Day 5. The day we beat Finland!!

Today was a special day. The Irish Junior Women got their first win at World Championships and we couldn’t be happier! It unfolded like something from a movie script. The girls brought a great focus to the game against Finland and went into it determined to get the win we’ve spoken so about so often this week. 

Before the game we spoke about what happened to us in Poland last year. For those of you unaware, we beat Poland on universe point (9-8) in the group stages on the Tuesday afternoon. This year we played Finland on Tuesday afternoon and lost to them 16-8. In Poland we went on to meet the Poles again in a placement game on Friday morning. We ended up losing 10-8 in the most heartbreaking of games. This year we met Finland for a second time on Friday morning and we were determined to reverse the pain felt by those on last years team and to get the win the girls on this year’s team so desperately deserved. Thankfully, there ended up being a beautiful symmetry to the story as the girls produced just what we asked of them.
We started by trading points to 4-4. The Fins getting off the mark first before we responded; Leanne assisting to Doireann. We kept in touch through the following scores; Caitlin to Aoife, Leanne to Caroline and Leanne to Edel. That left us level and well in the game, then Finland got the all important break to go 6-4 up. The girls didn’t panic though, keeping their cool to respond with two consecutive points of their own. Caroline assisted to Frankie and Kate O’Regan to Doireann. At 6-6 the Fins took the lead again before we responded by scoring twice to lead 8-7 at half time; Frankie to Caitlin and Aoife to Leanne. 

The girls were playing some lovely ultimate. They were implementing the three elements which we identified as being crucial to success against the Fins; preventing the hucks by fronting their big handlers, being careful not to turn inside our own brick mark but being patient and content to work the disc up from anywhere else on the pitch. We opted for less hucks, had confidence in our handler’s ability to swing the disc and in our cutter’s ability to get free under against the Finish zone.

We started on offence at the start of the second half but we couldn’t extend our lead, as Finland turned us and drew level. With time going during that point it was 8-8, game to 10. We scored a superb point to swing momentum back our way. We worked the disc up the field and got the score quickly, Caroline assisting to Frankie, who after months of hearing “two hands Frankie!!” finally listened :)  It was one of our best points of the week. We lead 9-8 and the huge contingent of both Irish and Fins on the sideline were getting very vocal as the open teams from both countries had turned out to support their women. 

We put on a strong line to try to win the game, needing only one more point. The Fins didn’t give in so easy though, forcing the game to universe point. We were on offence and decided to keep faith with the same seven. Things didn’t look so good when we turned early but as it had been all game, our defence was aggressive enough to get us the disc back as the girls worked tirelessly in an effort to see themselves over the finish line. 

We moved the disc up the field nicely and when the gap opened up a familiar partnership saw us to victory, Leanne to Caitlin, universe point victory. A disappointment from 12 months earlier put to bed for last years players. A well deserved victory finally secured. And the same two who scored the first ever Irish Junior Women’s point, combined again to score their most recent. Symmetry complete, queue the uncontrolled scenes of joy. There were screams and tears aplenty.  I only just managed to fight them back myself. I’ve never been so happy, or so proud of a group of players. Never have a team deserved a victory more than these girls did today. I’m just thrilled that they were able to end the tournament on a high and leave with a more tangible sense of achievement to show for the enormous level of progress they’ve made over the past number of months.

If you were there today you saw what this group of players are all about. You saw the potential for future successes and you saw the future of Irish Women’s ultimate. Having lost 16-8 to Finland on Tuesday we achieved a 9 point swing to turn matters in our favour today. The unfortunate thing is it makes you wonder what might have been had we put in a performance like that on Tuesday or had we held onto the lead we established against GB. 

I realise that all such thought is irrelevant, but it goes to show just how much closer we’re getting to achieving something truly special in this division. Unfortunately our second game of the day v Israel was cancelled due to pitch problems. That means our final position is still somewhat up in the air. But to be honest none of that really concerns me. It’s a pity that we couldn’t play Israel as it would have been another opportunity to get a win but I understand that our game was a tournament priority and with pitches in short supply we were understandably one of the first to get cut. That said, it didn’t stop me tormenting the tournament directors attempting to organise an alternative. Their job is not one I envy. In the end it was to no avail. On the bright side we got to end the week on a high. And that ne high has made it all worthwhile.
    
