Hi, Yes, as you will have seen from previous emails to BD the National Indoors series over the last couple of years does seem to have suffered from a drop in demand. This has been evidenced (for the last two years especially) with the extra difficulty in getting geographically spread bids for the qualifiers as well as the drop in numbers of teams attending.
However, I'm not sure how the finger of blame can be pointed at UKUA volunteers. In fact the Board have started to consider all the positive suggestions put forward after my previous email on this subject - not least the suggestion of a dedicated Indoors DoC - and how we fit this in with the other plans under consideration for improving the way events are organised. Good luck to everyone competing in the National Indoor Finals this weekend. I know that it will be a very enjoyable tourney and that everyone will take pride in doing as well as possible! Cheers, Barry PS Yes, you do have to be a paid UKUA member to play in Indoor Nationals. If this is news to you then please do your best to pay online today, if that proves impossible make sure you join next week! > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Risk, Jon > (Financial Services) > Sent: 18 March 2005 13:40 > To: '[email protected]' > Subject: [BD] It's national tomorrow > > -----Original Message----- > From: Risk, Jon (Financial Services) > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 18 March 2005 11:02 > To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' > Subject: [Malvern Ultimate Frisbee Club] it's nationals tomorrow > > I can't help feeling I should be more excited that I'm > playing in the national championships of my sport tomorrow. > After all, we battled through qualifying, and achieved a > great finish of 6th in the Midlands qualifiers, to qualify as > one of the top 32 teams in the UK for the first time. > Tomorrow, we'll be playing in the most prestigious indoor > tournament in this country, for the right to be declared the > best in Britain. But something's not right. > > When we arrive in Bath tomorrow, there'll only be 15 other > teams. After the elation of qualifying as one of the best 32 > in the UK, we suddenly find that at worst we're now one of > the best 16. Our achievement in Birmingham has had the gloss > taken off it by a seemingly more illustrious honour, that we > have, as yet, done nothing to deserve, being bestowed on us. > > To further belittle our achievement, 6 of the other 15 did > not attempt to qualify in the first place. Of the 46 teams > who attempted to qualify only 9 of them will be playing > tomorrow. The remainder (defending champions > excluded) have done nothing to warrant their spot. > > One team can feel particularly aggrieved. Bangor finished 8th > in the Midlands qualifier, just missing out on the 7th > qualifying spot. However, two teams above them have chosen > not to enter, leaving them ranked 6th in their region. Yet > they are not taking part. They sent a cheque, and were > included on the first list of (17) entered teams. One week > later though, and they are out, excluded at the expense of 6 > teams that did not attempt to qualify. Of these 6 one wasn't > included on the first list, one finished in an equivalent > position in the Northern region (Hulltimate, 8th), and one is > BLT 2, a second team included at the expense of a first team. > You can't help feeling that Bangor have been screwed. > > And now we hear that all rostering rules are out of the > window. Players who played for one team in qualifying can now > pick up for any other team of their choosing. In my eyes this > further devalues what should be our premier indoor tournament. > > There are still a number of questions that remain unanswered: > Will teams that qualified be awarded walkover wins over those > that did not? > In the event of a non-qualifying team winning, will the title > of national champions be given to the highest finishing team > that did actually qualify? > And why exactly should we bother paying our UKU fees before > this tournament when our governing body doesn't seem to have > the slightest care for the indoor game? > > So we might very well start next week as the 15th best team > in Britain, but who cares? I'm sure we'll all enjoy playing > ultimate this weekend, as we always do, but not on the > prestigious stage that our national championships should be. > > Jon > Lords > > My views etc, and no disrespect intended to any other > competing teams. > > > ********************************************************************** > Privileged/Confidential information and/or Copyright Material > may be contained in this email. The information and Material > is intended for the use of the addressee(s) only. > > If you are not the addressee or the person responsible for > delivering it to the intended addressee(s), you may not copy > or deliver it to anyone else or use it in any unauthorised manner. > To do so is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you receive > this email by mistake, advise the sender immediately by using > the reply facility in your email software. > > Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the > author and do not necessarily represent those of > Worcestershire County Council. > > Although this email and attachments are believed to be free > of any virus or other defects which might affect any computer > or IT systems into which they are received, no responsibility > is accepted by Worcestershire County Council for any loss or > damage arising in any way from the receipt or use thereof. > > ********************************************************************** > > __________________________________________________ > BritDisc mailing list > [email protected] > http://zion.ranulf.net/mailman/listinfo/britdisc > Staying informed - http://www.ukultimate.com/informed.asp > > __________________________________________________ BritDisc mailing list [email protected] http://zion.ranulf.net/mailman/listinfo/britdisc Staying informed - http://www.ukultimate.com/informed.asp
