Editor: Hazard
Welcome to the 2020/21 season! This is a very unusual season, with qualification coming through the UKU National Series, a series of games played around the country. This new and exciting structure also makes media coverage very difficult - we have games occurring many miles apart, so journalists can't just pop over to a sideline to see how teams are doing.
As such, we reached out to some member of each National League team and each winning National Cup team to ask for a small paragraph on the game. We would love to do this for Open/Women's too, so if you're keen please, please get in touch. Seriously. It's a lot of effort to manage this and we'd love to include the hard work your team has done. Sorry for any team missing, but, well, we all have limited energy right now and we will happily edit this article to include any information teams send after we publish.
Below is a recap of the structure, with the reports below that. Thank you again to everyone that contributed!
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Structure
The overall championship is the UK National Series. Within it, teams compete for 8 spots at the National Championships. An easy to read graphic is included below.
We have 6 National League teams (Birmingham, Deep Space, Glasgow Ultimate, Mighty Hucks, SMOG 1, and Reading Ultimate). They will play in a mini-league for 3 spots at the National Championships.
We also have the National Cup, with 17 teams fighting for 2 spots at the National Championships. These spots go to the finalists of the cup.
The remaining 3 National League teams, the two Cup semi-finalists, and one intrepid qualify-the-hard-way Cup quarter finalist will enter the National Playoffs, seeking to be among the final 3 spots at the National Championships.
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| Taken from UKU's guide to 2020/21 Ultimate |
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National League
Deep Space 15 - 8 Birmingham Ultimate
Location: Oxford
Conor Hogan (Deep Space): Space took half 8-3 but Brum came out riled up post half and stuck in an offensive hold and then 2 breaks, taking the game to 9-6. We sorted ourselves out after that and scored seven points while only conceding two, finishing the game at 15-8. Former Birmingham stalwart Marius Hutcheson had two or three bricks, but then cheered wildly as one of the Brum handlers dropped his last pull. The final score was a one-pass O-line hold with Josh Coxon Kelly whacking a huck deep to Gus Morse (which received a shoutout in the post goal chat from the Brum captain as “lush”).
Harry Mason (Neutral): As the neutral venue for the game was in my city, I'll take the rare chance to add a few words myself. It was fantastic getting to watch a game, and both Birmingham and Deep Space have clearly been training hard. If you asked me for the main difference between the two teams, I'd highlight the pressure applied on defence. Deep Space played very tight D, only giving Birmingham centimeters to throw to. To Brum's credit, they were managing those difficult throws a lot, but it only took a small lapse in offensive concentration for a turn. Deep Space's large squad size may well have helped too, allowing plenty of time to hydrate and recover on a sunny British afternoon. I look forward to hopefully getting a chance to see both teams later in the season, as there were a few small first-proper-game nerves from both sides that I don't think we'll see at Nationals.
Reading Ultimate 15 - 11 Mighty Hucks
Location: Reading
Ruth Cawdron and Joe Brown (Reading): A very tight first half. Hucks broke early (first RU O point), but RU were first to huck (second O point). Hucks were definitely not out-hucked and did more of the hucking after that with a decent completion rate in a game where turnovers were surprisingly hard to come by given the amount of ultimate that’s been played recently. Two turns a piece at 7-6 took the score to level footing, before RU broke to take half 8-7.
After half, RU couldn’t hold, but then broke back straight away and pulled out a few more out. The required the Reading D line to click well, throwing different looks in order to get breaks on the board. Hucks weren't down though - Connor McHale pulled out a massive uphill pull and followed it up with a trademark layout D. Will Rowledge also looked solid, getting some nice Ds in the deep space making RU work the under cuts.
On Reading's side, the ladies were looking pretty boss - shout out to Erin McGready for looking powerful on O and getting turns as chase in the RU zone. Sam Wilson showed his pace by overtaking players from both sides to run down the final throw of the match, which was definitely not intended for him given how much ground he covered! However, Reading had been up 14-9 so all credit to Hucks for fighting it out to the end. Time for after sun.
