Broccoli Ultimate

Cork Open 2009 - Woop!

2009-11-03T21:30:00.004Z

Friday
Trains, buses, cars - we all got to Cork and met up in the Thirsty Scholar for a few brews. Murphys was flowing, Darkhorse turned up, Tigger was back and the craic was nowt short of mighty. We got a little oiled then home to bed, apart from the young ones - Sinead and Super went to Brog (score) and rolled in early in the morning. A fun start...

Saturday
Game 1: vs UCC 1: 9-5
We started this game excellently. Strong zone, solid O and good choices saw us build a 4-0 lead that was the difference really. As the game progressed we took our foot off the gas and let them back into it when we really couldve/shouldve closed it out. In fairness to Cork, they improved but it was a relatively scrappy start from our point of view with some silly throwing choices and a few bad drops.

Game 2: vs Ultimate de Lux: 9-5
In windier conditions we played really well against a decent de Lux team. Our zone punished them for most of the game, both upwind and downwind and we took our scores really well. Our long game progressed and despite a few dodgy calls (a lot of which were apologised for/discussed fairly!) the game was a fun one. They've a tough, tightly knit team and its always fun to play them.

Game 3: vs Bologna Zero51: 7-11
The low point of the weekend, naturally enough given we lost. Our zone didnt work particularly well and we had a lots of bad choices on O. There were silly turns across the team and Davide and co. punished them accordingly. For a team that had lost to Cork they played very well, but we should've beaten them all the same. A frustrating end to the day, but one that would stand to us if we could learn from it.

With our three games played we went back to the hostel then to Milanos for some delicious pizzas. After the Leinster game it was Zombie time. The hostel communal area was turned into a complete mess with facepaint, fake blood, booze, ketchup, clothes on fire and flour all over the place. Things were getting messy and it was great banter! We quickly went from mediocre costumes to great zombies coverred in blood and shredded clothes. We hit the streets for more messing (attacked a bus, drank, took photos) then piled into Cypress Avenue. The night itself is a blur probably best remembered for the ripped clothes that ended up being torn to shreds, Perfects messiness, some great dancing, lots of rum & coke and Luan getting up close and personal with an unfortunate Cork lass. Oh, did I mention what Super found in the jacks? Breast in a bun and off to bed.

Sunday
Quarter-final: vs UCD: 13-6
UCD had won 4 of 4 on Saturday including a Colours crossover and looked strong. The game began with them running hard and converting any mistakes we made. Hag & Paedo were at the fore of all of it and soon they were 4-1 up. Conor was throwing well too, but maybe they missed Shimbo. We spoke about mental strength, about grit and determination and we had it in bucketloads in this game. Soon it was 4-4 and we were running hard, zoning well and getting the better of all the 50-50 battles. Soon half was taken with us 8-6 up and we scored 5 points without reply in a strong finish. Not the first game in which we'd need to fight back from behind.

We weren't the only slow starters...Fuf went 6-2 down to Cork before a fightback took them into a Bologna semifinal and Chimpo were 5-2 down and 7-6 down (game to 8). The showed their own intent with a 2 point turnaround to set up the game we all wanted...

Semi-final: vs Johnny Chimpo: 10-8
This was the one we'd targeted from weeks before. Semi-final, final, we didnt care. It was zoney, huck and D conditions to start with both teams happy to forego possession to avoid conceding easy goals. We realised we could play though and started to find holes on their Z. The game was scrappy but Chimpo had an edge in the early stages. I think we traded for a while, always a couple of points behind, then we got back into it with some nice long scores and quick O. Some mistakes crept in from them and from 7-8, to 8-8 game to 10. 2 points to end a barren run against a team that had always rubbed it in our faces. A break on the front of the endzone to Super and we went 9-8 up and were on D into the wind. They worked it patiently against our man D with Blonde getting a ridiculous grab but turned in our endzone. I got the disc 10 yards out and saw Perfect going long so lashed a flick into the wind. It bulleted low and hard, way off target, but Luan collected (thanks!) and threw the winning goal to Dave, with a massive grab, for the match. Cheers, smiles, hugs - no spikes

