Mohawk Emails
Newsletter Correction
So apparently it wasn’t Nationals… they won a fun tournament… yay! Still well done I suppose!
Thanks,
A slightly embarrassed Prossie…
Mohawk Emails
Mohawk Emails
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Mohawks Newsletter Week 2
Hey Mohawks! Prossie here!
So good news! The snow has melted! This means the Mohawks outdoor season can finally kick start!
Firstly, congratulations to the Mixed indoor first team, who won an Indoor Fun Tournament this weekend!
Training
So training is back on again starting tomorrow – everyone please come to Russells Clump at 1pm and training will start for everyone! It will probably be wet so bring plastic bags for your stuff etc. – you know what to do!
Chlamydia Club Challenge
No, this isn’t an STD spelling challenge, even though that is an extreme challenge… No this is a Chlamydia Club challenge – if the whole club can go to Falmer Bar after training tomorrow (5:30) to take a test that would be fantastic!
‘But I am clean, Prossie! Why do I need to take a test?’
That’s a very good question Prossie! Well the more people in our club who take the test, the more likely it is that we will win the prize! That’s right, a prize! If enough of the club take the test, we win money for our club, which can only benefit every single one of you! So take the test with me guys! Yay!
Pub Golf
The evil snow even cancelled the social last week, but it is on this week! Meet at Falmer Bar at 8 for the first hole! There will be scorecards and everything – no excuses not to come as it is also Sarah McCann and Starzy (Slutship)’s birthdays – so celebrate y’all!!
Cya tomorrow you lovely things,
Prossie the President xxx
P.S – I decided every week in the newsletter I will be recommending an album cos I like music and all that! So this week it’s Purity Ring – Shrines – its awesome electronic minimalist stuff – similar to both Beach House and Crystal Castles – enjoy!
Blog Posts
Stars and stripes and flying discs part 2
The first term really sped through, so fast that I couldn’t keep you dearest hawks updated and for that I apologize, I can only try and do better this term.
There was not a whole lot of exciting frisbee related things happening last term, it was the off season (no indoor) so just a couple of relaxed, fun tournaments, which the captains used for scouting out A-team players. Some pretty decent people got cut when the final
squad was announced but I was lucky enough to sneak through. In the last couple of weeks before the holidays we got properly introduced to our coach Kevin Cissna. He is a Davis alumnus, and made it right to the top of the sport, playing a number of years with Revolver. He is a no nonsense kinda guy, that is certain to get you running your hardest. He really knows how to get the most out of trainings and makes every drill as efficient as possible.
Over the winter break I was lucky enough to do a bit of travelling and got a double dose of mohawks. I recuperated my senses and money after a blurry stay in Las Vegas by visiting Kyle “Thor” Shurtz’s for 4 days in Boulder, Colorado. We got out on the local disc golf course, but I really couldn’t get to grips with proper disc golfing discs, and just about held my own with an ultra-star. Putting into the chain net baskets things was really difficult since the actual putters that disc golfers use are smaller and fit inside it a lot easier. All in all I preferred the wonky fence post or skinny tree targets I’m more familiar with.
I flew from Denver to Oakland on Christmas Eve, and was met at the airport by non-other than your fine women’s captain Sarah McCann. I had a really enjoyable stay with her family and we got to throw around a bit on the beach in her home town San Luis Opisbo. It was all fun and games until Sarah got a bit over enthusiastic chasing down a dodgy wayward throw of mine, and ended up lying on the shoreline, fully clothed and being lapped by waves which she couldn’t avoid due to a twisted ankle :(. You’ll have to ask her about the ensuing heroism but really I was just trying to make up for initiating it with a rubbish throw.
I made it back to Davis just after new year’s and straight away had the Davis Hat tournament to go to. This was really fun, I was on a team with very few people that I’d ever met before let alone played frisbee with. I found it really challenging to cut and throw accordingly for people when you have no idea of their abilities or tendencies. I enjoyed it a lot and really recommend hat tournaments to anyone that’s never been to one, you learn so much! It also opens up a lot of ultimate doors for you, since it was here I booked my spot on a team at the upcoming beach tournament, Lei Out.
They sold it to me as claiming Lei Out to be the closest thing California has to Paganello. There are a lot of similarities, they are both played on sand, use the same rules, and involve an unhealthy amount of pitch side drinking. However Lei Out this year had 184 teams alongside the Pacific Ocean, basking in Santa Monica’s gorgeous L.A sunshine. It definitely fulfilled my beach ultimate fix for the year but I’ll still be extremely jealous of anyone heading to Rimini this easter. It wasn’t fancy dress sadly, but the party was still epic. They had hired a huge warehouse on the top floor of the mall which had a couple of hundred people in and space for a couple hundred more. We ended up doing pretty well since we won all our games on Saturday but this moved us up to a slightly higher bracket which we then got knocked out of at the quarter-final stage. By this time we were having so much fun that placing didn’t matter. Our call involved a wine tasting challenge (the name “2 buck huck” was a pun on “2 buck chuck” the equivalent of supermarket own brand red wine). We also had a shot belt with 18 shots of skittles vodka strapped to it and that got refilled a number of times. It was a very sleepy 6 hour drive back up the west coast to Davis but so totally worth it.
