Results from each region can be found on the schedule- will update when the full results become available.
AnnieB
Hello, and welcome to our post UWIR chat! We'll be talking about the results from this weekend past with some of our writers and other contributors, introduce yourselves and tell us what region in particular you were following!
I’m Annie, I’m Edinburgh Alum and based in Scotland!
andrew
Heyo, I’m Andrew, frisbee player and media personality. I was in attendance at the West region, though I didn’t play
nic
I'm Nic, I am an alumni of Huddersfield and I was following Yorks & East Mids this past weekend.
Alice Hanton
Hi, I'm Alice I played for Leeds this weekend.
Becky G
Hi, I was in the North region.
geegee
I'm Geegee, I played for Birmingham in the West Region. Can confirm Andrew was in attendance.
andrew
Do I need to be verified!?
AnnieB
Apparently! Nic, Geegee, Alice, Becky- give us the breakdown of the results from your regions, briefly! But save the good gossip for the next question...
Scotland wise, it went pretty much as expected, with Strathclyde storming a win and Edinburgh taking 3rd.
geegee
The West was a tough region this year - this is my first time playing up against most of the teams here and the standard is impressive. Bath were smooth and clinical, Exeter were intimating with their overheads and defensive pressure, and Bangor gave a super fun final showing that they really deserved their place in Div 1. Was also great to see teams like UWE representing, brilliant for women's development and future boss athletes!
andrew
And Aberystwyth! I think it was their first women’s team, potentially ever, but at least in four years
nic
Regionals for the North was held in Liverpool this past weekend. Huddersfield shone through (not bragging) but they did exceptionally well and won the region comfortably. Leeds were a wildcard in my view, they won their pool with ease and had some close games in bracket play but came out on top to find themselves in the final; which they lost 8-4. Newcastle and Loughborough are very much equal teams, they play the same and are both very athletic so I never doubted they'd qualify for Div1. The last qualifying spot had some strong contenders but Nottingham seized their opportunity.
Huddersfield Women’s Team - “Queens of the North”
Becky G
In the North:
Huddersfield came 1st, shock. They played Leeds 1 in final and I think Leeds gave them a good run for their money! Leeds 1 we’re seeded 4th so they gained 2 seeds. Loughborough 1 came third beating Newcastle. Nottingham beat Manchester in the game to go to Div 1. There wasn’t really any surprises. The teams that went to Nats were in the top 10 seeds. Newcastle 2’s were in the top 10 but didn’t make it to Nats.
AnnieB
Thats always great to see, geegee and andrew- in Scotland, we are seeing a similar trend with Stirling Uni, who have struggled for a while with numbers but are now making a good comeback/ just straight up arrival onto the scene.
Alrighty- give us all that good gossip. Where there any major surprises? Highlight or lowlight reel worthy moments?
nic
I am surprised that Sheffield didn’t finish in Div 1. On paper, they were a better team with more depth than others that qualified but they were a bit inconsistent, whereas other teams that beat them only played through a handful of key players. It was unfortunate they didn’t do better, but there did seem to be some quality competition fighting for the fifth and final qualifying spot for Div1.
Alice Hanton
Replying to what Nic said, speaking from within Leeds I don't think we were a wild card particularly! We've picked up Kat Rowland (SMOG, U24 development squad) and Sarah Krauze (GB juniors, Herts ex-captain), and most of our team have a decent amount of club experience.
Agree that Sheffield should have finished higher!
Becky G
Durham managed to get two teams in the top 10, showing their depth. Durham 2 gained eight seeds. Sheffield 2 and Trent lost eight seeds. I think they were the biggest movers from the seed to their final standing.
andrew
Well Bath made it difficult on themselves by losing to Bangor in pools. They had to play a lot of really rough matches on Sunday, but they clawed their way back into Div 1 in the end
nic
Lowlight, from the general view of a few players at Regionals there was a lack of intense defence from the majority of teams in this region.
AnnieB
Again, from Scotland, I wasn't present but I've been surprised by Glasgow recently- they took the last Div 1 spot, and from watching them at warm up tournaments I would guess they were very happy to make it!
andrew
To be honest a lot of the ‘surprises’ came from some questionable seeding decisions. For example, Aberystwyth climbing 12 spots when it was pretty clear from the first game they were underseeded, or Birmingham’s 2nd team starting at 15th when anyone could have told you B'ham 2 ladies were one to watch
nic
That's amazing to hear! It was quite similar in the North; Sheffield Hallam took the last qualifying spot for Div2 - I can imagine they a very pleased with themselves! They've been a developing Women's team for the last two years at least.
andrew
The highlight for me was the high level of overall quality! I’d say teams 7-12 or so were all very close in power level and it was a shame they couldn’t all qualify
geegee
Just a note, Birmingham had 3 teams in the top 12. Very happy ladies.
nic
So good to hear about Birmingham's 2nd/3rd team, that's huge! Birmingham have always had strong development.
