We had a great set of meetings at the 2012 Players Conference. The minutes can be viewed via this link. The board has scheduled a meeting for February 6th to review the minutes and action items from the congress.
HDC Results
Bagtoberfest was first. Evan, Keenan, Dailey and Chris Lopez. They worked the whole weekend in Bavarian outfits, lederhosen, suspenders, fedoras and tasseled socks. Extremely entertaining, as always. They dominated, lost one game during the winner's bracket semifinals to Freddie Flyswatter, and raged past everyone else. They catch so many shots it's really annoying.
Cupola (Schmave, Rudy Tikkanen, Skids & Brock) were 2nd. They lost only to Bagtoberfest all weekend long. The crowd was hoping for a brilliant overtime loser's bracket final against Freddie Flyswatter but it was not to be; a couple dumps and Cupola rolled. These guys played their usual game, great throwing, great defense, and the addition of Rudy was something. Rudy's thumber was just awesome on Sunday.
Freddie Flyswatter (Frank, Ian Carlson, Jesse Arias, Steve Sengebush, Bean Dip) was third. After losing the first game to Bagtoberfest early Sunday in the winner's bracket semis, they stormed out to an early lead in the second game and held off a late rally to send the match to a third game. Bagtoberfest cruised in the third game. The level of play in this one was as good as the tournament finals; just amazing display of defense. Some great shots too.
The Last Airbender (go to facebook and check out their costumes, hilarious) finished 4th; Steve Trammel, Joe Klesert, Ramon Sarason & Andrew Lucero. A little more airbending tai chi might have helped them out. Some serious veterans on this team (translation, old farts) and a great finish on Sunday. Well done guys, and if you keep playing we'll have to start giving senior discounts on entry fees!
Squirrel (Eric Lindahl, Mike Greenleaf, Bull, Kenny Stansbury, Justin "Splooge" Spudic) featured mostly new players and veteran Will Belleto ("Bull"). They were up and down, some great wins and mysterious losses in the round robin. The only seeding upset in the winner's bracket quarter final round was Squirrel upsetting third seeded Anarchy. Incredible defense and pinpoint accuracy, particularly in the first game when they got the wind at their backs on the short end of a 19-14 switch, and somehow pulled out that game. Awesome display. Then the punks went out and dumped their way out of the event early the next day! If you've ever seen the movie "Up", you'll know where the team name came from, and man was it ever appropriate!
Anarchy (Mica Newman, Billy DeRaad, Mike Daniels, Martin Tice, Tomas Dupree) beat Freddie Flyswatter in a round robin upset, got the third seed, lasted a couple rounds in the loser's bracket and went out. Mica & Tomas are turning into amazing players, Mica's backhand was the hammer, and they both had some great catches. Martin had some great defensive plays, and once he gets that forehand under control, he'll be a force as well.
The last two teams were composed almost completely of guts virgins; not just rookies, many of these guys had never played the game before at all.
Rolling Tides was Hubert Beluse, Ryan "Blumpkin" Wortman, Jimmy Tang (Jimmy had practiced a few times last spring) and Ben Ludwig. Not a lot of wins, but a lot of fun. Hubert is a frisbee newcomer with a couple of weeks of ultimate under his belt; Blumpkin, Jimmy & Ben have been playing ultimate for several years. Blumpkin had a ton of bags and learned a flipper very quickly. Jimmy & Ben had intermittently powerful shots, Ben a nice roll backhand and Jimmy threw forehands and backhands with equal effect. We'll see a lot more of these guys.
I have No Idea was Ian "Campbells" Deason, Mike Stacks, Chris Hart-Moynihan and (part time) Josh LaClair & Rich Broyles. Campbells was pumping forehands through the line on Saturday, and Mike & Chris performed very well. Chris actually started throwing lefty forehands because his right arm got sore, and amazingly enough was scoring pretty regularly. Mike & Chris had a bunch of bags as well; they're going to be great if they stick with it.
This group of 20 somethings in Tides & No Idea is going to be the future of Albuquerque guts, and not just athletic & talented, but also a great bunch of guys. Hopefully they will become Bataan Park regulars over the next year or two. It's the great circle of life. Or at least guts.
We'll try to get some pics up on the Albuquerque guts facebook page. Weather was perfect, party was rocking (with a little keg left over for Sunday's spectators), food was delicious (free brats & burgers for the players both days), and a great time was had by all. Minor inconvenience with the Renaissance Harvest Festival, which wanted to take over the park on Sunday; luckily we were able to work out a compromise. A group of 4-5 wiccans walked around the park Sunday morning with brooms and handfuls of mysterious herbs, blessing the park. Perhaps that accounts for the perfect weather. Nobody dropped a house on Bean Dip's head, though.
