Resurrection

Long (long!) time, no post.

Yes, it has been approximately 7 years since my last post on this here blog.  A lot has changed in that time.  Do I have the time to blog any more?  Does anyone even blog any more?  I don't really know.

But somewhere in the last few months I was looking back on when I was maintaining this more often and I thought... wow, look what I was doing back then.  In a lot of ways, I didn't have my life together (aside: do I now?  Well, probably, to a larger degree at least).  But in some ways, I was at my peak.  I was probably in the best shape of my life and probably playing some of my best ultimate.  And keeping track of things like never before or since.  Maybe there's a connection there.

So here it is. I'm back.  I'll be looking to keep this updated with my thoughts and experiences for the summer 2014 season and maybe beyond.  We'll see where this takes me.

Is anyone going to read this?  Does it matter?  Probably not.  But I'll have it.  And in another 7 years maybe I'll look back and say "wow, this is where it all started to come back."  I can hope, anyway.

Training 2007

The thermometer might say otherwise right now, but spring is coming. We had a taste of nicer weather about a week ago, and the earlier switch to daylight saving time is already keeping the sun out pretty late. Only a matter of time before it warms up for good and the spring melt starts. Another month and the fields could be dry…

Anyway with outdoor season now in the foreseeable future I’m starting to get excited about preparation, and that means training. I’ve already started some conditioning work on the treadmill and just this week got the new “Ultimate Fitness” DVD developed by a few former members of Death or Glory, and it looks fantastic – can’t wait to try out all the exercises, which are specifically targeted to physically condition players for ultimate.

Anyway while I haven’t gone so far as to figure out a workout plan yet, I do have some thoughts on my goals for the year as far as training:

1. Conditioning. I think I say this every year, but if I was better conditioned I would be a better ultimate player (and a better runner and whatever else I do). Not just for being able to cut hard or stick to my mark by the end of a long game, but for being able to keep good form and maintain initiative thoughout a game or a tournament, and not having to rely on any energy-saving crutches. In terms of conditioning I would like to build and maintain it throughout the spectrum, from good anaerobic conditioning and fast recovery from maximum exertion, to aerobic and longer term endurance allowing me to play or run continuously for an extended period without tiring.

2. Core strength. For the longest time I had no real appreciation of what core strength is or what it does. I still don’t understand all the mechanisms of core strength as well as some of the more obvious muscle groups, but I can definitely see it’s important – it’s a part of so many movements and actions from running to throwing to marking, and a strong core helps keep proper form and take the strain off other muscles. I think I started to appreciate exactly how important core strength is when I bruised my abdominals on one side on a poorly-conceived layout last year and was amazed at how much it impacted my ability to do much of anything. Speaking of injuries:

3. Treat and prevent injuries. Over the past several years I’ve had several minor to moderate injuries several of which involved trips to the physiotherapist to recover from. Without being too exhaustive, these range from a few bouts of tendonitis in my shoulder to wrist and hamstring sprains to some knee problems that fortunately weren’t as bad as I feared. Some of these injuries resulted from my own stupidity (laying out while drunk = bad idea), some from overdeveloped/underdeveloped muscle groups. In all cases they required some exercises to correct and in some cases have needed some ongoing attention to make sure they don’t become problems again. Basically my training needs to include the corrective treatments for injuries already sustained, and prevent further ones by developing enough strength all round and in key areas to reduce the chance I’m going to pull anything or otherwise cause myself problems. In particular this will involve core strength as above, as well as upper leg muscle groups, and shoulders/upper back due to my injuries there.

4. Improve quickness and agility. I’m already pretty fast flat-out but my acceleration from a dead stop is pretty mediocre. That kind of makes me predictable on offence and lengthens my reaction to a cut on defence. I’d love to be able to get up to speed in three quick steps – that’s where developing quickness comes in. Similarly the ability to change direction on a dime would be great for cutting, marking, getting reaction D’s, and adjusting to the disc. Both of these components are covered heavily in the Ultimate Fitness DVD so I am particularly looking forward to implementing those exercises.


That’s pretty much it. I’m not interested in ‘bulking up’ or even trying to do things like add inches to my vertical (the workouts designed for that seem pretty involved, and not sure if I have the time) but this should be plenty to go on for now.

