Tony Leonardo's Collection of Ultimate Frisbee Writing
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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

 

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2002 WORLDS 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.

One team that has remained constant and has commanded the co-ed strategy has been Red Fish Blue Fish, the San Francisco contingent that have been playing mixed for seven years, long before it became a de facto division. RFBF are stats freaks and they enjoy winning games based on proper defensive maneuvering as much as on talent. Unfortunately for the competition, they have both.

Top seed Trigger Hippy is a talented bunch of mountain men and women from the Big Sky region of the vast western United States. Watch out for 6'5" 220 pound "The Brickhouse" Kraig, on mountain patrol, Kid Kunkel, Dana Green, Julie Keck and Johnny "Credit Card" Flandrick. The women on this team are superior from top to bottom and form the real strength of this rugged club. You will see more women on the turf in one half of a Trigger Hippy game than any shabby attempt at scoring this whole tournament.

Without a viable women's team in Sweden, the top-flight talent (including Worlds competitors) have switched to Mixed. Lacking stature in the Open division, the 20-year old club team Stenungsund competed as co-ed and won the European Championships last winter and it means that both they and Carnegie will be difficult to beat. The Carnegie team, from Gothemburg, formed only this year but carry the men from the successful Carnegie club team that finished 8th at 1999 Worlds and the women from Carnegie, the top Swedish team in the nation for a long time running. Carolina Persson, Johanna Vonasek , Ann Brandberg and Alison Arnold all competed at the World Games for Sweden and will be playing with Carnegie here.

Blue Ridge Ultimate is yet another top-notch American team from the Atlantic Coast region, specifically Virginia. Long used to battling Mixed champions Raleigh Llamas and Spear, the players on BRU formed under the leadership of Ultimate gypsy Rich Franck and competed for the first time at U.S. Nationals this past year. They made the finals before falling to the veterans on Trigger Hippy. BRU is complementing their Worlds squad with ringers from the nearby Ring of Fire club team, the same Ring of Fire club players that defeated Boston and New York earlier this year. Kevin Kusy, Josh Cott and Soren Deniord stand out, as do Jen Miller and Susan Redding, but everyone is strong.

The Swiss Fingers are picking up some talent from London-based U.T.I. and are led by Sibel Blatter and other strong women. They finished fourth at European Club Championships and have long combined some of Switzerland's finest. They will find able competition in Holes and Poles, a successful and long-running team from Louisiana and Arkansas led by Julie Cook and Tim Hartline. They recently made semifinals at a difficult Poultry Days tournament and have had good success at U.S. Nationals.

Sneaking in at the 36 seed is Freakshow, making Pool D the most difficult here. Winners of several Asian tournaments and featuring a mix of ex-pats living in Singapore and a host of local players, the Freakshow also carry 6'10" Steinar Cramer. This team might cause headaches for Grin, Persuader and Otis, all strong teams in their own right. Salt Lake City's Persuader (formerly Blood Sweat and Tears) finished 7th at U.S. Nationals and won a number of games against club-loaded teams at Potlatch. With the Abramssons at the helm, this team is sure to be focused.

Otis hails from the Southwestern United States and brings a dedicated team with three quality ringers. They will be immune to the long days because, as they explain, "Team Otis is named after a dog whose only goal, whose only joy in life is to get the disc and he never, ever gets tired. We aspire to be like Otis." Initially seeded 14th at U.S. Nationals, they finished 5th, so believe it. Montreal's Grin has been playing good , solid disc and feature Mo' Rockin' Grin and Giggly Grin and captain Lorne Beckman.

7 seed Endzonis from Germany should bring some of those German women's players that aren't showing up in the Women's division. They finished 3rd at the EUCC. In their pool they will face 10th seed High Plains Drifters, a Colorado crew led by Heath MacKay and Jim Nolte. The Drifters' international experience may be limited, but their women are strong and they play typical American fierce man defense. They work very hard at their game and don't take losing lightly. Circus on the Run hail from the Netherlands, a hotbed of veteran Ultimate, so don't underestimate. Cheltenham's Blue Arse Flies took 7th at EUCC and have players with nicknames like Arctic Fox, The Whippet and Duracell Bunny. They hope to continue building a winning tradition. This is a tough pool as well.

Idle Hands won Canadian Mixed Nationals this past year over Winnipeg's Chaos. Chaos didn't fare so well at U.S. Nationals, however, but have the talent. One team that they match up well against is Ottawa's Flying Flamingoes.

The Flamingoes bring together the best of Ultimate causes -- "Sharing Through Scoring." For every point scored by the team they will donate $1 dollar to charity, and they ask opponents to do the same. Other squads have picked up the idea and used it in their games, bringing the total raised to over $10,000 since 1999. Who says games to 21 are too long?

Local Hawai'ins (mostly from Oahu) Hana Hou (translation: 'do it again!') are in their third year of playing and are led by Ray "Mondo" Chun, Deb Kremins and top players Jim Middlebrook and Dan Harrington. Well-known Bali promoter and RSD poster JRAD (Jared Cahners) is in the house with Force Durian Gamelan Orchestra, also known as the SEA All-Stars hailing from southeast Asia. Christchurch and Wellington combine to bring us New Zealand's Sweet As team, led by Hayden Glass, Mary Borisova and "Coach" Young Ha and feature top player Simon Fogarty. North Lake Tahoe's Donner Party brings the skis with shots for some true biathlon Ultimate action. This team finished 9th at U.S. Nationals.

Brazil's São Paulo Girus (SPG) have been together for eight years and consistently win Brazil's National Championship. They will bring senator Marco Aurélio, Gui, Regina and the ever-popular Caipirinha to disrupt opponents. In December they will host an international Beach tournament. Let's get it on.


This was written for Chasing Plastic and 2002 Worlds but never published.

 

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