Highlights from Burning Couch vs. Magnum - 2010 UPA Michigan Sectionals
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Burning Couch from Michigan State University is the reigning king of Ultimate in the Michigan Section after defeating Magnum from the University of Michigan 15 to 14 at the 2010 UPA Michigan College Open Sectionals.
"We wanted to win the entire tournament. We were expecting to win, we really were." Brad Mordstadt is a freshman on the Burning Couch team. After breaking his ankle earlier in the season, Mordstadt was sidelined for the year. He now attends tournaments, providing general support and taking statistics for fellow players.
"We played them twice this year. We beat them both times," Mordstadt said. "Granted both squads weren't at full capacity for both games," he quickly added.
It was 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 18, the weather was sunny with light wind from the north, northwest direction. Throughout the day, the wind had been gusting, but compared to the first day of the tournament, Saturday, it was light, facilitating numerous upwind breaks.
The weather was pleasant for the championship game: sunny with light wind from the north, northwest direction. The wind blew throughout the day, but it was light compared to Saturday, the first day of the tournament.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Champions. That's the goal for every team, every player. It's why you condition until your body aches, it's why you practice until you get it perfect, it's why you stuff yourself in a small car with four other people and travel hours to stay in a foreign hotel.
But how does the championship work? Who sets it up and how do they set it up? How do you make it to the championship tournament?
In this blog I'll explain how the UPA championship series works.
The UPA championship series is a separate set of tournaments that is organized by the UPA. There are three tournament levels of the series, sectionals, regionals and nationals, with each being more exclusive than the next.
The sectionals round is typically played over a three week period. This year all the weekends fall in April. They are April 10, 17 and 24. Each section is allotted a certain number of regional bids. The number of these bids is rather complicated and you can find the details here.
The bid winners from the sectionals round go on to compete at the regionals tournament. This year the regional weekends are May 1 and 8. Each region is allotted a certain number of national bids that are largely determined by region strength.You can find the details here.
And finally, the culmination of the year is the College Championships held in early summer. This year the championship will be held in Madison, Wisconsin starting on May 28. The details of this event are here.
The tournament structure is slightly different for each tournament, based on how many teams are attending, but the general format is the same. Typically you will find a number of equally sized pools who play a round robin style to determine seeds for the bracket play to follow. For an example you can check out the following 2010 sections bracket here.
The tournament path is long, and can be complex at times, but one team each year will successfully navigate it to become the champions. Will it be your team?
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Where can you find Ultimate video to watch?
In the past you would have a hard time finding Ultimate video to watch. Over the last several years video has become easier and easier to record and distribute via free video hosting. Now all you need is a steady internet connection and a list of links to have access to hours of Ultimate footage.
Here is a link to YouTube with a simple 'Ultimate Frisbee' search. As you can see, there is a ton of footage right there.
You can also find a lot of premium Ultimate video at the UPA web site. In particular the video page on the club 2009 web site.
Another great resource for Ultimate video footage is UltiVillage.com. They are the official videographers of most all UPA events and you'll recognize their emblem on a lot of YouTube videos. They sell a lot of different professional quality DVDs of all different types of Ultimate events. They also have a large selection of clips of the day that are very short, usually of one outstanding play.
One of my personal favorites was made by an Eastern grad, Logan Braun, and it's coverage of a local team, U of M Magnum. This particular video is the highlights of their fifth place finish in the 2009 UPA College Championship tournament.
YPSILANTI, Mich. - There are a lot of options when it comes to playing Ultimate in this area.
The authority on local recreational Ultimate in the Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti area is certainly a2ultimate, affectionately know as Junta. Ann Arbor Ultimate is an organization that among other activities puts on recreational leagues throughout the year. It is run by players who are very active in the community and it has many options for new and experienced players.
For instance, you can play mixed ultimate, more competitive open or women's ultimate in the summer, winter indoor ultimate or even outdoor ultimate in November on turf fields - this last option is recommended only for very dedicated players who have warm athletic gear since snow is common.