Long time, no post

Okay, over a month since my last post. So what's up? Well, not a heckuva lot, really. Just getting lazy in the mid-winter lull and nothing has piqued my interest enought to warrant a blog post. Plus Blogger seems to be loading really slow on my connection and anytime I'm remotely interested in writing it seems to get hung up and I just lose interest. Excuses? Yeah, probably. So when can you expect to read something? When I'm motivated. Can't get more specific than that. I'd tell you to "watch this space" but I wouldn't want to raise expectations. Just rest assured I'll post something more... eventually.

11th edition rules - a review (Part 2 of 2)

Continuing from my previous post, a review of the "substantive changes" in the UPA's draft 11th edition rules:

Revisions/clarifications in the continuation rule: Several smallish changes that look to be in line with how the game is played or how it should be played to give fair outcomes. Specifics include: clarifying that continuation is on infractions only, not stalls; continuation is now from the time of the infraction rather than the time of the call (e.g., you must be fouled while throwing for it to take effect, rather than be fouled, then call it after starting to throw); and the outcome of the play stands regardless of continuation, if the infraction does not affect play. "Affected the play" is also defined more clearly. All of these seem reasonable and clarify how the rules apply to some outcomes; as such they are helpful but I don't see them being too major. Importance: minor. Improvement: minor.

Penalties for offsides and time violations in observed games: nice to have these codified but ususally in tourneys where observers are used (e.g. Nationals) they already have rules on this. Hardly changes things, I suppose at least it's universal now. Importance: minor. Improvement: minor.

Changes for goal scoring: A few changes here - players no longer need to 'acknowledge' that they have scored for it to count, and effectively score as soon as they have met the requirements to do so (and in a related change, scores require the disc has been caught and the possession has survived ground contact related to the catch). Furthermore if a player has clearly but unknowingly scored, then throws an incomplete pass, they have still scored, a player with best perspective can still award them a goal (though if there is disagreement on this, the turnover stands). Both changes seem reasonable. The requirement to acknowledge a score seemed rather meaningless given there was no universal way to do this, so it might as well go. As for negating a throwaway after a player has already scored (but doesn't know it yet), that kinda seems like rewarding stupidity, but then again, allowing the turnover to stand rewards bad defence by giving them an unearned turnover. It's a wash I guess. Importance: minor. Improvement: minor.

Elimination of 'strip' call: Another 'not as major as it sounds' changes. A disc in hand is considered part of the player so a strip is by definition a foul. Thus 'strip' is gone and simply a foul call now. Also gone is the one thing that made a strip different than a foul - in the 10th, an uncontested strip in the endzone is a goal. Now, any uncontested foul in the endzone, where the receiver had established possession of the disc, is a goal. This includes both a strip and a foul where the fouling player doesn't touch the disc itself (e.g., a defender hits the receiver's arm after the catch, causing a drop). Small change, but it makes sense to me. Importance: minor. Improvement: moderate.

Changes to stalling rules: Several changes falling into this broad category. First and most notably, the requirement to leave a second after "stalling" when initiating a count has been dropped. Thus "stalling... one" can be reduced to "stallingone". This effectively drops one second from a legal stall count (to about 9 seconds rather than 10), which seems substantive... but in reality, most players already stall like this. So, it levels the playing field for players who are rule-conscious. It's not the most ideal solution in my view (I thought initiating with "zero" would be best), but very pragmatic of the rules committee.

A few related changes to where the count comes back in on calls: on a contested stall count, it goes back to 8 rather than 9 (making up for the lost second after "stalling"). This ensures two stalls rather than the "stallingnine... ten" you would often get. On contested fouls and violations, there is no added second, it stays at 6 if over 5. I guess the extra second is less important there, so, OK I guess. Stall on an uncontested offensive violation does not drop to 6 if over 5, though it did in the 10th - just removing an oversight. Lastly a special case where there is a second contested stall that results from a fast count, it comes in at 6 instead of 8. OK, sure. Overall the changes provide a few clarifications and the overall change to drop the second after "stalling" just brings the rules into agreement with how most players play already. Importance: major. Improvement: moderate.