Back in Davis Trainings have really started to get ramped up in intensity now, just 2 days off a week. This includes track workouts, (8 laps of sprinting the straights and jogging the bends) and gym workouts. We had a squad of 24 but due to some unlucky circumstances we are now down to just 19. Compared to the other colleges this will be smaller but we are hoping being a close nit group can work to our advantage. I’m so excited about the season kicking off this weekend, the first officially USAU college sanctioned event is the Santa Barbara invite. Seeing the Dogs creep onto Skyd magazine’s preseason power rankings is really spurring us on and we hope to cause some upsets. Be sure to check up to see how we do, results/ write up will probably go up on Skyd early next week.
I’ll leave it there for now and I hope you are all wrapping up warm with that nasty white frosty stuff about. All the best for the new season!
Peace and love,
Joe
“Once a dog, always a Mohawk”
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Friday Practices This Term
Hi Mohawks,
I am sure you are all itching to play some ultimate with all this snow nonsense, so I thought I’d better inform everyone about Friday practice this term.
We do have the sports hall booked from next Friday (1st Feb) onwards, BUT this hall time is being used by the two Mohawks teams going to mixed indoor nationals in a couple of weeks’ time. However you are all encouraged to arrange informal outdoor practices on Fridays, perhaps starting at 2pm on Stanmer Park. If you build it they will come, as they say.
After mixed nationals is done we will review what to do with the indoor session – it may be an invite practice, open to all, or we may look to move the ‘official’ practice outdoors to make the most of the season.
It is important that you don’t use Russell’s Clump as, for the time being, we do not have it booked on a Friday. The first one will be tomorrow (25th Jan) – Simba Kennedy has volunteered to lead the way this week and will be there with kit, boots, a disc, and a smile, come rain or shine (or ice).
Fondest and bestest wishes,
Shimmy John
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Training 23/01/13
Yo Peeps!
You can probably guess there is no training tomorrow – too dangerous – if you want to throw, do so on Stanmer Park and BE CAREFUL! Very dangerous!!
laters peeps!
Prossie x
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Mohawks training begins again!
Evening all.
Mohawks training starts again this Wednesday at 1pm.
The 1pm start time is for everyone so please don’t be late. We will start the warm up at 1.05 and then get into it 🙂
Looking forward to seeing you all again and to an exiting outdoor season!
Note: Weather dependant, the session may be called off however I will update you all on that on this here forum on Wednesday morning so look out for that. We may well still just have a fun snow game 😀
See you all soon!
Lawrence.
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Ultimate Inter-Halls Cup Tournament Postponed
Hi all,
Due to exams taking up the hall this weekend, the Inter Halls Cup will no longer take place this weekend. Please do not turn up. It will happen at a later date this term however!
Thanks,
Prossie Pete x
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Training Cancelled Tomorrow (18/01/13)
Hey Hawks!
So I know you are all super keen to play Ultimate tomorrow, however due to a dangerously icy pitch and the imminent arrival of snow tomorrow training is cancelled…
The good news is that training will as we can foresee be on next Wednesday! EVERYONE come along from 1 o’clock to Russells Clump for the first outdoor training of the term!!
Cya all soon! Much Love,
Prossident Pete x
Blog Posts
The Term in Preview: Spring 2013 and beyond…
It’s going to be a busy term, but one that I am certainly relishing. It’s a great time to be a Mohawk, with lots of opportunities to play at all levels, whether just for fun or to push yourself as hard as you can. So here’s a little preview of just some of the ultimate-related events happening this term (and a bit about this summer) for you. But I couldn’t cover or predict everything – stay tuned to this website for news of extra practices/tournaments!
January
“Hardcore Hove” Monday practice restarts on the 7th (and then every Monday), 7pm-9pm at Hove Recreation Ground. Despite the “Hardcore” label, this practice is open to everyone and all Mohawks are encouraged to attend. It will give you the chance to get to know the players from Brighton Ultimate and meet more of the Panthers in a friendly, development-focussed environment.
The 13th is the first Longface Sundays practice. Come along to Stanmer Park to work on whatever you want to, do a couple of simple drills and then play a game. A great opportunity to get some extra training in with a top quality player/coach there to guide you.
Local open tour team Brighton are also holding trials for their open team over the weekend of the 19th and 20th. They are looking for athletic, young and talented players (Mohawks are always a good choice!) to better their 4th place finish at UK Club Nationals 2012, and 9th place in Europe. Sign up! There’s even rumours of the team being re-branded under a new name!
Meanwhile our GB U23s (Lawrence, Ashley, Kim, Emma) will be away making the Mohawks presence felt at a training camp, amongst the best young ultimate players the country has to offer.
And adding to a bumper ultimate weekend, the 19th also sees the inaugural Mohawks Campus Halls Cup, part of the student union’s multi-sport league where players from each of the halls (and off campus!) battle it out to win points for their hall. The details are just being finalised, but it may be run as a women’s event, with the aim to cast a wide net over campus and introduce more women to the sport. But watch this space – sign-ups for that event will be available in due course.
