Dublin Ultimate

Monday Night Lights!

2011-10-04T09:41:00.000+01:00

The infamous Monday Night training sessions in Clontarf are back! Wahey!

Dominick has kindly organised the use and rental of a high quality astro pitch in Clontarf for all players willing to play Open Ultimate at a high level. The coast is minimal - €5 per session or a bargain of €35 for all 9 weeks. All players from all clubs are welcome. It is NOT DU training but an Open session.

See you all out on the pitch!

DU are back!

2011-02-09T23:11:00.000Z

Hello everyone.

We trained before Christmas, we've trained since Christmas (when we've been able!) and now we're starting back into a new season with new goals and lots of hard work ahead. The Ireland trials have come and gone, the three teams are (almost) finalised and now club training will be the focus for most players. Clontarf is our venue and the current 8 week block is sorted to take us through until March (see emails for detail). Let's get a decent turnout!

The DU leadership had it's first meeting of the year two weeks ago and the season's tournaments and goals were laid out. We have retained our excellent coach, Peter Sandin, and the captaincy set up of Niall Harbourne (capt.) and Mark Earley (vice capt.). We have targeted UK Tour 2 and the end of season EUCRs as our two tournaments. Once the light gets better (March) the training will adjust to suit this.

Looking forward to a great season ahead!
DU

Last DU practice of the 'summer season'

2010-09-15T21:55:00.000+01:00

Hey folks,

all Open players are welcome to join us in Gonzaga tomorrow night for DU's last 'summer season' training session. It will be a long game against Broc starting at 6:15pm and going until light dies - likely to be as early as 8pm.

Anyone who's keen for a run around and a decent game, please do come along. Bring water, a disc and a dark jersey.

Cheers,
Marko

DU Blog update!

2010-09-11T16:46:00.000+01:00

So we've been a little quiet of late and for lots of reasons - back to work, people have been away, there was the U-23s World Championships, then home and the All-Irelands and now Cork Open in a couple of weeks. So where does that leave DU?

Well, we've been training every Thursday and reckon we'll get another week out of it yet, maybe 2 weeks. There's talk of floodlit training and maybe Winter League - we'll keep everyone posted over the next few months. For now, keep up the fitness (like Podger would), hit the gym and see you at pickup or in Cork!

See ya soon!
Marko

WUCC DU Awards

2010-07-16T19:48:00.004+01:00

In a true captain's performance Niall was the big winner when the voting took place in the run down stand on the side of a pitch with 2 crates of beer (courtesy of our raucous supporters!). He lead by example all week and was more than deserving of the two awards.

As for Sam, well it was testament to a player who's worked hard, made huge sacrifices and has shown that with enough determination you can make the step up if you really want. A great season's work - well done Sam.

MVP: Niall Harbourne
MIP:Sam Mehigan
SHRP: Niall Harbourne

In other news, here's some stats from the WUCC Website. A quick summary:
- We came 38th overall, of 48 teams
- We came joint 8th in the Spirit standings
- Derryk Boyd was involved in an impressive 37 scores
- Derryk Boyd & Mark Earley threw 24 scores
- Enda Naughton pipped Dave McAlester by one goal, scoring 20 goals
- Our biggest win was by 7 points
- Our heaviest defeat was by 10 points

Full report coming soon...

2010-07-13T17:16:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone.

A full run down on the last few games, some photos and a party report will follow soon. Some of us lucky ones are still holidaying around Europe so the blogs been on the back burner. We beat Redbacks, Fire and Mooncatchers (revenge!) but lost heavily to Cambo. The fact that they had over twice as many players might've played a part! :)

In other news:
- New website ready to go soon
- Training details to be finalised shortly
- DU accessories in the pipeline!

For now, ciao!
Marko

Four wins and two losses!

2010-07-08T21:46:00.000+01:00

The last three days of our week in Vienna were like a synopsis of the story of our week - a mix of the excellent and the frustrating. At some points were gelled and were unstoppable and at other times we lacked intensity, looked tired and succumbed to teams no stronger than us.

Day Four
the Big EZ
The Big EZ hail from Vienna and are a team based around physicality, both on the mark and around the field, and aerial aggression. They were relatively unpredictable and had a decent, but not spectacular zone. We started slowly - an Achilles heel we were more than aware of - conceding a few points in a row with the offence not on form. There a few calls, a few cynical fouls and the atmosphere wasn't a particularly pleasant one. We clawed back into the game, losing a turnover-ridden point to concede half but then faded away. Again, a very disappointing result that hurt us. We'd worked hard and come away with nothing. Heads were down.

MVPs - Kev Timoney who got some big Ds and played assuredly when the rest of us lost it.
- David McAlester scored a load of points and didn't run over - an asset to a misfiring offence!

Emo/Fusion

The first of our two UK battles and one that meant a lot to us given the 2 defeats we'd been handed by the EMO boys on Tour. The difference in this game was that all 14 of us played the best defence we'd produced to date. We fronted the handlers and shut down long threats and whent he pressure came on perhaps their lack of team-ness caused them to crack. That said, they were brimming with talent and experience but we beaten by a team who wanted it more, worked harder and most importantly, shut the game out in style winning 4 D points on a row.

MVP - Mark Earley - lots of assists, few turns and some big forces causing turns allowed me sneak an MVP vote by a single vote.

