I return to disc golf, and find more trees

After not playing disc golf since college, today was my first chance to get back on the course. It was a great learning experience even though I didn't play nearly as well as I would've liked.

I was in a group with probably one of the best players in the quad cities, and watching him play was a treat. Not only did he display incredible accuracy, but he made all of his throws look easy.

More often than not I found myself watching in awe as he curved the disc and made throws that left it within feet of the hole. I soaked up every bit of advice he gave me, and appreciated the opportunity to learn from the people I was with.

In just three hours I learned more about the game than I had in a whole semester of playing at WIU.  Everyone in the group helped correct my obvious mistakes, and offered me pointers when I was struggling.

 

The course, Camden 1, in Milan, IL was also the toughest I had ever player on. Most of the baskets were in the woods and hidden by trees. After today, playing at Western would be a breeze because on this course even my good throws seemed to find a tree to hit. 

One of the best tips I got was to play for the center of the hole. At first I was trying to make the same throws as the others in my group, when I should have been trying to make the safe and easy throw. Going for a throw that your not ready for is a good way to good into trouble, so for me today was all about playing smarter.

I'll definitely be out there again next week, and plan on adding to my arsenal of one disc. I've had my "Viper" since college, but it's time to invest in a putter and a new disc that isn't scarred from playing the last hole at WIU's course.

Wish me luck, and next week I'll describe some of the holes.  The photo above was taken by me at Western.

Wish I could be there, Ultimate invades Chi-Town

Another week is in the books for the Ultimate College Division but there was little movement in the D-I open   or women's rankings.

The top teams remained unchanged as Wisconsin and Oregon held on to the No. 1 spots for the second week in there respective divisions.

This weekend going to be a big one for college Ultimate with more than 50 teams descending on Chicago for the Chicago Invite.

Teams competing in the Invite include Northwestern Ultimate, Western Illinois Mass Hysteria, Iowa and Purdue. This is one tournament I'd love to be a part of not just as a player, but also as a fan.

For this tournament to coincide with the start of March Madness seems fitting as there is going to be madness at the Dan Ryan Woods.

I have participated in a few tournaments, but nothing of the size and scope of the Chicago Invite. There is bound to be lots of excitement with big layouts, surprising upsets and close games throughout the entire weekend-long tournament.

Ultimate action isn't limited to the Midwest however. Tournaments will be underway across the country including the Spring SHOWdown, the Heart of Texas Huckfest and the Firedogs Spring Invite. I'll do my best to keep track of as many of these as I can.

This weekend is sure to shake up the standings as we're another week closer to the Championships.

USA Ultimate, ESPN team up

As of yesterday, Ultimate has finally made it to the big time.

Ultimate Frisbee had rarely gotten the media attention it deserves as a growing sport at the high school, college and professional level. However, that's about to change with the announcement of a multi-year deal between USA Ultimate and ESPN.

On Tuesday, USA Ultimate reported that they had reached an agreement with ESPN in which the network will carry Ultimates major tournaments such as the College Championships, the inaugural Triple Crown Tour and the National Championships.

The agreement states that ESPN will provide coverage of Ultimate on ESPN3 as well as on ESPNU.  

Overall, 23 games from each division and across all three tournaments will be streamed live on ESPN3. Also, tape delayed programs of the College Championships will be aired on ESPNU.

USA Ultimates Chief Executive Officer Tom Crawford said teaming up with ESPN puts the sport in a great position, and he said he is excited to be working with ESPN.

Todd Myers, ESPN's director of programming and acquisitions stated that by delivering Ultimate to fans and viewers across the nation they're giving exposure to a sport and events which feature the highest level of competition in Ultimate.

I couldn't agree more. As a fan this is exactly what I have been hoping for because I won't have to wait for results or search YouTube for videos anymore. My friends and I will finally be able to watch our favorite teams compete whether it's in the college or club series. Who knows maybe I'll even see my friend on the Luther College team, a strong competitor in the D-1 open and women's division, play on TV. 