Final: vs FuF: 14-12
The final was brilliant. We started well, trading for a while before Fuf went on a fun, 3 points ahead I think they got. We'd been here twice and weren't rattled. They were strong against our zone to start so we switched to man. On O there was a lot of room but in the first 5/6 points we were a little guilty of trying too hard, with a few overthrows. The game settled though and we looked strong. We got turns and clawed our way back into the match. Soon it was us celebrating as we took the lead. Two quick scores though and the Belgians took half 8-7. It lashed ran, it blew a gale and eventually the sun came out and the lights on too. The crowd was pro-Broc and helped us fight for everything. 12-12 game to 14. We'd been here before. We scored, got a D then via a blade and a lovely leading pass from Super we won I cant describe the elation. More hugs, more smiles and a feeling we've all been waiting for for years...

A big well done to everyone. Every player had a part to play and as a team we were strong together. More of this lads, much much more of this!

Big thanks to all the support too - it really meant a lot!

Broc MSP: Perfect Dave
Broc MVP: Marko
Final MVP: Marko
Spirit: UCC 2

Cork Open Champions 2009

2009-11-03T20:47:00.003Z

Its been a long time coming! Full report to follow...

A few of vids before the weekend...

2009-10-29T16:14:00.002Z

Seedings and Schedule for Cork...

2009-10-29T11:47:00.003Z

So the seedings and schedule for Cork Open 2009 have been released and we've been seeded 2nd, behind Chimpo, and have been handed the trickier of the two groups:

Pool 2
- Broccoli (2)
- Bologna51 (4)
- Ultimate de Lux (6)
- UCC 1 (8)

Saturday: 10am vs. UCC1, 12pm vs. UldeLux & 2pm vs Bologna51. If we finish 1st of 2nd in our pool we play a quarterfinal at 11am on Sunday vs. the 5th or 7th seeds after Saturday's play.

Should be a quality weekend.

Let's go greens!

===

Summary of events from the TDs:

-----------Saturday--------------

- Games are on from 9:00 - 16:15

- Pick-up game, everyone invited, 12:00 pitch 9/10

- Beginners Session with IFDA, 15:00 pitch 1

- Party in Cypress Avenue (above the Old Oak) doors are from 20:30 on

-----------Sunday-------------

- Games are on from 9:00 - 16:45

- Women's Exhibition game at 12:00 on pitch 3

- Trophy Final at 15:30 on pitch 1

Cork Open 2009 is just around the corner

2009-10-20T22:25:00.004+01:00

A strong Broccoli team are tuned up and ready for the Cork Open. 24 teams, two days of peer pooled Ultimate and a Farewell Luan & Halloween party in between. Can't wait!

http://corkopen.uccultimate.com/

Broccoli Squad:

Marko

Pete

Perfect

Finnian
Sinead

Andy

Super

Seamus

Tuffy

Darron

Wysey

Robin
Tadhg

Luan

Bologna is Back!

2009-10-20T20:09:00.007+01:00

Another year, another October and another excellent tournament run by Davide, Matteo and CUSB. It's our second year in a row at the tourny and it was every bit as fun as last year, even though we were severely undermanned!

Day 1:

We started in a 6 team power pool and wondered what we were doing there! In with us were three of the best continental European teams around. That said, we knew we'd a solid line up and were looking forward to the challenge.

Game 1: 4 -13 v Cota Rica (they finished 2nd)
In truth we never really got going in this game. Cota were quick to punish a few sloppy tunrs in the first half and kept us at arms length for the rest of the game. Despite a few long, multiple turnover points in a tight second half we couldn't get back into the game and the team from Rimini won through handsomely.

4-13 v Freespeed (1st)

Another strong team, full of tireless running and sublime break throws, were waiting for us in our second game of the day. Freespeed were clinical on offence and used a stifling zone to get turns on D. We played better than in the first game but were beaten by an opposition playing on a different level to us.

9-4 v Crazy Dogs (8th)

The third game of the day saw us win comfortably in a good game against the Swiss team we'd beaten in Amsterdam earlier in the year. They had some strong handlers but couldn't cope with our running and long game. We brought a zone into the game and used a little more fronting to upset the cutters. It worked well and we ran out 9-4 in the hottest game of the weekend.