Ireland v Finland: Caitlin Looney (MVP), Caroline Sexton (MSP), Frankie Towers (A-Game).

Thanks to everyone who came out to support us over the week. Thanks to the parents of each of the players who’ve been so supportive over the past six months.  Thanks to Mary, Meabh and Sara without whom none of this would have happened. And most importantly thanks to the 19 players who’ve been an absolute pleasure to coach. 

Overall Awards: Caitlin Looney (MVP), Mags Carey (MSP), Estelle Murchan (A-Game).

What a great week! What a finale! 

Who are we?! GREEN ARMY!!

Signing off,

Hobs.
  

WJUC Day 4

Today was an emotionally draining one. We came agonisingly close to beating Great Britain, and not their U17 team, their U20s this time. There was a focus and determination about the girls this morning which was great to see because it was exactly what we spoke about at our team meeting last night. In a week like this there isn’t time to dwell on results and the girls went into the GB game as if it was game 1 on Monday. 
We traded to 2-2, Leanne assisting to Estelle and Caroline to Doireann. Then GB got a break, scoring two in a row to go 4-2 up. But our girls showed incredible fight to go on a run of their own, scoring three in a row to lead at half time 5-4; Leanne to Mags, Estelle to Niamh and Caitlin to JD. 

The girls were understandably excited at half time but we were anxious to keep them focused and remind them that there was nothing won yet. Having said that, things were looking very good. The girls were making good yards, deep threats were coming off and they were protecting our end zone well. They were running their legs off on defence and momentum seemed to have swung our way. 

GB levelled matters after the interval. But we retook the lead when Caitlin found Estelle. Sadly that’s where it ended for us. GB went on to score three in a row to see out the game 8-6. Its difficult to pin point what cost us. Fatigue certainly played a part, but so too did our inexperience when it comes to being in a winning position and seeing out games. GB, to their credit, didn’t panic and made life difficult for our handlers with a strong zone defence. At times we got a little trapped and were forced to make a lot of throws without gaining a huge amount of ground, perhaps in the end that’s what cost us. 

Leanne O'Neill (MVP), Caitlin Looney (MSP), Estelle Murchan (A-Game)

There was an empty feeling of an opportunity missed after the game. To come so close to a result which would have been so special, only to miss out was tough to take. While at times I feel like a broken record speaking about how far the team have come and how good they looked, I’m only doing so because I’m so convinced it’s true. They put so much into that game and played so well and most impressively, they played so smart! There aren’t too many Irish ultimate teams who can say they finished within two points of GB. The performance and even the score line is something to be proud of, but these girls are their own worst critics and they won’t be happy until they get a win. 

In our second game we played Japan at 12.30. Unfortunately it was our worst result and performance of the tournament so far. Having put so much into the GB game we simply had nothing left in the tank by the time Japan came around. What was more worrying was the onset of a sudden injury crisis which saw us lose four very important players. Caroline, Leanne and Lesley had to call it a day after the first two points while JD had been ruled out from the warm up. Losing four players like that was a huge blow and one from which we couldn’t recover. The 15 girls who were left fought to the bitter end but it was always going to be tough without the injured contingent. When you add the fact that we were just after a heart breaking defeat to GB, I think the Japan game is best off simply being consigned to history. 

Caitlin Looney (MVP), Aoife Blake (MSP), Laoise Murphy (A-Game)

The most disappointing thing is that a big crowd chose to turn out to watch us play Japan. I hope that those who were there realise that the performance they saw was not a fair representation of this team and the efforts they’ve put in this week. Despite our struggles we still managed to get on the score board; Leanne assisting to Estelle early on. Unfortunately that was the end of it as the Japanese went on to secure a comfortable 15-1 victory. I hope the spectators will stick with us and come out to support us tomorrow because I know the girls are determined to end their week on a high. We all promised ourselves last night that we’d treat today and tomorrow as two separate tournaments. Tomorrow is the last chance saloon and these are a proud bunch. I know they’ll fight to the bitter end to get the win they deserve. 

