Day one is in the books, here's what you need to know.
July 21, 2024 by Benjamin Rees in Recap with 0 comments
Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2024 World Junior Ultimate Championships 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.
The first day of play at this year’s WJUC is wrapped up, and every team has at least one game under their belt. With so much ultimate left to play this week the landscape can and will shift significantly but the various formats do not give teams a huge margin of error to work with, and kicking off your campaign with a win does wonders for a team’s confidence going forward. Here’s how it played out in the beautiful British weather1.
Women’s
As the host nation, Great Britain were given the sometimes unenviable task of opening the action on the showcase field, but lived up to the pressure with a back-and-forth 15-12 victory over Germany. This marks the second tournament in a row at this age group where GB have triumphed in the ceremonial starter after they beat Poland at JJUC two years ago in Wrocław. The home side were one of only two teams to play a second match today2, and put up a spirited performance against an Italy outfit with their own medal ambitions, but the Italians had the extra energy required to record a 15-11 win to start their week.
USA looked dominant as they set down an ominous marker to their challengers with a 15-1 scoreline against Australia, utilizing the full depth of the roster to devastating effect. Canada matched that with a 15-1 of their own against Singapore, while New Zealand also showed their qualities in a 15-2 win over Ireland.
The game that drew the most buzz around the fields today was France, silver medalists in Poland and European champions, taking on a nation in Japan who were absent two years ago and represented something of an unknown quantity. The French raced into an early 3-0 lead on the back of multiple run-through interceptions, striking quickly after the turn while their opponents were still adjusting. Japan fought back well, forcing pressure to gain short fields on the turn with a zone designed to disrupt France’s rhythm, and with the scoreline at 5-4 the game felt very much in the balance. France, evidently, had other ideas, as they reeled off 10 straight to close out an empowering 15-4 victory, generating multiple errors upon which they were quick to capitalize. Stars Swann Lacoste-Lefèvre, Camille Blanc, and Carolina Mabekondiasson were as impactful as expected, although the highlight reel play came courtesy of a layout grab at the back of the endzone from Louna Guennoune, who finished with three goals. The pre-tournament hype around the French feels more than justified based on the early returns.
Open
USA are almost inevitably the team to beat at any world event, and their week got off to a flying start with a pair of 15-6 victories, first over Great Britain in a game with raucous support for both sides3, then following that up against Australia in the afternoon. France’s 15-3 win over Singapore gave them a great start in their quarter-final quest, but the game of the day pitted Colombia against Switzerland. Many of the top eligible Swiss players have opted for the Open division this summer, and they needed everyone on hand to eke out a 15-13 win in a game where the biggest lead was only ever two points. Andri Baumgartner ran the show offensively, scything through the Colombians with his throws while also picking his moments to strike deep when needed. Expect him to be amongst the stat leaders all week long.
Pool B saw Canada record a confident victory over a Belgium outfit that seems to continually churn out super athletes, but inconsistency plagued them as the Canadians won 15-6. New Zealand Open emulated the Women’s side with their own 15-2 triumph over Ireland, while Germany’s depth shone through as they outlasted China 15-8. The most tantalizing matchup pitted Italy and Japan against one another, and Italy exploded into a 6-1 lead from which their opposition could never recover, as they held firm to record an impressive 15-11 triumph.
Mixed
No matter the tournament, and no matter the age group, Mixed always seems to embrace the entropy compared to its single-gender counterparts, and so it proved today with the top seeds in three of the four pools falling to upstart upsets. Tournament top seeds Switzerland were bested 15-12 by a Netherlands side led by an outstanding offensive performance from Jelte Derks, who was involved in 13 of his side’s 15 scores, including threading a pass to Leeloo Lievestro for the game winner. Having dug themselves into a 12-8 hole, Switzerland had multiple redzone opportunities to bring it back to 12-11, but the Dutch were able to continually repel their advances and held firm to see out the win. Elsewhere in Pool A, Italy ensured a winning start in all three divisions by virtue of a 15-7 victory over Panama.
Pool B saw the defending champions Hungary fall 12-7 to Singapore in the only game of the day to reach the time cap. Singapore’s signature small-ball style was able to wear down and slide through the Hungarian zone defense. While it’s sadly4 not tracked on a game-by-game basis, Singapore Mixed almost certainly have the highest passes per possession of any team in attendance. The strong finishes at U24 level appear to be filtering down. Canada recorded an accomplished 15-5 win over China in the pool’s other contest.
Pool C stood alone in following the pre-tournament seedings, as Colombia were able to escape away from Mexico in the second half, turning an 8-7 halftime scoreline into a 15-10 win, with Poland storming to a 15-3 win over Hong Kong, China.
USA Mixed, in their first appearance at U20 level, recorded a comprehensive 15-1 over Latvia to kick off their campaign in Pool D, but the pool’s top seed France stumbled as Austria, on the back of Constantin Angetter’s eight assists, were able to record a 15-11 win that gives them the inside track into the top power pools and a place in the bracket.
With the anxiety of opening day behind them, athletes can now settle into the rhythm of5 playing a morning and afternoon game each day6, as Mixed wraps up the first phase of pool play, while Women’s and Open continue their own pools.
This is not ironic today, I promise. ↩
The only team in the Women’s division to do so. ↩
Having a lively crowd makes such a difference, it’s a wonderful thing for anybody to play in front of, but especially at Junior level. ↩
Or thankfully, from a volunteer’s point of view. ↩
In most cases. ↩
With a built in lunch break, what a time to be alive! ↩
