December 28, 2017 by Charlie Eisenhood in Other with 0 comments
Today begins one of our favorite Ultiworld traditions: the annual Year In Review series. We will look back over the biggest stories, most popular articles, the “best of” the year, and more over the next week, including year-end retrospective podcasts from both Deep Look and Sin The Fields. We kick things off with a look at the 17 most popular articles — based on pageviews — from 2017.
17. The 2017 Wildwood Packing List From An Expert
You going to Wildwood or any beach tournament? You need to make sure you’ve got everything on this list.
16. Frisbee Emoji Could Be Coming In 2018
The headline says it all — and all signs point to the frisbee emoji making it into the emoji alphabet!
15. Tuesday Tips: How To Stop Getting Beat Deep
Our weekly instructional column, Tuesday Tips, remains one of the most popular features of the website. This article from Alex Rummelhart on improving deep defense was a hit.
14. See How Twitter Reacted To Ultimate’s ESPN2 Debut (And #TheOcho)
With live ESPN broadcasts comes a lot more eyeballs — and a lot more tweets. We dove into social media to pull out the most interesting reactions to ultimate’s appearances on the networks of the worldwide leader.
13. UNC Wilmington Coach Suspended By USAU For Ethics Violations
UNC Wilmington men’s head coach Brian Casey was briefly suspended by USA Ultimate for Coaching Ethics code violations stemming from an incident in which he sent fake text messages to a player on his team while impersonating the brother of a woman with whom he had a sexual relationship. Casey returned to the team and coached them to an appearance in the National final against Carleton.
12. Introducing The Inaugural Donovan Award
Ultiworld’s Division III Men’s Editor Mike Ball pioneered the creation of the Donovan Award, a player-voted award for DIII college athletes akin to the Callahan Award in Division I.
11. Vermont Becomes First State To Approve Ultimate As High School Varsity Sport
Anne Watson’s years-long push to get ultimate into high schools as a varsity sport paid off as the Vermont Principals’ Association voted it through unanimously.
10. Tuesday Tips: Throwing Without Effort
Benji Heywood’s discussion of throwing mechanics and adding effortless power to hucks was the most popular column in our Tuesday Tips series this year.
9. Here Is The List Of Players That Signed The AUDL Boycott Statement
This offseason has been defined by the announcement of a boycott of the AUDL over gender equity concerns.
8. USAU Signs Historic Deal With ESPN; Will Add Live Games On ESPN2, ESPNU
Just before the College Championships, USA Ultimate announced a brand new contract with ESPN that included the first-ever live broadcast of ultimate on a major cable network.
7. Throwing Form Project: A Video Archive Of Elite Players’ Mechanics
Joseph Marmerstein created a trove of videos of top players throwing discs from short to long range. There’s a lot to learn from seeing how great throwers execute their throws.
6. Colombia Stuns USA In World Games Opener
In the biggest upset of the year, Colombia shocked the eventual gold medalist United States with a decisive win to kick off the World Games in Poland this summer. Sion “Brummie” Scone takes you inside the action in his recap.
Ben Wiggins and Skip Sewell’s master class on playing ultimate in windy conditions remained one of our most popular features. If you haven’t read this yet, stop what you’re doing and take notes.
4. What To Eat During A Tournament
This article was written in 2014 but remains very popular thanks to recirculation and Google. Ultiworld nutrition columnist Kate Schlag has some great, practical advice about how to optimize your intake during a grueling, energy-depleting tournament day.
3. In First For Female Player, Jesse Shofner Makes Nashville Nightwatch Roster
There was widespread excitement about the news that Jesse Shofner was given a roster spot on the Nashville Nightwatch, making her the first female player to be put onto a regular season roster in AUDL history.
2. Buzz Bullets Suspended By JFDA, Won’t Compete At US Open
Japan’s top Men’s club team got a months-long suspension for misconduct, the nature of which still remains murky and the topic of rumor and speculation. The most notable result is that Buzz Bullets will not compete at the World Club Championships in July 2018.
1. Check Out The Amazing USA Ultimate Commercial That Aired On ESPN2
It’s clear: USAU’s #LiveUltimate commercial struck a chord. Airing during the US Open mixed division final that aired live on ESPN2, the commercial featured a collection of some of the most iconic UltiPhotos images of the last five years with a professional produced voiceover and soundtrack. Try to watch it without getting chills.
