Tag: Open

Nationals 2022: Open preview

The open division will see some radical change this season. The schedule sets up a new final, one that will not see Clapham play Chevron, for the first time since 2012. The last time a team made its first appearance in the final was 2006 when Fire made the big game. There have only ever been four teams that have made it – Leeds are the other in the early part of the 2000s – so whoever makes the final will be the fifth. Clearly this is a fairly big moment historically. Given that, let’s go through the teams starting with the two that seem primed to compete for that final spot.

Ranelagh

Ranelagh are probably the slight favourites. They come in with pedigree that no team other than Clapham can match over the last year or so. They finished fourth at xEUCF and have performed well at Elite Invite, London Invite and WUCC this season. One of their wins at WUCC was a 15-9 win over Alba, something to bear in mind. The team for the weekend includes plenty of the big names that featured in the xEUCF run, including key handler Ferdia Rogers and dynamic cutters Sam Murphy, Tadhg Deevy and Jack McNamara. The team works well together, will be fit and confident after a promising season so far and have history in their sights. They’ll also have coach Ian French back patrolling the sidelines (alongside assistants Sarah Melvin and Leo Micklem) after he missed WUCC. If his presence is worth even a few points over the weekend it could be the difference between the back door games for Euros spots and a shot at the trophy.

Alba

The Scots have been building their name for a couple of seasons and have continued to succeed at a high level this season. They made quarters at Tom’s, pushed teams at London Invite and had a good WUCC too. A disappointing Windfarm is a slightly odd blot on the copybook but they were without several key O line players last time out in Nottingham so it’s not truly representative of the team. Regionals saw them beat Chevron for the first time, 14-10, although both sides were missing players following WUCC. The Cammys, Agnew and Mackie, will be crucial as usual along with the other big names throughout the roster – Andy Dick, Andy Boxall, Ross Nugent, Joel Terry and Ian Tait just to pick a few out. This is a team that has been built with the aim of winning Nationals, and this is their best chance yet to make the big game.

Clapham

Clapham haven’t lost at Nationals, not in the 20 years this tournament has run, and have very rarely been run close. That’s particularly true in the last few years where they seem to break other teams in the second half, running away with it at the first sight of any kind of weakness. This season started with some wobbles but they won Windmill and London Invite before finishing third at WUCC, a decent way to get over those wobbles with split squads. They’ll have their sights firmly set on more domestic and European glory. There’s not much point talking about individual players because everyone on the roster is capable of hurting teams but stopping the D line offence is going to be the biggest problem for Clapham’s opponents, even without Will Rowledge who’s recovering from injury. A mention, though, for Oscar Modiano who has become a real lynchpin of the D line once they get disc in hand and has had a really good season. 

Chevron

Chevron are not dead and buried, though. This season they’ve shown on several occasions that they’re still one of the better teams in Europe. They were sixth at Tom’s, beat Gentle, performed well at London Invite and finished sixth again at Windmill. WUCC was a disappointment but every game was close. There are still the same excellent players here that have been around for a while – Josh Kyme, Tom Hodgett, Steve Kolthammer, Ben Burak and plenty of others – and newer additions like Josh East, Robbie Haines, Ethan Morrell and Sam Cameron have added further quality. The schedule sets them up for the toughest semi they could have asked for, but even if they don’t manage to overcome the Clapham hurdle that they’ve never been able to overcome, they will still get a Euros spot and will be heading to Italy if they want to be. They have a record over the last 20 years to be very proud of and not making the final will be a hit to that pride. They’ll have something to prove this season and given that I’m sure will be difficult for anyone to play against.

Smash’D

Smash’D will be in Chevron’s pool and will be raring to go to try and take that semifinal spot. Last season was a good start but coming so close to semis and missing out on universe point against Devon will have stung. This season Smash’D have finished third at Windfarm, 11th at Windmill, 17th at Tom’s and reached the final of regionals. They’ve had good results and seem to be progressing to the next level where they can really compete regularly with the best teams. Chevron will still be favourites, of course, but the young silverbacks will be a stiff test. With six Euros spots I’d put my money on them making another trip to Euros in a few weeks where they can defend their spirit title and try to turn some of the close losses they had last year into wins and push up the rankings. They’ve shown this season that they’re certainly capable of that.