Junta throws various tournaments throughout the year - usually at the beginning and end of summer league play. They also typically have a couple clinics at the beginning of leagues where new players can learn more about basic skills and strategy. You can view some photos of Junta recreational play here.
If you are looking for less structured play, check out Junta's section on available pickup in the area. They even have a simple list of tips for playing pick-up, what is generally accepted, etc... In Ypsilanti you will also often find pick up at Frog Island Park. The time changes with the seasons since you'll find mostly college students playing. At the moment you will find a group playing late at night, usually about midnight, on Thursdays.
There is a large culture of players who like to play in more competitive atmospheres. This culture is held together by personal relationships and Google email lists. These players will often be found at all of the above venues and usually with some sort of competitive club team in the summer months. These club teams usually compete at the fall UPA Club Series; this is a series of tournaments structured similar to the college series.
So, now you know where to play. I hope to see you out there soon.
HOLLAND, Mich. - Despite very windy conditions, eight college Ultimate teams showed up at Hope College in Holland, Mich. on Saturday April 10 to participate in a one-day tournament.
Calvin College, Kalamazoo College, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Grand Valley State University, Kuyper College, Kettering University and the host Hope College all brought teams to compete.
With the UPA college sectionals tournament scheduled for the following weekend, the tournament held special importance for the teams attending. The tournament was a virtual preview of the following weekend with only a few teams missing. Both Magnum, from the University of Michigan and Burning Couch from Michigan State University. These teams usually earn the top two bids for regionals each year.
More importantly, Michigan B was also absent. They earned the third bid for regionals in the 2009 sectionals tournament and will likely be in close running with several of the colleges in attendance yesterday for the third and newly-acquired fourth bids to regionals this year.
The tournament kicked off with pool play at 9:30 a.m. There were two pools of four teams each. Pool A contained Calvin, Eastern, Kuyper and Grand Valley. Pool B contained Hope, Kalamazoo, Kettering and Western.
The first game had relatively light wind and there were several upwind points from several different teams. The two notable games were Western blowing out host, Hope, 12-6 and Eastern taking Calvin to universe point, winning 10-9. Rounds two and three both saw Calvin, Hope, Eastern and Western all winning their respective games. This set up a cross-pool match up of the four top teams at the tournament.
The first seed of pool A, Eastern, took on the second seed of pool B, Hope, and the first seed of pool B, Western took on the second seed of pool A, Calvin, in game one of the the first-place bracket. Meanwhile, Kuyper took on Kettering and Grand Valley took on Kalamazoo. After winning out in their respective pools, both one seeds fell by 1 point. The low scores of these games, 7-6 and 9-8, show both how evenly matched the teams were and how bad the wind was becoming. In the lower bracket Kuyper beat Kettering, setting up a rematch with Grand Valley who also advanced to the fifth place game.
The final game of the day saw the wind finally starting to die down. Calvin took advantage of this, blowing out host, Hope, 15-8 with multiple upwind points. Western beat Eastern by 2 points after going up one upwind break. Meanwhile, Grand Valley beat Kuyper by 1 point in the rematch game, earning themselves fifth place and restoring a bit of team pride.
Check out the video below for some select points from the tournament. Orange is Hope and Kettering is grey in the first two points. In the next few Calvin is red and white is Eastern. The last is Western in red facing Kettering. Note the pervasive sound of the wind throughout.
Welcome to my new blog on Ultimate Frisbee. I will cover several different aspects of Ultimate Frisbee with this blog, including current tournaments. If you have suggestions for content please leave me a comment here, or get a hold of me via email or Facebook.
Make sure you check out the introduction video on the sidebar, as well as the other links. I hope you enjoy the enjoy the blog,
I am an economics major with a minor in journalism hoping to finish my bachelor's December of 2010.
I enjoy playing Ultimate Frisbee and it takes up a good portion of my time. I also enjoy riding my bike most places since it saves me tons of money.
Most weekends you'll find me at an Ultimate tournament, at a local movie theater or holed up somewhere reading a book. You can email me at mdishaw1@emich.edu
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