9-8 v Bologna (3rd)

Probably our best performance of the two days, we were tight on D and our O clicked. We capitalised on early turns to go 4-1 up before Bologna started tuning in on D, shutting us down more and more effectively as the game pregressed. We weren't going to give up though and a lovely throw from Blonde to Pete for the winning goal gave us a second win from four. With a quarter final spot garaunteed this win gave us a good shot at getting a spot in the semis as if we won vs. Bisc we'd be 3rd seeds...

8-12 v Flying Bisc (4th)
Flying Bisc had 7 men and didn't warm up. As a result we entered the game knowing we were more ready and quickly went 3-1 up. They warmed to the task though and lead by Max and the 'Bald Guy' they made a right dog fight of it. We were frustrated and began to play more edgily than we had since game two. In the end we lost by 3 points but it was anyone's game really. A shame to end on a low note, but 2 out of 5 given we had 10 players and in considerable heat wasn't a bad showing.

Party Time!

Before we got near any party there was the Ireland Italy game to watch. After a first half of faffing and unsure plans we were kindly driven to the pub by Pete. We watched as Ireland took the lead only to throw it away. Wild celebrations were quickly followed by muted head shaking in hands and thoughts of what might of been. A real shame especially given the adventure of finding a pub, buying 1L glasses of booze and tauntng the locals.... Onwards and upwards!

The party took place in a pub on an island in a park. To get there 20 of us piled into Davide's van and had a mini session (when we weren't fearing for our lives). The venue was small, pretty full, served beutifully lethal rum & cokes and played a great mix of party tunes and pure cheese. We danced, SJ was wild, Sam had a nap and Tara kissed a 16 year old. All-in-all a quality night's entertainment.

Day 2:

Quarter Final: 7-11 v Bologna

Despite the late night we awoke feeling ready, warmed up well and faced a smaller Bologna team than the day before. Despite missing a few players they upped their game and looked like a more cohesive unit than on the previous day. Mark (a Yank we nearly picked up) threw well, Davide has a cracker and we made a few too many mistakes. This time they were silly ones, dump tunrovers, miscommunication and a lack of concentration in parts. We fought hard and were never far off the lead but the big point (5-6 down and with the disc) went against us and we never came back.

5/8: 13-7 v Fano (7th)

Next up were Fano, a team of 7 players lead by Panda (an Italian international). His break throws were strong and despite two solid cutters they were never a threat to us. We started well and capitalised on their turns to go well up by half. The start of the second half saw them claw a few back but we drew away again at the end and wrapped up a solid win. At this stage we were dead on our feet, having lost Dave Ferguson a couple of games earlier and with the humidity rising.

5/6: 8-13 v A4 (5th)

Our last game was a slogfest against the A4 team from Parma. They'd a full squad with a decent long game but we felt we could pressure them on D. We played okay but tired legs really began to show, especially on the mark where lots of breaks cost us problems throughout. We never gave up but they had legs and won by 4 in the end. 6th place of 20 though, pretty pleased.

Meanwhile, Deadly Buzz were in a similar position numberswise, only they were even more determined for a physical test with a mere 8 players! They battled in every game and despite the great throws of Laura and Becca, big catches of Jen and a massive MVP display from Sparky, they lost a lot of crunch games by only one or two points due to lack of legs and finished 9th overall. They did dominate the dancefloor though and took advantage of some underage men at the same time... *ahem* Tara *ahem*
Special thanks to Blonde Rob, Dani and Carl for picking up with us. We wouldn't have done nearly as well without the three of you. Much appreciated!

Broccoli MVP: Pete Forde

Broccoli MSP: David Rickard
Broccoli Team: Marko (c), Pete (vc), Sam, Rickard, Matt, Seamus, Duchess Ferguson, Blonde Rob, Daniel Dui, Carl & Darron (in spirit - he had the Swiners).

OPEN

Winners: Freespeed (Basel)
Runners Up: Cota Rica (Rimini)

Spirit: Broccoli

WOMEN

Winners: Tequila Boom Boom (Rimini)

Runners Up: Flying Bisci (Tuscany)

9th/12: Deadly Buzz

Spirit: Crema Catalana (Barcelona)

Sutton!