Devon

Devon are the last UK team that I would say are favourites to be in the top six. They’ve had a sustained run of success as being one of the top teams in the country for four or five seasons now and have continued to be at that level in 2022. They finished 20th at Windmill and 7th at Windfarm, both a little lower than would have been expected, but rebounded well to finish third at Regionals. Armed with some excellent athletes as usual, the team plays together well and really fights for each other. Players like Richard Coward 

XVI

The second team from Dublin haven’t come to the UK in a while but last time they did they made the top eight. They finished one spot below Devon at Windmill so clearly will bring a team with talent who can cause problems for teams. They did decently at Euros last season as well, and will be aiming to return this year. Ciaran Costello has played for Ireland and will be someone teams need to keep an eye on.

Rebel

The men from Cork finished eighth at Windfarm and beat Bristol on universe along the way. We’ve seen them on these shores in the past with ludicrously short lines and still succeeding, so with a bigger squad and a fresh start it will be interesting to see how well they do. They’ll have a strong long game and will be aggressive on D, and they will be in the mix for Euros spots.

Tribe

I know much less about Tribe than the other teams as usually they focus on mixed and have rarely come over to play in the UK. They also haven’t gone to any European tournaments this year so I’m flying blind slightly, but they did well at Irish nationals and pushed a good PELT team very hard so they’re clearly not to be underestimated. They make up a pretty crowded middle with the other Irish teams and Bristol and will be keen to make a good first impression at nats.

Bristol

Bristol have been developing the open side of the club for a number of years and are now at the point where they are a solid nationals team. When looking at the regionals line up I basically pencilled them in as a dead cert, such is the reputation and cache they have built up in the last two seasons. They went to Tom’s this season and played in a strong Div 2, then finished ninth at Windfarm. They beat Devon for the first time this season in a warm up game, but lost the 3/4 at regionals 15-10. They’ve shown that they have talent and they have the ability to string a game or two together that can really stand up to teams like Devon and those seeded a few places above them. It’s not outside the realms of possibility that Bristol snatch a euros spot, or are at least in contention late on Sunday. That it’s plausible is great credit to the work that’s being done by everyone involved in coaching, leading and developing players in Bristol.

Reading 

Reading will feature a number of talented and experienced players but the best male players in the club will be competing for gold in the mixed division. The depth in Reading is such that they could easily have a team in each division, and in fairness Bristol only beat Reading 9-8 at regionals so if I’m saying Bristol can do it then Reading should be able to as well, but the other common opponent results at regionals indicate to me that it was a slightly off game for Bristol and Reading had a stormer. They won’t be a pushover, a Reading team never is, but I would have them outside the running for Euros.

EDI

EDI have done fantastically well to qualify, overcoming Manchester in their semi on universe and then blowing away Yorkshire to take the final northern spot. Another team with a club higher up the rankings in close proximity, they have maintained a core for a few seasons and have been able to generate good momentum. Windfarm was a slight disappointment with a loss to the Brown sending them lower than they would have wanted, but they rallied well and seized their spot in Nottingham. Four Scottish teams at nationals shows just how strong Scottish ultimate is at the moment and despite a difficult pool EDI will no doubt give it everything they’ve got.

Prediction

The winner isn’t really very interesting here. The real intrigue starts at 2. I think Ranelagh will beat Alba, and then I think Chev will be able to get revenge for the northern final. That’s my top four. Lower down, I think the four teams in contention will be Smash’D, Devon, Rebel and XVI. The way the schedule has shaken out, it looks as though Devon and Smash’D will play again late on Saturday and the winner will be in prime position to try and get a Euros berth. I’ll back Smash’D there after the lessons they learned last year. I think Smash’D will beat XVI in my hypothetical 5/6 which means I have Devon against XVI in the game to go. That will be a good one, given how close these teams seem. I’ll back Devon since they always seem to find a way to win the games that really matter when their backs are against the wall. Which means I have it as: 

  1. Clapham 
  2. Ranelagh 
  3. Chev 
  4. Alba 
  5. Smash’D 
  6. Devon 
  7. XVI 
  8. Rebel 
  9. Bristol 
  10. Reading 
  11. Tribe 
  12. EDI

Turns out it might be interesting after all!