Day Five
Redbacks
An Aussie outfit who had played little together, picked up a few players and were enjoying the trip Europe in every sense, the Redbacks had lost every game before meeting us and we weren't going to let them scalp us. We spoke about a strong opening half and we got it after the usual gentle start. The O line had ample space to put away all their goals and once the D line got going we won well. We leaked a few at the end of the game to put a slight gloss on the score from their point of view but a 7 point win was enjoyable all the same.

MVP - Kev Timoney - another display of good hands and simple throws. Brilliant on offence especially.

Fire Of London
We knew going on to the pitch that we were facing a team who had set their sights on much higher a finish than they achieved. They'd lost a couple of tight games against higher seeded teams and weren't happy about it. We'd played FoL 2 at Tour and won with ease but this was a different kettle of fish altogether. We started well and some smooth offence and feisty D got us fired up. Then came a 3 point swing which we worried might let them take the game from us but we replied and went in at half a point to the good. Nialler stirred the troops with some great battling words at half and we came out refreshed and determined. The heat was tough but we kept calm and won out by 3 points (I think) to record a great victory that we'll remember for some time.

MVP - Derryk Boyd - fired up, concentrated and all over the pitch (well, his face was anyway), Gags had a huge game when we needed big players to stand up and be counted.

Day Six
Mooncatchers
Revenge was the word on everyone's minds. We were fired up and they looked tired. From the opening 5 or 6 points it seemed to me like there was only going to be one winner and there was. The 1 point loss earlier in the week had really hurt us and despite losing a couple of players to injury (including Super who turned his ankle walking down some steps) we played well, getting turns with a strong front up and converting our offence despite having to mix the lines. A 6 or 7 point victory was just reward for a strong display. The tanks were close to empty though and the heat was relentless...

MVP - Enda Naughton - Reliable all week long, Enda was full of energy when we were all wilting. Got some huge grabs and threw a load of point winning passes.

Cambo Cakes
Everything went wrong in our last game of the week - we lost players before the warm up, we warmed up late and without intensity, we lost Perfect to a nasty clash of heads in the first few points and we suffered in the heat. Not to take away from a purposeful, hard-working and hard-running Cambo Cakes performance but I dont think we turned up at all. We fought, we huffed and we puffed, but we never really got any sort of a foothold in the game. Throws were overthrown, catches were dropped at chest height and we chased instead of anticipated.On a personal level, I found it really hard to finish the week like this. It wasn't anyone's fault - we were 14 players reduced to 10 by the end of the game! - and were playing a well drilled team with more than 20 players. It just hurt. We'll play them again next year no doubt, and if I'm there, this loss will be in the front of my mind stepping on to the pitch.

MVP - Podge who played brilliantly when we all crumbled around him. A rock on D and calm on O.

The monkeys off the back...

2010-07-07T22:44:00.002+01:00

Yes, we won a game! And it was on my birthday. I'll post details tomorrow given we're up in 6hours time. Ugh! In more important news, Dom won the 'D*ck f the day award' and our MVPs today were the execellent Kev Timoney & David McAlester from Game One and the simply incredible Mark Earley from Game Two.

Me with my birthday cake (& candle) and presents (lollipop & porn!)

Big thanks to everyone following us! :)

DU go formal

2010-07-06T22:13:00.001+01:00

Blue shirts, navy ties, biege slacks/chords and posh shoes (or at least most of us!). The style went down a treat with all and sundry.

News from elsewhere at WUCC

2010-07-06T22:07:00.000+01:00

So, with the busy schedule and supporting the 'wetsers' (read ladies!) I've not really had any time to update ye on anything other than our games. Needless to say the banters been non-stop with evenings of cards, flubberguts (quite a dangerous sport!), World Cup, show games (Clapham one was boring but Mavis did well) and much more. Five Ultimate have a massive tent with games etc at it and Kirby, an ex-Broc player is manning it - he says hello.

Ireland's Fergus Weldon playing for CU vs Euforia

Tonight we went formal and wore blue shirts, navy ties and biege trousers. It went doen well. We ran a race that was streamed live apparently and regardless of waht Dom says about him 'joke running' I didnt even come last! A personal highlight. Anyways, here's a few other photos.

The lads in the Five Ultimate tent

Early stages of Niall's lucky win in the suit & tie race

More tomorrow - hopefully with some good news!!

WUCC - Day Three

2010-07-06T20:45:00.001+01:00

Day three began with us scheduled to play 2 games but after a lightning storm (!!) our day was shortened to just one game. The game that survived the mental weather was the opener - DU vs. Mor Ho! (Slovakia). We didn't know much about this team except that they, like us, had finished last in their original pool and were lower than us in terms of seedings. No doubt both teams were targeting the game after three losses.

Unfortunately we started slowly again. Well, it wasn't so much a slow start as some missed opportunities. Early in the game we had chances to convert blocks but our shot selection was off. We traded with ease until they put a zone on the offence. It took us a while to adapt and during that while we conceded maybe 4 points. We fought back but they closed out half 9-5. There wasn't anything between the two teams but their style of play - huck on sight - was reaping rewards despite the goals shots going up late and, generally speaking, being high risk throws. Their completion rate on 50-50s was huge. The second half saw the D line go on a run of sorts but we couldn't get a real hold in the game. Suddenly, the big black, threatening clouds opened and rain, lightening and thunder forced us all to abandon fields. The score was at 13-8.

On O before the storm

Derryk getting milled!