2009-10-20T20:02:00.005+01:00

We now have weekly Wednesday night floodlit training in Suttonians RFC in Sutton. We have lights from 7:30pm to 9:30pm and have organised friendlies for each of the remaining weeks.

07/10/2009: vs. Johnny Chimpo: 3 sets concentrating on different things, didn't keep score. Chimpo were strong throughout and probably won each of them.

14/10/2009: vs. Trinity: 17-7 to Broccoli. Trinity played well, especialy their new players who were impressive both on the disc and on D.

21/10/2009: vs. BB's Pick Up

28/10/2009: vs. Johnny Chimpo

Big thanks to the teams and their captains for getting players out. We really appreciate it.

Broccoli join the mobs...

2009-10-20T19:59:00.002+01:00

...and get a Forum! Get in touch with Pete Forde for Login details. All training sessions are detailed here as well as finances, tournament plans and the embryonic 2010 plans. There's a public section too.

Broccoli Forum

IFDA Ball Pics...

2009-10-20T19:48:00.002+01:00

The organiser himself

'Hello?' (Darron after a glass of wine)

Some of the ladies at the Ball

Darron, hogging the limelight again

IFDA Ball Results!

2009-10-20T19:32:00.006+01:00

Two Broccoli players took home awards from this years IFDA Ball (brilliantly run by our very own Pete Forde) held at the Berkley Court Hotel.

David 'Perfect' Misstear capped a huge season by collecting both Most Spirited Male and Male Player of the Year - testament to his ability and attitude on the pitch. He captained his country for the first time and every time he pulled on a Broccoli jersey did the club proud, well done!

Not to be undone Sinead O'Shiel Flemming won the Most Spirited Female of the year award after a season where she further proved herself as an excellent player in all three divisions with gutsy, fair and ever-impresive displays both at home and abroad. Congrats Shinners!

The full list of awards winners is as follows:

Lifetime Achievement: Dave Rosenfeld
Junior Player of the Year: Conor Hogan
Tournament of the Year: Cork Open
Club of the Year: Jabba The Huck
Growth of Irish Disc Sports: Dominick Smyth
Team of The Year: Ian French, Adam Glover, Conor Hogan, Laura McGrath, Fiona Mernagh, David Misstear, Dominick Smyth.
Most Spirited Player (Female): Sinéad O'Shiel Flemming
Most Spirited Player (Male): David Misstear
Player of the Year (Female): Fiona Mernagh
Player of the Year (Male): David Misstear

Well done to all.

Brocs at xEUCF

2009-10-20T19:26:00.003+01:00

Big congrats to Jabba and Broccoli players Sinead and Cian who did us all proud at xEUCF a few weeks back. Despite a high standard and tough, hot conditions, Jabba won their final game and lost a few by very little. Cian shook of an injury (oicked up in a fun game on the Pav!) to star and Sinead was as clinical as ever, notching up tons of scores and coming home with the MVP Female award.

Well done lads!

Bologna and Cork Open 2009

2009-09-14T21:34:00.004+01:00

So, what's next?

Well, in three weeks time we set off to Bologna for the annual Davide&Matteo-run tournament featuring the best teams in Europe - Cota, Freespeed, Flying Angels Bern and many more. We've picked up a few blow ins for the journey, and a few Juniors looking to join up. Should be quite the laugh. Did I emantion the football?? On the Saturday evening its Ireland vs Italy in a pretty pivotal World Cup qualifier. And, Deadly Buzz are going too. The craic will be nothing short of mighty.

From there its two weeks until the annual Langerfest - the Cork Open. It's won IFDA Tournament of the year a whole load of times and the reasons are obvious - lots of foreign teams, top notch pitches, two messy parties and a very welcoming team as hosts. We'll be losing a fair few of our squad to the universities but will be down south in force, hoping to go one better on last year...

See you all on the training pitch soon!
Marko

Jim bows out...

2009-09-14T20:50:00.003+01:00

Jim ended up just short of the finals when he bowed out the semi final stage of Bulmers Comedy Competition last night in the Academy 2. The other acts ranged from brilliant to good, and in my honest opinion I think he was pretty unlucky. Anyways, the final is on Wednesday and promises to be amusing if anyones around. Get on to Jim for the details.