As for tomorrow, we’re still unsure about who we’re playing and at what time. The weather has led to a huge scheduling headache for the TDs, so we’re still awaiting an updated schedule. Going by the old schedule we’re due to play Israel and whoever came bottom of the Australia, France, Finland group. Results from which have not yet been posted online. We’ll update our facebook page with news as soon as we get it.

WJUC Day 3

Unfortunately today the weather put a dampener on the whole tournament. The tournament directors were forced to cancel one slot of games as torrential rain and gale force winds have left several pitches unplayable. My heart goes out to Dom, Louis and the rest of the volunteers who must have endured an awfully stressful day, as they tried to find a solution. Credit to them, they’ve implemented Plan B, found new pitches and shortened tomorrow’s games to 80 minutes and to 15. I hope for their sake and for ours, the weather proves more agreeable tomorrow. 

It’s a pity because during Monday and Tuesday I overheard numerous  members of the public asking about the sport, phoning people to tell them what was going on and being eager to support the Irish, as the tournament gathered a huge level of outside interest. That was thanks to two things, great weather and good quality ultimate. Sadly we had neither today as mother nature ruined every game as a spectacle. 

We played Japan at 9am. There was a heightened sense of tension around the game as five of our players were awaiting Leaving Cert results later in the day. I have to give huge credit to Caroline, Kate O’Regan, Jess MacSweeney, Mags and Niamh who have shown an enormous amount of maturity to balance study and ultimate commitments over the past few months as well as dealing with the ordeal of being in the strangest of environments when receiving their results. Well done girls. We’re all really proud of you!

With the wind as it was we knew this game was going to be decided by upwind points. We employed similar strategy to that which we used against Colombia, playing a zone and trying to choose our lines carefully so that we had strong up wind throwers on when playing against the wind and reliable heads to ensure we scored our down wind points. 

For the first two points all went to plan. Japan scored their down wind and we responded by scoring a Callaghan (a Callaghan is a name used to describe a point when a player unintentionally throws the disc to an opponent in the endzone. Similar to an own goal). Caitlin was the beneficiary as the Japanese struggled to get the disc off their end zone line as they threw up wind. 

Unfortunately they had no such trouble on their second attempt as they scored an upwind to make it 3-1. A bit of naivety on our part as we looked for too many passes near our own brick mark before punting it deep. 3-1 became 4-1 as Japan converted their down wind and we found ourselves behind early again. 

We continued to trade points, with everything being scored down wind. Caitlin assisted to Doireann before scoring her second Callaghan of the game, quite an achievement by anyone’s standards! Leanne assisted to JD and Caroline to leave the score 8-5 at half. We scored our opening down wind; Leanne to JD but we went on to conceded three in a row as Japan managed to work in another up wind score. 

We didn’t go down without a fight scoring again, Leanne to Caitlin, before Japan finished it off to leave us with a final score of Japan 12-7 Ireland. We didn’t get MVP, MSP and A-Game votes, as we were too preoccupied with sheltering from the rain after the game. We’ll have them for you in tomorrow’s blog.

Baring in mind that Japan are world champions at senior women’s level, I think 12-7 is a score line that not many people would have expected. It’s unfortunate that the game wasn’t as visually appealing as others we’ve played this week and that a bit of inexperience on our part may have cost us. But there’s undoubtedly lessons to be learned from that game. Hopefully we can take them on board as it looks likely that we’ll have a rematch against Japan tomorrow. 

For us Thursday and Friday now essentially become two mini tournaments in themselves. Three teams have progressed to the last six having topped their groups; Colombia, Canada and USA. The crossover games (between the 2nd and 3rd place finishers in each group), were scheduled to take place today but will now be played tomorrow morning. From my understanding those games are Germany v Israel, Italy v Japan & Australia v Sweden. The winners will progress to the top 6. The losers will become the top seeds in three new placement pools. 