We regrouped under the shelter of the stadium and grouped together 'like King Penguins to conserve heat'. We laughed at the state of the weather and were informed that the following happens in a thunder & lightening scenario:
1. Abandon pitch
2. Wait 15mins to see if it passes over
3. If it passes over, go back onto the field and re-start the game
4. If not, the time re-starts and trickles away until the team winning wins
Luckily it sort of stopped and we got back out. We pumped ourselves up and got awrm in a gale. We were fired up and came out and scored 4 of the next 6 points. It wasnt enough though and despite getting turns, and scoring a huge upwinder, we found it hard to convert in the conditions and lost 17-14.

Post-storm!

MVP: Enda Naughton - big grabs, huge Ds and a calm head saw Enda get over half the teams votes. The best deep in Ireland? Without a doubt.

Another tough loss for the boys in blue but we'll be back tomorrow and we'll be hitting the field all guns blazing...

WUCC - Day Two

2010-07-06T15:23:00.000+01:00

We went into the second day knowing we had a chance to improve our seeding by beating Mooncatchers - a team Irish teams have a mixed history against. We were quietly confident and knew it'd be a close game, what we didn't know was just how close it would be in the end...

From the get-go the two teams were fired up and went hard at each other. There were a fair few calls and both teams reacted with anger/frustration to them causing quite a feisty atmosphere, one we didn't expect but that calmed as the game went on. We started slowly with some uncharacteristic mistakes on offence. The personal error count grew and the first half looked to be slipping away from us. However, we dug deep and a tight zone began to reap rewards. Suddenly a 4 point deficit was chipped away until we took half 9-8. We had the upper hand and were converting all our breaks. The O line went out and did their job, putting the D line back in to continue the zonal dominance. At 11-8 we had the disc to go 4 points clear but two particularly close calls (both on the scoring pass/play) cost us our concentration and the point. 11-9 became 11-10 and it was game on again. We traded out until 14s (I think) when we went in on D knowing it was winner takes all. We were pulling into the wind and playing man and twice had the disc for the win but it wasn't to be. A very tough loss to take. Final score 14-15.

Super goes ho!

Dom on the force

MVP - Roger Beatty - despite being absolutely smitten, Podger proved to be an asset throughout the game popping up with a point block when we were feeling the squeeze. His safe hands, huge D and an irrepressible mark on zone won him the majority of the votes. Attaboy!

DU & Mooncatchers

14 Usain Bolts...

2010-07-05T23:08:00.002+01:00

WUCC - Day One

2010-07-05T22:56:00.002+01:00

We knew from the first time we read the schedule that 15th seeds Phoenix (Ottawa) and 10th seeds Colony (Sydney) was going to be a tough start. We began against the Canadians at 8:30am, and began well - trading through the half and feeling solid. Their D wasn’t bothering our offence too much and we’d turned them in most of the D points. Their approach to the game in general was noticeably more physical, often over stepping the mark with late hits, discussion-free contests and some aggro sideline talk, but it didn’t really bother us. We took half 9-8 and were receiving the pull, confident and ready to take the game to them once more. However, the Phoenix team that turned up in the second half was a different beast entirely to that of the opening half – they were fired up, made some huge bids, rattled our O and shut down our reset entirely. Two quick turns and scores and the game was swinging their way. We made a few errors that proved costly and as our heads dropped their confidence grew. They closed out strongly to win 17-11.

MVP: Niall Harbourne - a few big layout blocks, some huge grabs and an all round star performance saw the cpatin take the honours in the first game.

Derryk 'Jokes' Boyd in action vs. Phoenix

Unfortunately the Colony game was a much different affair. They bullied us around the mark and were strong and clever on defence. Their offence was aggressive and they used fast cuts from shallow to create space deep. We struggled to contain them on D and our O was constantly pressurised. A 4 point lead became a 6 point lead and despite a rally after half-time we never really got going in the game and ended up losing 17-7. It was a frustrating loss, but one dealt out to us rather than served up by us. The Aussies play a hard and fair game and we’ll be cheering them on in the latter stages. Here’s hoping they can cause some upsets and beat their seeding. I for one fancy them as quarter-finalists.

MVP: Dominick Smyth - seldom put a foot worng in a tough game for the O line and a lot of thankless hard work on D. Great perfromance.

Dom taking a grab vs. Colony

DU & Colony after the game

DU has landed!

2010-07-05T22:43:00.001+01:00

So we’re finally here. Months of planning, training, saving and everything else for this week and it’s here. I flew in on Friday and the first thing to hit me was the heat – people had warned me but it still took me by surprise when I stepped off the plane. Us pale skinned Irish lads and girls are going to face a tough battle… We checked into the dorms (think Communist era high rise buildings with 2 people per room and 60 rooms a floor!), ditched our bags and went walking through Prague on Friday evening and the town was buzzing – lots of Ultimate players, tourists and a nice atmosphere. We wound up watching the World Cup game in the town square which was a great start to the week.

Prague City Centre World Cup Fan Zone

Saturday was an early start for the WFDF Congress, an annual meeting for WFDF representatives from all across the world. It was a long but interesting day that saw positive discussions take place on many different topics from the U-23s World Championships to the banning on alcohol at Junior tournaments. It served as a reminderof how much volunteer work keeps our sport running. The WFDF organise all the main international tournaments, develop Ultimate world wide and provide support for teams across the globe. They do all this with only one paid board member!

The biggest Captains meeting ever?

From the congress we made our way back to the dorms at Strahov (a pretty area of stadia on a hill, about 20mins bus journey outside the city centre) and met up with the rtest of the team. We registered everyone, checked in and got all the players gear - a free disc, a metal water bottle, notepads and other nice bits and pieces. The captains meeting was held and despite our best efforts they stuck with the original schedule. The whole place was buzzing with excitement as we met old freinds, saw the Germans tear the Argies apart and then went down to the Sockeye Throwing Session. It was a pretty useful hour or so with some tips on how to get throws (and catches) game ready in your warm up. A good feed, a bit of banter back at the dorms and off to bed. Finally it was time to play!

Sockeye's Ben Wiggins

Motivation...

2010-06-30T11:35:00.000+01:00

...if any was needed...

5 things you SHOULD do before the tournament...

2010-06-30T10:43:00.000+01:00

1. Sleep well for the week

2. Become culturally aware of the place we're travelling to

3. Make a list, pack well & remember essentials (tickets, passport)

Example: http://www.irishultimate.com/resources/talking_article.php?HuddleID=83
4. Go to the bank and buy the CZ currency! 500 'coronas' = €20 = 17 pints/50 cans (info here!)

5. Stretch and drink loads of water!

'Streching at times other than before exercise may theoretically increase hypertrophy...and is likely to decrease injuries' - Concepts in Stretching.

5 things NOT to do the week before a tournament

2010-06-28T11:37:00.002+01:00

1. Go binge drinking

2. Start parkour

3. Eat sh*t food

4. Forget to hydrate

5. Lose your passport/boots/miss your flight etc.

Common sense really!
Marko

DU beat U-19s & U-23s

2010-06-28T11:04:00.001+01:00

In the last weekend before we go to Prague, we played two 90min games against the Irish U-19s and U-23s teams in Raheny on Saturday. We were missing a number of players (to injury, travel, U-23s team!) but picked up a couple to boost outr ranks as well.

Game One: vs. U-19s
We started with a game against the U-19s which we approached with confidence, in hindsight, perhaps with a little too much confidence. A weak zone and a lack of aggression on D cost us 4 points of the first 7 - an inauspicious start. We called a time out and discussed what we needed to do to get into the game. From the time out onwards we were clinical and bossed the game, winning 17-4.

Game Two: vs. U-23s
The second game was a different affair all together. We warmed up well, were focused from the start and had learned from our casual attitude in game one. If anything, we started a little too excited and turned both the Ds we got in the first point! However, out offence was functioning well and the zone got good practice too. Soon the mistakes were all theirs and we began to draw further away. 9-5 at half to DU. The second half was scrappy - we made a lot of unforced errors that should've been more costly. Their offence was unlucky in parts, but we ran out deserved winners 14-7.

Finally, a big thanks to the two teams for vital games this close to our tournament. The run around was just wha t we needed and it will stand to us in a weeks time. Best of luck in Heilbronn and Florence!

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/dublinultimate/DUFriendlies

Swede to play for DU?

2010-06-28T10:51:00.000+01:00

Rumours have been rife over the past few months that one of Sweden's finest, a young (ish) blonde chap called Peter Sandin, is keen to leave his current club for pastures anew. Having won most titles he can win in Europe with Skoshgythdjfihdgdhan, the no.12 is seemingly frustrated with the lack of challenges and as such wants to try and bring Dublin Ultimate from its embryonic stage through to European domination. We spoke to Sandin's personal assistant, Dagmar Steigerssssson, who was tight-lipped about the whole story: 'No comment. Tack så mycket!'. However, after much investigation, it would appear that the following picturs speak louder than any words.

Welcome Peter!

Point Block O'clock

2010-06-28T10:39:00.000+01:00

Seamus gets a big block on Sam at the weekend.

WUCC schedule is up...

2010-06-24T17:00:00.000+01:00

...well the first two days are up anyway. As predicted we're in the group with 10th seeds: Colony (Sydney), 15th seeds: Phoenix (Ottawa) and 34th seeds: Mooncatchers (Brussells).

Day 1 (Sunday):
8:30am: vs. Phoenix
12:30pm: vs. Colony

Day 2 (Monday):
12:30pm: vs Mooncatchers

A tough start with us playing two of the top 15 teams in the competition, but exciting to see the games organised and start focusing. It'll be interesting to see how the net stage of the draw pans out...

Come on the Dirty Ol' Town!
Marko

Final Seedings for WUCC 2010

2010-06-22T14:38:00.000+01:00

So the final seedings are out. They are available on the WUCC website and see Dublin Ultimate in as the 39th seeds out of 48 teams. Elsewhere, the top 8 are, predictably, dominated by the American teams with Ferg & Mavis' Clapham 9th seeds, 1 place behind Peter's Skogs. Ragnarok are seeded high - 18th place, but look to have improved since Tour 1 with their strong finish in the 'Dam. Closer to us are Mooncatchers, Cambo Cakes, Bischi and a number of other teams I look forward to playing!

No doubt the official schedule will be released in the next couple of days, however, if we were to try and predict the groups (using the snaking pools technique!) we'd be in with:

1. 10th seeds & Australia's no.1 seeds: Colony

2. 15th seeds & Canada's no.2 seeds: Phoenix

3. 34th seeds & Belgium's only Open team: Mooncatchers

4. 39th seeds & Ireland's only Open team: DU

In one more piece of news, apparently the Argentine team Truco have pulled out and the Parisians Ultimate Vibration have taken their place. I wonder how that might effect the seedings given Truco were in at 48th seeds and UV have a relatively strong pedigree in Europe...