Hope to see everyone next year. Great event, as usual. Thanks to Ramon & Martin for the grilling, Rich for the shopping run & line painting, Evan for the oversight, Dex for the clock, porta johns and brackets, Alex for running registration, Frank for the food, Jesse for the kegs and the tournament shirts, and everyone for helping to pick up the trash. Special recognition to Dex & Frank for working out a deal with the wiccans that kept everyone happy, other than one bearded guy with a real anger management problem. Thanks to Ramon for the emcee duties after the final match. Beto was in fine form, sporting the 3rd skull to be used in the trophy. I think we need to put some weight in the bottom, or a lucite box over the top or maybe a removable skull. Too much damage@!
Albuquerque Guts Frisbee Team 3-Peats as World Champions
Sterling Heights, MI (GF) - For the third year in a row, the Bataan Park Brothers Guts Frisbee team of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has won the United States Guts Players Association World Championships. The Appleton Assassins lost the finals in two straight games, 21-11, 21-19. The Boomtown Saints from Lansing finished third, and Blame the Dog of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan came in fourth. The event saw temperatures break 100 degrees on Saturday afternoon, but enjoyed generally good Guts Frisbee weather for the remainder of the weekend.
In the first round, Ridin' High dropped The Monte, Underdog beat YKB, Assassins assassinated Linden, with Bataan drawing a bye. In the other half of the first round, Boomtown defeated the Young Guns, the Unknown Riders bested the Air Aces, and Blame the Dog beat Blood & Guts, with Cupola getting a bye.
In the second round, Bataan beat Ridin' High, and the Assassins beat Underdog. In the bottom half, Boomtown took two from Unknown Riders, and Blame the Dog came back at the last minute to top Cupola.
While most of us were enjoying the food at Rosie O'Grady's Saturday evening, a severe thunderstorm was blowing away the tournament central tent and snapping any flimsy pop-up shelters left out on the fields. After some early-morning cleanup, the losers bracket first round got underway, with YKB knocking out Linden, and the Air Aces eliminating the Young Guns. The Air Aces fell in their next game to Underdog, and YKB was put out by the Unknown Riders. The Monte lost to Cupola, and Blood and Guts was eliminated by Ridin' High.
In what turned out to be a preview of the finals, the third round of the winners bracket saw Appleton fall 21-17, 21-18 to Bataan Park, while Boomtown was putting Blame the Dog into the losers bracket, 21-17, 21-16. Back in the losers, Cupola knocked off Unknown Riders, and Underdog got revenge on Ridin' High, 21-15. Underdog was then dispatched by Blame the Dog, and the Assassins ended Cupola's hopes, 21-13.
In the losers bracket semi, Appleton eliminated Blame the Dog. Meantime, Bataan was sending Boomtown down to the losers, 21-13, 21-19, and securing themselves a spot in the Finals. The Assassins were playing strong and took Boomtown 21-15, setting up an Appleton vs. Albuquerque two out of three Finals.
Bataan Park was truly impressive both offensively and defensively, taking the first game 21-11. There was a strong sense of inevitability in the air, but the Assassins took a lead in the second game. They couldn't hold off the Bataan barage, however, and lost the second game 21-19. Once again, the Bataan Park Brothers won this classic tournament and the title of World Champions of Guts Frisbee with $800 in prize money. The voting for MVP was won by Evan Davis, who took home Thor's Mighty Hammer. The first and second place teams automatically qualified to represent the United States at the 2012 World Ultimate and Guts Championships next summer near Osaka, Japan. Best of luck to them all!
The tournament staff thank everyone who came out to play and watch, the owner and staff of Sunnybrook for their gracious hospitality, and all the top-notch players who took the time to mentor some of our younger Guts recruits. Hope to see you all here in 2012!
The Slider
US Nationls Results
The Appleton Assassins win their first major Guts championship! In an exciting final with two young teams the Appleton Assassins defeat O'Mally's Alley. Ridin High the 2010 champions finished in third place.
IFT Results
The Boomtown Saints outlast Blame The Dog to capture the 54th annual IFT. Luigi's Rising Sun and Torrent from Japan both played well with Lugi's finishing in 4th place. The Appleton Assassins finished in 3rd.
HOF Update
Congratulations are in order for the USGPA Guts Frisbee® Hall of Fame Class of 2011!
Two individuals will be welcomed and enshrined as new members following a special recognition dinner and Hall of Fame Induction ceremony as part of the festivities of the 54th IFT! We hope that you will be there to help celebrate this historical event on Saturday, July 9! Give it up for our two new Hall of Famers:
Mary (Callaghan) Hartz and ‘Toledo’ Joe Welch!
Mary’s tournament stats were considerable; she was a winner in 12 of 14 tournament finals. Her teams won the US Nationals, the U-M Indoor Frisbee Festival, the GPA World Championships in back-to-back fashion, and the IFT four times ~ consecutively!
