Women's Outdoor Regional CHAMPIONS!

Ro Sham Bo Women Champions of Scotland! 

Last weekend, Edinburgh University Ultimate Women's team made history as the first ever Regional Outdoor Champions. With BUCs points being up for grabs, as well as the title of Scottish Champions, there was no doubt the two day event was going to be intense.

Captained by GB U23's player Natasha Lim, the 13-strong squad was seeded 1^st- a position they held the whole weekend. After winning all of their pool games- and only ceding 6 points the whole day- the team had a late start on Sunday with their semi final vs Dundee Women. A slightly shaky start resulted in a time out, with Lim asking the team to give it their all. They gave that and then some, and headed to the final determined to win the rematch with Glasgow Women.

A 15 minute long first point showed just how much both teams wanted to take the title. Edinburgh played with calm heads, and pushed through some tough defense played by the Glasgow side. After trading point-for-point, with some great plays by both sides, Edinburgh started to pull ahead. A heart stopping final point saw a huge throw from Serene to the endzone, with Amanda pulling it in to secure Edinburgh the point and the title. 

The Women's team went in hard on Saturday morning, and by the time they walked away from the final- medals in hand- they had shown they are a force to be reckoned with come Nationals.

Featuring *

Natasha " I'll only miss training when I'm dead" Lim

Carissa " Let's make them mad" Tong

Serene " Handblocks are easy" Ng

Kathleen " I'm ill and I'll still huck it, what's your excuse" Beekman

Amanda " She just appears out of nowhere" Chan

Annie " Don't worry I'll be screaming at you" Bechtel

Kate " What broken hand?" Stafford

Chin " Now watch me bid, now watch me nae nae" Yoxin

Jessica " Lemme just make this huge block and I'll be right there" Lam

Megan "  PHD in KICKING ASS" Melanson

Sara " The plaits make me run faster" Fritsch

Emily " What do you mean she's never played before" Pocock

Sarah " Throw a Scooper" Cooper

*I made these up. But not all of them.

Written by Annie Bechtel and photos by Sarah Cooper

Stirling Tune Up 2014

I think it is fair to say that everyone who came to Stirling Tune Up had an incredible time and returned to Edinburgh already reminiscing about the weekend and suffering from post-tournament depression.

Both teams played hard and partied even harder!
RoShamJoe, captained by Joe Gayeski of course, performed outstandingly over the weekend with impressive flow, communication and pace to their game and came 7th place in the tournament. 


RoShamJoe


The RoShamDollaz team, captained by Matt Fletcher, demonstrated some impressive play on the field and fought hard for every single point. After some extremely close scores and unfortunate losses at universe point, RoShamDollar came 14th place, narrowly beating the place for the spoon award much to the captain's disappointment.


 

RoShamDollaz

So, we asked the captains to give a description of each of the members and what each individual brought to the team. First up is from captain Joe:

Ro Sham Joe

Kate – This weekend we saw Stafford undergo an ultimate metamorphosis from a wide-eyed beginner into an authoritative cutter (who still has some pretty big eyes). Littleton MA’s finest made her potential known when few marks could handle her cuts under, forcing them to trail woefully behind and admire that cat tattoo. While her marks were spacing out, Kate was in the space, ready to get her claws on that disc. Kate “Cake” Stafford proved a reliable part of The Machine, and is set to keep the flow going on the pitch AND at the party for the next four years.

Rocket – the Beast of the Borders. The Red Rocket. Mr. Burrows, Christopher. All names that strike fear in the hearts of those unlucky enough to mark him. Rocket’s cutting pattern was the essential link from handler to endzone, and this weekend we saw his confidence behind the disc as well. We owe it to Rocket for lubing The Machine with the tears of his defenders as their hamstrings tightened in defeat.

 Banjo – Berkeley must be hurtin’ while their tree-tall Crimson Dynamo demonstrates his mastery of the 175g with us here in Scotland. Banjo handled. Banjo moved. Banjo laid out. Banjo partied. Add that together and what do you have? A turbo-boost into The Machine that secured discs in the endzone. A turbo boost, my friends, that won games AND the party.

 Jay – Jays eternal smile can be read two ways: as a friendly inviting gesture, or as the sinister grin of Beezlebub as he breaks and destroys his marks as if there was nothing holy in this world. Jay’s reliable throws ensured our cutters put their hands on the plastic, and his handler movement kept The Machine grinding. Despite my advice, Jay’s signature Raining Hammers led to some beautiful scores. Leyla would have been proud to see them.

 Alyshia – If you haven’t heard, Alyshia is f’ing serious, ya cheeky wee deck. The rookie from Dollar Academy tore up the field and dialed in her cuts more and more each game. Scottish Ultimate should be shaking in its boots – Ms. McCracken is a storm abrewin’, about to unleash lighting and suffering upon her opponents. Ro Sham, get psyched: Alyshia will be a thunderous part of The Machine for years to come.

 Lizzie “Giroux” LeCompe – Ro Sham is lucky that the proud captain of the Philadelphia Flyers could take time out of the busy NHL season to throw plastic at us. Lizzie LeCompe (a.k.a Lindsey Giroux) made blinding cuts and was always chilly behind the disc – chillier than all the summits of each Rocky Mountain combined. That ice-cold pressure defines LeCompe/Giroux/Lindsay’s style of play, and enabled The Machine to send chills down spines all day both days.

 Rick – Rick is a man of his word. A visionary, if you will. When he says he’ll do something, you bet your bottom pound he’s sure has hell gonna do it. He envisioned a cuts so deep you’ll need stitches, and when those cuts brought down discs in the endzone, he had the other team receiving dental-floss sutures from veterinarians in hostel bathrooms. Rick proved himself a versatile player – confident in both cutting positions and in utility. Rick’s versatility strengthened The Machine and brought it into four-wheel drive.

 Tobias – Everyone on both the pitch and the sideline was left in an awestruck admiration of Toby’s hybrid animalism – One moment he was tip-toeing the endzone line to bring down points like a proud cat on a fence, the next he was a f’ing Danish hawk on defense, tearing down discs out of the sky. When not providing deep existential commentary to Scotland’s chipshop employees, Tobias keeps himself busy by destroying offences and punishing weak defenses Scandinavian-style.  He also had The Machine’s best beard (by default).

 Ming – The Monster of Malaysia, ming’s quick-step style of play was spicier than his motherland’s noodles. Ming was the key cut from the utility position for the swing, and swing, swing, swing he did. Ming’s lightning cuts provided for our continuation up the pitch, a mighty piston within the engine of The Machine.  If he’s from KL, well lemme tell ya, he was KL’in it!

Chris Habgood – “Good Evening. Welcome to BBC World Service News, I’m Christopher Habgood. Last weekend, several ultimate frisbee teams from across Scotland came to compete against my team, Edinburgh University’s Ro Sham Bo. Despite valiant efforts, I crushed their dreams with my bare hands. