USA Ultimate Releases Nationals Seeding, Schedule

[ceisenhood (Charlie Eisenhood)]

The seeding and schedule for the 2016 USA Ultimate National Championships–set to take place September 29th through October 2nd in Rockford, Illinois–have been announced! Below is the seeding in each Division, links to Score Reporter for the full schedule, and some discussion of the seeding and pools. Much more to come later this week.

Men's Division

Discussion

• The Men’s Seeding looks almost exactly as Ultiworld predicted, although High Five and Patrol have swapped places. That’s probably a more welcome sight for High Five, as Pool B sets up a colossal battle between two preseason favorites, Revolver and Sockeye. Pool B also has some serious pedigree: three of its teams (Revolver, Sockeye, and Doublewide) are former National champions.

• With the new format eliminating the bottom finisher of each pool before Friday, Thursday’s intensity should be markedly higher than in recent years.

• Pool A is surprisingly compelling after Ironside, who will be the big favorite in all three games. PoNY, Prairie Fire, and Ring of Fire all have a clear case for their ability to make the bracket.

Mixed Division

• The big question coming into seeding the Mixed Division was what would happen with shame. The team finished fifth in the rankings, but was dropped all the way to the ninth seed, presumably because of a lack of high-level competition during the season. Otherwise, USA Ultimate relied heavily on the rankings, as expected, despite a lot of big upsets so far in the postseason. The top two seeds at the tournament did not win their respective Regionals.

• Shame. will definitely get tested in Pool D, where they match up with perennial powerhouses Seattle Mixtape and Mischief.

• The parity displayed at Regionals in the Mixed Division could suggest some big surprises in pool play. The top three seeds in every pool have shown the capacity to get some very good wins at points during the year. The one seeds don’t feel nearly as safe as they do in other Divisions.

Women's Division

• Our predicted seedings matched the actual seedings perfectly this year in the Women’s Division, which shows just how stratified the teams were this season.

• The Fury v. Scandal matchup in pool play is an obvious must-watch, while the top two seeds – Riot and Brute Squad – look likely to breeze through pool play.

• You have to wonder how much teams will even exert themselves against the top seeds, especially with the danger of tiring for later games and potentially missing the bracket.
  
  Originally published at: https://ultiworld.com/2016/09/17/usa-ultimate-releases-nationals-seeding-schedule/

[AdRock]

I never have to scroll down very far to read about male ultimate players. For those who say that it should be presented first since it’s the most popular, have you considered that its presentation contributes greatly to making it so? For those who never noticed the order of presentation, please consider that this very lack of noticing is part of the problem as well as a privilege for those well-served by the status quo.

[ceisenhood (Charlie Eisenhood)]

You comment something to this effect on almost every article that we publish about all three divisions. We keep it simple: we post in alpha order.

[GetupGetdown]

It’s ordering of things in an article.

Stop looking for an excuse to get angry. You make the entire movement for gender equity look stupid and lose credibility when you consistently choose this ‘battle’ to fight.

[nick_buccelli]

Charlie, first of all, great work with the site. Awesome resource for the community.

As a reader who enjoys Ultiworld, I’d like to suggest that you take AdRock’s suggestion seriously, apart from whatever ongoing conversation/relationship you two might have. If it’s simple and not a big deal, why not just put women’s ultimate first?

As for that question at hand, do you think that it’s a total coincidence that women’s sports are always listed second? As ultimate frisbee players, we like to pride ourselves on the spirit of the game, on why ultimate is this amazing community-oriented model for sports that can STILL be competitive at the highest level. So if we’re so up for being radically different, why should ultimate adhere to a status quo in sports in general that strongly preferences men’s athletics?

Here’s the thing: more media attention to women’s sports => more opportunity for interest = more encouragement and opportunity for young girl athletes = continued rise of competition level, and more importantly, more opportunity for those girls to become the athletes that they can and want to become.

So, we can start with a seemingly trivial discussion of whether it’s more or less fair to be listed first or second, but this is not disconnected from whether it’s more or less fair to have equal access to athletic programs or to ultimately (no pun intended) be paid fairly.

And, yes, journalism and presentation of sports has a BIG role to play in that equation. Perhaps you’re not activist-minded, which is fine, but Ultiworld’s platform as a fantastic and growing media locus does matter, and I think that’s worth recognizing. And again, if it’s really not a big deal, why not just switch it up? Sure bet everyone will notice, and the thoughts that go through their heads when they do will have a positive impact.

Sorry this is a little rambly, lastly, I’ll say that this interview with Abby Wambach is super worth listening to:
http://www.npr.org/2016/09/14/493831738/why-abby-wambach-doesnt-want-to-be-known-just-as-a-soccer-player

[nick_buccelli]

I don’t want to pick a fight, but I feel like this clearly makes you kind of upset and I wonder why? That is kind of a usual reaction when challenging the status quo.

-why do those comments make the movement for gender equity look stupid? it’s probably a really good conversation to have about what the most effective avenues to gender equity would be. maybe listing women’s sports first matters or not, but I’d be interested in hearing the argument why not.

-why does bringing this up make AdRock lose credibility?

Just some stuff to think about for everyone.

[AdRock]

Thanks for taking the time to respond, Charlie! I only recall addressing this particular aspect of gender inequality here once before, but I could be wrong. Regardless, I appreciate that Ultiworld does have a ratíonale, even if it isn’t the one I’d chose. Thanks so much for this wonderful place to read about and discuss the sport we love!