Go DU!
Marko

Ramping up the excitement!

2010-06-22T14:12:00.003+01:00

WUCC is under a fortnight away. As we edge closer to the trip to the Czech Republic players are gettign excited across the world. Here are a few links from various blogs and from the WUCC organisers:

Organisers:
WUCC Twitter: http://twitter.com/WUCC2010
WUCC Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wucc2010

Merchandise:
FiveUltimate: http://fiveultimate.com/store/wucc2010

Blogs:
I Am Ultimate: http://iamultimate.com/2010/06/wucc-2010-updates/
The Huddle: http://www.the-huddle.org/weblog/
Force Sideline: http://forcesideline.com/
Get Horizontal: http://gethorizontal.be/

Tour 2 Results

2010-06-22T13:57:00.000+01:00

Last weekend DU went to Birmingham to play Tour 2. We were seeded 10th and finished 7th. We won 5 and lost 1 game over the two days. A full report (and all the photos) will follow.

Pool Play (Saturday):
DU 15-8 Cardiff Storm
DU 15-10 Age Against the Machine
DU 15-11 Burro Electrico

Placings (Sunday):
DU 15-8 Fire of London 2
DU 12-15 Emo
DU 15-10 LeedsLeedsLeeds

MVP: Derryk Boyd
MIP: Kev Timoney
SHRP: Rob Kiely

Tour 1 Results

2010-06-22T13:50:00.002+01:00

3 weeks ago we went to Tour 1 in London. We had a mixed weekend and came 15th. The results are as follows:

Pool Play (Saturday):
DU 16-15 Ragnarok
DU 7-15 Emo
DU 8-15 Clapham

Placings (Sunday):
DU 15-8 Burro Electrico
DU 12-14 Tooting Tigers
DU 14-11 Cambo Cakes

MVP: Super Dave
MIP: Robin Giller

Full Report to follow soon. Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/dublinultimate/ATour1
Marko

Ultivillage Preview Video

2010-06-13T21:19:00.000+01:00

Ultivillage have made a preview clip for WUCC 2010. Watch it here!

Getting excited now!

Prliminary Seedings for WUCC released!

2010-05-28T17:15:00.000+01:00

So, not long til Prague and things are getting exciting. Especially now that the prliminary seedings are out!

Open Division

Chain Lightning (USA)
Revolver (USA)
Sockeye (USA)
Ironside (USA)
Bunka Shutter Buzz Bullets (Japan)
Doublewide (USA)
Phoenix (Canada)
Chevron Action Flash (UK)
Skogshyddan FK (Sweden)
Clapham Ultimate (UK)
Colony (Australia)
Karhukopla (Finland)
Flying Angels Bern (Switzerland)
Nomadic Tribe (Japan)
Mephisto (Canada)
Viksjofors IF (Sweden)
Ragnarok (Denmark)
Euforia (Colombia)
Heads of State (Australia)
Jack Suns (France)
Freespeed (Switzerland)
Fire of London (UK)
Magon (New Zealand)
Feldrenner Mainz (Germany)
Silence (Czech Republic)
Munich Ultimate Club (Germany)
Invictus (Canada)
Loquitos (Japan)
Absolut (Colombia)
Cotarica (Italy)
UFO (Finland)
Bischi (Italy)
Redbacks (Australia)
Warao Ultimate Turmero (Venezuela)
thebigez (Austria)
Mubidisc (Spain)
Mooncatchers (Belgium)
Stoly Ultimate (Russia)
Cambo Cakes (Netherlands)
Dublin Ultimate (Ireland)
Fenix UNAM (Mexico)
CUUP (China)
DominO (Dominican Republic)
LOL (Hungary)
Mor ho! (Slovakia)
Truco (Argentina)
Gigolo (Ukraine)
Ultimate Decision (Lativa)

Pool A - Chain Lightning (USA), Viksjofors IF (Sweden), Ragnarok (denmark), Bischi (italy), Redbacks (Australia), Ultimate Decision (Latvia)
Pool C – Sockeye (USA), Nomadic Tribe (Japan), Heads of State (Australia), Cotarica (Italy), thebigez (Austria), Truco (Argentina)
Pool F – Doublewide (USA), Colony (Australia), Clapham Ultimate (UK), Invictus (Canada), Stoly Ultimate (Russia), DominO (Dominican Republic)

DU summer starts here!

2010-05-28T11:55:00.000+01:00

So, this weekend sees 18 of us head to Tour 1 where we've been drawn in a group with:

Clapham
Ragnarok
Emo

Three tough games against some of Europe's best - exactly what we're looking for basically!

We've 18 players and will be playing O and D lines for the weekend. Those lines are as follows:

Defence : Offence:

Marko Niall

Podge Brian Mac D

Robin Sam

Seamus Keith

Enda Rob Kiely

Kev Super

Brian H Dominick

Perfect Darragh B

Dave F

Darragh G

Come on DU!

Marko

Thursday nights are ON!

2010-04-20T22:32:00.001+01:00

Howdy fellas.

Game on for Thursday nights. The weathers sexy, the grass is green and the nights are getting shorter as the day pushes on through. So, starting this Thursday we will train in Gonzaga from 6:30pm until 8:30pm. Bring the usual - disc, water, snack, light & dark jerseys.