Zimmer miss out on the semis

The British grand master open team, Zimmer, had a successful run of games in Pool B. They lost only two matches and won their other five to put them third in the pool and qualify them for the quarter finals. Yesterday their hopes of making into the semi-finals, however, were ended after they lost the American team, and original top seeds, Johnny Walker.

The game started well for Zimmer. They came out on defence and, although they were unable to turn Johnny Walker in the first point, they very quickly equalised thanks to a bid from David Sealy. The next few points were quite quick, with the two teams trading until 2-2. 

Zimmer’s James Cooper managed to intercept an attempted inside forehand break, giving them an opportunity to break. A deep shot went up, with Dan Berry chasing after it and getting the score to put Zimmer ahead for the first time 2-3.

Several more points passed with both teams holding their offense points. Zimmer were disciplined in their horizontal stack, while Johnny Walker stuck to match defence. At 5-6 up, Zimmer got another opportunity to break when a Johnny Walker player dropped the pull. Zimmer’s defence line then called a timeout, which allowed them to set up an endzone play when they came back in. They isolated Dave Barnard, who received the disc from Lewis Glover to give them their second break and put them up 5-7.

Still on defence, Zimmer decided to play a zone which was unsuccessful at slowing down Johnny Walker’s offence, who put in two points with back-to-back scores from Brian Carroll, levelling the score again at 7-7. Zimmer put in the next score to take half at 7-8.

After half, Zimmer scored the next one thanks to an impressive toe-in from Thaysen, re-establishing the two-point lead at 7-9. After this, however, the tide really started to turn against Zimmer. Their zone defence seemed to be leaving too much free space in the middle and the Johnny Walker players cut through it easily to score the next three points, putting Zimmer behind, 10-9, for the first time since the first couple of points.

Zimmer had only 18 on their roster compared to the 24 Johnny Walker had brought and at this point in the tournament many were nursing injuries. This showed as it seemed the Zimmer players were running out of energy. They only scored two more points in the rest of the match, which was closed out after several more breaks, with a catch from Mitch Schminke to leave the final score 15-11 to Johnny Walker.

This left Zimmer in the 5-8 bracket, while Johnny Walker progressed to play in the semis yesterday against Surly GM.

Windfarm: The Return

It has been nearly three years since there has been a proper, full Tour event. Windfarm, once derided for the difficult conditions it inevitably provides (hence the nickname we gave it that eventually became the official tournament name) will be something of a triumphant return for the super-event we were all so used to before the pandemic, with more teams and pitches than any of us will have seen for years.

The 63 teams are split between open and women’s, with 41 and 22 respectively. It’s been a busy week at ShowGame towers and there’s a lot of teams that I have only a passing knowledge of so I’m afraid you’ll have to make do with a preview of the top teams for now, and we can take a look at the teams throughout the draw once the dust has settled and we’re able to have a better idea of where everyone stands.

The schedule is a little odd, with the open semis and final at 90 mins compared to 70 mins on the women’s side. It does seem as though there are fewer games for the top open teams so that’s likely the logic here, but there’s definitely some annoyance over it. Given that the women’s final slot is last it seems like there could have been a pretty easy compromise here, and some advance discussion probably would have avoided the issue entirely. Still, scheduling is hard (I assume, it looks hard) and everyone is out of practice with all elements of tournaments at the moment. Still, this is probably something that’s best thought through a bit more comprehensively in future.

WOMEN’S

Let’s start on the women’s side. The top seeds are the national champs, Bristol, and they are largely at full strength after fielding some varied teams at their events so far this season. Talismanic playmakers Carla Link and Molly Wedge have been occupied with World Games trainings up to this point but should be back, and the squad retains enough talent and depth to win this tournament. They face Masterclass and Thundering Her in the pool. Masterclass are the Irish entrant into WMUCC in Limerick and should pose quite a few problems to Bristol, not least with the return to these shores of Eurostar superstar Sarah Melvin. It’ll be very fun to see a Wedge/Melvin matchup, so hopefully we get to see that play out. Thundering Her is (predictably) the female side of Thundering Herd, entering Tour again as they did in 2019 to get some extra reps with the mixed season in mind. Both Masterclass and THer have reasonably short rosters but both will be looking forward to taking on a big name early on.

