BRainy Disc Adventures
BRainy Disc 2016 is over. OSI Ultimate went to Bergen with 2 teams, and what follows is a little summary of how the teams did during the tournament, thoughts on the plays, experiences and of course, team pictures!
OSI 2
OSI 2 at BRainy Disk 2016 was an interesting mix of players with varied backgrounds, experience levels, and styles of playing. Two exchange students, who have been playing for a few years in their home countries of New Zealand and the United States, joined for their first tournament in Norway. These two female players have been used to playing outdoor mixed/outdoor women’s Ultimate where there are strict rules against defending the opposite gender, so the adjustment to Norwegian indoor where women defend men regularly was a bit of a shift (especially when playing the all-male teams of Trondheim and NHHI). However, they embraced the challenge and, in the end, were delighted with how it helped them grow as players and how it represented Norway’s emphasis on gender equality.
The first game against Ekeberg SK was a bit shaky, since OSI 2 had not yet adapted to playing with each other or established a flow. However, things improved from here and their fearless captain, Markus, helped motivate and organize the team. By far the two most exciting and well-played games were against La Bamba. OSI 2 improved drastically by the end of Day 2, winning against La Bamba 11-4.
It was evident that OSI 2 finally got comfortable as a team and established a flow—throws were clean and virtually all caught, plays were smooth, and defense was strategic. OSI 2 was supposed to finish the tournament with a last game against a French team, but the team had forfeited in order to catch their flight back to France. OSI 2 was having such a great time and was craving more Ultimate, so they decided to play an informal game against Ås. The day ended with a lot of smiles, laughter, and good vibes. The two exchange students were experiencing loads of post-tournament euphoria as they reflected on how, no matter where you go in the world, you are bound to find that the ultimate community is special—that ultimate brings together some of the goofiest, most welcoming, and open-minded people. They are excited to continue playing with OSI and get further immersed in Norway’s Ultimate community.
OSI 1
After the coaches had gone back and forth a few times switching players between OSI 1 and OSI 2, OSI 1 ended up with the following team: Anna, Karoline, Ole, Bas, Henrik, Can, Martin and Jakob. Although player consistency from TrønDisk and DecemberCup was desired, only four of the eight players had played together before on a regular basis. With Henrik, Can, Martin and Jacob as the four new players on the team, and without practicing together as a team before the actual tournament, we did not know exactly what to expect and how well we would play together. But the lineup looked very strong, so we all felt quite confident entering the field Saturday morning on our first game against Super Cell.
Saturday turned out to be a big day for us, with 5 wins out of 5 games! The matches against Super Cell and DUUCK became quite easy victories where we kept a solid lead throughout the game. As these were our first two matches of the tournament, we used them as an opportunity to get established as a team and get to know each other on the field. Then, our three following games against Pancake, NHHI and TFK were more challenging. Pancake played well against us, but were a bit taken off guard by our strong play with several hammers and blades to the endsone (a play referred to as “the Swede” by certain teams later on in the tournament). After a tight and nerve-wracking game where the last point consisted of several turn-overs, we finally managed to score the winning point, and ended up first in our group.
Sunday also started well with two more wins against the Wizards of Ås and Ultimate Rainfall. So, after winning 7/7 games and beating Pancake and Ultimate Rainfall, two of the strongest teams of the tournament, we actually believed we could make it all the way to the final. But unfortunately, this was where our winning streak ended. In our two following games, where we once again met Pancake and Ultimate Rainfall, we did not manage to keep our play as well organized as before, and also made some mistakes resulting in unnecessary turn-overs. Both Pancake and Ultimate Rainfall had learned from their own mistakes when losing to us in the previous matches, and had come up with a strategy to beat our “Swedish” offensive play. Their defense turned out too strong for us to come around, and we had to accept that they were the strongest teams in the end. After losing to Ultimate Rainfall in the semi-final, we therefore ended up with a well-deserved 3rd place.
So even though we did not make it all the way to the top, I think this has been a fantastic weekend where we have all had our moments of glory: Can with his Callahan in the first game, Anna being involved in the winning point against both Pancake and Ultimate Rainfall, Henrik’s impressive catches in the endsone, Ole’s tremendous secretary skills on Saturday (because he was sick) and solid handler skills on Sunday, Bas’ wild catches where he, as always, sacrifices everything to get that disc, Martin’s impressively precise hammers and blades, and Jacobs crazy layouts resulting in crucial turn-overs and points! Thank you all for making this an unforgettable weekend. It was a blast!