Travelling rules clarified: The most major change is to the exception allowed for throwing on the run. In the 10th the rule was it was not a travel if you release the disc before your third ground contact while running or jumping. I always assumed that would count the ground contact a player has (if any) while catching - so they must throw before two more contacts in that case. But apparently there was some disagreement over that. The new rule is similar but specifies "three additional points of contact" after possession is gained. Not sure if this is an improvement but at least I find it at least as clear as the rule it replaces. A few other clarifications including definition of a pivot for a player who is slowing down but not stopped; non-stanfding players can lose a pivot to stand even if they have faked a throw already; and the treatment of travelling by intentionally bobbling or delaying is clarified. Overall I can see some of these will be important but I don't think there will be too much effect on play. Importance: moderate. Improvement: minor.

Calling and contesting infractions: One change and one clarification here. First, only a player on an infracted team can call an infraction (and as in previous editions, only the infracted player can call many of these). In the 10th, some infractions allowed any player to call it; I don't know if this was ever abused but it makes sense to close the loophole. Also the rules now explicitly acknowledge that any call can be contested, stating "a player called for an infraction may contest that call if that player believes the infraction did not occur". I am very much in favour of explicitly acknowledging this, it will hopefully eliminate the bizarre "you can't contest a ____" arguments, and the wording of the rule does a nice job of defining when calls should be contested (i.e., not just when a call wuld be inconvenient to accept). This addition may lead to more calls being contested, but in my opinion, many more calls should be contested, particularly when they are based on a poor understanding of the rules. Importance: moderate. Improvement: major.

Caps renamed: No one used the old cap names properly, so they are renamed based on what people already call them. So, "soft cap" is now "point cap", "time cap" is now "soft time cap", and "hard cap" is now "hard time cap". The latter two will inevitably be reduced to "soft cap" and "hard cap" in common use, but at least they will refer to the right thing now. Importance: minor. Improvement: moderate.

Everything else: there are probably a good two dozen other changes not covered, but either they are minor clarifications, changes affecting small nuances of the rules, changes that affect rare situations, or otherwise just aren't worth commenting at length on. I don't really have any concerns on any of these, generally I like the rest of the changes or can't see much of an impact from them.

OVERALL: The ruleset represents an improvement in many areas over the 10th. In most cases the changes simply clarify situations or close loopholes. In the few cases where they will affect play, I generally think it will be for the better. I agree with some that these rules will discourage, or provide mechanisms to discourage, close physical marks. However I don't think this will affect the game negatively, rather it will likely lead to cleaner play, and more disciplined defence (based on holding forces rather than bodying throwers). I expect there will be a transitional period when it appears the new rules lead to more calls and arguments, but as players learn to play with them and adjust, the game should become more fluid, more playable, and more watchable (think the NHL after a crackdown on obstruction and clutch-and-grab).

Lastly the process used in developing the rules was a good one, very transparent and allowing input from anyone interested (well, anyone interested and with internet access). I was able to offer my own inputs and while I didn;t see all changes go exactly as I had wanted, overall there are no deal-breakers, and the rules are improved from the 10th. Thus, a "yes" vote from me.

11th edition rules - a review (Part 1 of 2)

Recently the UPA undertook a process to draft a new ruleset, updating the 10th edition which have been in use since 2001. The draft rules were released fo public consultation, tweaked based on this, and finalised for voting by the UPA membership, on now. (the new rules and a list of changes are available here).

Anyway shortly after the ruleset was released for voting, someone on rec.sport.disc issued a request from ulti's "blogging elite" to comment on the rules and how they would vote. So far that has been met by just one elite blogger, but I figure I might as well contribute my views (even though I'm certainly not in the 'blogging elite'), for whoever cares, at least so I can identify for my own purposes what I like or don't about the draft rules.

Most of the rules are pretty much the same, which in itself is a plus. The rules are mostly clarifications and plugging loopholes, few changes are intended to affect the game as played. As such I'll go through the "substantive changes" and register my thoughts for each:

Throwing fouls are clarified: Basically the new rules clarify what had been an ambiguity in thrower/marker fouls when the thrower makes contact with an extended arm or leg of the marker. Many previously argued that was always a foul by the marker, as their extended arms and legs "cannot be positioned in such a manner as to restrict the thrower from pivoting or throwing", and even if the thrower thries to throw through a stationary arm or leg of the marker (i.e., thrower initiates contact) it is a marker foul. The new rules make it a thrower foul if they pivot into a "completely stationary" part of a legally positioned marker but otherwise it is a foul on the marker. Also a few other minor clarifications, e.g., contact with the torso of a legally positioned marker is a thrower foul, contact while both players are vying for an unoccupied space is always a marker foul, etc. Subtle stuff, but offers a slightly better definition of positional responsibilities. I don't see it substantially reducing calls or arguments but I do think it is a small improvement. Importance: moderate. Improvement: minor.