While I always hoped I could never have imagined that ESPN would pick up the sport, and in doing so they have proven just how much it has grown over the years. This news is exciting for players and fans who want to see their sport continue to grow. 

No Ultimate, try disc golf

As the weather finally starts to warm up and the ground recovers from the recent snow storms there will be more chances for Ultimate players to return to the field. However, for those still struggling to find a game in their area disc golf is a good way to get back into the swing of things.

Disc golf has grown tremendously over the years with courses popping up across the country. However, if not for some dedicated players back in the 1960s and 70s the sport may never have taken off.

According the Professional Disc Golf Association it is difficult to trace the exact origins of the sport because at first it was only played locally. However, in 1965 George Sappenfeld, a recreation counselor, believed kids could play golf with discs, and he contacted Wham-O hoping they could help make his idea a reality and in the years that followed the sport took flight.

Despite the initial efforts of the counselor disc golf was ignored by Wham-O, but it didn't stay that way for long. In 1974 a group of players from Rochester, NY decided to turn their local City of Rochester Disc Golf Championship into a national tournament in an effort to test the widespread appeal of the sport.

By 1975 disc golf had seen explosive growth and thanks to Dan Roddick, the winner of that 1974 tournament, it was included in the 1975 World Frisbee Championships.

In the years that followed national and international tournaments for professionals and amateur golfers have been created. And one doesn't need to look far for a course in their area.

I played disc golf for the first time at WIU on a course on campus. While playing with a friend I struggled to get used to throwing a disc that was smaller and heavier than I was used to.

Overtime though I got the hang of it, and stuck with my one disc. Other players carry bags full of different types of discs from distance drivers to putters. The drivers are meant for long distance, but are difficult to control. I have always used a fairway driver because it allows me to get the distance I want while still remaining accurate to some degree. The putters are the most accurate and meant for short range shots near the hole.

I hope to begin playing again this spring, and meet people on the course. With me will be my trusty Innova Viper disc. It's beat to hell, but it hasn't done me wrong yet.

Oregon dives ahead in college rankings

Thanks to an impressive performance last weekend at the Stanford Invite, Oregon Ultimate jumped up 21 spots to become the new No. 2 in the D-I open division college rankings. Oregon finished the tournament with a 6-1 record with its only loss coming against Carleton College. They avenged that loss in the finals for the 15-11 victory and the title.

Now Oregon is only 10 points behind reigning No. 1 Wisconsin who struggled to a 5th place finish at the Standford Invite.

Even with the loss in the finals Carleton College's second place finish helped it to bust into the top 5 as it improved six spots from last week. The Tufts Men's team also had a strong weekend. After a fourth place finish at Stanford it finds its self in the No. 6 spot.

Minnesota, Texas and North Carolina are just a few of the teams to see their stocks fall after last weekend. Texas took the biggest hit among top 10 teams as it dropped six places and is narrowly holding on to No. 10 ahead of Florida.

Not to be out done the Oregon women went undefeated at the Stanford Invite and are now the new No. 1 in the D-1 women's division. Iowa is the new No. 2, and Ohio State jumped ahead 14 spots to be the surprise team in the women's top five.

Wisconsin's women made the biggest jump however as it improved to No. 8 this week. Last week this team was out of the top 25, and after losing to Oregon in the Stanford Invite finals Wisconsin saw its stock rise as it improved 18 spots from a week ago.

Rankings are courtesy of USA Ultimate.org

College weekend results

A quick look at results from last week in the college division.

Missouri took home the championship at Huck Fin XVII. Beating Kansas 11-2 to take home the title.

The tournament to watch this weekend was Stanford Invite 2013 as it featured some of the top teams in the country including No. 1 Wisconsin. In what may be the surprise of the weekend No. 23 Oregon pulled off the championship victory with an upset over No. 11 Carleton College.