Mohawks regular Wednesday practices begin again on the 23rd January, on the clump. Keep your eyes peeled for updates to this website as there may be other informal sessions before then!
Our mixed teams are preparing for indoor nationals, with a one-day tournament in London on Sunday 27th January. The tournament is being held in an enormous sprung-wood hall, created as a training venue for the London 2012 Olympics.
February
The 2nd/3rd is the first GB U20s trial for both the women’s and the open teams. If you were born on or after January 1st 1994 then you should sign up! If you make the squad you will join a long history of Mohawks who have represented GB at Junior level, including Ashley Yeo and 2010/11 Grand Slam-winning Open Captain, Jack Beezer.
Two teams of Mohawks will go to university mixed indoor nationals in Wolverhampton on 9th/10th February, with a team in Division 1 and another in Division 2. As ever, updates during the weekend will be available via Twitter.
The following weekend sees the Brighton Ultimate Draft Indoor Tournament. The brain child of our coach Felix Shardlow, and follow-up to last summer’s very successful Draft League, BUDIT will begin with an exciting live draft night on Friday 15th at The Druids where captains will select their rosters from the available players. These teams will then play the tournament over the weekend. Sign-ups are open now.
If draft ultimate isn’t your thing then come down to the sea front on the morning of Sunday 16th to watch at least two Mohawks (your humble mixed captain and Helen Brunt) running in the Brighton Half Marathon. For those who fancy running it – normal entries are sold out now but you may have the chance to get a charity place. I am raising money for Sane and will be badgering you all to sponsor me soon.
Finally, on the 23rd a team of 15 open players will travel to Ireland to represent Mohawks on the international scene in a high-level open tournament. Other teams competing include Ireland’s Under 23s and Belgian Champions, Gentle. The Siege of Limerick promises to be a tough challenge for a development team keen to make the most of playing on the smooth, grippy 3G pitches out there. We’re very grateful to Sussex Sport for helping fund this trip through the Focus Sport scheme.
Perhaps our new kit (to be worn with pride) will arrive at some point during February too…
March
The 9th/10th sees the first of the university outdoor tournaments – open outdoor regionals. As with every year we will no doubt be looking to field several Mohawks teams so everyone gets a chance to play a competitive outdoor tournament. Sometimes it snows!
There’s no rest for the wicked, and the very next weekend (16th/17th) is university mixed outdoor nationals. Mohawks will be looking to field at least one strong team (hopefully two), and hoping to improve on last year’s 4th place finish. Selection for mixed outdoor nationals will occur in early March, and will be based on performance at practice so everyone has a chance to get on the team!
Luckily our Easter break comes around just in time to hop on a plane to Italy to play in the most prestigious club beach tournament in the world – Paganello. There are several Brighton-based teams representing across the open, mixed and junior divisions, playing against some of the best players and teams in the world. From the red wine party on the Thursday night, to Felix inevitably conducting the crowd during the finals on Sunday, ever year is filled with the promise of more epic memories and embarrassing anecdotes.
April
The first weekend in April (6th/7th) sees the first of the Mixed Tour events run by the UKU. Tour is a series of large national-level club tournaments bringing together the best clubs from around Britain in high-level and enjoyable competition. Mixed tour runs in the spring and Open & Women’s tour in the summer, providing crucial preparation for UKU Club Nationals in late August. There will surely be several teams entering from Brighton, so get yourself involved with Brighton Ultimate if you are interested in pushing your play to the next level, or just want to meet a bunch of new players, through playing tour. Every year there are many Mohawks and former Mohawks playing in top-teams at tour.
The end of our term dovetails nicely with the end of the university season, with Open & Women’s University Nationals on the 20th/21st April. This is the tournament we have been building towards since September. The Squaws and (subject to qualification via regionals) the open team, will both be looking to uphold the fearsome reputation of the Mohawks on the national stage. There is a fair amount of pressure on our teams, being holders of both the Women’s and Open titles for the past two years. Once again the alumni cup runs alongside the university divisions so expect some former Mohawks to grace the tournament with their presence and banter too.
and beyond…
The last tournament of the university season doesn’t mean it’s the end of your season, though. There is still mixed tour, open/women’s tour, hat tournaments, international tournaments, beach tournaments, UKU regionals, UKU nationals, Club Euros, the World Games, U23 Worlds, U20 Euros, and Beach Euros all to look forward to. And if you aren’t playing in all of these, many of them can be watched or followed online. You will probably be able spot at least one Mohawk, or former Mohawk playing in every one of these events. Whether you want to be on the pitch making a game-saving block on an international stage, or the life and soul of the party at a hat tournament somewhere in Asia, you will be joining a long line of Mohawks all contributing to the history, success and reputation of the name.
With such a calendar of university events, and Mohawks playing in every major competition this summer, we should be especially proud to be Mohawks this year, and can all share the successes and triumphs of every Mohawk, at every level of the sport. Every one of us should look forward to doing our bit to uphold the Mohawks’ reputation for elite performance, spirited play and all-round love for the ultimate community. See you on the field.