Open and Womens teams that have combined for this tournament. The mixed division has witnessed immediate success and the rush to compete means that teams and strategies are still evolving...


Masters Preview

Let's cut to the chase. The goal of every Master's team this year is to defeat, on the field and off, Seattle's Keg Workers of America, Local 333. It's no easy task. KWA players have been training for events in Hawaii for three years, attending tournaments with the goal of winning them through sheer appreciation of the game and the benefits of playing this sport. One of those benefits being the ability to have a keg of high-quality brew on the sideline, natch...


These were written for Worlds 2002.

 

ARCHIVE HOME

1996–19981999–20002001–2003

OTHER LINKS