Section on 'marking violations' added: I like this section. It encompasses existing rules on fast counts and double teams, in which calling the violations by name reduces the count but does not stop play. It also adds rules which existed in some form previously, but didn't have a real call to define them: disc space and "vision blocking". I'll discuss disc space separately below; vision blocking is where a marker deliberately blocks the thrower's vision (something I've never seen happen but I don't object to there being a call for it). Now in all cases, the thrower recogniding any of these can call the specific violation and the marker must correct the violation and then resume the stall count one lower than before. On subsequent occurences of any of these in the same stall count, the thrower may do the same thing, or just call 'violation' and stop play as the 10th edition allowed. Importance: moderate. Improvement: moderate.


Disc space defined: The 10th edition has a rule (XIV.A) efffectively requiring disc space without using the word, and no reason to enforce it without either drawing a throwing foul or just calling "violation" either of which would stop play. Thus, a close mark can be a way to inhibit the thrower's options and a call is often not made because it stops flow, or the thrower does not want to make a call when the marker is just inside the legal limits, risking the ire fo the marker, his/her teammates, and (in some cases) the spectators for making such a 'pussy' call. Less experienced players often call 'disc space' and insist it's a rule (often which necessitates a dropped stall count) but such a call does not exist. Until this draft ruleset.

The new rule makes it a disc space violation for a line between any two points on the thrower to either touch the thrower anywhere, or to be within less than a disc diameter of the thrower's torso OR pivot, unless this issue is caused solely by the actions of the thrower. Any call due to this is resoolved as a marking violation, described above. A few nuances worth noting:

1. The two points on the thrower may be anywhere on their body, including the tips of their fingers (thus, preventing the marker from encircling the thrower, as a separate rule specifies in the 10th), their toes, two points on their chest, and effectively any single point anywhere on the marker (as mathematically, even two points that are almost adjacent can form a line). Markers take note.
2. The extension of the disc space to the pivot represents a change from the prohibition on straddling in the 10th. The new rule goes beyond straddling to cover anything where the marker's toe or line between their toes is within a disc diameter of the marker's pivot point.
3. By definition, any foul by the marker on the thrower is now both a foul and a marking violation (as a point on the marker touches the thrower). The thrower can call either as they see fit. This gives them a call to use in the case of a foul early in the count that would normally stop flow or cost a few stalls if not called. This will hopefully reduce the use of hacking tactics used by some players/teams to stop flow.

Overall, I like the change, but I can see the change with respect to the pivot is non-negligible and will take some adjustment. We'll have to see exactly how much this affects marking tactics but I think on the whole it'll be for the better. Importance: high. Improvement: moderate.

OK, three changes in and I've written this much? I'll discuss the remainder later... don't worry, I generally have less to say on most. Stay tuned.

Touring summary 2006

Well, I’ve tallied up the final numbers and looks like 2006 was a groundbreaking year for me in terms of ultimate touring. I hit 11 tournaments in total (not including some minor local hat tourneys), more than any other year and possibly more than I’ll have a chance to go to in future years. Actually it came close to doubling the number of real tournaments I’ve gone to (and if only out of town tourneys are counted, 2006 accounts for more than half). Here’s the tourney by tourney summary:

(Tournament, location, team, , finish W-L) (Note: formatting editted from earlier post)