‘Toledo’ Joe’s legacy continues to be built: Joe’s teams have been winners 9 times, including the US Nationals, the IFT twice, and the GPA World Championships five times (4 times in 5-Man and once in 3-Man). ‘Toledo’ Joe is a two-time MVP at the Worlds ~ once in 5-Man in 1986 and again in 3-Man in 1997.
Congratulations to each of these fine players!
And, as a note of recognition to those who were nominated but did not achieve the status of Hall of Fame Inductee, I wish to say that it is, in itself, a great, great honor just to be nominated for the Hall of Fame. To be considered along with those who made it in this time is a reflection of your dedication and commitment to the sport, as well as your playing ability, reflected in the tournament W’s and L’s. The following individuals were nominated and made the official ballot but, unfortunately, did not receive the required 67% vote tally from the Voting Body. Still, congratulations are in order (listed alphabetically) for:
Mark Banghart, Al Bauman, Steve Buckley, Tom Cleworth, Pat Dexter, Kristin Hamill, Duane Haralson, Frank Herveat, Linda (Morrison) Lovick, John Sappington, Dan Thornton, Steve Trauger, and Julie Thomsen Vadnais.
As you know, the USGPA Hall of Fame Nominations Committee has been at work since just after the start of the New Year, committed to the task of determining the names of those to make this year’s Hall of Fame ballot. Induction into the USGPA Hall of Fame is an honor and a privilege that only the best of the best will achieve. This task was, by no means, an easy one and required serious commitment to ensure the integrity of the process. For members of the Nominations Committee, the process began once the deadline for names to be submitted for consideration had passed and ended when Voter’s Packages were mailed to members of the Voting Body. As chairman of the Nominations Committee, I would like to recognize the nine members of the 2011 Nominations Committee who volunteered their personal time, offered valuable insight and differing viewpoints, and dedicated many, MANY hours of timely reflection into the process:
Steve DesJardins, Linda Lovick, Dan Thornton, and myself (fifth process members);
Dave Meyer (fourth process member);
Mike Colburn and David Trauger (third process members),
Dennis Walikainen (second process member);
John Dexter (first process member).
I would also like to thank those of you who submitted the names of the people you felt worthy of Hall of Fame consideration this year. From those 32 names submitted, a total of 11 Men and 4 Women were eventually nominated and those 15 names were listed on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot. Further, and especially, I would like to thank those who took it upon themselves to spend the extra time in writing a letter of support to go along with a name. Those letters of support traveled with the individual ballots to every member of the Voting Body, either by mail or by e-mail, along with a recap and a complete list of playing statistics, as best we have it, for each nominee.
Finally, I would like to thank the members of the Voting Body, which includes the members of the Hall of Fame, the members of the USGPA Board of Directors, and the members of the Nominations Committee for doing that thing we most need them to do and that is to VOTE! This year, 42 people received Voter’s Packages and Hall of Fame ballots as members of the Voting Body. 27 of the eligible voters voted, which means that in order to be inducted, a nominee had to receive a minimum of 18 votes.
CONGRATULATIONS to the new Hall of Fame Inductees, Mary and Joe! Come to the IFT in Calumet in July and help celebrate them into the Hall of Fame!
Steve Trauger
Chair, 2011 USGPA Guts Frisbee® Hall of Fame Nominations Committee
A new World Guts Catch Record
Today, at approx. 7:15pm 30 April 2011 at the International Disc Golf Center in Appling Georgia, a new world guts catch record was set by Dave "Nez" Nesbitt, former USGPA and WFDF board member and presently PDGA Board President, thrown by Garrett Gurthie at 124 km/h, and recorded by a brand new Bushnell radar gun. The catch was witnessed by approx. 75 disc golfers and friends/family, and verified by Brian Graham, PDGA Executive Director and "Crazy" John Brooks at the time of the catch.
From Left:Garrett Gurthie, Dave Nesbitt and"Crazy" John Brooks.
Augusta State take Mississippi State in the finals. Check out the video starting at about the 10 minute mark. They play as I imagine the Healy's played back in the day with games moving along very quickly.
The 2011 Guts Frisbee season began on a high note for the Appleton Assassins as they earned a hard-fought two games to one victory over the Boomtown Saints in the finals of the Illinois Indoor Guts Frisbee Open played in Plainfield, IL over the April 2-3 weekend.
The Assassins, led by co-captains Josh Tews and Alex Tews, ended Boomtown’s three-year stranglehold on the annual event. The remainder of the Assassins line-up consisted of Adam Swanson, John Luedke, Shane Mattingly, Mike Toll, and Tim Trauger, all of whom provided significant support in the victory.
After dropping game one of the finals 23-21, Appleton’s defense came alive and proved to be just enough in a marathon second game win 29-27. The game was filled with many exciting catching and scoring sequences. Boomtown could not recover from a few early dumps in game three as the Assassins cruised to a 21-15 win.