AnnieB
From a personal standpoint, UBU games were always the ones we needed to go in hard for- great to hear that's continuing!
Dundee also really surprised me- this year they came 5th, after a 9th place finish last year, below St Andrews 2nds. Perhaps largely due to the captaining of GU player Beth Hall, they’ve been raising the bar.
nic
Newcastle had some strong 2nd/3rd teams too, they've always had a big player base of experienced players.
AnnieB
Well you guys have set me up very nicely for the next question here!
This time last year, we were talking about the possibility of there being a Division 2 for Indoors, and whether or not Universities were ready for that. This year it's come true, and there are going to be two sets of Nationals running! How do you guys feel about this? Not just for your region, but for the sport in general?
A couple of years out from Uni ultimate means I have lost touch with the direct playing level- seeing results isn't quite the same- but I'm a huge fan of the 2nd teams or less experienced players getting a chance to compete at National level.
hazard
Between BUCS recognition and number of divisions, this is the first time in my uni career that Women’s, Mixed and Men have been on par indoors.
AnnieB
Oh hello Hazard! Welcome.
Becky G
Yes I think it’s a good thing as more teams get to play high level Ultimate at Nationals.
Hopefully the North will come home with the first ever Div 2 title!
So it’s all to play between Manchester, Durham, Sheffield and Hallam, let’s go North!
It also meant lower teams got a chance to go to Nationals, not just the high teams.
andrew
I mean I don’t think there’s another way to frame it other than as an unqualified good thing for everyone, male and female, in every region.
nic
Women's isn't exactly on par in the North. Where Men's and Mixed are played in two separate divisions (Northern and Yorks & East Mids), for Women's we still remain as a whole; the North region.
I think it's a great opportunity for those that don't get exposure to stronger teams, it will help so many players develop competitively. Right now, in the Northern region I'd be doubtful the teams past 7/8 are stronger than say, Birmingham's second team etc. As the years go on I think the quality and consistency in play will improve.
andrew
But it’s kind of a chicken and the egg sort of situation. Like we don’t have Div 2 nationals in order to build the sport, the sport has a second division BECAUSE it’s been built up already.
Div 2 is a symptom and not a cause, in slightly simpler terms.
nic
Yeah, I agree. Having Div2 there will definitely inspire teams to improve and aim for. It has been a long time coming.
Andrew
That’s a great point. I wonder how hard the Swansea guys would try if they knew there were only two slots for men’s Nationals. We’d probably slack off.
AnnieB
I hope it will also inspire teams to put a bit more emphasis on coaching all levels to competitive standard. Many teams are of course still student led, so I can understand prioritising the first teams etc due to time/budget constraints, but I hate to see 2nd and 3rd teams be an afterthought, as it were.
nic
Yeah. When I was at Huddersfield we always missed out qualifying for Nationals on the game to go, and we just tried even harder every year and now... They're winning the region.
I agree Annie, unfortunately in the Northern region there were sixteen first teams, compared to your eight?
AnnieB
Competitive standard not meaning all about playing level, but things we've talked about here before such as rules knowledge and SOTG.
andrew
Another problem is it can be hard to run a quality training for the 1sts 2nds and 3rds with the numbers available
Coaching is something that can help with that. It’s hard to see from the inside.
nic
With 16 first teams, a second team will struggle to make it to Nationals. I say this, however Durham's second team lost the Game To Go for Div2 against Hallam.
AnnieB
I hope another "official" division might see some Sports Unions/ Athletic Unions, whichever you call it, give more support to their women's teams as well.
Looking at this development from a different angle- what do we think of how the qualifying spots have been divided up?
nic
Yorks & East Mids took up four of the qualifying five for Div1 Women's.
AnnieB
Obviously since the spots were announced it has been a point of interest. Example : Scotland sent 13 teams to UWIR, and 11 of those qualified.
nic
After that, only two other northern teams qualified for Nationals.
So in the West that's only 7 teams out of 22 entered.
Alice Hanton
I think Scotland are probably justified in having that many spots at the moment, they've dominated both indoors and outdoors in recent years. And the spots are based on how well regions do at nationals
nic
And in the North 9 out of 23. Where there 16 Universities.
AnnieB
If it were to be changed, hypothetically, what would we change about it? This is an informal chat, feel free to make sweeping statements. We won't hold you to them.
nic
I'd say split into the regions we play for Mixed/Men's. We're not on par just yet, although it is a step in the right direction.
So with 7 Universities, Scotland were guaranteed a range of second teams entered into Nationals.
AnnieB
Pretty much. Scotland is strong, but ah, maybe not that strong.
Alice Hanton
Yeah that's true they don't have as many unis. But they always do well nationally!
nic
This is the first year of Div2, it'll change again come next year. Scotland deserve the spaces with how well they've played in every division.
andrew
I’m with nic. This problem, if it is one, is self correcting. Do good, gain spots, do bad, lose spots. Seems fair and there’s a minimum for each region.