Those pools will be as follows:
Pool F: Germany or Israel, Latvia & Russia
Pool G: Italy or Japan, Great Britain & Ireland
Pool H: Australia or Sweden, Finland & France

Everyone will play the other two teams in their pool, at the end of which all of the 3rd placed teams will go into a new pool for Friday to contest 15th-13th. All of the 2nd placed teams will contest 12th-10th and all of the winners will contest 7th-9th. I hope that’s correct and easy to understand. 

Tomorrow we play GB at 9am and the loser of Japan v Italy at 12.30, both at the DCU sports grounds. There’s nothing like Ireland v GB to draw a crowd so hopefully people will get up early and come out to support us. We know we have to treat these next two days as new tournaments. Hopefully we can get the win tomorrow which would almost guarantee we keep our seeding (12th). 

Time for bed. Hopefully 6 hours of sleep and no talking will do my vocal chords a bit of good.

Hobs

WJUC Day 2.

We went into today raring to go. We got up early to watch the first hour of the U20 Open team’s game v Latvia and it really put us in a good mood as we left the field with them in a commanding position. They went on to win the game 17-2. Well done lads!

Our first game was against Great Britain U17s, a team who we lost to this time last year by a score of 14-3. While the game wasn’t a competitive one, we didn’t treat it as such, as it was an opportunity for us to assess our progress over the past 12 months. Without doubt it was the best performance by an Irish Junior Women’s team to date. 

After getting off to a slow start we called an early time out with the intention of improving our defence. From that point on the girls were far more aggressive, pressurised every GB throw and quickly reaped the rewards. Aoife Blake got us off the mark, receiving a pass from Leanne who assisted a second to Caroline soon afterwards. Kate Boylan got a huge D block to keep our momentum going and we capitalised as Caitlin found Edel to make it 6-3. 

GB had a number of accomplished handlers, with many familiar faces from last year and they continued to make an impression on the scoreboard. Jess Daly (JD) and Doireann Ni Mhuineachain were putting in a superb effort on defence, forcing the turn to secure our fourth point; Leanne assisting to Mags. With the score 8-4 at half time we remained in touch. GB got the opening score of the second half but from then on the girls really started to put in a huge effort. 

Doireann went on to score our next three points; Leanne assisting on each occasion as big defensive efforts all round continued to pay dividends, as Caroline and JD proved responsible for two very important turn overs. Estelle Murchan, who looked custom made for our wing handler position against the GB zone found Niamh Carey unmarked in the end zone as we continued to ramp up the pressure on an increasingly shaky group of GB youngsters. 

Our man defence looked better than I had ever previously seen it and our girls looked hungry for victory as they edged closer and closer. A three point run put us within touching distance as Caitlin scored twice but we had surrendered too big of a lead to GB at the start and couldn’t maintain the pressure despite huge Ds from JD, Kate O’Regan and Mags. 

The closer the score line the more anxious we seemed to get as we began to force things a bit on offence. With the score 10-11 and momentum having swung our way, things were looking good but unfortunately we were punished for some rushed passes and GB put away the last two points to run out winners to a score of 13-10.

Leanne O'Neill (MVP), Doireann Ni Mhuineachain (A-Game), Caitlin Looney (MSP)

The girls were gutted after that loss. To have come so close to what would have been an incredible come back, but still lose out, was very tough to take. But we had to dust ourselves down and get back to business. We had a game against Finland at 3pm and nice and all as it would have been to get a win against GB, games against teams in our own division are the ones that count.  

Again we started poorly against the Fins. Finding ourselves 5-1 down early on and with a bit of a mountain to climb. The Finland zone was similar to our own. At times we swung the disc really well, rattling off a huge number of passes in succession and resisting the temptation to huck it long. But too often uncharacteristic errors cost us. Simple drops and throw aways were punished by two very strong Finish handlers and unravelled what so often was a sustained period of very good offensive flow on our part. That proved disheartening as tired bodies and minds meant we never really managed to claw ourselves back into the game. 

