UKUNationals write up

So it seems that Sunday night drinking and dancing until 2 a.m isn’t helpful with recovery after a weekend tournament, even with the bank holiday on Monday.

Here’s my nationals recap:

Game 1 vs Cambridge CUlt (15-9 Kapow Win)
We came out playing well, but our defense was struggling to contain two of their returning quicker handlers, who had not been playing when we beat them 15-5 at Tour 3. We got a break in the first half and a few more in the second half and were in control most of the way.

Game 2 vs Chevron Action Flash (15-11 Kapow loss)

We knew that we had a shot in this game. We started on offense and held. They held their offense and we traded all the way up to half. We went into the second half leading 8-7. They took their offense point and each offense held up until 10-10 when Chevron got the first and second break of the game to go up 12-10. Chevron never looked back and with momentum their defense went on to get another two breaks, finishing the game 15-11. We knew that they weren’t going to give anything away, and despite getting blocks we couldn’t figure out how to get our defense line into the endzone. A brilliant game with plenty of exciting plays and lots of people watching on the sidelines this would be the best Kapow would play all weekend.

Game 3 vs East Midlands Open (15-12 Kapow loss)

Coming in straight off an emotional and hard fought game against chevvy, we had no time to warmup or run drills before this game. We started well, going 4-2 up and then they started getting breaks. We never recovered and could do little to stop their offense, only getting one break back when they were 14-11 up. A disappointing loss to a quality opposition (EMO would later go on to qualify for Europeans, taking the 5^th spot over Fusion), meant that to get to Euros we would have to win all of our games on Sunday.

Game 4 vs Tooting Tigers (15-12 Kapow loss)

We turned up on Sunday morning, and only ever had the lead for a single point in this game. Tigers played a very quick running style of offense, looking to break marks and set off running straight away after throwing the disc. We played man and they would beat us with breaks. Our zone was slightly more effective, forcing them to throw hammers, blades and other discs over the top, which turned some of the time and we had a great run of three points in a row, but Tigers kept their resolve and punched in their O points and took the opportunities to get breaks that sadly, most of the time, were due to our errors. This one stung as it meant we were out of contention for Europeans and could only finish as high as 9^th.

Game 5 vs Man Up (15-10 Kapow win)

Out of contention for Euros, we decided to loosen up with our line calling and allow anyone to play on either line. At the start of this game it seemed like this wasn’t doing that much good as we were down at the half 8-5. There hasn’t been a half of a match in a long time that I’ve felt more frustrated at. I personally was playing pretty badly, was still frustrated from the three losses before this game and we all knew that this was a team that we should be beating. Then, suddenly we had a big play (I think it was one of Timmy’s) and we were a group of mates having a laugh again. We started playing well and the smiles returned. We put in 5 in a row to start the second half, going up 10-8 and never let them back in.

Game 6 vs DED (15-9 Kapow win)

DED have been a bit of a rival of ours this season. Both new teams, in the 6 UK tournaments we attended this year, we have played them 5 times and going in to Nationals the record was 2 wins each which meant that we were up for this win. We switched back to line calling and we wanted to play hard. Both teams had been going into Nationals with the aim to qualify for Euros, and as such, both will be disappointed with finishing 9^th/10^th but we still wanted this win and we played this game better than them to take it. Our shots were coming off and our zones were pressuring their offense. Our quick start offense was leaving them on the back foot constantly. I had been switched to the D line for this game to provide a deep threat with the note that I might be put back onto the O-line if needed. It wasn’t. We lead this game from start to finish and finished the season with a good victory.

We didn’t qualify for Europeans, and we were all disappointed.

My predictions were off (mostly), with Brighton and EMO putting in very strong showings and taking 4^th and 5^th respectively and two Euros spots, and DED, us and Cambridge falling down the rankings.

Still, there is always next season. I am going to be a little relaxed with fitness for a week or two, but will be in the gym, putting in the work for next season over the winter months.

This week, I will be heading to a basketball practice at the gym near our flat. I was inspired by the Olympics to try something new and I always enjoyed playing basketball at school. I see it as cross training for ultimate as there are a lot of transferrable skills in both. I will also be going to a tournament in Winchester this weekend with some friends from (mostly) Southampton Uni which should be good fun and relaxed.

Will keep doing write-ups of anything I feel like as I’ve enjoyed keeping this blog. I get ripped at every tournament I go to because of it, but who cares, I do it to keep track of things and because I enjoy it!