Only 6 weeks until Tour 1...Nows the time to get serious lads, nows the time.

See you on the pitch,
Your captains.

Jerseys are ordered!

2010-04-20T21:36:00.001+01:00

The wonderful folk at Lookfly have worked hard with us to get our jerseys ordered and we can tell they're going to be savage. Navy shirt, Sky blue shirt and navy shorts with the logo on each. We'll keep you all posted!

Training Saturday April 3rd - OFF

2010-04-02T15:56:00.001+01:00

There will be no training this coming Saturday due to pitch availability (or lack thereof!). This will allow players rest following Intervarsities and enjoy a small Easter break. Keep working at the core, enjoy the Easter eggs and see you all for running on Tuesday. Looking forward to it.

Cian Quinn in action against UCC

Easter = lots of chocolate. Booyah.

Training Saturday 27th March

2010-03-25T22:32:00.000Z

Please note that there is no official DU Training this Saturday due to squad commitments at Open Intervarisities............... Intervarsities 2010 website

Some of the squad may still be seen in Herbert Park running and throwing from 11am.

Come training!!

2010-03-22T12:31:00.000Z

The weathers brilliant, the pitches are playable, springs here and the season is about to get spicy. Fancy some training? Bloody right you do.

When? Saturday mornings @ 11am - 1:30pm
Where? Herbert Park
Who? Al Dublin-based Open players welcome
What? New drills, competitive training
Bring? Water, discs, snack, light & dark jersey

See you next weekend!

Dublin Ultimate

Pint of Guinness on your face?

2010-03-18T17:16:00.002Z

St. Patricks Day brings the best, the worst and the tackiest out of most of the Irish population, and not necesarily in that order. DU met up with LMS Ultimate to facepaint in Temple Bar at 10:30am for the guts of 6 hours and we saw a lot of each of the above!

Our face painting skills were solid, - Blonde's were exceptional - our charm turned up to 11, - Dave Ferguson & Keith Coleman deserve a special mention - and we put in a great days effort to raise lots of money! The girls might've been better at the actual painting but classic lines like: 'Pint of Guinness on your face', 'We can fix that face of yours', 'Book of Kells on your face' and '5 - O' won the crowd over repeatedly.

All in all, great fun and very worth the effort! Big thanks to everyone who made it out, to Liz for her great organising and to LMS for their help and efforts. This should be the first of many events we run together :)

Facepainting on Paddys Day

2010-03-15T21:27:00.000Z

DU is taking to the streets! Keep an eye out in Temple Bar on Wednesday as we join forces with LMS Ultimate to raise some funds for WUCC with a bit of St. Patricks Day face painting. Expect Niall 'Picasso' Harbourne, Roger 'Yeats' Beatty and Kev 'le Brocquy' Timoney to lead the way with everything from, well flags to, eh, pints of Guinness!

Happy Paddys Day!

More Photos from EMO Invitational

2010-03-03T18:16:00.000Z

DU team from EMO Invitational

2010-03-01T12:31:00.000Z

Front (L - R): Kevin Timoney, Niall Harbourne, Dominick Smyth, Brian Henderson & Louis Free.
Back (L - R): Sam Maehigan, Oisin Flanagan, Darron Costello, Roger Beatty & Seamus Murray.

DU's first tournament

2010-03-01T12:28:00.001Z

The muddy fields of Loughborough in late February 2010 will be remembered as the venue of Dublin Ultimate's competitive debut - and what a setting!

With strong winds and snow forecast the trip was not the most inspiring prospect. And then our low numbers took a further hit the day we flew out, with Mathieu pulling out with a knee injury and Louis straining a muscle 'doing core' the previous day. The decision to play an early season warm-up tournament was looking about as clever as a cross pitch hammer by Niall*. Still, the 11 of us met in Dublin and over we went in the Ryanair tin can, somehow arriving 10 mins early despite leaving 20mins late. Rental cars, a cheap hotel (for the bright ones amongst us) and off to bed.

Our group was one of two strong groups (it would provide 3 of the top 8 teams) with Brighton, DU, GB Juniors and Manchester. First up were Manchester who we beat 11-2. It was a relatively one-sided affair that saw us implement the new offensive system with a mixed degree of success against a team who struggles to keep up. Game two was against the GB Juniors - a potential banana skin - who had 20-24 players, warmed up for 45-60mins before each game and looked like they were ready to run us into the ground. Looks can deceive however and they decided to practice their zone for entire game which played right into this 9-man tema's hands. Our offence was assured throughout and one break in the 3rd point saw us win out 7-6. Last game of the poo stage was against 2nd seed Brighton on pitch one - the heaviest pitch I've seen in a long time. We started the game brilliantly, trading the first couple before using some blocks to go 2 up, a lead we'd hang on to until the final 10mins of the game. Unfortunately, tired legs and minds coupled with tighter handler D from Brighton saw the game slip from our grasp. 10-8 was the final score - a game we should've won and would've with one or two more pairs of legs...