Leanne scored a point of her own when JD popped a disc off to her as she jumped into the end zone. But the Fins responded well and consistently put away their points. Leanne was back to assisting again soon afterwards as she threw to Doireann, Jess MacSweeney and Caitlin for scores. Defence remained strong as we continued to force turns, we simply failed to capitalise on our scoring opportunities with sufficient regularity. Caitlin assisted to Niamh for our last point before half, at which point we trailed 9-5. 

JD enjoyed great joy in the second half as our handlers found gaps in the Finish defence to make big gains threw the middle through her. She proved just as useful in the end zone, as Kate O’Regan found her for our first score after the interval. Aoife looked to have brought us right back into the game with an assist to Niamh but unfortunately a travel was called and we failed to put it in at the second time of asking. 

Estelle suddenly began to resemble a woman possessed on defence, as she made three interceptions in one point. But again a lack of focus on offence meant we were left frustrated  at not being able to convert our good defence into scores. Jess MacSweeney assisted to Caitlin to make it 10-7 but the longer the game went on, the more errors crept into our game. Finland seemed to have more in the tank in the closing stages and they put matters beyond us by scoring 5 in a row. 

With the score 15-7, game to 16, we were determined not to let the Scandinavians have it all their own way. Estelle threw to Doireann to stop the rot, but sadly the come back to beat all come backs didn’t materialise and we lost 16-8. 

Caitlin Looney (MVP), Estelle Murchan (A-Game), Mags Carey (MSP)

I find myself slightly frustrated that we couldn't replicate our GB performance against Finland. If we had managed to do so I think we could have beaten them. That said today had a lot of positives. When I reflect on how things were last year the improvement is huge. Last year the thought of 4 or 5 swings, with the disc travelling between three or four handlers on each occasion , would have been totally beyond us. Today it was common place. We continue to rack up respectable score lines against strong teams but that first win of the week still eludes us. The progress within the squad is clear to see, but it’s sometimes difficult not to be greedy and want wins to show for that improvement.  

That desire for a win is clearly evident within both the players and management of this squad, which in its essence is a great to see, but we mustn't allow it to consume us. Success for us can appear in several forms, it isn’t solely defined by the scoreboard. Today the girls implemented tactics which we’ve worked on and showed a desire and aggression in both games which for me is a form of success. I know that if we continue to do the things we did right today, I've no doubt that I’ll have the pleasure of reporting on a win before the end of the week. 

We play Japan first thing tomorrow morning. 

WJUC: Day 1

Day one over and I’m exhausted! I can only imagine how the players feel! We went into today knowing it was going to be incredibly tough. We were drawn in a group with reigning world champions, Colombia and European Championship Finalists, Germany. We played both today.

We started at 9am against Colombia in what were very windy conditions. Conditions which suited our zone defence down to the ground. After conceding the opening point, we scored with our first O point. The protagonists were familiar, Leanne O’Neill throwing to Caitlin Looney to get us off the mark for a second year in succession. Thankfully we weren’t made to wait nearly as long as we were last year.
The Colombian’s were good but they were frustrated by a combination of wind and our defence. We forced numerous turnovers which when playing down wind were punished by Leanne’s hucks.

When the team was picked all the way back in February  we asked the girls to set some goals. My favourite one, which was suggested by Mags Carey was that we score a point without turning over, a notion which would previously have been inconceivable . Had you told me at the time that it would happen in our opening game, against the world champions, in a viscous wind, I’m sure I wouldn’t have believed you. But that’s exactly how it happened, as Estelle Murchan brought it to a score of 6-3.

As the weather improved in the second half, the Colombian offence began to run a bit smoother and we struggled to turn them over with the same consistency we had previously enjoyed. We missed two good opportunities to add to our score, before Mags showed great awareness to call a poach and punish a loose Colombian defence. Caitlin found her unmarked as she burst into the front corner of the endzone and we had our fourth point.

The Colombians saw out the game in style and without doubt deserved their victory.  Their enthusiasm from the sideline was infectious and the girls really seemed to enjoy playing against them. We left the field with our heads held high. Final score Colombia 17 – 4 Ireland.