The next pool features the reigning National League champions, SMOG. They defeated both Bristol and Iceni in the midlands last year and return to the (kind of near) scene of the triumph to try and repeat the feat. As we have seen in both women’s and mixed competition, the women of SMOG are extremely strong and we can be pretty confident that they’ll be challenging their opponents with some nigh-on-impossible-to-stop deep shots. They face Scots SCRAM who have had a nice start to the season and will be looking to push themselves and keep developing ahead of their trip to WUCC in Cincinnati in a few weeks’ time, as well as Cambridge Women. SMOG should win this group but SCRAM against Cambridge could be a fun game, with some strong Cambridge-based players having played largely in mixed in the last few years.

The next pool seems like a pool of death. Iceni and SYC will renew their rivalry, the two London teams having played recently in a pretty close one. Iceni came out on top there and the expectation would be that they do again since they are reasonably close to full strength with only a couple of absentees. SYC will be confident having played their rivals close so recently, and have a reasonably full team although there will be one or two absences. Also in this pool are reigning European bronze medallists Dublin Gravity. When last the Gravigals were in the UK they left with the national championship title, so there’s clearly quite a legacy of success behind them. The team that was in Bruges was extremely adaptable and cohesive, with excellent frisbee IQ pairing with ability to make them one of the best teams on the continent. They’ve been at a few warm up tournaments and will be heading to WUCC as well, but this team may well be a bit more mixed with non-WUCC players and guests. Either way, this pool is one to watch.

The final pool in division 1 sees LMU face Spice and Reading. LMU defeated Spice last season in the inaugural National Cup final after coming from behind. LMU will be strong, as usual, but will have a pretty small squad, as usual. It’s always difficult to predict exactly who will be around but I understand that Jenna Thomson is around, which means they have more than a shot of being competitive. Pairing a team this smart and experienced with a team like Spice, full of players nearer the beginning of their elite frisbee careers, is a nice clash of styles. Spice will also be heading to Cincinnati and look to have added well this spring and will pose a tough test to the masters. Reading round out the pool and will, like SMOG, be extremely good despite minimal experience together in women’s. Players like Bex Palmer, Helen Roberts and Ania Godbold have all played at the highest level and you can always expect that Reading teams will be well-drilled and prepared.

This is a tough tournament to call with the strength at the top, but if Gravity are anywhere close to the team we have seen before, 10th seed looks low. They could cause some chaos in the later brackets. An Iceni/Bristol rematch could be on the cards but last time LMU faced Iceni, at Tom’s, the masters won, and SMOG loom with their League title in hand. I daresay it’ll all be a bit clearer come Saturday evening but for now it looks like a tough call! I’ll go for a SMOG win with LMU, Bristol and Iceni finishing the top four and prepare to eat those words.

OPEN

First thing to note here is the split schedule, and second is that Clapham are absent. That means the field is a bit more open at the top, and may mean we get a barnstorming finale. The top section of the open division is four pools of three, with the next section starting as a bracket to give teams the chance to progress upwards.

The first pool sees top seeds Chevron up against acronymic teams PELT and EDI. Chevron were largely untroubled last season in reaching the national final and finishing second in the National League. They have long mixed experience with youth, and had a sizeable contingent of less experienced players last time around. Those players will all have gained a great deal from last season and could position the team well to grow this year. They did as well as expected at Tom’s, beating both French teams (Iznogood, the eventual winners, and Tcach who finished fourth) and losing only twice, to GRUT men and one of the CUSB teams. This pool puts them up against Limerick team PELT and Scots EDI. PELT usually travel with pretty small squads but are always tough to beat and come with a huge amount of cohesion and confidence. Chevron will back themselves but it’s unlikely the Irishmen will roll over without a fight. EDI have been building for a couple of years and have done a good job developing into a competitive outfit with Alba growing as a regional power. It’ll be a good test for them to play against two teams that have been to EUCF in the recent past.

Speaking of Alba, they are second seed and lead the next pool. They are the only team other than Clapham that seriously pushed Chevron last season – in fact, the last three times these teams have met on these shores have ended with sudden death Chevron wins despite Alba having the disc (Chevron ran out comfortable winners at Tom’s, though). The Scots will be aiming to turn those tables late on Sunday. They match up against the Smash’d boys and Fire. The latter two teams met in the first round of the cup last season, a brutal draw considering the relative strength of both, and will be very up for a rematch. Smash’d have had some roster turnover from last year but are still young, aggressive and athletic and will be a stern test for a rebuilding Fire outfit. Alba should have enough to stay above the fray but this will certainly be the most physical pool so there could be some variance based on how each team deals with that.