Last game of the day was a crossover against the ever-friendly Newcastle lads, Brown. Seeded 9th (a seeding they held), the Brown team were slow out of the blocks. Coupled with the fact that we were both very keen to watch the rugby and playing pretty well, the match was never a competition. 8-0 at half-time and 15-4 after 55mins were gone - even that hammer from Nialler couldn't disrupt us. Kev cracked out a suspect hammer too, but at least his was completed! Great bumch of lads, Brown, but not at their best in this one. Straight to the cars and off to find the game. Apparently Loughborough's pubs prefer score reports and no TVs to international rugby so after an irritating 20 minute search we all legged it back to the hotel for the second half. Tension, stupid ref and a glorious Tommy Bowe = 11 lads shouting very loudly in one small hotel room!

Showered, napped, refuelled and off to dinner with us. Eventually we found a small Italian beside the pub where the 'party' was set to go off. a table for 11 on a Saturday night? No problem. In we piled and Iznogood (our quarter-final opponents, 1st seeds & then title-holders) were already eating there. A little bit of banter then down to the ordering. 1 hour later, still no food. This was bad news. As Darron 'my dad owns 10 restaurants' Costello said 'Everything about the restaurant disappoints - the dated decor, the laminated menus, the next to non-existant wine list - don't even get me started on the the service front of house. I mean how long does is take to get a decent Cosmocello around here'. Food arrived in drabs and was alright, but ultimately it wasn't enough ans we were all left wanting more, much like... no, I'll let that go. Luckily, the pub wouldn't let us in (Niall's luminous green trackies not deemed en vogue enough for Loughborough's finest) so we could go home guilt free. Match of the Day with the lads and off to bed.

Sunday was windier that Staurday but the rain held off for most of it. Our first game was at 10am, against the Frenchies of Iznogood on the 'it's like cutting on sand only you get stuck' pitch. We started well, trading to 2s before going a break down. We kept running hard though and as the match wore on the mistakes started creeping in from their end. A few misthrows from both teams made the match a real dofight, especially given the state of the pitch, but we always managed to keep a lead of 1 or 2. Finally it was a game to 9 with us 8-6 up. They put their offence away, despite us getting an upwind turn and then Dom took a great layout catch for the win. The work ethic and team support in theis game was waht won it for us. From the sideline it was clear who wanted it and that we'd learned from our loss vs. Brighton.

The semi-final was against Team Shark of Oxford fame. Last year they had a great season at Tour (9th) and are a tall, hard-running team lead by a few excellent handlers. The difference in this game was clear - they had 13 or 14 players, we had 9. They didnt stap running and despite us tearing out of the blocks to go 2 up they dominated the middle section of the game. We turned in areas we'd not turned before and the 50/50s were only going one way. A late rally wasn't enough and after leaking 5 points without reply in the middle run we lost 10-7 in a game that was quite literally a step too far. In the other semi-final Brighton beat the 7-man Tooting Tiger so it was 9-man Dublin versus 7-man Tooting. The Tigers are a smart, solid team with good experience and plan on cememnting their top 8 A Tour finish of last season. Much like our squad, they were suffering and despite a decent start couldn't keep up with our offence. Tired bodies lead to mistakes and we ran out 10-6 winners to take 3rd place.

To cap off a fine weekend's Ultimate we were awarded the Spirit prize (€100 Lookfly vouchers) - delighted! All in all, this was a brillinat start for us. We got to use our new systems, we got an early season run, we blooded players who've not played at this level an most importantly we set a marker for DU players of the future - this team is strong and it will fight. We'll be fit and we'll work hard for each other. If we do that much, the results with look after themselves. Well done to all who travelled and thanks to the lads at EMO, especially Brummie for running the tournament. Much appreciated.

MVP - Roger Beatty
- Rarely put a foot wrong. Excellent on offence when he seemed to get free at will and took down some great Ds when we really needed them. More of the same Podger!

MSP - Oisin Flanagan
- A late addition to the team, Oisin was enthusiastic, encouraging and fair for the whole weekend. A great motivator and showed belief when we all needed it.

For more photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/dublinultimate/EmoInvitational2010

* i.e. not clever

Weekly Training begins next week

2010-02-26T16:48:00.000Z

Weekly training will start next Saturday from 10:30am to 1:30pm.

More details to follow via email.

Marko

EMO bound

2010-02-26T16:43:00.003Z

Dublin Ultimate is due to make its competitive debut tomorrow on the wet fields of Loughborough. The EMO Invitational is a high quality, 16-team tournament and features teams from the A Tour, national teams (GB Juniors), international teams (Iznogood & us!) and even Masters teams (the cleverly named Age Against The Machine).

DU has been seeded 8th and will face Brighton (2), GB Juniors (11) and Manchester (13) in our pool. The DU team is: Niall Harbourne (c), Dominick Smyth, Seamus Murray, Sam Mehigan, Brian Henderson, Roger Beatty, Mattieu Mayran, Kevin Timoney, Louis Free, Oisin Flanagan, Darron Costello & Mark Earley (v-c-ripple).

We will keep you posted where possible.

Marko

Dublin Ultimate Logo

2010-02-10T00:35:00.000Z

Courtesy of my talented brother James, here is the brand new Dublin Ultimate logo:

For more of his work check out http://www.inputout.com/

Spinning & Circuit Training

2010-02-02T20:39:00.000Z

Last night 12 brave DU members went to a taster fitness session involving 30 minutes of spinning followed by 30 minutes of circuit training. The spining class was resistance cycling at a high tempo that also used a lot of core muscles with standing sprints, crouches and speed pedalling.

The circuit training had many different exercises - from boxing to weight lifting, from agility ladders to pressups and rowing machines. Every part of the body got a work out of some variety and a thorough one at that.

