irst of all, please could anyone who has pictures/ footage from yesterday please either send them to me or come to my room (H5) in the next few hours with a flash drive so that i can put together the annual video over easter. Thanks

CUPPERS REPORT:

MVP - Saggy

I would also like to say a big thanks and well done to Camilla who played almost every point and must have been exhausted by the end.

Team:

Joey
Kenny
Tejas
Camilla
Marlow
Saggy
Matt R
Chudley

Group D:

ARU
Long Hill
DCU Eagles

The Eagles, like their namesake were swift and all showed up on time, which was a good start. After a quick corridor warm up we were ready for our first match against Long Hill.

GROUP STAGE:

7-6 LOSS against Long Hill

For the first time since I’ve been captain, WE forced a team down to 4 as they had no women, which led to the chant “Bring your mums next time”. We lost 7-6 but considering none of us had really played indoors previously we didn’t do too badly. Over the course of the match and particularly in the post game speeches it became blindingly apparent that Long Hill are a bunch of tw*ts.

LOSS against ARU (can’t remember score but the difference was ~3-4points i think)

After Long Hill, playing ARU was a pleasant return to the good-spirited nature of ultimate. ARU had two women (and so we were sometimes forced to 4) and what seemed like an endless supply of enormous 6+ footers, one of which Marlow noted, had a gloriously impressive beard. This, unsurprisingly, made their end zone wall very effective. It also made blocking overheads very difficult for the vertically challenged amongst us. We were still getting used to indoor play and ARU were playing better ultimate than us so their win was well deserved. This meant we finished bottom of the group but this lead to an interesting crossover fixture.

CROSSOVER (C2 vs D3): WIN against DCU Lions

I wasn’t there due to a stubborn supervisor but i heard it was a good match. Either way, the outcome was that we entered the top 8 to play for the cup whereas lions entered the bottom 6 to play for the plate.

THE 2 vs 7: ______ against Trinity

After beating Lions we were in 7th place which meant we had to play 2nd place, Trinity. After losing to their dirty tactics in the mini tournament final in Michaelmas, this match was particularly personal and we were determined to win. By this point we were far more used to the playing indoors and our play was of a very high level. They had 2 women so we were sometimes forced to 4 but that didn’t phase us. As soon as we had possession we kept it with almost no drops and some fantastically cheeky handler play from Tejas and Kenny. We had a comfortable 5-2 lead with five minutes remaining when it happened…

The betrayal…

Half way through the match Camilla left for a supervision, which was completely fair - she had told me well in advance. Why didn’t you plan for this Joey? How are we going to play 3 against 5? Oh but I did. In fact I made a great effort over the weeks preceding the tournament to make sure each team had enough women. In the end I managed to hire Eleanor* to come and play for the latter half of the day and fill in for Camilla during her supervision. What I hadn’t taken into account was the chance of Eleanor switching teams upon arrival to the “much in need” 1st seed team, Penguins. In fact the bad news came indirectly, mid-match, that she simply had to switch to penguins, who already had 7 girls because it was imperative that they had an 8th. This lead to a revision of the popular expression “Be there or be square” to “Be there or be Eleanor”.

It wasn’t particularly surprising that playing 3 vs 5 against the likes of Tom Anthony was no easy task. Tejas, Kenny and I held off a good few of said points and even scored one. The buzzer sounded at 6-6 leading to a heated universe point, which unfortunately we lost. Proud of our performance given the circumstances, we shook hands with Trinity and once again, admitted defeat. Revenge is a dish best served at Summer Cuppers.

THE 6 vs 7: 6-6 WIN against Thundercatz via Ro-Sham-Bo

By this point Camilla had returned but we were still forced to 4 by the ‘catz. We were all pretty tired but we managed to hold it together and had a 6-5 lead when the buzzer sounded. All we had to do was win the final point to seal the deal. For some reason i felt this was the opportune moment for a bladey forehand to Tejas in the end zone. This, off course, didn’t complete and the Thundercatz scored soon after the subsequent turnover. And so, to resolve the tie, I had to confront their captain in a nail-biting game of Ro-Sham-Bo. The pitch grew silent as the teams circled around and offered strategic advice to their respective captains. Having lost to Mark earlier in the week when deciding over cuppers groups (hence our match against Long Hill), I did not feel particularly confident. However I drew strength from the camaraderie and support of my team and crushed the Thundercatz with a 2-0 Rock-Scissor victory, placing us 6th.

THE 5 vs 6: 8-5 LOSS against Churchill

This was the final match of the day and our last opportunity to climb the rankings. There was no denying it, Churchill were a strong team with James, Rolo and Matt H from SB1 amongst others. On top of this, Tejas had to leave and so we were down a player. Realising we’d need some help I scouted around for a recruiting opportunity. And there it was, George Anegg sitting in the corner, eager to play but not on a team. He was hard to convince at first but then he heard James was on the opposite team and the ‘yes' was nigh-immediate. The game was close and great fun but it was increasingly obvious that we were all very tired - there were far more errors and cuts were slower. However there were still several highlights such as the 2 Marlow-Garratt points and a quick endzone dash from myself to receive a skilfully dealt backhand from George.

And so we finished in 6th, which considering the circumstances, I think is very good. We also joint won the spirit prize** with DCU Lions! Both team played very well and the chemistry was great. I look forward to seeing DCU progress further next term. Have a good holiday and see you all next term!

Frove,
Joey

*Sorry Eleanor!!! The reality of the situation may have been distorted slightly for dramatic effect.
** As I was walking to my 8.30AM maths supervision (the reason for my timely exit from the social the previous night) I came across Sam Garrat returning from Ultihouse, who informed me that the spirit prize was essentially finished. It seems i will not get an opportunity to sample it myself.