The third pool is the most intriguing at the top of the open division. Devon are a longstanding national power nowadays, having qualified for WUCC 2018 and consistently finished in the top four since then. Last year they overcame a very tight call with Smash’d to solidify that spot and make the Nationals semis. The team has a way of playing that has worked for them for years, has great chemistry and a very solid internal culture that keeps them at the top of the division. In Nottingham they face the men of SMOG and Leamington Lemmings, the story of 2021. SMOG will, of course, be good. Just like the women’s team, this is a team of serial winners that have back-to-back national titles in their back pockets and have been preparing to take on the best in the world at WUCC as a whole squad, given that they have two teams going to Cincinnati. They can match Devon’s athleticism, but the boys in green have a bit more experience in open and might have the edge in physicality too. Lemmings qualified for Nationals in both open and mixed last season and have a range of good players to call on. Whether they can mix it with the big teams in open remains to be seen but if they consolidate the best players from both those teams they have a good chance to make two elite teams very uncomfortable here.

The final pool sees Reading’s men face Ka-Pow! and Bristol. Reading’s squad is obviously strong but is missing a few of the men that will make up the male side of the WUCC team so might have less top-end depth than some of the other top seeded sides in the division. They should still have enough to top the pool here, although both Ka-Pow! and Bristol can certainly cause them problems. The Londoners are still going through a rebuilding process and had a relatively young but talented squad last year, while Bristol have been developing slowly but surely for a number of years. Ka-Pow! won this matchup when they faced at Nationals last year but Bristol have had competitive outings already this year at Tom’s so might be slightly sharper.

It’s difficult to pick anything but a rematch of Alba vs Chevron in the final, such is the strength that these two teams continue to possess. Hopefully we get another exciting instalment in the series if that does come to pass. Look out for SMOG and Reading to challenge the top teams, I would expect one of them to make it into the semis unless Smash’d can step up and take that fourth spot.

Further down the open draw there are some fun teams to watch out for in the middle bracket. Zimmer, now a grandmasters team but still full of quality GB players from the mid-2000s that can absolutely still play if the final of EMUCC is anything to go by, are around and will be fascinating. Birmingham are always a tough team, Cambridge have some very good players that have been in the mixed division with their women in recent years so could cause some issues if they are able to cross up and both Manchester Ultimate and Rebel have been top 12 teams at UK tours in the recent past. YCU made Nationals not long ago, so as far down as the late 20s could see teams that eventually break into the top bracket.

Good luck to everyone in managing the wind this weekend. I’ll be playing for Thundering He so feel free to come and tell me how rubbish these pared-down predictions are.

tSG Awards ’21: Best Defender

The easiest one to define yet! Offence is great but in almost every game you’re going to need blocks. These players get blocks.

MIXED

Third place: Ben Wilson, Reading

Not to be outdone by brother Sam, Ben was a huge asset for Reading defensively this season. Taking on the most difficult matchups and generating turns is a rare pairing that he managed to pull off this season. The Reading defensive unit was so strong all year, and Ben’s breakout club season was a big reason for that.

Second place: Rachel Naden, SMOG

Rachel was one of the best defensive players in the country when she played for Reading in the mixed division in 2018, and has continued to dominate since then. She was phenomenal in the National League season and carried that form into Nationals, taking on tough downfield matchups and throwing bombs on the turn. Not only can she do a bit of everything offensively, defensively she’s a star.

WINNER: Bex Palmer, Reading

Bex won the Best of the Rest award and now adds another award to her collection. She’s always been one of the best handlers in the division but really showed her value on the defensive end this year. She was not only able to mark out handlers but was extremely effective on cutters too, showing hugely impressive versatility as she took on whoever was causing Reading trouble and made life harder for them.

WOMEN’S

Third place: Claire Sharman, London Masters

Claire’s work as a defender this season was incredibly impressive. Her footwork is impeccable and she’s able to block off the space that cutters are trying to attack seemingly with ease. She’s also a great help defender, peeling off her mark to muck up the space in front of the disc or to challenge a deep throw. Claire can do everything that good defenders need to be able to do, and does it all at a very high level.