In other college action Queens-Kingston won ACIII Session 1, the Oregon women won the womens Stanford Invite and the Ohio State women won the Music City Mash Up.

Check NLS on Wednesday for updated national rankings, further results and the upcoming college schedule.

U23 Teams Announced

The U-23 World Ultimate Championships takes place from July 22-28 in Toronto, Canada this year and recently the US U-23 teams for the mixed, open and women's division were announced. Each squad features the best players from the club and college ranks.

According to USA Ultimate more than 500 men and women sent in applications, and among them 96 men and 88 women were selected to attend tryouts.

For the open division squad three players from No. 1 ranked Wisconsin were selected. They will compete alongside players from schools including Oregon, Minnesota and Colorado. Four players from Ring of Fire, a club out of Raleigh, N.C., are also featured on the U-23 open team.

The womens team features players from across the college ranks including a pair from North Carolina, Ohio State and Washington respectively. They'll also be joined by a variety of players from club teams across the country.

USA Ultimate will compete for the first time at the WFDF U-23 championships.

Keep coming back to NLS for updates for club, college and international Ultimate.

Saturday excitement.

Saturday is in the books for another weekend of college Ultimate play. In the Huck Finn XVII tournament teams from Washington University, Northern Iowa, Kansas and Kansas State are all undefeated in pool play headed into Sunday.

Luther College went 4-1 on the day with their only loss coming against Washington. However, Illinois didn't do as well with there A team going 2-3 and the B team going winless in four matches. NUT's struggles also continued with them finishing the day at 1-3 in Pool play.

The tournament to watch this weekend, the Stanford Invite 2013, featured the top 3 teams in D-I Open Division.

Wisconsin proved why they're ranked No. 1 after going 2-1 in pool play. UNC Darkside also went 2-1, but Arizona Sunburn struggled to a 1-2 finish on Saturday. A surprise on the day may be the No. 11 ranked team from Carleton College who finished 3-0 in Pool A. No. 4 Texas also had a tough Saturday as it went 0-3.

In the women's division at the Stanford Invite No. 2 Oregon went 3-0, and No. 3 Washington finished 2-0 on Saturday.

No. 6 Florida State is undefeated so far in the Tally Classic Division I tournament.

If things continue the way they have been going there could be a shift in the rankings in both the womens and open division.

College Ultimate heating up

 With the Conference Championships a little over a month away another weekend of play in the college Ultimate season is well underway for teams across the country.

Rankings released on March 6 had the Wisconsin Hodags (9-0), of UW-Madison, out front in the D-I Open Division. Not far behind are a pair of undefeated teams in the UNC Darkside  (13-0) and SunBurn Ultimate, of Arizona, (15-0). All three teams are in action this weekend in the Stanford Invite 2013 for what could be a battle for the No. 1 spot.

Rounding out the Top 5 are the Texas and Minnesota teams at (7-2) and (8-1) respectively.

Junk Ultimate from UChicago is the highest ranked Illinois team in the Open Division coming in all the way at No. 102. NUT is not far behind at 117, and will be in action this weekend at Huck Finn XVII. Joining NUT are the U of I team and the group from Luther College.

In D-III teams from Puget Sound, Kenyon and St. Johns hold the top three.

In the women's division D-I it's the team out of British Columbia holding the No. 1 spot. With an 8-1 record they're ahead of Oregon (12-1) and Washington at 5-2 so far on the season. California-Santa Barbara and Carleton College finish out the top 5.

The Northwestern women are fairing much better than the men at this point. With 7-7 record on the season GungHo is ranked 41st. Last week they finished 5-2 during the Midwest Throwdown.

Whitman, Valpo and Georgia College are the top three teams in D-III in the women's division. The Luther women are ranked at No. 29 in D-III, but are not in action this weekend.

NLS will continue to follow College standings leading up to and throughout the Ultimate postseason. Check back for more.