Author: patrick

Boracay Beach 2008

OK, here’s some news from Boracay straight off the bat.
FIRST, the tournament this year is being held about 2 months earlier than normal. The local Filipinos, many of whom play in this tournament, are still in their “work” season and thus attending this tournament is difficult. As a result the tournament is not massively large — perhaps only 14 teams.
But on the flipside there is some serious beach love here. The Dragons (teams A, B and C) practice ultimate just about any day of the week. Tomorrow the teams gear up for some beach conditioning at 9am. Tomorrow being Friday of course… games are not until Saturday.
Not a lot of traveling disc players have made it to Boracay this year. It is not the easiest tournament to get to, but not the most difficult either. And this place really is a swell beach scene.
The other talk of the scene here is that this weekend may be WINDY which apparently is not common for this tournament, as, again, it is usually help in late April or May.
The teams to beat are the stacked Manila big boys Sexual chocolate and the speed demons of Boracay Dragons (A). Last year Dragons won by 2 in the final.
Tony

New LinkedIn group: Disc (o) Tech

disc-o-tech.jpgDori Yaniv, the organizer of the Israeli BULAFLOW Beach Ultimate tournament just invited me to join the Disc (o) Tech group on LinkedIn. This group combines the passion for Hi-Tech and disc playing. Dori feels like there is a strong correlation between playing disc and working in Hi-Tech. One way to check it is to see how fast this group grows… I joined. What about you?
http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/58996/3D628C5F8303

Eye Black Strips. Do they work?

mueller_eye_black.jpgYou might have seen American Football players wear them. You might even have seen Xtehn Titcomb wear them at the World Championships Beach Ultimate in Brazil, but do the Eye Black Stripes from Mueller really work?
I decided to try them during our league day in the Algarve last weekend and apart from the many comments I received on how ‘scary’ I look, I did not notice a difference. Perhaps when it is really really sunny out (this was just a winter sun) they might help, but in that case I will play with sunglasses.
The good thing about the strips is that they are easy to put on and take off, and I was pleasantly surprised that they stayed on all day, but you won’t be seeing me wear them any day soon, unless I want to look scary on the field… 🙂

Respect not rivalry

northernadvocate.jpgIf football is the “beautiful” game then Beach Ultimate is well on the way to being known as the “social” game.
The competitors at the sixth annual Ocean Beach “Beach Hat” tournament came from all over the country as well as from overseas, but once they were put into teams, friendships blossomed that should last a lot longer than the two-day tournament.
The beauty of this tournament, apart from its setting on Ocean Beach, is the fact that no team rivalry exists other than during the game. Each team is picked at random at the beginning of the tournament, meaning teammates have to get to know each other pretty quickly.
(Continued at the Northern Advocate)

Blockstack TV

Entertainment! That is how I would describe Blockstack TV. Steve Giguere (from Ultimate Gear company Lookfly) and Tom ‘The Voice of UK Ultimate’ Styles, are the brains behind this new venture that utilizes new technology such as video podcasts, RSS feeds, and Twitter.
Their videos are still a bit too long and UK centric to capture the imagination of a global audience but it is a great start. The two guys are funny and will travel around to Wonderful Copenhagen, Paganello and the WUGC 2008 in Vancouver to bring us pictures, podcasts, stories and results.
Check them out at www.blockstack.tv
blockstack.jpg

BULA changes eligibility rules

In line with the WFDF change in eligibility rules, and in time for the ECBU in France, BULA has changed its rules too. The new rules are:
3.3.1 Citizens
Players are deemed to be Citizens and can automatically qualify for participation if
a) they own a passport or equivalent legal document issued by the country’s government; or
b) they have moved to the country at least four years prior to the start date of the event and spent more than 75% of those four years in the country.
3.3.2 Resident Non-Citizen
Each team can put 3 players on their roster that are deemed to be “Resident non-citizens”. These players
a) own a legal certificate of permanent residency issued by the country’s government; or
b) moved to the country at least 20 months prior to the start date of the event and spent more than 75% of those 20 months in the country.
3.3.3 Ultimate Community Member
Each team can field one player that is deemed to be an “Ultimate Community Member”. This choice is at the discretion of the National Association if they are considered to be a significant part of that Country’s ultimate community, but don’t fall under the above categories. The following may be taken into account by the National Association in making this decision:
• Residency history in that Country
• Participation in that Country’s ultimate events, especially national championships
• Past representation on National Teams
• Participation in the development of ultimate in the Country

Download the complete copy of the ECBU Team and Player Manual

European Championships Update

The ECBU will have 5 divisions : Open, Women Mixed, Masters and Juniors.
The Fees:
ECBU2008_120x64.gifPlayer fee: 70 €
Player fee junior: 60 €
Guest fee: 50 €
Team fee: 100 €
Team fee junior: 80 €
The player/guest fee includes : the player’s pack, the BBQ of the welcome party and the Sunday night dinner (the dinner of the Big party).
Accommodations (per day/person)
Camping 5 € (500m from the fields)
Mobil home 15 € ( for 4 and 6 people, with kitchen, are located 15 min from the fields with the free ECBU shuttle service
Apartments 20 € (from 2 to 8 people, all with a kitchen, in buildings located from 10m to 400m from the fields! But we only have spots for 85 persons. First paid first served)
Food
Breakfast: A breakfast plan is provided for 4€/day.
Lunch : There is no mid-day meal plan as everyone will be at the fields. Of course, food and drinks will be available at the player’s village on the beach.
Dinner: Thursday Night welcome BBQ and Sunday night diner are included in the player/guest fee. Dinner on your own the others days.
Timeline:
January 15 – February 15: National/team representatives notify of teams selected to play at ECBU. All team fee to be paid.
March 15: All teams to register players. Team registration closes.
March 20 – April 5: BULA seeds teams and devises tournaments format. Teams notified immediately.
April 15: All player registration closes. All players fee to be paid.
May 8 : Registration / Opening ceremony / Welcome Party with a free BBQ on the beach
May 9 – May 12 Games & Parties
Registration and Payment
The spot can only support 5 fields, so we have a maximum of 32 teams. So don’t wait February the 15th to register…
The ECBU bank account is :
Bank: Crédit Mutuel Nantes – Cathédrale
27 rue de la Marne
44000 Nantes
France
Account name : ECBU2008
Account number : 00012782301
IBAN : FR76 1574 9361 8400 0127 8230 151
Please reference your payments with this format: (CountryCode)-(DivisionID)
where CountryCode is :
Austria: A
Belgium: B
Croatia: HR
Czech Republic: CZ
Denmark: DK
Estonia: EST
France: F
Germany: DE
Great Britain: GB
Ireland: IRL
Italy: I
Latvia: LV
Lithuania: LT
Netherlands: NL
Portugal: P
Russia: RUS
Slovakia: SK
Spain: E
Switzerland: CH
And TeamCode is :
Open: OP
Women: WO
Mixed: MX
Masters: MA
Junior: JO
When registering the teams, please send an email to info@ecbu2008.org with this reference and telling us the expected number of players and guest on the teams.
The official ECBU website (www.ecbu2008.org)will being updated and soon have more detail on the accommodations.