Many of the continent’s premier teams made their opening statements.
July 15, 2024 by Alex Rubin in Recap with 0 comments
Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2024 club ultimate season is presented by Spin Ultimate; all opinions are those of the author(s). Find out how Spin can get you, and your team, looking your best this season.
Welcome to Clubhouse Chatter, where the Ultiworld staff keep you caught up on the major events of the club season.
October in July
Though it’s just July, my mind is already stuck in mid-Autumn when the USA Ultimate Club Championships will be held. This weekend’s games, Machine-DiG (PEC-East men’s final) and Molly Brown-Fury (PEC-West women’s final) could be title games come October. BFG-Drag’n Thrust (PEC-West mixed) was a semifinal this weekend but also could become a title matchup in San Diego. Especially when considering the early stage of the season, fans were treated to a great few days of showcase ultimate.1 While it is truly too early to tell where the chips will fall by the time Nationals rolls around, it is pretty clear that lessons learned and matchups made this past weekend will have an impact as the season rolls on.
#2 Denver Molly Brown’s win over #4 San Francisco Fury is a good reminder that the star power in the Rockies is enough to shine on any given night. #2 Chicago Machine’s win over #4 Boston DiG might hint at a second straight year where the previous season’s runner up focuses intensely all season and comes home with a title. DiG’s ascension to the final is also notable in a field that included #8 New York PoNY, #9 Atlanta Chain Lightning, and #7 Raleigh Ring of Fire. With cadre of offseason additions joining the team for the first time in competitive action, DiG should feel accomplished with the amount of integration the team’s already been able to achieve; they also know there’s room to grow as internal team chemistry builds over time, and bigger prizes await.
Welcome to the Party
Though they were not perfect on the weekend (#7 Boston Slow won their matchup during pool play), #19 Austin Disco Club won PEC-East over longtime division stalwarts #9 Philadelphia AMP. The brand-new team2 featuring many of the more recognizable names from the PUL’s Austin Torch and men’s division’s Austin Doublewide rosters of recent seasons crushed AMP 12-6 in the final after multi-goal wins over 2023 Nationals teams #15 Nashville ‘Shine, #12 Washington DC Rally, and #13 Madison NOISE. It’s might be too early to anoint Disco Club a Nationals team – they’ll have their hands full at South Central Regionals no matter what – but they passed the eye test in their very first set of games.
Over on the other coast, #6 Vancouver Red Flag marched to the final at PEC-West. Though their real breakout came during last season’s Nationals bracket, they are hoping to push to a new competitive level this season and got off to a great start with an undefeated trip through pool play, a crossover win over #8 Seattle Mixtape, and a strong bracket run. Welcome to the elite tier of mixed teams Red Flag!
Burlington Big Rig, the new Vermont team, won the Boston Invite.3 Though the competition was not quite as strong as the PEC tournaments, Big Rig avenged their only loss (during pool play to Ithaca Townies) in the final and showed they’re a top level squad capable of earning and keeping a bid for their region. While much of the championship chatter will fall around established teams like #5 Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust, #4 Seattle BFG, Slow, Mixtape, and the like, new teams like Big Rig and Disco Club pushing into the Nationals picture is a fun development to track this summer. Knowing the chaotic nature of the mixed division, I’m sure this will not be the last we’re hearing from them this season.
Looking Ahead
Next week is pretty light with just a few tournaments on the schedule, including Masters Nationals. However, in two weeks the Select Flight Challenges take place, featuring many bubble teams hoping to push into Nationals range – as well as a second look at several of the Canadian sides (Red Flag, #5 Vancouver Traffic, #17 Toronto GOAT) bending their USAU seasons around Worlds and Canadian Championship obligations.
You can see 40 games recorded in the Ultiworld video library ↩
Technically Disco Club are a rollover from Austin Waterloo. They met the roster continuity requirements, requested a name change with USAU, and retained Waterloo’s Select Flight status. However, with only eight 2023 Waterloo players returning, Disco Club are in every practical sense a brand-new team. ↩
Shoutout Ultiworld’s own Theo Wan for finishing fifth with Buffalo Lake Effect ↩
