the best of 2009

it is finally twenty ten, and while i sit restlessly in my house wishing i had something to do my mind wanders to the year of ultimate that was. inspired from brisbane ultimate's (clearly much more thorough) example, here are my top 10 SA ultimate happenings of 2009:

10. Adelaide to host Championships
Although i suppose that this event did not technically happen last year, it was 2009 when the bid was made and nationals claimed by adelaide for 2010. This is exciting for several reasons; firstly, we will finally have another chance to redeem adelaide as a place that interstate teams CAN come and play in without getting some kind of disease. secondly, karma is probably about as strong as it has ever been and a home ground advantage may be just what we need for a fight into the semi's - as long as UE don't steal to many players with their own nationals campaign.

9. Flycatchers make lost of teams
In the mixed league just gone I was continually impressed to see Flycatchers, one of Adelaide's non-uni clubs, come up with the goods in numbers. The managed to fill 3 teams without having a university campus to draw from, bested only by the blossoming flinders club. Nice.

8. Playing with The Gack(s)
On a personal note, melbourne hat this year saw me teamed up with both Tom and Anna Rogacki, which gave me a real chance to flex my skills on the same team as the best. It was a beautiful thing knowing that if i started a deep cut as soon as the disc is headed in Tom's direction, I would probably score. Unfortunately we came a humbling 22nd (0f 24), the worst The Gack has ever done. My bad?

7. Southern Uni Games
Although flinders' efforts at AUG may have left much to be desired (which we will come to later), their SUG campaign couldn't have gone better. Not only were they the only club to send two teams, they managed to take home the gold with one of them. additionally, this tournament is considered by some to be a pivotal moment in the flinders career this year, boosting club moral and spirit by having over 20 new and old faces travel, play and live together in a much enjoyed tournament. this is a must-do for all uni clubs.

6. Adelaide win the open league
it has only taken them 3 or so attempts, but finally Adelaide Uni has managed to overcome the Flinders powerhouse to win their first ever Div 1 Open League. Adelaide's commitment to trainings and recruitment is finally starting to gain momentum, and i think this win, their ladies doing the same and their very strong presence in interstate competitions is making them likely favourites for leagues in 2010.

5. The year of female plenty
I've heard similar rumors in other clubs, but know for a fact that the numbers of women playing ultimate at flinders has at least doubled in the last 12 months. Not only was our recruitment much better organised and SUG's doing us some favours, but with the Adelaide Women's Invitational (5:2 women:men), weekly women's trainings in november and the Women's development camp with interstate coaches there was a lot offered and happening. With nationals in adelaide in 2010 the Indies seemed poised for their best campaign yet.

4. Flinders blowing Aus Uni Games
The team was stronger than last years gold winning team, the individual players better prepared, the anticipation high and hopes higher. We came out of the blocks charging to beat hot favourites UQ in our first game, and to go on and beat every other serious contender. Then we blew it. Flinders lost both their semi and 3/4 final and went home sulking with their tails between their legs. I have reflected on this previously, and have nothing new to add other than that in my mind, it still sucks.

3. UniSAdelaide
Possibly the only thing coming out of AUG's more dissapointing than Flinders' rise and fall was adelaide/uni sa's efforts. although those that actually played for them might feel differently, it appeared to me to be not much more than a waste of time; the team was forced to combine efforts due to lack of women which meant that they were placed in div 2, a div they would have completely outclassed if it wasn't for the new zealand team being stuck in the same boat. They wasted time smashing every other team but still managed to only end up with a silver. on top of this both Tom Roden and Alex Rodgers, key players for UniSAdelaide and their team playing at mixed nationals a week later (Smurf), were injured bad enough to be out for at least two months. Hopefully the sun and beer a plenty made the week enjoyable; I heard mostly positive things from everyone other than the aforementioned injured players.

2. Keith Calippo Classic
Sean's dreams came true and july brought the first ever Keith Calippo Classic to SA's outback. This tournament was in every way a complete success, boasting 8 teams (3 from interstate), a very successful party, the best first prize i have ever seen (an esky full of calippos), the all-important Country Bumpkin Cup and plenty of local support. Although the crowd was much larger for the Keith Cows v Flinders game then the Pillow Fight v Adelaide Uni final and the weather turned miserable toward the end, this was to me one of the highlights of the year. The tournament definately deserved the AFDA Tournament of the Year award it won. You can see the award hung in the Keith pub and read my review here.

1. Smurf
Finally, Smurf. This club, a mixed club formed from players adelaide wide, have achieved more than any other in SA. Not only did they do the best at a nationals tournament any SA club has done in our history, finishing fourth at mixed nationals in hobart, they went on to qualify for the World Ultimate Club Championships in Prague 2010! If you hadn't already heard, the weekend was tense; 40+ degrees temperatures in brisbane, never won a first half and missed out on a clean sweep of the competition by one universe point. One thing led to another and they were fighting for their spot against a team they had already defeated, and it was down to another universe point. Needless to say they finally came up with the goods but not without each individual player hating everything first.

So thats my look at the best (and worst) of SA ultimate in 2009. If you have anything you'd like to add, please feel free to do so as I have only my own view to go on.
Looking forward to ultimate in twenty ten.