Alice Hanton
I like the way spots are allocated on nationals performance. Although I've heard people say in the past that regionals and nationals should be on the same surface- last year nationals was on rubber crumb with bigger pitches (and endzones) than hard court- as it can arguably have quite an effect on teams. This might have a roundabout impact on qualifying spots if teams are performing quite differently at Regionals v Nationals.
AnnieB
Good point, Nic and Alice. I'm so interested to see how it shakes out.
andrew
^^^ huge point by Alice.
nic
I'd like to reiterate what Alice has said. I am very aware of some teams that suffer when it comes to astro because they're such big pitches and so things like zones aren't as effective.
Prime example. Huddersfield won Mixed Regionals last year on hard court but then came dead last at Div1 on rubbercrumb.
AnnieB
Alright, I'm sure we will hear more about this around the time of Nationals! Looking forward to the inaugural year of Division 2.
Alice Hanton
Leeds came dead last at women's (rubber crumb) last year after coming 3rd on hard court at regionals.... but I'm not sure how much the surface had to do with it tbh....!
AnnieB
A quick question, and yes we can laugh at the irony here of me forgetting this until last- what was the general level of spirit like? We all saw Megs' posts about doing spirit correctly, but were the scores deserved? Anything we should be aware of or talking about from UWIR?
Alice Hanton
Seems like the lower scores are often down to inexperience- either 2nd/3rd teams or less established 1st teams. I guess that demonstrates the importance of teaching spirit as part of developing players, although I also think it's something you pick up as you play more e.g. rules knowledge and use.
andrew
The vast VAST majority of red marked spirit scores, which happens when you drop below a certain overall average in a category, came from Rules Knowledge and Use.
This is a huge problem, and I did notice it at the weekend. It seemed many teams, even first teams, were unaware of many basic rules like when to brick the disc, and how.
It feels like in recent years, rules are passed down verbally and it’s become a telephone problem
A lot of clubs are playing with slightly different rule sets from each other, and that includes the guys
The spirit looks pretty good overall though.
Edinburgh VS Winners Strathclyde
nic
I find that having Club influence makes a difference, maybe universities should all do a 'Spirit Pub Quiz' like we did at Black Sheep . It isn't the UKU's problem as such, it's the coaches/captains responsibility to make sure their players know what they're doing. It's what makes Ultimate so different, there should be an emphasis on it.
andrew
This is definitely something UKU should look into.
AnnieB
Incredibly frustrating at times- teams I've played with have started making sure everyone has at least basic accreditation before playing a tournament.
geegee
Maybe even a very basic rules accreditation going into a Regionals/Nationals tournament could be beneficial.
AnnieB
Doing the advanced makes for a great 5 hour trip to the Wind Farm.
andrew
Yes the problem is it bleeds into the other scores like fairness and communication because teams don’t agree on the rules. It’s not a big issue now, as Alice said spirit looks good overall, but it’ll become one eventually.
Alice Hanton
Can I make a rules-related PSA: you do not have to tap the disc on the floor to check it in every time there is a turn over! Only after a stoppage when there is no defender near you.
AnnieB
Ladies and Gentlemen and non-binary individuals, this has been a PSA Last question for now- who will win Nationals?
Get out your crystal ball and just make the prediction, we want to hear it!
Becky G
Huddersfield have a really good chance! They dominated our region pretty much with their height and physicality. They didn’t really have any tight games.
Alice Hanton
Strathclyde
nic
I am not too aware of the other Regions but at a guess; Strathclyde. I expect Huddersfield to do well this year - like last year. And Birmingham will be up there. Don't know much about the East.
andrew
Birmingham
AnnieB
I think it'll come down to Strathclyde and UBU.
nic
Ooooh, that would be very exciting!
Alice Hanton
I've heard from an anonymous source that the East region didn't look that strong this year.
andrew
Boy would we look smart if that happened.
nic
Ooooh, all is to play for. Shout out to some of the first teams that didn't qualify, I have seen some huge development from squads that don't have the depth. They did really well this weekend, such as Lincoln from the Northern region (so happy for how well teams without the coaching available are doing). Experienced coaching seems to make a significant difference, maybe that's the next step to university development.
AnnieB
Alright everyone, any final thoughts or words of wisdom to impart?
nic
Word of advice, as I also made a point on the UXIN preview... Please please please, coaches and captains put an emphasis on Spirit. It's what makes Ultimate so different, there is no excuse to lack - it just makes for a rather disappointing game.
And with the new Div2, train hard and play harder. It's an exciting time to be playing University Women's.
AnnieB
Thank you all for joining us for this post- UWIR chat! Feel free to leave any comments below. If your team wasn’t mentioned or region not discussed in depth, tell us what happened! And if you’d like to be involved in the next chat, feel free to get in touch.
All the contributors today are volunteers, so show them some love- all opinions are our own, if you take issue with them, please be respectful. That said, we always welcome discussion!. We’ll see you next time for more coverage of all things Ultimate!
And remember, if you tap the disc in when you don’t need to, we are judging you.