All-Ireland Open Championships 2009

2009-09-11T09:00:00.002+01:00

The first All-Ireland Open Championships take place this Saturday and Sunday in Santry. Broccoli are seeded 2nd for the tournament and have been scheduled to play 2 matches on Saturday and four matches on Sunday. Our group is a 3 team group made up of the following:

Broccoli (2)
Juice (4)
Open Club Sandwich (6)

On Saturday we play at 11:45am vs. OCS and at 3:15pm vs. Juice. Sundays games start at 10am. We have a large squad with strength in depth and are looking forward to another tough weekend against the best teams in the country. Here's hoping we can bring home the trophy...

For more information: All-Ireland Open Championships 2009

And for the various captains thoughts: Talking Ultimate

Stand Up for Jim!

2009-09-10T23:21:00.002+01:00

Jim Elliot is a part time stand up comedian and this Sunday he's going to be in the Bulmers Comedy Festival Amateur Comdian Semi-finals in the Academy. On Wednesday last a crowd of Broccoli and Jabba players saw Jim bring a great set to Doyles pub where he had the place in tears with a mix of mysogyny, racism and wit. Here's hoping he can do more of the same on Sunday to make next weeks Finals.

Come watch:
http://www.bulmerscomedy.ie/2009/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=159&Itemid=1

Dublin Club Summer League Winners 2009

2009-09-10T23:04:00.003+01:00

After a long schedule of lots of games across the summer, Broccoli won the final of the inaugral Dublin Club Summer League, beating OCS 13-1. It was a one-sided game in the end, not helped by OCS' lack of luck and a few unforced errors early on. If a few points near the start had gone their way it could've been a different story altogether but with 16 players out and a depth of experience on both of the two Broc lines we won through convincingly. Despite Dominick's presence and the return of Jay from injury, OCS struggled against a decent zone and had a few unlucky drops. We converted well after a mixed start and closed out the game aggressively. It was a fun game, especially with the large turnout, from our point of view, with Nationals, Bologna and Cork in the pipeline.

OCS did brilliantly to get to the final and proved that belief, practice and a sense of team go a long way. Here's hoping we'll see more of them in future finals. Big thanks to Buggy, Cormac & co for a great event - more of the same next year would be great!

Broc MVP of Summer League: Sinead O'Shiel Flemming - not only ever-present, but Shinners played consistently well, scoring loads of goals and getting her fair share of blocks too. Proof that some girls can play in the Open division.

Broccoli is recruiting!

2009-08-20T16:54:00.003+01:00

Dear all.

Broccoli are curently looking to add to their squad before a busy autumn calendar that will see us play in the final of the Club Summer League* (Aug 26), the inaugral Irish Open Championships (Sept 12/13), Bologna Is Back (Oct10 /11) and the Cork Open (Oct 31/Nov 1). We are looking for enthusiastic, fit and committed players to join the club for weekly training in this final 3rd of the season with a look at becoming an established part of the club.

If you are interested please contact me directly (markearleyATcampusDOTie) with the following information:

Name:
Email:
Experience:
Prefered Playing Position:

Thank you for reading.
Marko
Broccoli Captain

===

* Roster closed for this event.

Summer League Final

2009-08-20T10:58:00.002+01:00

So, after last nights games it's not Trinity, or Juniors 1 or Jabba the Huck that are our final opposition next week but Open Club Sandwich! Guided by Dom & Pete and helped by a few new faces, the OCS team put Trinity to the sword (10-5 I think) and then went on to beat Jabba the Huck by 2 points in a tight semi-final. I didn't see the second round of games but heard it was a cracker. Elsewhere, Trinity beat Juniors 1 to play for 5th next week.

Roll on next Wednesday!

Summer League Results

2009-08-13T00:22:00.003+01:00

Tonight Brocoli put in two solid performances to make the final of the Dublin Club Summer League. Our quarter-final was against Tallaght It (helped by few Juniors pick ups & Jay)and we ran up a 10-0 score before they scored. A combination of a decent zone and some mistakes on their behalf added up to a pretty one-sided game. A couple of lovely hammers saw Tallaght draw a point back but it was too little too late and the end score was 13-1.