Second place: Lynden Chiang, Bristol Women

Lynden emerged as a vital player for Bristol this season and showed that value on defence most of all. Versatile enough defensively to match against top cutters and to play in the middle of a hybrid zone defence, her speed, intelligence and positioning meant she was able to generate blocks but also able to smother her mark and keep them out of the game altogether.

WINNER: Amelia Kenneth, Iceni

Amelia has been one of the best defenders around for a while now, and this season was no different. Her speed and aggression mean she gets blocks against anyone, and that she’s a huge threat going long after the turn. One of Iceni’s leaders as they reached the final of Nationals, she had another dominant defensive season to add to her CV.

OPEN

Third place: Joel Terry, Alba

Joel has been one of the top defenders in Scotland for some time, previously starring for Glasgow in the mixed division. Still only 24, he’s one of a number of Alba players capable of taking on hugely challenging matchups and making life very unpleasant for them. Pairing great instincts with rock solid fundamentals, he’s another to watch in the coming years as he continues getting better and better.

Second place: Nathan Wragg, Clapham Ultimate

Some defenders are all positioning and smarts, but some defenders bring those tools along with a dash of all out chaos. The ‘Peroxide Demon’ (shoutout Lorcan Murray, and yes I did see who I guess was someone in Nathan’s family say that the colour is natural but the nickname works too well to pass up) flew around fields all over the UK this season, ready to punish any throw that was even slightly off-target. His athleticism and quick reactions meant he caused plenty of turns, and he was a reliable asset once those turns were secured too.

WINNER: Andrew Hillman, Clapham Ultimate

Andy was one of the leaders for Clapham this season but that responsibility didn’t mean his level of play slipped at all. Long one of the two or three best handler marks in the country, this season he was able to completely smother the best disc handlers on the other team and pressure them into bad throws when they were able to shake free of his vice-like grip. He was also crucial once the disc had turned, his crafty lefty throws giving Clapham’s D line a reliable source of yards.

tSG Awards ’21: Best Cutter

This is another fairly easy award to define. Some people pick the disc up a lot and do most of the work swinging and generating movement in the backfield. Those people are not the people we are thinking about today. There are some players on this list that you could call hybrids, but largely these players are the ones who start further down the field and generate big gains with both their legs and their throws.

MIXED

Third place: Eddy Codd, SMOG

Eddy was metronomic and reliable for SMOG this season, using his height and huge catch radius to make a difference downfield. He was also consistent and safe with the disc in hand and was excellent defensively when needed. He hasn’t enjoyed the same kind of profile as some of his teammates in recent years but his role has been crucial in getting SMOG to the top of the tree in UK ultimate.

Second place: Leila Denniston, Deep Space

Leila was a dominant downfield cutter this season. She was unstoppable at times at Nationals, using her speed, height and great hands to bring down some grabs it seemed she had no shot at. Her goal in the penultimate point of the Nationals final was a great case in point; speed to run the disc down, great hands to catch it at full extension and a defender trailing with no ability to affect the play. A great season for a great player.

WINNER: Sam Wilson, Reading

Sam’s season was something of a breakout, as we discussed yesterday, and it was all based around his ability to beat his marks with his speed. He was able to live in the deep space and then beat people underneath once they started trying to take the long cuts away. He’s been a great addition for a Reading team that was already packed with talent.

WOMEN’S

Third place: Claire Sharman, London Masters

Claire was central to the LMU success this season, with her ability to keep churning yards and getting blocks when they were needed. Her ability to get open reliably always gave the LMU handlers an option and her ability to take away the best cutters on the opposition and challenge deep throws whether they were to her mark or not meant that teams had to account for her at all times on both sides of the disc.

Second place: Molly Wedge, Bristol Women

No new player made a bigger impact than Molly this season. She was a shutdown defender, a reliable source of yards as a cutter and a dominant force with the disc in the air. She was a huge part of the title-winning season for Bristol, as her POTY runner-up spot shows, and was one of the best downfield players in any division this season.