The Assassins featured tournament MVP Josh, who had several key bags and did plenty of scoring with his zippy and dippy backhand shot. Josh’s older brother Alex (third in the MVP voting) matched him shot for shot and also wowed the crowd with several spectacular catches. The rest of the Appleton line-up played extremely well. Shane solidified the center position on defense, Adam spotted his thumber with precision, John and Mike switched in and out for one another with each making contributions.
Boomtown was led by MVP runner-up and team captain Ryan Scott who was tremendous throughout the tournament. He threw smokin’-fast backhands both days and caught numerous ups. Mark Banghart had an awesome finals with several show-stopping bags including a key one on Alex Tews. Danny Banghart was Mr. Consistency on both offense and defense. John Hopkins added support with many nice grabs on upped discs. Tournament director, Dave Meyer, filled in for the flu-stricken Jeff Banghart as a last minute addition to the team.
The Duck or Bleed team finished the tournament in third. Duck or Bleed went undefeated until losing in the winners bracket finals in two straight games to Appleton. They then fell behind 8-0 early to Boomtown before bowing out in the losers bracket finals. Duck or Bleed was made up of captain Dave Brown, Ron Blau, Luke Colden, Justin Dudenas, Steve Kotajarvi (R = first tournament) and Rudy Tikkanen.
The nine-team, five-man tournament began on Saturday with round-robin play. One four team and one five team pool was created. Each team played three single game matches against other teams in their pool. Teams were ranked based on win percentage and scoring margin to determine seeding for bracket play.
Boomtown earned top seed after going 3-0, Duck or Bleed 3-0 (#2), Beer City was 3-1 (#3), Ridin’ High was 2-1 (#4), the Assassins went 2-1 (#5), SOB was 1-2 (#6), and Underdog (#7), Unknown Riders (#8) and Blood & Guts (#9) each finished 0-3. When play was complete on Saturday, Boomtown, Duck or Bleed, the Assassins and SOB remained in the winners bracket.
Players and friends enjoyed food, drink, and conversation at Dave and Jan Meyer’s house Saturday night before resuming play on Sunday morning.
Other team rosters were as follows: Fourth place Ridin’ High - captain Dan Leach, Mike Buckley, Dan Stybel, Steve Taylor, Dan Thornton, and Bill Watt. Tied for fifth, Sons of Betty (SOB) – captain Dan Beckman, Allan Beckman, Brian Beckman, Jim Beckman, Scott Beckman, and Bob “LeRoy” Sharp. Tied for fifth, Underdog – captain Dave Trauger, Dave Bolyard, Phil Davila, Dave O’Malley, Brian Tews, and Will Walden. Tied for seventh, Beer City – captain Ben Trauger, Cole Cissa (R), Mike Colburn, Tyler Colburn (R), Nick Jackson, and A.J. Paoletti (R). Tied for seventh, Unknown Riders – captain Don Klemmer Jr., Nathan Baise Jr. (R), Josh DeManis (R), Marty Devitt and Brian Nelson. Ninth place Blood and Guts – captain Richard Milliner, Kevin Bickler, Alex King-Ward (R), Conor Knutzen (R), Tom Matuzak, and Ben Nommensen (R).
Thanks to all for making the tournament a success. There was even a Bruce Young sighting (Dave Young’s brother).
Special thanks: Jan Meyer for putting on the players party, John Holmes and Sue Pugl for running registration, Dan Leach, Steve Taylor and Dan Thornton for providing tournament supplies, (Steve and Dan also for observing the finals), Dave Trauger for providing tournament consultation.
See you in Wisconsin. Dave Meyer
LET THE NOMINATIONS BEGIN!
2011 is a USGPA Guts Frisbee® Hall of Fame Induction year. With your help, the Nominations Committee will begin the process at this time. You are being asked to suggest names for the Nominations Committee to consider for nomination. Once names have been received and the deadline to submit names for consideration has passed, the Nominations Committee will thoroughly consider each name suggested. By thoughtful deliberation, research, and spirited conversation, our work will determine this year’s nominees. We will forward our final list of nominees to the USGPA Board of Directors, who will then send ballots along with accompanying information regarding each nominee to all members of the Voting Body.
We will accept the names of players to be considered for nomination until 11:59 pm, PST on February 13, 2011.
You will suggest for consideration;
The Nominations Committee will consider and nominate for induction;
The Voting Body will determine the Hall of Fame Class of 2011;
An induction ceremony will take place during IFT festivities.
Induction into the United States Guts Players Association Hall of Fame is the ultimate honor in Guts. It is supreme recognition on many levels by your peers. The qualifications of the person being inducted must be so outstanding that there will be little question as to the reason, or reasons, for induction.
