September 24, 2013 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 21 comments
USA Ultimate is making further adjustments to the new Club Championships format by increasing the number of games for teams eliminated in the quarterfinals, offering more teams an opportunity to play into the Pro Flight, and adding a third place game to determine the final bid to the 2014 World Ultimate Club Championships, according to emails obtained by Ultiworld.
Here is a summary of the major changes to Pro Flight play-in games:
[quote]- IF THE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION MAKES THE QUARTERFINALS: The four teams with the highest regular season rankings that lose in the round of 16 (i.e. prequarters) will now play in a 1v4, 2v3 format to advance to games against the two lowest ranked teams that lose in the quarterfinals. The winners of those two games will take the final two spots in the Pro Flight for 2014
– IF THE REGULAR SEAON CHAMPION DOES NOT MAKE THE QUARTERFINALS: The four teams with the highest regular season rankings that lose in the round of 16 (i.e. prequarters) will now play in a 1v4, 2v3 format to advance to games against the two lowest ranked teams that lose in the quarterfinals. The winners of those two games then have a final playoff to determine the final spot in the Pro Flight for 2014. (The regular season champion gets an automatic spot in the following season’s Pro Flight.)[/quote]
Additionally, there are now only 3 bids to the 2014 World Club Championships in each division. That means that the two losers in the semifinals will play a third place game to determine the final bid to Italy.
The only other substantive change will place the bottom four regular season ranked teams that lose in the round of 16 into a 13th-16th place bracket.
These games (except the third place game) will all take place on Friday after the round of 16.
These adjustments are all subject to change following a conference call between USA Ultimate and teams this afternoon.