WINNER: Ellie Taylor, Iceni

You could talk about a lot of things with Ellie’s game. She’s a very solid thrower who rarely turns over, she’s able to go up and challenge in the deep space when the disc is hanging and she rises to the big moments, making plays when her team desperately needs them. The main thing, though, is speed. Ellie is probably the fastest female player in the UK and has zoomed around pitches making big plays for Black Eagles, Great Britain Mixed and now Iceni as they all played in huge games.

OPEN

Third place: Cameron Agnew, Alba

Agnew was a vital part of the Alba team that has performed so well for the last two seasons and will surely be a part of the success they seemed primed to enjoy in the coming years. Pairing speed and shiftiness downfield with big throwing ability and great fitness, he’s as tough a cover in the open division as there is.

Second place: Justin Foord, Clapham Ultimate

Perhaps a victim of some voter fatigue, nevertheless Justin has had another imperious year this season. He’s still arguably the most vital part of Clapham’s O line and when things start creaking slightly and a play needs to be made, he’s still very often the man that steps up to the plate. His game-winning layout block at the Madrid Invitational was just one example of what he’s still capable of over a decade into his Clapham run.

WINNER: Ollie Gordon, Clapham Ultimate

Ollie was shifted from his longstanding role on the D line to play offence for the Clapham machine this season and was wildly effective. Not only did he show that his throwing was good enough to survive at the highest levels in Europe on the O line, but his height, athleticism and smarts meant he was open basically all year. Maybe the best season he’s had with Clapham after a long time with the team, he now has his sights set on Cincinnati and the prospect of a second World Games appearance.

tSG Awards ’21: Best Thrower

We’re looking to recognise great throwers here. Most of the time these players are the ones entrusted to pick up a dead disc, the hardest spot in the game to throw from, but there’s a few people who are also fantastic first cutters who can cause damage to defences when they get the disc slightly higher up the field.

MIXED

Third place: Sam Vile, Deep Space

Sam is one of the best handlers in any division in the country. A wide array of throws isn’t his only strength – he’s also got a lightning quick release and his give-go movement is probably the most difficult to stop in mixed. He’s played for and run Great Britain teams in the past, and with WUCC and the World Games both coming up in 2022 it’ll be a pretty big one for him.

Second place: Helen Thompson, SMOG

Helen was a brilliant addition to SMOG in 2021, bringing disc skills and smarts to their backfield. She was excellent throughout the season but was particularly good at Nationals and helped bring the title back to the north. She’ll be captaining the champs during their WUCC campaign, looking to build on finishing 21st in 2018.

WINNER: Tom Bennett, SMOG

The main field-flipper for SMOG is the winner here. TB has a huge arm on both sides and can hit the endzone from pretty much anywhere on the field. His return from Chevron gave SMOG’s deep game a huge boost with his ability to hit one of their many extremely talented cutters in stride once they had roasted their mark. The national final showed very clearly how much of a weapon that is, and how useful it will be heading into 2022.

WOMEN’S

Third place: Jenna Thompson, London Masters

Jenna is one of the best of any kind of skill, really, but her throwing is really the skill that sets her apart. She can do whatever she wants with the frisbee, and remains one of the most dangerous throwers in the country.

Second place: Hannah Brew, Iceni

Hannah has been one of the best handlers in whatever division she’s played in for several years. Moving from Brighton mixed to Iceni and the women’s division has been a huge gain for the Londoners for the past few seasons, as she brings her composure, ability to break marks and throw long with equal aplomb and leadership skills to the table.

WINNER: Becky Thompson, Iceni

Going one better than her sister, Becky has been a huge addition for Iceni this season as well. She can play on both sides of the disc, she can push the disc downfield in a hurry and is also able to carve up marks in the shorter game (as well as pull pretty well too). She and Brew are two of an outstanding handler set for Iceni, a brilliant building block as they seek to get back to the top of UK ultimate in 2022.

OPEN

Third place: Josh Kyme, Chevron Action Flash

Josh has been a central part of Chevron’s handling corps for years, with the relationship between him and Dom Dathan forming an important part of the offence. This season other players took on handling duties as well so his role shifted slightly but he remains one of the best mark breakers in the country and has added some big throws to his repertoire to round out the ways he can attack defences.