For example: In addition to known tournament statistics, consideration will be given for personal conduct in the sport and for personal contributions to the ideal of the game, including exceptional work performed for the benefit of the sport of Guts through public relations, promotion, or organization. Years of participation and financial contributions to the sport will be considered. Consideration will be given to those who have served in the capacity of USGPA, GPA, or WFDF Board Member, Tournament Director, Committee Chairperson, Outstanding Committee Member, Team Sponsor, or Tournament Sponsor, and to those who have impacted the sport of Guts by performing some extraordinary, or possibly, merely ordinary service. Important involvement in the development of the sport, with organization and rules development, with tournament operation, etc. ~ these are all important factors in the determination of 'value' in a career. Anything and everything that a nominee has done in and for the sport of Guts Frisbee® that the Nominations Committee knows of, or is made aware of, will be considered.
You may suggest anyone. If you feel someone deserves to be considered for Hall of Fame induction, suggest them. It is your right and your duty.
Suggesting someone to be considered is not a vote. Once again, you will suggest for consideration. The Nominations Committee will consider and nominate for induction. The Voting Body, comprised of Hall of Fame members, the USGPA Board of Directors, and members of the Nominations Committee will vote, and they will determine this year's Hall of Fame Inductees.
The process for induction into the Guts Frisbee® Hall of Fame takes place every other year. In 2009, the names of a total of forty-three men and women were suggested for consideration. >From those, twelve men and four women earned nomination status, and in the end, three men were inducted into the Guts Frisbee® Hall of Fame, the Class of 2009: Gary Ciaglaski, Jim Dinser, and Keith 'Green Man' Moher.
Who will be the newest members of the Guts Frisbee® Hall of Fame? It is your right and responsibility to suggest names to be considered for nomination this year. After consideration by the Nominations Committee, those new names may be added to the names listed below, which are those of players who were also nominated for induction in 2009 but did not receive enough votes for induction. These listed players, by having received at least 25% of the number of votes needed to be inducted but fewer than the required 67%, have earned automatic nomination in the upcoming 2011 process. However, they need your support. If you have information regarding any player on this list that you feel the Nominations Committee may not know, or should know, or needs to know, please take the time necessary and put something in writing.
Names have been listed alphabetically by the year of that player's first tournament win. The number following each of these names indicates the year in which that player won his or her first tournament. Nicknames have been included when applicable, as that is how some players are/were best known.
Again, the names listed below are only the automatic Nominees for 2011. You are being asked to submit names not on this list to be considered for nomination. You are also being asked to supply the Nominations Committee with any and all pertinent data or information which you want us to know about those names already on the list, and those you are suggesting for consideration.
The Women:
Mary Callaghan Hartz 1976
Kristin Hamill 1978
The Men:
Mark Banghart 1976
Al Bauman 1977
Pat Dexter 1977
John Sappington 1977
Duane Haralson 1978
Dan Thornton 1978
Steve Trauger 1978
‘Toledo' Joe Welch 1981
Anyone else suggested for consideration but not shown above either did not earn nomination status and therefore, did not make the final ballot in 2009, or made the final ballot and did not receive the necessary 25% of the votes for automatic nomination in 2011, and therefore, must be re-entered into the mix.
It is your job to suggest names for consideration. Got more? Who are we missing? Who else should be considered in 2011 as a potential Guts Frisbee® Hall of Famer? A Tournament History is available online at www.gutsfrisbee.com. Take a look at the online All-Time Roster. Reading thru those names may spark the memory of someone you may have completely forgotten. A teammate. An adversary. Your own name should be listed (if it's not, send a note to platterman@aol.com). The men and women in the All-Time Roster may have spent a couple of years or the better part of their lives playing a game that most people have never even heard of. It is your duty to help protect its storied history. It is your responsibility to help celebrate those players who represent the best of the best of the best.
Please feel free to personally contact any member of the Nominations Committee with names for consideration. We are listed below.
The process is becoming more manageable as we work through it each time. Of the nine committee members, eight of us have previous Nominations Committee experience. 4 have been involved four times; 1 of us three times; 2 of us twice; and 1 of us was new to the process in 2009. That's a total of 24 years of previous Hall of Fame Nominations Committee experience. The ninth member will be serving on the committee for the first time.
Without dedicated, hard-working committee members such as these, this task would be monumental. Even so, it's a big job. It is meaningful to our sport that we take it seriously. And, believe me, we do.
Mike Colburn mcolbs at sbcglobal dot net
Steve DesJardins sdesj at umich dot edu
John ‘Dex’ Dexter JHDexter at comcast dot net
Linda (Morrison) Lovick linda at lovicklodge dot com
Dave Meyer whitegater at att dot net
Dan Thornton thorntondan at yahoo dot com
David Trauger homeworks at solarus dot net
Dennis ‘Wally’ Walikainen dkwalika at mtu dot edu
Steve Trauger, Committee Chair platterman at aol dotcom
Please pass along this note to any and all Guts people. Make sure everyone you know hears about it and has an opportunity to submit namesand/or provide additional information regarding who they feel is worthy of Hall of Fame consideration.
