e-News #8

Greetings,

There is so much happening in ultimate that we're overloaded with content. In this issue you'll find a BULA Trophy Design Contest, a write-up from the Stanford Invite, a great March Photo Print sale announcement, a report from the College Centex, an eNews training tip to avoid Running Repetition, and a look at some hot pics from UPA Club Championships.

Trophy Design Competition
The Beach Ultimate Lovers Association (BULA) is organizing a Trophy Competition for their newly started World Championships. The tournament has four different divisions (Mens, Womens, Mixed and Masters), each of which require a trophy of its own.
The deadline for submissions is May 15th, 2004.
The prize for the winning design is €500.
For more information or questions about the Trophy Competition please contact natalie@beachultimate.org
For more information about the World Championships go to:
www.wcbu2004.org

2004 Stanford Invite
March 6-7, Palo Alto, CA
The Stanford Invite brought together some of college ultimate's powerhouse squads, possibly previewing battles that will play out at the College Championships in Corvallis, Oregon a few short months from now.

On the Womens side, Davis played hard against MIT in pool play, losing by only one point. Similarly UCSC lost by just one to Stanford to take second in their pool. UCSD and Berkeley advanced first through their respective pools.
Stanford was close with Oregon in quarters until Oregon's Chelsea Dengler was sidelined with an injury, and Stanford advanced 15-7. Berkeley was upset by Davis 11-5, while UCSD easily handled Texas 15-5. MIT overcame UCSC 14-9 to advance to the semis.
MIT and UCSD met in a semi, with UCSD taking the berth to the final 14-11 in a fairly close match. Stanford ran over Davis 13-6 to reach the big game.
Host Stanford met UCSD in the end game, and the two squads traded points and runs through out the match, although UCSD never captured the lead. After being tied at 8's, Stanford posted a 4-point run and soon UCSD answered with 3 of their own. Stanford took the victory with a 15-13 final score.

UNC was the story of the Open side. Carrying a 15th seed into pool play, UNC beat Stanford by one point, Wisconsin by one point, and Oregon State to gain a berth to quarters. Brown edeged William & Mary to win one pool, while Berkeley and UCSB captured their pools.
In pre-quarters with Wisconsin up by three, Carleton fought back to double-game point when Wisconsin finally took the match.
UCSB took down William & Mary 14-12 in one quarter, while UNC offed Washington 13-6. Down by a couple points, Stanford came back to score three and win 13-12 over Berkeley in another quarter, as Brown dispatched Wisconsin 10-7.
Brown met Stanford in a semifinal, with Stanford advancing on their home turf, 11-8. UNC took down UCSB 15-11 in a game filled with big hucks.
Meeting for the second time, Stanford and UNC provided a spectacular match. UNC took half and kept their lead until Stanford surged to take a 14-12 lead. Two points by UNC leveled the score at 14's with the game hard capped at 16. At 15's, Stanford received and kept the disc, winning 16-15 and clinching a victorious home tourney for the Stanford squads.

Marching in to Summer Photo Print Sale
From now until March 31, we're offering a special price on Photo Prints.
Buy one Photo Print and get a second Photo Print at half price.
Buy two Photo Prints and get a third Photo Print free.

You can mix and match the photo prints in whichever combination you'd like.
To order go to:
www.chasingplastic.com/merchandise.htm

College Centex 2004
March 20-21 - Austin, TX
The first-ever college-only Centex featured pools laden with Championship caliber teams, in both Open and Womens. The sometimes unruly Texas temperature remained moderate, but the wind became a factor on Sunday play.

The Womens side featured some Championship rematches from a year ago in Austin. In pool play, Berkeley, Carleton, and MIT showed strength and parity as they fought it out in the same pool, each taking one loss.
Battling in the wind on Sunday, the quarterfinals saw the National Championship rematch of MIT and Stanford, with Stanford winning 10-8. Carleton downed UCSD 11-9, Berkeley hammered Iowa 15-4, and Oregon squeaked by UCSC 12-11.
Stanford gave Carleton their tournament exit with a 8-5 score in one semi, while Berkeley trounced Oregon 13-4 in the other match.
Stanford and Berkeley battled in another tight match, with Stanford eventually winning 9-8 and taking another major tourney victory.

For the Open division the local Texas squad and Florida played hot through day 1 to advance to quarters, with Texas pushing Oregon and Illinois out of contention while Florida took UCSB's chance to advance. UCSB, Carleton and UBC, on the other hand were all light in roster and performance this weekend.
In quarters Colorado ended Florida's run 15-10, NC State worked Wisconsin 14-8, Stanford knocked Texas from contention 14-10, while Berkeley dispatched William & Mary 15-12.
Berkeley pulled out a tight win over Stanford 12-11 in one semi, while Colorado worked over NC State 15-9.
A crowd-pleasing final had Berkeley take an early lead. Colorado brought it back to 7's and took the advantage by scoring the last point at half and then receiving with the wind at their backs to start the second set. Berkeley responded by intercepting close to the Colorado end and evened the advantage with a quick upwind score. Eventually tied at 12's, the teams agreed to hard cap the game at 15, and Berkeley won the three-point race, 15-14 final.

eNews Training Tip:
Crossing out Running Repetition
Running should be part of everyone's training for ultimate. Just logging miles on the road will not give you the maximum advantage of your exertion, however. Repetitive ground contacts can take their toll on both muscles and joints, and doesn't replicate the motions of playing a dynamic game of flatball. To add variety to your work-out, start running cross country, over hill and over dale even. Running over obstacles will help you get the step you need to cut quicker, get off your feet in different directions, and go up from various positions. When you're cruising off the beaten path, you'll be working more muscles than road running, and working on balance at the same time. Pay closer attention to stable foot placement, watching the road at your feet rather than 10 yards in front, especially as you tire. It's preferable to measure time rather than distance with off road running, as time/distance correlation will vary according to terrain. Be sure to where sensible shoes with a good platform for landing and appropriate traction when venturing off-piste. A quick disclaimer: a qualified trainer or physician will give you the best advice on how to work out and avoid injury. I'm just some guy sitting at a computer thinking about quicker leg work.

UPA Club Championships Pictures
Here's a sneak peek at some of the pictures which will be online soon, exclusively for our eNews readers. Check them out at:
www.chasingplastic.com/sneak.htm

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