Mags Carey (MSP), Kate O'Regan & Jess Daly (A-Game), Caitlin Looney (MVP)

Next up was a game against Germany. A team who beat us 17-0 this time last year. With many of the same players in their squad again this year we knew they would be strong. In truth the entire German ultimate scene, across the board, is several levels above what it is in Ireland, never mind  the Junior Womens division which is in its infancy in this country still. The Germans were fast, athletic and each player had a full range of throws. They picked holes in our zone far easier than the Colombians did, something which we had expected from last year. That meant we resorted to man defence and while it led to an improvement, in truth we struggled to put adequate pressure on them. They are without doubt one of the teams in contention to win this tournament, but they didn’t get everything their own way. Again we got off to a good start and scored on our first O point, Caroline Sexton throwing the Jess Daly.

A bagel avoided, another goal achieved. While results may not look impressive to the untrained eye, today was overall very positive. We always knew it was going to be tough. We were going to have to scrap to the bitter end for every point against those two teams , we did and we scored five. The day allowed us to ease our way into the tournament and tweak our tactics against strong opposition before playing the teams closer to our level. Nobody would have been surprised if we lost both games 17-0 today and we didn’t allow that to happen. 

It takes real character to keep your head up and fight for points when you’re being well beaten. This team have proved, not just today, but in every game that they’ve played in the build up to this tournament, that they have the character to threaten the score board right to the very end.

Caroline Sexton (MSP), Ciara Corrigan (A-Game), Caitlin Looney (MVP)

Tomorrow we face a very strong GB U17 team who beat Japan U20s today. After that it’s a game against the slightly unknown quantity of Finland. Hopefully this time tomorrow I’ll have good news to report. Thanks to everyone for the support and good wishes. And a special mention of thanks to Darragh Kelliher whose massage stick is keeping our team intact. Sara has rubbed out everyone’s muscles, team meeting over, time for bed.

Hobs

Leaving Cert results, prospective college destinations and World Championships with Kate O'Regan

1. You're just over 24 hours away from your second tournament as an Irish player. I bet when a group of chancers from UCC turned up at your school to do a transition year workshop, you never expected it to lead to this?

Yeah, I'm all packed up and waiting like an excited puppy! I think after my first go of huck and read I pretty much was hucked, but no, I really never imagined that just over a year later I'd be in Poland wearing the green jersey! I remember thinking that flicks were absolutely impossible at the workshop! After about 15 minutes of attempting them, I think only one or two actually came off! Thankfully, my flicks are just a little bit better now :L

2. Travelling to Poland last summer for EYUC must have been some experience. What is your abiding memory from the week?

It was easily the best week of my life but I have a feeling that worlds is going to give it a run for its money! I think if you asked anyone from last year that question it would definitely be Mairead's catch against Poland on universe point! It was nail biting stuff on the sidelines and I don't think that anyone, Caitlin included, thought that was going to come off. Just goes to show you should never doubt the abilities of a determined Tipp woman! Thank god for the camera work of Sara Hobson (legend) that we have that moment on camera and can watch it again and again.. and again. 

3. Last year 50% of the squad was made up of school mates of yours. Without Christ King it's unlikely that an Irish Junior Women's team would have come about. What was it like playing for your country alongside such a close group of friends? 

Christ King representin'.. I think the fact that so many of my school friends were there really enhanced the whole experience! All our school trainings were more focused because Poland was set in our sights. We were able to ask each other questions every day in school and bounce ideas off each other. It was really good to share such a class week with the ckss girls and of course all the other frisbee friends we made too! I'm so so grateful to anyone who took time out at some stage or another to train us!

4. This years squad boasts a lot more experience than last year, between an increase in college players and 7 players returning from last years junior team. Do you expect that to make a difference next week?

I definitely think that the addition of more experienced players can only benefit us next week. With more experience comes far more confidence in your own ability and your confidence in the team as a whole. This year we had a lot of warm up games and even a warm up tournament so we could really gel as a team on the pitch. Individually players have more experience but we also have a lot more experience of playing together as a team this year too, which makes me really excited for next week!