We will accept the names of players to be considered for nomination until 11:59 pm, PST on February 13, 2011.
Critical Hits (it's apparently a Dungeons & Dragons term) won the tournament. The team was composed of Keenan Jackson, Dailey Jackson, Evan Davis and Joe Klesert. They were undefeated during the round robin on Saturday, they buzzed through the winner's bracket on Sunday without losing a match and took the tournament final 2 straight games.
Cupola West (Dave Young, Scott Brooks, Brock DePetro & Dave Brown) came in 2nd. They got a 4th seed after the round robin, won their winner's bracket quarterfinal, lost in the winner's bracket semis to Critical Hits, then cleaned up the loser's bracket.
Young Chi (Ryan Scott, Paul Liu, Donnie Klemmer & Ron Blau) finished 3rd. They got the 2nd seed after round robin, losing only to Critical Hits. Probably the best match of the tournament was the winner's bracket final against Critical Hits. Absolutely amazing defense. After losing the winner's bracket finals they lost to Cupola West to set up the tournament final.
Shocker (Frank Brady, Chris Lopez, Steve Sengebush, Jesse Arias) finished 4th. They got the 3rd seed after the round robin (going 5-1, losing only to Critical Hits), won their quarterfinal, lost to Young Chi in the winner's bracket semis, won a loser's bracket match, then lost to Cupola West.
The depressing thing was that the last two matches had to be shortened due to lack of daylight. The level of play, especially defense, seemed significantly higher than in previous years, which made the matches on Sunday go longer than expected. The last 3 games (loser's bracket final and the 2 games of the tournament final) were played to 11, and it started to get a bit dark. The level of play stayed extremely high, however.
We had 11 teams, highest we've ever had, the level of play was the highest we've ever had, and the parties and the fun were unmatched. Thanks for coming everyone, thanks to all the dozens of volunteers, and we'll see you all next year. Back to ultimate for most of the Albuquerque guts community, but in a week or two we'll get them back!
USGPA World's
Pinche wins the season ending 5-man tournament for the second year in a row over the Cupola Bandits. Pinche cruised through the winners bracket and played at a very high level all weekend long. The Cupola Bandits showed why they have won so many tournaments over the years. Solid play and just a tenacity to win has always suited them well.
Cupola beat Blame the Dog in the loser bracket finals. The tournament featured 14 teams. Photos
US Nationals Results
Ridin High takes first win. Mark Banghart, Mike Banghart, Dan Leach, Dan Styble, Steve Taylor, Dan Thornton and Bill Watt went through the weekend without dropping a match. An early reound matchup between Ridin High and Blame the Dog set the stage for the finals. Blame the Dog found itself in the losers bracket early but beat a number of good teams including the Queen City Aces and Assassins to make it to the final. Ridin High took the first game with Blame the Dog taking the second. Ridin High was on top in the third game 14 - 10 when Blame the Dog went on a 7 - 0 run. Ridin High bent but did not break and fought back from the 17 - 14 score to switch at 17 - 16 Blame the Dog. A tremendous amount of defense was displayed all day but solid D at the end of the match pulled Ridin High to the win 22 - 20. Fun was had by all!
IFT Results
Boomtown defeats Blame the Dog in Final
Hancock—The Boomtown Saints (Lansing) defeated Blame the Dog (Illinois, Michigan) in the finals of the International Frisbee Tournament, 23-21 and 21-19, amid intermittent downpours. The rain didn't stop high-caliber play, as both teams caught and threw well despite the rain.
Boomtown advanced through the winners' bracket and Blame the Dog won the loser's bracket defeating the Cupola Bandits in the semifinals. The Appleton Assassins took fourth, with the Monte Carlo and O'Malley's Alley placing fifth.
The first Healy Family Most Valuable Award went to Mike Banghart of the Boomtown Saints for his stellar backhand throws and solid defensive game.
Also awarded was the first Jon Davis Spirit of Guts Award to Dan Thornton, for sportsmanship, stellar play, and focusing on the fun of the game. Representatives of the Davis and Houle families were there for the award.
What a great weekend. Let's see if I can paint a picture for those who weren't there.
First, the weather. It was perfect. Yes, there was forecast for good chance for rain particularly on Saturday. Well, it just stayed overcast and cool. Late in the afternoon on Saturday had a nice sunny stretch. Sunday was again cloudy and cool. Had just a spit of rain in the afternoon during the finals. Winds were basically light all weekend. Sure sun would have been nice, but it would have cooked us too. So I'd say it was perfect GUTS weather.
Next, there were 10 teams. Let's see if I can name all of them. Appleton Assassins, Boomtown Saints, Underdog, Blame The Dog, Ridin' High, No Mo Bill, O'Malleys, Sky Valley Pelicans, Fat Boyz, Unknown Riders. Tournament started with a pool-play of three games. That helped determine seeding and it was fun and important for teams who ended up not going very deep in the competition.
