OSI Ultimate throughout the fall

OSI Ultimate Frisbee throughout the Fall

August saw the start of the new school year at University of Oslo. With all new beginnings come smiling, happy, fresh faced youngsters so ready and willing to learn. There were also many old veterans who had seen and done much during the summer and previous semester. On the 17 August SiO held their annual “foreningsdagen” so that the many different clubs could solicit new members from the fresh faced university students. Current members Peter and Kristine, both would become coaches this year, started off the day in strong fashion. They were joined by Torunn who provided excellent flyers to hand out to potential recruits. Later in the day Anna brought new vigor to the table. All in all, the club representatives gathered a group of impassioned “youngsters” to join the club.

Our first practice of the semester saw a turn-out of over twenty players, both old and new, OSI and non-OSI. From this starting point the coaches would begin to kneed and roll out the dough for a brand new OSI Frisbee club team. Some of the newer players struggled with learning the various throws that are utilized by Ultimate Frisbee teams, but after practicing, both officially and unofficially, they all improved quite dramatically. Unfortunately for some, August saw the end of the outdoor season in Norway. Though, an intrepid few played on as the days grew shorter and colder. But! Indoor season was heating up. With a little over two months until the first tournament of the Norwegian Ultimate series, the OSI coaches began to plan out the future practices and introduce the basic offensive and defensive tactics.

In the beginning of the semester the OSI Ultimate Frisbee club had one semi-permanent coach, Matthias Lammert, and another that helped out when needed, Ole Mosand. After the successfully recruit day, these two heroic coaches were joined by volunteers Kristine Jarsve and Peter Pederson. In addition, the President (or Leader) of the OSI Ultimate Frisbee club, Eirik Isene joined the above group as an additional coach. With their powers combined, they would lead the OSI Ultimate Frisbee club to new heights during the semester.

The weeks passed much too quickly and soon October was upon us. At the end of the month the club would be making the journey to the city of Trondheim to participate in the first of the Norwegian Ultimate series tournaments. A staggering number of club members signed up for this tournament despite the distance that had to be crossed. In total there was sixteen players (over double the number of players from the previous year!!) flying, driving, or taking the train to the “far” north.

Our sixteen players were divided into two teams: OSI 1 and OSI 2. Prior to the tournament a couple of scrimmages had been arranged with the rival university club Wizards of Ås. The first scrimmage was hosted by OSI on their home turf while the second was hosted by Wizards of Ås on theirs. Both teams enjoyed the competition as well as the chance to put into practice various tactics they had been working on for the past couple of months. There were a few changes made in the wake of the practices, but overall OSI was ready for the stiff competition they would face in Trondheim.

31 October. A day that will live in infamy. Well, maybe not. But it was the day on which Trøndisk started, and a day that saw a revitalized OSI Ultimate Frisbee club field two newly minted teams. Unfortunately, neither team did as well as originally expected by the coaches. There are any number of reasons that could be laid at the feet of the coaches and club members, but suffice to say everyone still had an enjoyable time. Both teams were bolstered by some guest players. OSI 1 had the assistance of Martin Carlsson, a veteran of the Swedish Ultimate Frisbee team; while OSI 2 was joined by Grant Weesner and Trygve Langeland. Grant brought a wealth of knowledge from his time playing Ultimate Frisbee in the U.S. and Trygve displayed a ninja like prowess in catching wayward disks. After the tournament everyone partied hard, long into the night.

Following Trøndisk, OSI Ultimate Frisbee took a short break so that the coaches could reflect on what did, and did not work, for the team at the tournament. During November they would introduce the “zone” defense while continuing to perfect a “horizontal” style offense. Unhappily the team was forced to find alternate practice times and locations when the Blindern Athletica hall was closed for examinations. This led to an increased number of practices which would prove beneficial in the weeks to come.

Only four weeks separated Trøndisk from December Cup, the second tournament in the Norwegian Ultimate series. With the new practice times, and a renewed intensity, the OSI members worked hard to improve for the upcoming competition. Although fewer members were attending practices, due to impending exams and awkward timing, those that did attend brought with them a dynamism that would sustain OSI Ultimate Frisbee through December Cup.

The day was upon us; we woke to cloudy skies and an unusually warm morning. Unlike last year, which saw the city inundated with snow and freezing temperatures, this December Old Man Winter had decided to sleep in. It would not matter as indoor Ultimate lives up to its name. Once more sixteen players from OSI Ultimate Frisbee would be attending the tournament, but unlike Trøndisk, there were two teams of seven players each with two extras joining a non-club team. This tournament was a bit different though.

OSI 1 earned a fourth place finish by playing smart and hard against all their opponents. They lost two hard fought games against BSI, the powerful team from Bergen. Of the two games in which these two teams faced each other, it was the third place match that was the most nail biting. BSI pulled out a last second win after OSI 1 tied the score in the last seconds of the match. OSI 2, on the other hand, once more placed last in the tournament. In this case the blame lays solely on the talent distribution among the teams as designated by Peter. Even so, all members of OSI 2 still enjoyed themselves and learned that, sometimes, having more fun than wins can be just as rewarding.

As one can see, this has been an exciting semester for the OSI Ultimate Frisbee club. We had the largest incoming group of players in August and maintained an exceptionally high turn-out throughout the rest of the semester. The club also sent more players to the first two rounds of the Norwegian Ultimate series than any other club in Norway. We bounced back from a disappointing finish at Trøndisk in December Cup to earn a fourth place finish. Sadly, there are quite a few players leaving OSI Ultimate Frisbee this month, but there are also quite a few staying. Of those that are remaining on the team, there are a couple of standouts. Karoline and Anna have both been named to the Norwegian National Ultimate team. Next summer they will be competing against Ultimate players from across the world at the World Ultimate and Guts Championship in London. Joining them will also be coaches Ole and Kristine.

It has been an extremely thrilling half year for OSI Ultimate Frisbee, and everyone is looking forward to what the spring holds in store for us!!