Made via special request. As a disclaimer, I was only at the pitches for Saturday.
Schedule
Spirit
Women's
1. Gravity (Spirit)
2. Iceni
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3. Bristol
4. Rebel
5. SCRAM
6. SYC
7. Throwback
8. Red
Mixed
1. SMOG 1
2. Deep Space
3. SMOG 2
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4. Reading
5. Birmingham
6. Guildford
7. Cambridge
8. PELT (Spirit)
Open
1. Clapham
2. Chevron Action Flash
3. Ranelagh
4. Alba
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5. Devon (Spirit)
6. Rebel
7. PELT
8. XVI
9. EMO
10. Brighton
11. Ka-Pow!
12. YOpen
13. Fire
14. Manchester
15. BAF
16. Bristol
1. Gravity rises as Ireland win their first UKU National trophy
A couple years ago, if you were to guess which division would be the first Irish victory, I don't think you'd have picked Women's. Iceni had stranglehold that looked completely unassailable. However, this is now the second year in a row that Iceni made the final, but were unable to win the final game. This year it is, with all due respect to Iceni, at the hands of a superior Gravity squad. With many of the team coming away with Gold at EUC just a short while ago, Gravity is a side that have tested themselves against the best, and come out top, even without Eurostar Sarah Melvin.
Last year, despite coming 2nd at EUCR-W, Iceni still made the final at Euros. They may do the same this year, but you can be sure Gravity will be the team they meet there if they manage it, because you'd be a fool not to be backing the ladies from Ireland for yet another Gold. Oh, and Gravity also won spirit, because they just can't stop winning.
2. Alba have no respect for tradition
The Chevron vs Clapham final is a tradition dating back at least 50 years. Maybe more. And Alba, being 8-5 up at half against Chevron, looked to be entirely unaware that this was not how things were supposed to go. There's been an Alba squad at EUCR-W before, but not a squad like this. Filled with young talent and a lot of WUCC experience via Glasgow and Black Eagles, it was no surprise to see them doing well. But this well? After Chevron clawed the game back in sudden death, they were forced to fight up through the brackets. Which they did...reasonably comfortably. Big plays, big energy, lets see how they do in Italy.
3. SMOG earned their spots
First, I'm informed that SMOG did indeed pick a first and a second team rather than split their squads. You may doubt that, given how well SMOG 2 played. But SMOG 1 destroyed everyone, winning most games (including the final) by at least five. They haven't won the title before, but they've been grinding and improving as a squad for many years, so you have to say SMOG 1 earned it.
SMOG 2 however, came in as the first second team to qualify for the division, and went straight to the euros spots. I had the pleasure of commentating on their Birmingham pool game, and they showed they were able to hold their own with the top players. Typically on a second team, you'd expect depth to be an issue. Nope. I couldn't identify any weak links in the chain. Yes, there's definitely some areas and connections to tighten up. But they had a lot of grit, didn't give up when they went down, and showed that SMOG is definitely doing a lot right as a club.
4. Deep Space finally make EUCF
Deep Space have always had one of the best rosters in UK Mixed Ultimate, and always seemed to have one of the best ethos's too. Honestly, when they formed only three years ago, it was actually a little bit of a surprise that they weren't instantly right at the top, even if they were always nicking at the heels (last year's victory of Black Eagles being a key example). Now they seem to have finally got over whatever ghosts have been in their way, and look frightening. It's tough to know what the future of elite UK Mixed holds, and which teams will stay around. But you'd be a foolish player not to bet that Deep Space will be among them from here on.
5. YOpen is the underdog story of the tournament
I can't overstate how proud I am of these lads, even though I have no right to be. Yes, this is personal (YOpen were my first team). But YOpen formed, had a brief sojourn in B Tour, and then a lot of the players in the area were pulled away through retirement/moving/Leeds/SMOG. I've seen how hard the local players (notably Matthew Carson and Steve Wrigglesworth) have worked to maintain a scene and build a Nationals-quality team. This took a lot of time and effort, and even getting to Nationals seemed to be an upset. To then come out and beat Manchester in sudden death with a squad full of nearly all rookies was fantastic to see. I'm aware it's biased, but screw it. Well done boys, 12th best open team in UK + Ireland.
6. Clapham win again
Honestly, when I've played in the Open division, winning the division has never really been on my mind. Qualification for Euros has always seemed a realistic goal, despite the calibre of teams. But winning? Clapham have been so dominant for so many years, and it really is hard to overstate how tough that is. And what's more annoying, is that they seem to have got better as a squad over the years too. Another team you'd back for Gold at EUCF. Since there's nothing else really to say about Clapham for now, four Irish teams in the top eight is also really scary.
7. SCRAM look to position themselves among the elite
At the start of this season, SCRAM were my hot tip for a wildcard in the women's division. Unlike Alba, they seem to have required a little more bonding time to build chemistry, because it's no doubt that they have great players, taking similarly from the mixed WUCC teams. And, while the 5 vs 6 game is not usually significant at Women's Nationals, SCRAM managing to reverse their sudden death loss in the pool stage against SYC and finally get a win against one of the big three teams seems very significant for next season. Scotland has had a lot of recent representation in GB U24s and U20s, so if SCRAM can harness this I'm sure we'll see them challenging big come next year.
8. That final mixed qualification spot was really up for grabs
With a weakened PELT at one end, and SMOG 1/Deep Space at the other, it was really anyone's game for the middle spots at Nationals. SMOG 2, Birmingham, Cambridge, Guildford and Reading all had wins over each other, and many games felt like they could go right to the wire. Reading would normally have been the favourites, but didn't seem to be clicking quite as much as usual. In the end, it ended up with SMOG 2. But for a division which was fairly predictable in terms of top half and bottom half last year, it was really good to see a lot of teams all challenging at the same level.
9. Iceni still have the big game mentality advantage, for now
At the start of the year, I remember having a chat with some friends. Iceni, Bristol, or SYC - which one would come out on top. Bristol honestly seemed the favourites - they've retained a lot of their core squad and have been doing well at tournaments all year. That said, SYC have had a more European focus this year, aside from the one Ranking Event they joined and won. But it was Iceni that came away with that final qualification spot, thanks to a 12-8 win over Bristol in the game to go. All these teams have coaches and captains far better qualified than me to know how to progress going forward. But in this new tight era of UK Women's Ultimate, Iceni seem to have the smallest edge.