Saturday had two rounds of Winner's Bracket play. Sunday started with more winner's bracket play with Loser's bracket beginning soon after. Generally things kept moving right along. Sunday's finals began at a reasonable time.
Competition! Whew! I recall seeing a FINE winner's bracket struggle between Underdogs and Ridin' High. Underdog won. The two teams met again in the loser's bracket and again had a fine, close match with Underdog pulling it out again. A difference of 7 points over three games. In the loser's bracket (prior to that match), Ridin' High had a great match with Blame the Dog and pulled it out--a thrilling moment. Another fine match was the Winner's Bracket Final between Boomtown and Assassins. It went three games and was close the entire way. Boomtown prevailed then. Assassins dropped to the loser's bracket where they met Underdog and overcame that challenge to return to the Tourney finals against Boomtown. This time, Assassins topped Boomtown in two games, but both games were VERY close. Boom, it was over. Assassins were in their first Tournament Final AND WIN their first Tournament!!!! Tell me what were some of the other fine battles you saw this weekend???
Youth! Wow! Plenty of it and improving quickly and dramatically--even since April in Illinois. O'Malleys played solidly. Sky Valley Pelicans (from Illinois) is a team to watch out for. Phat Boys brought some good, developing youth. Deej, on Ridin' High, has really come into his own on offense and defense. And I'm quite impressed with my own teammates @Michael Toll and @Brian James Nelson.
Hey, this IS a great tune-up for the IFT and worth doing for its own fun. Dave Trauger, Maynard, and the @Fox Cities Guts Frisbee Club run a great event. Nice details like a wonderful singing of the National Anthem at the start and ceremonial "first throw". Also good eats and bevs and a great park. If you weren't at Wisco this year, make a plan for next year. Let's bring 12-15 teams for next year!
As has been reported previously:
1st: Appleton Assassins
2nd: Boomtown Saints
3rd: Underdog
4th: Ridin' High
Bruce Richardson
Illinois Indoor Results
Boomtown takes it's third consecutive Illinois Indoor. Blame the Dog, The Assassins and da Birds rounded out the top four.
HDC VII
The new face of guts? Five West with Dailey Jackson, Keenan Jackson, Evan Davis, and Jesse Arias take home Beto as it still remains in Albuquerque.
The Bataan Park Brothers went undefeated for the weekend and captured the US Nationals title. The Boomtown Saints finished 2nd, Blame the Dog third and Cupola fourth.
Two days of beautiful weather in Hancock, MI provided the perfect backdrop for this year's IFT. Serveral teams thought they had the pieces to take home the prize but in the end Blame The Dog was the team worthy enought to drink from them cup. The Dog beat the local Monte Carlo team 2 straight in the finals.
Gary Ciaglaski, Jim Dinser and Keith Moher were also inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday evening. It was a great event thanks to Dennis Walikainen and Steve Trauger
Wisconsin Guts Championships - Boomtown makes it three in a row in the great state of Wisconsin beating Blame the Dog in the finals. A perfect weekend for Guts also saw the Assassins with their highest finish to date at number three and Monte Carlo bringing it for the UP with a fourth place finish. Check out the Photos courtesy of Barb Thornton.
The most exciting aspect of the weekend was the 16 registrants who were under the age of 18. We continue to see more and more young people at tournaments and as the Assassins showed this weekend these younger players are starting to really make an impact. Picture here is a team from Marquette of folks in the 14-16 age range.
Hall of Fame
Keep up with the Guts Frisbee Hall of Fame on facebook.com
This Is Guts!
2009 Illinois Indoor Results
Boomtown captured the first title of the year by besting Ridin Hign the a two game finals match; 21-16 and 21-19. Full details can be viewed here
At this tourament there were a total of 16 people that played under the student/rookie program allowing them to play for only $5. The USGPA offsets the tournament directors costs (other than prize fund) for these folks. So when someone askes where membership dues go, one thing they allow is for those under 18 and rookies, regardless of age, the opportunity to compete in tournaments for only $5!
2009 HOF Induction
Congratulations are in order for the USGPA Guts Frisbee® Hall of Fame Class of 2009!
Three individuals will be welcomed and enshrined as new members following a special recognition dinner and Hall of Fame Induction ceremony as part of the festivities of the 52nd IFT! We hope that you will be there to help celebrate this historical event on Saturday, July 4! May I have a drum roll, please? Give it up for these three men, listed alphabetically:
Gary Ciaglaski, Jim Dinser, and Keith “Green Man” Moher!
