Tournament Report
On the bright, breezy morning of the 25th of September 2010, nearly 50 Irish female Frisbee players descended upon the Trinity sports grounds in Santry, Dublin. Though the heavens had rained buckets down on the Emerald Isle the whole week before, our leprechaun luck held out to bring us sunshine and blue skies for the womens tournament of the year.
First up saw formidable Little Miss Sunshine take on Jabba the Huckers while alongside them the Cork ladies battled it out with the Pick-up team, dubbed Deadly Buzz for the weekend. Jabba startled LMS for the first few points, snatching an upwind score early on. They traded points for the first half an hour until LMS came out with a tight zone that caused the Huckers problems. Though both teams caused plenty of turnovers, Jabba the Huckers just couldn’t convert like they had at the start. In the end, LMS’s superior experience and tough attitude won out and they took the game comfortably.
On the other side, the pick-up team were familiarising themselves with each other and giving the Cork ladies a tough battle. The wind was clearly causing both teams trouble, as the final low score in Cork’s favour illustrated, but both teams displayed some quality play and the beginners debuting with Deadly Buzz were just warming up!
For lunch, the grounds were very silent while all players and volunteers scoffed down their delicious burritos served up by Boojum. During the digestion period, the players lounged in the tee pee, took on the skipping rope challenge or worked on their dance moves for the evening.
For the afternoon 100 minute games, Jabba the Huckers were taking on the Cork girls and LMS had drawn Deadly Buzz. The Cork college team dazzled on the pitch with some superb zone offence play but unfortunately for them, they couldn’t always work the disc past the endzone line and Jabba the Huckers responded with swift offensive plays that Cork couldn’t shut down. The Huckers were delighted with their first win and took the valuable lessons learned during the game to the next day.
LMS took the game from Deadly Buzz with ease but helped and aided where possible for this inexperienced crop of girls. Deadly Buzz however certainly impressed and didn’t leave the pitch disappointed in themselves.
That night saw all the teams invade MacTurcaills, confusing onlookers in their Arthur Guinness outfits seemingly 2 days late, their 90s denim attire and their graffiti-ed shirts. The theme was Cultural Myths and Legends and this inspired the manifestation of 10 Arthur Guinnesses, a 4 part Loch Ness Monster and the reunion of B*witched! Free platters all round, cheap pints and cocktails and the night was away. Dancing ensued in the later parts of the soirée and much drunkenness as is customary.
Sunday morning was even brighter and warmer than the day before. The tournament didn’t just get better in this aspect; there was also on site a magic handed Athletic Therapist doling out free massages for all the players.
The starting games saw Deadly Buzz go down to Jabba the Huckers, who were gearing themselves up for a demanding final in which they would have to produce their best. The Cork ladies unfortunately had to suffer the same attitude but from a large squad of much more experience than them in the form of Little Miss Sunshine and the scoreline reflected this.
So the final came up as predicted; the two Dublin club teams newly formed that year were about to battle it out for the first club silverware ever presented in Ireland. Support was strong for both sides and tension was high. Each of the players could feel the nerves but nobody wanted to show them. Little Miss Sunshine had gained in their favour their captain who had missed the day before and this could be seen to make a huge difference. They kept on their zone having learnt its success from the previous match and though Jabba’s handlers kept calm as much as possible, no breakthrough could be made upfield resulting in an eventual error at the back. There were some bright points for them through hucks and nifty little deep stack plays but LMS had their heads screwed on and stopped any of that progress abruptly. With agression, speed and skill, LMS sent in the final point and took the win.
To cap the weekend off, every player formed a giant circle and the infamous Zulu chant and dance were performed (just in case your legs weren’t hurting enough).
Final standings:
1. Little Miss Sunshine (Dublin)
2. Jabba the Huckers (Dublin)
3. University College Cork (Cork)
4. Deadly Buzz*
Spirit of the Game went to UCC ladies for their excellent sportsmanship.
MVP of the final was captain of LMS, Laura McGrath.
Winner of the skipping rope challenge with 109 skips in 60 seconds went to Megan Reilly of Jabba the Huckers.
MVP of each team:
LMS – Liz Schaffalitzky
Jabba – Fiona Mernagh
UCC – Deirdre Corbett
Deadly Buzz – Louise Hanley
For a fantastic highlights reel by Richard Buggy, please check out the video below:
For photos: http://huckotheirish.wordpress.com/photos-from-the-weekend/
Quotes regarding the weekend:
Claire Morgan, Deadly Buzz:
“It was one of the best run tournaments I have been at. The organization and care that went into the preparation of lunch, the variety of food in our lunch packs, the awesomely detailed captains packs and the tent set up with the personal masseuse. This being the first time the tournament was ever run is just fantastic, it gives me a lot of hope for the years to come! Its off to a VERY good start!”
Laura McGrath, LMS:
“What a massive progressive step Ireland has just taken in having its first (of many!) womens tournaments. It was fantastic to play at a competitive womens tournament in Ireland. Hugely enjoyable, great play and well spirited matches against enthusiastic athletic women. This will be a tournament LMS will look forward to competing at every year!”
*Unfortunately several Deadly Buzz players left before a team photo could be taken!