Second place: Andrew Boxall, Alba

Andy has a full range of throws, able to attack defences at every level with equal ability. His composure and ability to control points is huge for the Scots and has been a key part of their improvement. He’s shown that he’s one of the best handlers around and will get to show that against competition from Europe and wider afield next year.

WINNER: Josh Briggs, Clapham Ultimate

Josh’s backhand is an excellent throw, but it’s his flick that’s really the defining part of his game. He can throw it to any spot on the field with a rapid release that’s incredibly difficult to stop. It means that almost every team in Europe now forces the 10-time European champs backhand just to avoid being burned deep by Briggs’s bombs. Chevron tried more poachy looks in the Nationals final and Briggs duly obliged with three big assists on the flick side. Once they took it away, he obliged with a backhand one too, because that’s what great throwers can do.

tSG Awards ’21: Best of the Rest

This award is to recognise those who don’t make the final of Nationals. Team success is often wrapped up in the awarding of individual awards, when there are fantastic players up and down the rankings in all three divisions. This is our way of trying to recognise those players.

MIXED

Third place: Kim Marsh, SMOG

Kim played for SMOG 2 this season and seemed to improve with every passing month. After playing well for the SMOG women’s team in the National League, she took that form into Nationals and was a key player as SMOG 2 returned to the semi-finals. With two SMOG teams going to Cincinnati in 2022, she’s sure to have an opportunity to test herself against the rest of the world.

Second place: Sam Wilson, Reading Ultimate

Sam has been around for several years, playing with JR in the mixed division and EMO in open before. This season was something of a breakout with Reading, though, as he had a huge effect on both sides of the disc with his speed. One of the fastest players in the division, he had dominant games downfield where he left defenders in his wake and emerged as a key player for Reading as they won the National League but lost in the Nationals semi-final to Deep Space. He’ll be looking to help Reading improve on that going into WUCC next season.

WINNER: Bex Palmer, Reading Ultimate

Bex has been a stalwart for Reading for years. Playing on the D line this season she showed that she’s just as adept winning back possession as controlling it, and took on some of the toughest match-ups in mixed with aplomb. She’s long been crucial to everything that Reading do on the field, and has been recognised with inclusion on Great Britain teams to boot. She’s one of the best players in the country, and a very worthy winner here.

WOMEN’S

Third place: Emily Potter, Spice

Emily was a dominant force at times for Spice, not only getting blocks but also being a fulcrum of the offence. Next season Spice will be heading to Cincinnati to compete against the best teams in the world and Emily will be one of the players they’ll be leaning on to make things happen on both sides of the disc.

Second place: Jenna Thomson, London Masters

Jenna was the best female player in the UK in the 2010s, and it appears the only thing that can slow her down is not playing as much. She was dominant when she needed to be at Nationals; running points with the disc, roasting people downfield and skying them when they caught up. She’s always been an all-around player, and is absolutely still one of the very best around.

WINNER: Rupal Ghelani, SYC

Talking of an all-around player, Rupal has been building her reputation as one of the best players in Europe for years. She’s a solid handler, she’s a great cutter and she’s a smothering defender. Pairing dedication and work ethic with technical talent and a sky-high frisbee IQ, she has very few chinks in her armour and yet is only getting better.

OPEN

Third place: Ross Nugent, Alba

Alba had an excellent season, only losing to Chevron and Clapham all year but making those games very tight and competitive, so it’s not surprising to see one of their players here (and stay tuned on that). Ross is another that has been developing his reputation over the last few years, earning a bronze medal with Great Britain playing mixed on the beach and solidifying his position as a defensive handler with Alba after starting with Fire. Another name to watch over the next few years heading into WUCC and the next Great Britain cycle.

Second place: Cameron Agnew, Alba

Cammy has been one of the best players in Scotland for years, starring for Black Eagles before Alba. He made the Great Britain Mixed team that was going to play in 2020 before the pandemic and is one of the best downfield weapons in the division. He’s led Alba to third place after finishing fourth in 2019 and will be looking to crack that top two in 2022.

WINNER: Andrew Boxall, Alba

Completing the Scottish sweep of this award, Andy has been one of the fastest risers in the last few years. He made the Great Britain Mixed squad that won gold in Gyor in 2019 and has been a crucial part of Alba’s rise. A brilliant handler who can play on both sides of the disc, he’s another who’ll be looking to continue improving heading into a huge 2022 season.