Everyone agreed that this was one of the most complete workouts they've ever taken part in. They left ehasuted but wanting more (in a week or two anyway!). Lee, the fella eho ran it, was very adaptable in terms of what we wanted from the session and is able to adjust/refine as the customer needs. For more information check out the website: http://dlsgym.com/

For more photos of the lads in bits: http://picasaweb.google.com/dublinultimate/SpinningCircuitTraining

News - DU Session 1, EMO Invitational & DU Session 2

2010-01-28T15:20:00.000Z

Last weekend's training was an excellent days work - good job to all who turned up and ran hard. Full notes on what we covered can be found on email and on the Files section of the DU Google Group homepage.

We're off to Loughborough for the EMO Invitational to rub shoulders with the best of the UK at th end of Febraury. If you fancy an early season run please get in touch and thro your name in the ring. Flights are currently around €105 (Dublin - EMA, Friday to Sunday) or less depedning on when you need to return. Please read the screen before you press purchase, Orgy ahem. For more details on the tournament itself have a look at the website

Finally, the second training session of the season will take place on Sunday Feb 14th. The venue is TBC but it will run from 12 until 2:30pm, as session 1 did. Please mark the date down, and assure the ladies you'll be free later in the day.

'Til then, take it easy.

Inroductory Session 1!

2010-01-15T12:12:00.000Z

Hello all.
Next Sunday will see us take to the training pitch for the first time. It will be a 2 and a half hour long session from 12 midday until 2:30pm and will take place in Gonzaga. The main aim of the session will be introduce the leaders of the team and to start working on a few of our basic structures. Please be there on time (i.e. ready to run AT 12) with a light jersey, a dark jersey, lots of water and a couple of discs.

Summary:
What? Introductory Session 1
Where? Gonzaga College, Ranelagh
Who? All on list are welcome (NB - if theres a player interested not on thie emailing list please contact us!)
When? Sunday, January 24th @ 12 midday. Over by 2:30pm sharp.

Look forward to seeing you on Sunday week,
Niall & Marko
Dublin Ultimate

SAQ Ladders

2010-01-13T20:31:00.000Z

Dublin Ultimate will be ordering SAQ ladders this week from Physio Supplies. If you would like to add one to our order please email us at dublinultimategmailcom and we will get in touch re: payment (they are €30 apiece).

Take care,
Marko
DU

Fitness - This Thursday

2010-01-12T22:11:00.002Z

Hey Guys,

This weeks fitness will take place in UCD (meeting at the Sports centre) and Santry (meeting inside the track at the finish line) starting @ 7pm. Please be ready to go with boots on (UCD) or runners on (Santry) @ 7pm sharp. Being on time is something we are going to be very strict on all season so no better place to start !

This week we are adding another kilometer so we will all be bashing out a 7km run. Along with this we will be starting our strength work. We are gona try get this out of the way at all of our running sessions but this week with the weather not being ideal if you want to get it out of the way in the comfort of your own home it may be a good idea. It consists of....

Plank
Side Plank (Left)
Side Plank (Right)
T - Push ups
Cunches/Sit ups

1 Leg Half Squat (Left)

1 Leg Half squat (Right)
Full Squat
Lunges - 8 per Leg

Each exercise is to be performed for 30 seconds with a 30 second rest between exercises. We will complete 2 Sets with a 2 minute rest between sets.

Graphics and a short explanation of each exercise will be up on the group, we will hopefully have most people on that by tommorrow night but if you have any questions email dublinultimate@gmail.com

Notes on Squats and Lunges:

Please concentrate on your form when completing these for the first few weeks, even if you have done them tons of times before, it's a definite quality over quantity scenario.

Squat:
Keep your head and chin up, Back straight, toes pointed outwards (Full Squat only)
Push off your heel, not your toes on way back up
NB Dont let your kness pass over your toes

Lunge:
Head up/chin up & Back straight
Large step forward until both knees are @ 90 degrees
Toes point straight ahead
Dont twist body
Dont let knee pass over front foot
keep front foot flat

Sundays Session - Postponed !

2010-01-08T19:20:00.003Z

Hey guys,

Unfortunately due to the current weather conditions we are postponing this Sundays intro session. Details of the rescheduled session will be posted here as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Niall

Fitness this week...

2010-01-06T20:22:00.000Z

Hi Guys,

As you are now aware this weeks fitness as a group is cancelled due to the freakish amount of snow we are getting which have left the roads and public transport in an absolute jock ! Does that mean we all have a week off ??? Absolutely not ! Pre season work is always difficult and what better time to test your character than your first outing of the year... What we are asking people to do is to go to your local soccer/rugby/GAA pitches, park or other green space and bash out 6km of your finest winter running. Please dont attempt this on roads or footpaths as they will be a nightmare.

In the next few days we will have the first 6 weeks of the fitness plan up here and details about Sundays session.

Take it Easy

Niall

It begins......

2010-01-05T23:24:00.001Z

Welcome to the official Dublin Ultimate blog......

In this space we will be keeping you informed of the general goings on at the club and keep you posted on club events.

We are starting our pre-season fitness work this thursday @ 7pm in UCD & Morton Stadium Santry, all details for these sessions will be made available here for those who cannot make the sessions but still want to participate.

Sunday also sees the clubs first training session.... DU sessions wont start in earnest till the end of March so this will act as a taster session to give people a better idea of what we are about.

Thats all for now......