Ben Bruin (Mighty Hucks): It was a fairly even start from both teams, with a couple of expected errors early on. The main difference between the teams was that Reading were moving the disc much more quickly and convincingly (I'd know as I was stalling them all). Hucks struggled to find their usual flow and space deep, and it took until late on to scrape off the rust. Reading then made the most of a few errors and got a few run through to take the game away with too much to rescue late on.
Give Hucks another game and I think the margin would be tighter. Unfortunate for SMOG and Deep Space who will get to play us later on 😉
Glasgow Ultimate vs SMOG 1 is played next week. We'll share the paragraph/s on Facebook after the game, and edit it into this piece to keep all the coverage cohesive.
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National Cup
Oxford Ultimate 15 - 9 Zoo Mixed Ultimate
Location: Oxford
Harry Mason (Oxford): Oxford took an early lead going up 5-0, and then held that lead (with some ebbs and flows) until the end. Zoo seemed a little shaky at the start, but once their long game started connecting with some impressive catches they really tightened up. Oxford managed to pull out through in the end, with some great grabs by Kat Rantanen saving the game several times.
Cambridge Ultimate 15 - 1 Geometrically Frustrated Magnets
Location: London
Hannah Smith (Cambridge): A classic case of “the scoreline didn’t reflect the game”. GFM brought a good game but we (Cambridge) just put our foot down. Lots of connecting deep shots. Our women were strong so we played poachy defence to mess things up whilst men were tight and it worked.
Leamington Lemmings 15 - 7 Mythago* (Bristol University Ultimate)
Location: Bristol
Nathan Sanders (Lemmings): Mythago had a shaky start which allowed Lemmings to take a 3-0 lead. This generated some fire inside a very strong Mythago team, and soon the game was tied up at 3-3. Lemmings found a bit of traction, and managed to take a messy half 8-4. A cleaner half from both sides saw the game end 15-7. Oli May was unstoppable on both offence and defence, giving Lemmings the edge.
Earlier in the day, Mythago beat South Wales Storm 15-3 in "Round 0" to earn the right to play Lemmings in Round 1. Nathan Sanders watched for us, noting the Mythago performance as "dominant". He also singled out Mythago player Joe Littler for his strong handling performance.
LeedsLeedsLeeds 11 - 3 Merseyside Ultimate Club
Location: Liverpool
Avril Huter and Daniel Dingle Lovesey (LLLeeds): A hard fought game from both teams, but after trading points early in the game Leeds adapted better to the blustery conditions, managing to work the disc upfield and convert better when near the endzone to take the game 11-3. Although the ending score doesn't fully reflect the closer nature of the game.
Thundering Herd 15 - 9 Flyght Club
Location: Milton Keynes
Sean Colfer (Herd): Herd beat Flyght mixed 15-9 after a halftime lead of 8-3. Flyght had a chat about increasing intensity at half and did a good job of getting back into the game and trading during the second half. Sean Colfer did a great job sidelining considering his debilitating calf injury.
Bristol Mixed 15 - 8 Plymouth Mixed
Location: Bristol
Leigh Williams (Bristol): After a close start, Bristol nabbed a halftime lead with a few quick points. Plymouth took a while to find their groove on offense but once they did, they made a stirring second half comeback, making great use of their talented women. Bristol briefly stuttered but exciting rookies John Fitzgerald, Kate Willis, and Dom Stratton all made big plays on their competitive debuts to ultimately seal the win.
SMOG 2 15 - 5 Black Sheep
Location: ?
We don't currently have a report for SMOG 2 vs Black Sheep
The Brown Win vs Ouseburn
Ouseburn apparently pulled out, so The Brown win by default. Sorry for not asking for a paragraph, feel free to send one describing how you spent your afternoon instead.
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