Category: Discussion

Why the WUGC Kickstarter needs to succeed

Dan Godbold presents his views on why the WFDF Kickstarter needs to succeed, not just for WUGC but for the sports wider goals. 

I’ll put this bluntly to start off with: If the Kickstarter for the WUGC stream fails to raise all it needs, and even raise above that, you can kiss the Olympics goodbye.
Other people have espoused all the good that could come from this fundraiser. I will not be joining them (entirely), as this article will make clear. I believe that this Kickstarter is a risk, that it comes with a chance of failure, and that failure will have an effect.

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Frisbee is gr8

This is repost of a wonderful piece from new ShowGame contributor Aidan Kelly on his experience in Ultimate to fight confidence issues. Please follow his blog at https://ak19blog.wordpress.com/

Ultimate is unique in so many ways. Considered an ‘almost sport’ by muggles, or that weird hobby by your family, it’s hard to imagine my life without it. To be honest, I don’t know if I’d even still be here.

For years, I’ve had self-confidence issues. When I was a teenager it was pretty terrible, but as I got older I learned to deal with it. And, by ‘deal with it’ I would essentially suppress it for as long as I could. This meant I’d have spells of being incredibly low, to the extent where I wouldn’t be able to function for weeks. But hey, I would always think it was better to let it all out in one giant spell once every year or two than have it affect me all the time. In hindsight, it was pretty poisonous. To put it into a simple, cliched metaphor, it can turn you into a ticking time-bomb.

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London Women’s University Ultimate

As Women’s Indoor Regionals approach, Lauren Bryant summarises the goals and aims discussed at the recent London Women’s University Ultimate meeting.

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The Club and University representatives who gathered for the recent meeting.

 

 

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Club or Country: It’s All About Training

Tom ‘Mum’ Abrams gives us his opinion in the ongoing Club or Country debate. 

Start with a basic premise: if we want to win we must train at least as much as the other contenders. Is this a fair statement? Well, unless we have better training methods or we have better athletes than the other teams or we started with better players, then the only way to improve the team is by training. Seeing as we don’t have any of these things in place in Britain, it follows that to achieve the level required to win world championships, we will have to train at least as often as the best teams in the world.

Tom Abrams getting up at last seasons Windmill Windup for Clapham

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Club or Country: The Third Way

Chris Baker provides another approach to the Club or Country debate…

Question. Is it better to send the most competitive team possible to EUC and WUGC as GB Open – even if this means a single club team – or is it better to put development first, and bring together players from clubs around the country, who would then trickle down their experience, improving the level of the sport across the board?

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Chris (#77) celebrating with his team-mates after their victory at the European Championships in Frankfurt this year.

It’s a staple of long car journeys, airport lounges and GAIA tents the world over. And whatever the answer, it is usually coloured by team allegiances and past personal experiences.

However, one thing both sides seem to have in common is the idea that GB has a central role in the development of players and clubs – whether by sending back skills and ideas to club level, or by providing a greater challenge to one club in particular, seeking to put the UK on the map and dragging other UK clubs onwards and upwards by way of their increased quality as Tour opponents. Continue reading “Club or Country: The Third Way”

“….errm no, but I might try out for Mixed.”

Sion ‘Brummie’ Scone gives some wise words to those considering the next GB senior cycle…

The application forms to run the GB squads are coming in, so I felt the need to write about some of my experiences. I was involved in running the GB Open trials in 2010, and GB World Games trials in 2012-13. Allow me, then, to share some of the things I’ve learned.

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GB Open in the US in the previous rotation.

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Club or Country: An Irish Perspective

New contributor Brian ‘Boyler’ Boyle discusses Club or Country from an Irish perspective…
EUCR-S is happening in Nantes, France, this weekend and for the second year in a row, Ireland will only be represented by one club after two years previously of not being represented at all. Despite this, there is interest in Ireland next year not only to send an Open, Women’s and Mixed team to EUC, but also an Open and Women’s team to U23 Worlds. This begs a very important question that I think all Irish Ultimate players need to start asking themselves: why as a country are we willing to spend so much time, effort, and money to play for Ireland, when we are not willing to spend a fraction as much to play for our clubs?
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