Fools Fest, Lawrence KS, DingWop, ?-teenth, 1-5

Boh-down, Regina SK, Winnipeg, 1st, 6-1

Beat the Skeeters, Winnipeg MB, Slim Jim, 2nd, 3-2

Riot, Regina SK, Chaos, 2nd, 3-3

MUDI, Maple Plain MN, Chaos, T-3rd, 5-1

Flatlands, Winnipeg MB, Chaos Men, 2nd, 4-3

Disc Odyssey, Saskatoon SK, Chaos, T-3rd, 2-4

Canadian Ultimate Champtionships, Halifax NS, Chaos, 2nd, 7-2

Northwest Plains Regionals, Maple Plain MN, General Strike, 3rd, 7-2

Central Regionals, Naperville IL, General Strike, 6th, 3-3

Hallowinona, Winona MN, Anarchy, T-5th, 5-1

So: 6 open tourneys, 5 mixed; 5 with Chaos, 6 with other teams; finishes ranging from who-knows-what at Fools Fest with DingWop in decidedly preseason form to first in Regina with a thrown together men’s team… and three second-place finishes, most notably at Canadian Nationals. Not too shabby. Overall my teams’ combined record was 46-27. I was pretty happy with my teams’ play on the whole and while my personal performance and contribution varied from tourney to tourney, I was pretty happy with my own progress as well. I’m a little less self-conscious thinking of myself as an ‘elite’ player now… at least when it comes to taking advantage of the elite player discount at Gaia. No delusions of being an impact player in the UPA or CUPA open divisions, but I’ll take being a decent mixed player. Definitely the division I fit best with and enjoy playing the most.

One other thing – while I was tallying the tournament totals I also decided to calculate the total distance travelled, just for kicks… the total was pretty surprising. In all, accounting for road and air travel (and not accounting for intra-city travel, just city-to-city), I travelled over 19,600 km… about 5,450 km by air (all for nationals) and the other 14,150+ km by road (and about 11,500 km in our own car… yikes). It’s a fair distance in itself – about 400 km short of the distance from the North Pole to the South Pole, to give you an idea – but when I thought of it in time, it seems even larger. Considering just the road travel, at an average of 100 km/h that makes over 140 hours…. Equivalent to three and a half weeks of work. In a car. With me driving at least half the time. And I’m not getting paid for it… actually I’m paying at least a share of the costs. But of course – it’s worth it. I hope I can spend as much travelling to tourneys next year.

Hallowinona Recap

Oh dear. It has been over a week and half since the tourney and I have yet to write a recap. Well the time for procrastination is over! So much to cover though and I don’t feel like writing another rambling post. So, looks like a time for the great crutch of the writers-block-stricken blogger: point form.

Friday:

- Leave Winnipeg around 1:30 pm. 6 people heading down from the ‘Peg in 2 cars. Meeting the rest in Minny.

- Stop at the Duty Free for some cheap booze. Natch.

- Shortly after the border (and already into the booze), we pass our teammates in the other car. Totally uncoordinated, but something like this always seems to happen on road trips.

- Shortly after that the cap for the raspberry vodka is out the window. Somehow didn’t see that coming.

- Rest of the ride featurs some drunken passengers but was otherwise uneventful. Into Minny a bit before 10. Quick detour to Chipotle and then back to the house. Out of vodka shortly thereafter. Then onto the beer.

- [details missing]

Saturday:

- Get up crazy early (for a weekend anyway) as it’s still 2.5 hours to Winona.

- Oddly, hardly any hangover. Not the case for certain other teammates though…

- McD’s for breakfast on the way out. Mmm, biscuit and egg sandwiches. Tournament weekends aren’t for healthy eating.

- Nice drive out to Winona. Only about 2 hours too long for a Saturday morning.

- Get to the fields just in time for the 10 am start. Of course, not like it’ll actually start then.

- Extended warmup. Finally, both teams are ready to go. Game on.

- First game: Winona State Alums. A bunch of DingWoppers pick up. Like us, they are also playing with a few women.

- Winona alums can’t seem to complete more than a few passes. We don’t turn it over for te first several points. Off to a big lead.

- Eventually, they start to connect, but not before the game gets outta hand.

- I sky the hell out of the girl who was covering me on a deep strike. Am told not to cut deep anymore.

- Next point, the same girl scores when I blow y coverage in zone. Karma?

- Anyway, we cruise to victory, 13-5 or something. Next: DingWop.

- But wait, they’re not DingWop today, they’re Wizard’s Quest. Complete with full costumery. Awesome.

- We open a small lead early, but they claw back second half. Game starts to get tight, but still fun.

- After they tie at 12’s soft cap is on – game to 14.

- We score on a long sloppy point to make it 13-12, but they claw back for the next one. 13-13, universe point.

