Ladder League Update: November 2006 The Ladder League has been moving forward in leaps and bounds. This month the number of registered teams has over doubled to a huge 113, and the number of games played has tripled to 188 - that's right, one hundred and eighty-eight games, between 69 teams, have now been played as part of Regional Ladder Leagues across the country.
While some teams travelled to Australia for Worlds, back home the league rolled onwards, with more events being hosted than I could keep up with - teams from the South East, Midlands, and the North have been very active, with the West and Scotland (with their tougher geographical circumstances) yet to fully get into the swing of things. Irish teams have played a few matches which puts their names on the board; Chilli-O are leading Ireland's table, with Captain Drinking Binge close behind. Most notable this month on the National Open table was Flaming Galahs rapid ascent to the #1 spot, despite having a points difference of -1. Their regular friendlies in London have paid off, as their team grows and improves (Flaming Galahs II have made an appearance at #48), they'll be trying their hardest to stay on top of the table until the end of the season. Thundering Herd have suffered from their lack of games whilst they've been away - dropping below SE University teams Thrown and UCL Ultimate 1 (Student), with Brighton Ultimate Mixed nipping at their heels. In the Uni Ladder League, UCL are leading the way with 5 wins from 8 games, with local rivals Thrown and Disc Doctors both tied for the #2 spot close behind. Thrown are below UCL on the Uni table but above on Open because almost half their games have been against non-University teams, whereas UCL have been concentrating more on facing university opponents. Last year's Ladder League Champions - the Mohawks - have begun their campaign in style, winning 4 from 5, attaining the best points difference in the Uni league, and moving into 5th place on the Uni table. Top of the Midlands are OW!, both Uni and Open, having won 5 from 7, and leading the Northern tables are Catch Those (Open) and Lancaster Fish (Uni). A number of Indoor games have been played this month, some as part of the London Indoor League, and others as training for the University teams in the runup to Uni Indoor Nationals this weekend. Fever are top of the table currently, with Angels close behind and Woof in 3rd place. There's still everything to play for in the Ladder League - so get looking at those maps and tables to see who you can arrange a game with next, and make it happen! New teams are appearing on the map all the time, so see who is in your local area & get in contact. http://www.regionalultimate.co.uk/ -"How come team X are above us?" There's a detailed breakdown of the scoring system on the website, but it might interest you to know that as we move through the season, there are effectively more points up for grabs because teams have higher rankings. So, to get high fast, all you need to do is arrange to play Galahs, Thrown, Herd, UCL, Brighton, Catch Those, OW, Fish, or another team who have begun their campaign already, and you stand to get a load of points for a good victory... Remember the Ladder League system awards teams who remain active and play as much Ultimate as they can, so don't get lazy! -"The teams in our region are too spread out to visit each other for friendlies, how can we get involved?" Instead of visiting for just one game, find a free weekend and host an all-day event, which will make it worthwhile for teams to drive an hour or two to play at. You don't need to arrange accomodation or anything - just secure the pitch space and you have yourself an event. I would suggest Taunton look into hosting something in the West, as a nice central town, and maybe an event in Edinburgh could attract some interest (Sam Lord is looking into this, get in touch with him if you have any ideas). -"Too busy training to play friendlies at the moment." One of the best ways of training is to put what you've learnt into practice against new opposition... If you can do this without having to change when/where you practice, then it's ideal - I'd suggest getting in touch with your local uni/geo team to see if they can be your jousting partners in the run-up to WL / Uni events. Felix Ladder League Coordinator http://www.regionalultimate.co.uk/ __________________________________________________ BritDisc mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.ranulf.net/mailman/listinfo/britdisc Staying informed - http://www.ukultimate.com/informed.asp