5. Last year you played primarily as a cutter but you've been handling from the get go this year. Did you make a conscious decision to move back to handle and which position do you prefer?

With Christ King I used to always handle but on the Irish team last year there were many strong handlers so I slotted back in as a cutter. This year it just seemed to happen that I was back handling and to tell the truth I feel more comfortable as a handler! Without a doubt however my stint as a cutter benefited me in the long run as a handler. I understand better now where the cutter wants the disc and when they'll clear out, and try and cater for this with my throws. 

6. There is so much ultimate going on in Cork these days. It must be quite exciting to be part of it? Why on earth would you consider going to college in Aberdeen...? ;)

The ultimate scene in Cork is growing so fast! It's really exciting to be a part of it, especially the surge in women's Ultimate in Cork. CUPA's also been amazing this year to have regular training, something which wasn't really available last year. About that..Me going to college in Aberdeen is actually a cunning cover story for my scouting of British players to come play for Rebel!

7. You're a Rebel player. We've played against them in a number of warm up games in the lead up to Worlds. Why haven't we been able to beat them? 

We did come close at Munster Munch and it was gutting to let our hard fought early lead slip. We were all raring to go when we played them at our last training weekend but it just didn't work out for us. I think their enthusiasm, experience and dedication really shone through in the end. Seeing the intensity they brought to each game with far less players gave us a good look at what we have to rise to at Worlds. We realised that everyone will have to give it their all and strive to always bring their A-game as Rebel did against us. Rebel were always very alert and I think their quick change from D to O punished us greatly, but at least we know now how snappy we need to be now on the turn!

8. A question from Ciara Corrigan: 
We all know you were busy juggling frisbee training with the all important leaving cert study during the year and now worlds is the week that the results come out, are you glad to have the tournament to distract you or will you be a bit sad that you'll miss out on receiving your results at home and celebrating with your non-frisbee friends? Also are you more nervous about it seeing as these results will determine which college you'll be playing ultimate with next year :P

At first I wasn't so sure, but now that it's closer I'm very glad that I have the tournament to distract me from results! Whenever anyone says good luck for Wednesday my initial thought is our game against Japan, then I realise they mean results! I'm glad I'm avoiding the hype of calling into school and being summoned to the principal's office to get The Brown Envelope! I'm sure there'll be plenty of time for celebrating/drowning my sorrows after worlds and for the rest of the summer! These results have a big say in whether I'll be playing for UCD or scouting in Aberdeen next year, serious stuff! Any Irish college without a solid Ultimate team didn't make the cut for my CAO!


9. Now that we know who's in our group who are you most looking forward to playing in the first five games and who would you like to take on in the latter stages?

Firstly I'm absolutely gutted that Poland and Czech aren't playing, I was looking forward to a couple of grudge matches. I think everyone on the team is nervously awaiting our opening game against wjuc 2010 winners Colombia. It'll be our first match at worlds and most likely will be our greatest test of spirit but I think it'll be fantastic to play against a team of that standard. A target of ours is to try our hardest to beat our seeding so I think games against Isreal and France would be warmly welcomed by the girls!

10. Kate Boylan is next up. Do you have a question for your namesake? 

Ah she's so hot she's Boooylan :L were you nervous about meeting the girls at the first training weekend since you didn't know any of us? :)

Interview with Trinity's Ciara Corrigan

1. Hi Ciara, Worlds is just around the corner. You must be getting excited?

Hey hey, yup tis hard to believe really, so excited about it now amid the chaos of packing for it!:) Watching the Olympics has definitley helped add to that excitement, especially Katie Taylor winning the gold, no doubt the same sized crowd that turned out to support her will be out to support us in DCU next week :p

2. As a Kilkenny woman its almost a given that you have grown up playing sport with a stick in your hand. What convinced you to trade your hurley and hockey stick for a frisbee? 

