Thoughts.

In the wake of the recent appointment of a managing director of business and communication, along with Tom Crawford’s appointment as the new Executive Director, the description of either’s job experience inspires confidence and raises a question:

Is the UPA hoping to win ultimate inclusion in the Olympics?

Certainly this is something that would come well down the line, but Tom Crawford has a lot of experience working with the United States Olympic Committee (more here), and Chuck Menke has Olympic experience as well (more), primarily as a media coordinator for the US hockey programs.

Whether it’s feasible or not is not something I’m prepared to comment on at depth, but my guess is that any efforts to this end are still a ways off (with growing the sport, establishing a clear structure for officiation, etc as priorities over the next 5+ years).

That said, if ultimate is ever going to join the Olympic pantheon, it certainly would help to have people who have an insider’s perspective on how Olympic sports work, to say nothing of the utility of all the contacts both men no doubt have (I’m led to wonder if Chuck’s appointment isn’t a direct result of Tom’s influence, actually–surely the two men were acquainted, from their prior work).

It may just be a coincidence; after all, given our sport’s structure (largely amateur, relatively young and growing on a grassroots level), the biggest and best examples to follow would be Olympic sports. It’d be a great sign, however, if the UPA was forward-thinking enough to at least have future Olympic inclusion on the radar; here’s hoping.

Really big*.

Seeded fourth, should’ve been seeded third, finished third. This weekend was an exercise in taking care of business.

Saturday was rainy and chilly. (I’ve forgotten how capricious New England weather gets). We started off fairly sluggishly in pool play, but used our early games as an opportunity to seek out and hone our offensive strategies, pressing on through miscues and bad-weather drops/throws.
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Good to see somebody(ies) reporting; check out U Catch for your elite trends and reports. I’m interested to see what other content they churn out, especially now as the big tourneys wrap up and we move into a month of relatively quiet sectionals matchups.

Speaking of sectionals, I’m off to Lancaster this weekend. No real preview necessary; the easy goal is to make regionals. Slightly harder, but very doable, is doing so with the 2nd-place bid. Process goals include continuing to get in flow/on the same page on offense (myself and as a team); continuing to refine decision-making with the disc and execution when I do throw; and dominating on defense, both when guarding players and once we get the turn.

Been feeling great lately (minor bout of shin splints at week’s start notwithstanding). First track workout (why so late?) last week, been focusing on core strength a lot so I can keep my power stable and directed. We’ll see if the fifth gear is fully back this weekend, and keep working to get that sixth one too…

We came in seeded 13th, and left 11th. Broke seed, good weekend, right?

While Ballometrics had a decent showing this past weekend, we’re far from our full potential.
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AMP
Bucket
Kung Fu Grip
Ballometrics
Flight

I’d be disappointed with anything less than a quarterfinals appearance; ideally we’re still playing for a title come Sunday afternoon.

The Dartmouth contingent rises this weekend, with fully five ’08s on tap. Expect Ballometrics to continue ascending towards the (Chesa)peak(e).
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Ballin’.

8-0 is a pretty solid return to competitive ultimate. Great squad to play with, too–true to form, Ballometrics is, in fact, full of ballers.

Game by game:
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Once more onto the field.

Pool of 5 to start means plenty of ultimate (5 games!) to be had on day 1, with a good shot at winning a first-round bye for Sunday. Schweet.
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Check out some details on Dr. Thomas Crawford.

Sounds like he’s got some great experience growing an online presence and as a former US Olympic Committee member (Director of Coaching) he’s certainly got experience working with organizations for sports similar to ours.

Time will tell how he turns out, but at a glance he seems like a solid selection by the UPA!