- We receive to start, but it hardly matters. Lotsa turns on the last point. Finally we get it back and score. Great finish.

- Anecdotally, I have a 5-0 record vs. DingWop this year.

- Next slot: bye. We get some free burgers, check out the merch tent (Gaia is representing… sweet tourney to he field, watch an absolutely ridiculous and entertaining game between two drunken teams (WSU Alums and Sedated Catfish). Highlight: Clennon from DingWop, picking up with Catfish, goes for a score whilst carrying around a milk jug full of beer, lays out, catches the disc, rolls once, stands up. No beer is spilled. Spectacular.

- Finally out third game: Winona State. College team, actually look serious. This could be a real game.

- Stiff upwind-downwind breeze had picked up by this point.

- We go on a bit of a run to start with an upwinder. They battle back and get one upwind as well. Game is tied with us on serve.

- For about the next 10 points, neither team scores upwind. We get close a few times but can’t convert. They are having even less luck against the wind.

- Finally at about 11-10 we work it upwind and punch it in. Just one more downwind for the win, and we get it. Hard fought 13-10 win.

- Man, still one more game?

- Yes. But they’ve pretty much drunk themselves out of the tourney by now. We agree to a quick game to 7.

- Horribly sloppy game. We open a lead early, then try a bunch of goofy stuff (designated scorer etc.) to make it a challenge.

- I play absolutely horribly pretty all game, playing down to their level. Afterwards am asked if I am still drunk. Unfortunately, I am not.

- Meanwhile, the other team has managed to get back into it, 5-4. Yikes!

- We buckle down a bit and start trying. I get a layout block. Finally, something useful.

- We convert for the game winner. Finally, done.

- Back to the hotel to shower. Then out for dinner. Service is terribly slow. Food is OK though.

- Back to the hotel, which is full of drunk ulti players. Will we actually make it to the party this year? Decision seems to be on hold. Drinking starts.

- Finally we decide to make a go if it… but these plan are quickly shot down when it turns out the party is full. Drinking recommences. Also, poker. I suck and lose quickly. I blame the beer.

- More drinking.

- [details missing]


Sunday:

- Wake up at 9:45. Games start in 15 minutes! Oh wait… time change. Yay daylight savings!

- Pack quickly, as we’ll be leaving from the fields.

- Breakfast at McD’s again. Steak and egg bagel sounds like a good idea, but isn’t.

- To the fields. First game is against a buncha guys in suits, who won the right to play in from the B bracket.

- Guys in suits are not good at ulti. That is pretty much a general rule.

- What more do I need to say about this game? Final was about 13-5.

- Lotsa time to kill before the next game. Hmmm.

- Someone asks if anyone has any beer. I have a few in my bag I packed from last night…

- Beer seems like a good idea. I’ll have one too. We have lots of time.

- Other people also agree beer is a good idea. Rest of the beers get pulled out.

- "Hey, let’s drink a disc!” People are full of good ideas now.

- We drink a disc.

- Now we are out of beer. This causes a panic. What, beer stores are closed on Sundays in Minnesota? Wait, someone has vodka and juice.

- We drink a disc.

- Someone has Jagermeister and Rockstar, which actually taste really good together. We drink that.

- Did I mention that we only had nine players, and two weren’t drinking? Yeah.

- Wait, there IS a keg at the fields today!

- We drink a disc.

- We drink a disc.

- Drunken mac line. Some of our players cannot throw straight. Yikes.

- Other team is there and ready to play. OK, so are we.

- The other team is University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, who appear to be one of those sober, serious college teams. OK then.

- Sloppy play to start, we go down 3-0.

- Finally, we start to play a bit better and stop the bleeding.

- Unfortunately UW-W is a bit too good for our late comeback attampt and we still lose 13-10. They go on to win the tourney.

- Quick post-mortem afterwards (not enough interest to play the 5th place bracket), in which one player observes “it might not have been a good idea to drink like it was the last alcohol on earth”. True, but we still had fun.

- Drives home are never interesting, so won’t write about it.

All in all, a pretty good weekend. Would’ve been nice to repeat our victory from last year, but realistically we weren’t “in it to win it” this year – smaller roster, fewer ‘studs’ and a few women on the roster for an open tournament (who held their own against most teams, mind you) – but as for our goal of having fun, definitely mission accomplished.