With 36 people in attendance and about 12 pure rookies the event was a success on every level. LeRoy and Company put on a great event and everyone got into the action and had fun. 'The Real Stimulus Package' with Jeff Banghart, Larry Scott, Bruce Richardson and rookie of the night Nick Taylor beat 'The Guts Show' with Mike Banghart, Donnie Klemmer, Alex Jakstys and Ben LaPoint in an exciting three game final. Thanks for all that participated and contributed their time and financial resources to make this happen! It is a great model and should be employed around the country as a great recruiting tool. Click here for pictures or view the TD's recap.
The Sixth Annual High Desert Classic convened October 5-6 in Albuquerque, New Mexico at scenic Bataan Park. Weather was perfect Saturday morning, although the wind blew up a bit at the end of the day. Just enough to make the flippers dance. It rained all night and sprinkled a bit Sunday morning, although the Sunday games went without a hitch in slightly cooler weather. One field became unplayable due to mud, but we moved people around and it worked out. read more...
WUGC 2008 Results and Photos
USA Red (Dan Banghart, Jeff Banghart, Mark Banghard, Mike Banghart, Frank Brady, Keith Moher, Joe O'Conner, Ryan Scott and Dave Young) took the Gold medal in Vancouver. Japan 1 (Katon) placed second, Japan 2 (mixture of players) took third and USA White (Scott Brooks, Dave Brown, Bill Gagnon, Frank Logosh, Dave Meyer, Steve Taylor, Dan Thornton and David Traguer) finished in fourth. Lots of people watching Guts all week long.
Great tournament, great weather and really terrific competition marked the 51st annual IFT. Cupola, with renewed vigor and the addition of Bill "Brock" DePetro, captured yet another IFT victory. Boomtown came in second followed by Blame the Dog and the Breakers. More pictures to come but for now enjoy. Photos
Wisconsin Guts Championship
The Boomtown Saints prevailed to win their second tournament in 2008. Ridin High placed second with Blame the Dog and Monte Carlo finishing third and fourth respectively. Many new faces and many new young faces. Wisconsin is soon going to be the force of Guts unless we all step up and meet their efforts
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2008 Illinois Indoor
The Boomtown Saints picked up right where they left off last season by winning the first guts frisbee tournament of the year. Boomtown went undefeated over the March 29-30 weekend (winning all twelve games) and topped Blame the Dog in the finals 21-7 and 21-13 to take the championship of the 2008 Illinois Indoor Guts Frisbee Open played at the Plainfield High School fieldhouse in Plainfield, Illinois. more.....
Observers Handbook
The Observers Handbook was recently update by a committee of USGPA Members. It will be provided to all tournament directors and is available here.
2007 Hall of Fame Inductions Congratulations are in order for the USGPA Guts Frisbee® Hall of Fame Class of 2007 Inductees: George "Thor" Anderson, Bill Begoske, Dave Bradshaw, Tom Field, Bill Hodges, and Gerard Newman. CONGRATULATIONS! These six individuals will be welcomed and enshrined as new members following a special dinner in a Hall of Fame Induction ceremony as part of the festivities of the 50th IFT! We hope that you will be there to help celebrate this most special event!
As chairman of the Nominations Committee, I would like to recognize the eight members of the '07 Nominations Committee (third year members Dan Thornton, Steve DesJardins, Linda Lovick, and myself; second year members Dave Meyer and Frank Logosh; and first year members Mike Colburn and David Trauger) who volunteered many, MANY hours of their own personal time, provided valuable insight and much-needed, differing viewpoints, and dedicated serious and timely reflection into the process. Thank you.
I would also like to thank those of you who made the effort to submit the 48 names of people you felt worthy of Hall of Fame consideration. From these, a total of 17 Men and 4 Women, eventually, were nominated.
Just to be nominated for Hall of Fame induction is, in itself, a great honor. The following individuals were also nominated but, unfortunately, did not receive the required 67% vote tally: Al Bauman, Sue Begoske, Steve Buckley, Gary Ciaglaski, Jim Dinser, Kristen Hamill, Mary Hartz (Callaghan), Willie Leffel, Dave Meyer, Keith Moher, John Sappington, Dan Thornton, Steve Trauger, Julie (Thomsen) Vadnais, and Joe Welch. Congratulations to you, as well!
Finally, I would like to thank the Voting Body, which includes all Hall of Fame members, members of the USGPA Board of Directors, and this year, members of the Nominations Committee, for doing that thing we most need them to do - VOTE!
CONGRATULATIONS to the new USGPA Hall of Fame Inductees! See you at the 50th IFT where we will make this official!
Today, at approx. 7:15pm 30 April 2011 at the International Disc Golf Center in Appling Georgia, a new world guts catch record was set by Dave "Nez" Nesbitt, former USGPA and WFDF board member and presently PDGA Board President, thrown by Garrett Gurthie at 124 km/h, and recorded by a brand new Bushnell radar gun. The catch was witnessed by approx. 75 disc golfers and friends/family, and verified by Brian Graham, PDGA Executive Director and "Crazy" John Brooks at the time of the catch.