Our semi-final was against Care Bear Massacre (Blonde, Stokesy, Simon, Sam and co.) who had won their quarter handily as well. It was a tough game from the start with neither team giving an inch. Carebear's offence was calm and decisive but a few end zone drops cost them dear. We converted a few of them but could never get more than 3 points ahead. We tried zone and fronting but to little avail. They combined well as handlers and strung 30-40 passes together to score in one point. However, we kept getting Ds and ended up winning by 3, 11-8 I think. A really tight game and fun run around.

So, in two weeks we pay the final, having lost only one game (due to forfeit after not fielding enough players) and looking stronger by the week. Hard to tell who it'll be against with Juniors 1 and Trinity both looking strong. Looking forward to it!

A busy autumn...

2009-08-12T16:39:00.003+01:00

Over the next few months we are a busy team with three tournaments planned (after the final of Summer League).

Irish All-Ireland Open Championships
Date: September 12th & 13th
Website: http://irishultimate.com/players/allireland.php
Details: The first ever All-Ireland Open Championships will see us go head to head with BUG, Juice (the new Munster team), Chimpo (though they're not registered yet), and the Juniors, amongst others, for title of the best club in Ireland. It will take place in Dublin and is bound to be a great tourny with lots of tightly fought games.

Bologna Is Back
Date: October 10th & 11th
Website: http://ffindr.com/en/event/bologna-is-back
Details: The Italians put on their yearly party tournament - attracting the likes of F.A.B., Cota, Freespeed and many more. This year sees an Irish ladies club team make the journey for the first time, so that should increase the messiness! Last year we had a riot (except for Luan who lost everything he brought/was mugged) with tough games and an epic beer race win. More of the same ahead!

Cork Open 2009
Date: October 31st & November 1st
Website: http://corkopen.uccultimate.com/
Details: The annual LangerFest is filling up fast with 2 Belgian teams, a German team and the usual Italian crowd coming. Best tournament in Ireland for a few years running with fun parties, quality pithces and a nice vibe about it.

The blog is back!

2009-08-12T16:30:00.007+01:00

So it's been a quiet couple of months in terms of bloggery but luckily it has not been that way on the pitch! We've been to lots of tournaments and we've run a few too. We've recruited a couple of new faces and we're about to start a bust autumn. To facilitate all this change, I'll be back on this page updating/reviewing and boring you all more! :)

To start, we have lots more sexy discs that anyone can buy. Email me at earleyDOTmarkATgmailDOTcom if you want one. €12 a go.

We recently ran Irish Intervarsities and it was an outstanding success. A lot of Broccoli players were involved with the team that won it too. More info here

We played in two big European tournaments too:

Toms Tourney in Bruges (www.tomstourney.be) - where we beat Chimpo and lost a few tight games against the likes of Iznogood (FR) and Cambo Cakes (NL). Photos here.

Windmill Windup in Amsterdam (www.windmillwindup.com) - where we had a huge squad but weren't consistent. A few strong wins including a 13-12 after being 8 points down and tight losses (vs Ultimate de Lux despite being 7 up at half...) made it a mixed bag of a weekend. We excelled at the partied though, including a memorable 1-2 finish in the Table Quiz. Go team nerd. Photos here.

We are now getting ready for a busy autumn, more on that in the next couple of posts.
Marko

Broc @ Machu Picchu

2009-02-21T13:44:00.002Z

Ultimate in the snow!

2009-02-09T11:40:00.004Z

Well, not quite Ultimate but a throw, some layouts and a good run around despite the track being frozen.

Joint Training

2009-01-27T17:19:00.002Z

In a bid to pool numbers Broccoli and Johnny Chimpo have decided to train together for a few sessions. The first such training took place last Sunday in Herbert Park and saw 28 players partake in a gruelling 2 hour affair that was well received across the board. We will be doing this again next weekend so keep Sunday morning free.

See you then,
Marko

Trinity Table Quiz

2009-01-22T10:21:00.002Z

So, in two weeks time we get to test our brains against the cream of Irish Ultimate. If you feel you can hack it, sign up for a place on the Broccoli team.

Here's the details:

Trinity Table Quiz
MacTurcails on February 3rd at 7:30pm
€3 pints

Get involved.
Marko