BFC against the Bluebottles - Australian U23 Mixed Team

Some of you might be aware that Toronto is hosting the WFDF 2013 World Under-23 Ultimate Championships (http://www.wfdf2013-u23.com/) from the 22-28 of July. In preparation for the tournament, the Australian Mixed team is arriving early and playing some pre-tournament scrimmages in the region.

On Tuesday, July 16, BFC will be scrimmaging against the Bluebottles (check them out on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/BluebottlesU23 and their team message below) starting at 7:15 PM at UPI 12 (right at the parking lot). If you've never seen high level mixed ultimate, here's your chance! We'd love to have some spectators out to cheer the teams on. If you are already out at UPI playing league on Tuesday, then feel free to stop by after your game. Best of all, the cost to you is free!

Great ultimate, no cost, a bunch of Australians...how does a Tuesday night get better than that?

See you on the 16th!

Greg King, on behalf of the Mixed Program Leadership

P.S. If you had any doubts, read this Aussie team intro and try to say no to their awesome personality...

We’re the Australian Mixed U23 Team, aka the Bluebottles!

A lot of our team ethos can be summarized by our name-sake/power animal/spirit guide, the bluebottle. Otherwise known as the Indo-Pacific Man O’ War (closely related to it’s more famous Portuguese cousin), the bluebottle is actually a colony of four specialized organisms that come together to form something greater than the sum of its parts. They are hermaphroditic, meaning they consist of both male and female parts, and are extremely cute but pack a powerful punch, even when seemingly washed up. Not too difficult to see the parallels there I hope…

The Bluebottles’ story so far is one of both firsts and lasts. We are the first Australian Mixed U23 team ever and so are excited to be building something entirely new and representing our country. But we were also the last team selected, with the roster announcement only coming in mid-May this year, so we’re working hard to get to where we want to be by July. The team has two geographic hubs, one in Australia’s largest city Sydney and the other in the northern state of Queensland. We also have players from Melbourne, Adelaide, the nation’s capital Canberra and all the way in Western Australia.

We’ve had (or will have had) two training camps before we head to Canada for a one-week pretour, taking in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, but have used the time to put into place structures and principles that we hope will lead us to a gold medal. Many of us already train and play with each other regularly (we have just come off our Opens and Womens seasons in Australia) and are using that momentum to build new connections and training focuses.

We’ve also used the time to power bond. The team vibe is indescribably good, forged in the fire of lipsyching competitions and acapella karaoke, and we’re excited to make new friends over in Tornoto. Happy to challenge any other team (especially the Mixed contingent) to a sing or dance off or any other friendly contest they see fit. We're quick learners! Look for team wearing green, gold and smiles :D

On-field, like most teams we want to play an athletic brand of ultimate that uses all our players, with our handlers given plenty of different looks from receivers (including Blue Steel, Magnum, Le Tigre etc). We play confident and with trust in every team member and are using Spirit as one of our guiding principles on and off the field. We’re keen to show the world what Australian ultimate is all about – fairness and intensity.

As such, “key players” is a bit of a misnomer. Every player will be key to our success, on O and D, up field and behind the disc, on field and on the sidelines. There is a mix of experiences, including Australian reps in the U19 division from 2012 and 2008, a few former and current national champions in both the Opens and Womens divisions and some who have only just started playing but have taken to the sport like a bluebottle to water. Everyone though is on the team for a reason and will be filling an important role.

What place do we think our team will end up at the tournament? No idea. What place are we aiming for? First.

Our secret weapons? Our Coach, JD, has been playing competitive Ultimate longer than anyone on the team has been alive and our Assistant Coach Stef, as well as being a Canadian native, is also the current Mayor of Slamtown, Australia. Anyone who can pin him wins the Mayorship so make sure to come over and introduce yourself, if you’d like a crack(ed rib). These two have been an instrumental part of our success and vision so far and will continue to be in Toronto

We kick off our campaign with a pre-tour against a league team in Toronto, and from there up to the nations capital to play the Bytown Flatball Club and see what Ottawa has to offer. Next we'll charge further east and try our hand at Canada's second National language whilst 'World Clubs calibre' Odyssee have arranged to host us at Molson Stadium .. we can't wait. From there we're back in Toronto for a meeting with the host countries U23 team ... and then it's on. Worlds!

Last but not least, make sure to follow us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/Bluebottlesu23) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/Bluebottlesu23). #wefollowback