Yeah I think every Kilkenny girl has a stab at camogie at some point and I suppose I always like to try new sports, at this rate I've gone through phases of being mad into swimming, horse riding, yoga, even gymnastics so when my sister started coming home from college going on about this frisbee lark I was tempted to give it a go and haven't looked back since really. Its crazy to think really that after only a year of playing we are getting this amazing opportunity to play at an International level which is something I never could have dreamed about doing with other sports.


3. Playing with Trinity you're part of a bit a dynasty of women's varsity ultimate. You must have learned loads from your team mates during your first year? 

Yeah most definitely, I owe them all so much especially Jen Kwan for investing so much time and effort as captain into us beginners. They are such an amazing group of girls that have serious determination and they have this crazy ability that once they put their minds to something they can put the work in and get the results and thats really something I think us Juniors would hope to achieve. 

 4. Having a close up view of players with such a wealth of international experience training every week, must have been inspiring. As a beginner was it ever intimidating?

I think in the beginning we found it hard to believe they were ever once as clueless at the sport, it was hard to imagine that they were ever once as bad at cutting or throwing as I was. It was definitely very inspiring to know though that it's possible for players to come on so much in a year, Anne being a great example of that as last years captain. They were definitely anything but intimidating though as people, its that kind of sport where everyone is so encouraging and positive and if anything playing against a high standard always helps spur others on to play your best so lets hope that's the case for us at worlds. 

5. Have you any embarrassing stories from your first year as an ultimate player?

Ha, well strictly speaking on the pitch of course,  nothing majorly embarrassing really springs to mind just silly things like my ability to  trip over my own feet often or running in the wrong direction which happened lots in the beginning, also running into people...off the pitch is perhaps a different matter


6. Presumably you didn't know any other players when you made the Irish team. How have you settled into the group?

Yeah true, I knew of some of the other girls from dublin and of course I had heard great things from Anne and Gemma about the cork crowd from last year so I wasn't surprised to find that everyone was as happy and friendly as ultimate people tend to be. We have really gelled well over the past few months but going from all the girls have said about their time in Poland last year there's no doubt we'll be closer than ever after Worlds :)

7. Now that we know who we'll be playing in our first 5 games the excitement is really building. What were your thoughts when you saw who was in our group?

Seeing the schedule made things really hit home about how intense the week is going to be especially coming up against two strong teams Colombia and Germany on the first day alone. Naturally I felt a bit nervous but I know we have it in us as a team to put up a serious fight against all the teams we are facing and so I know myself and the girls are raring to go and show everyone what we're made of.

8. A question from Leanne O'Neill. Ah good old Trinnitah. How does it feel to be the sole representative from Trinity and did you enjoy your time down here in the real capital for all those training weekends?

Well I suppose since the nickname has stuck (thanks to you Leanne) its hard to forget I'm the only 'Trinnitah' girl.  Of course I was always really looking forward to heading to langerland all those weekends as anyone who has been lucky enough to have the amazing Carey household hospitality would understand and sure nothing beats those banterful bonding sessions. 

9. Time to dish the dirt on your team mates.. Who's the biggest chatter box in the group? 

 Trying to get me in trouble with the girls here I see!:) Well obviously all the Cork girls combined share the biggest chatter box title seeing as they seem to all have taken one too many trips to kiss to the blarney stone. There's never a quiet moment when we're all together which is great 

10. Who spends more time worrying about their make up than their throws? 

Ha, to be honest I've heard more of the girls worrying about their piercings than their make up and sure don't ya know we are all far to focused on our throws to be worrying about stuff like that. :) In saying that though, I think there will be serious in depth make up, hair and clothes talk in the run up to the end of tournament celebrations. You have been warned 

11. We're interviewing someone from Christ King next. Do you have a question for Kate O'Regan, Jess Mac, Mags, Niamh or Caroline?  

Well I suppose seeing as how they all just finished 6th year this question is relevant to any of them really.
We all know they were busy juggling frisbee training with the all important leaving cert study during the year and now worlds is the week that the results come out, are they glad to have the tournament to distract them or will they be a bit sad that they'll miss out on recieving their results at home and celebrating with their non-frisbee friends? Also are they more nervous about it seeing as how these results will determine which college they'll be playing ultimate with next year :P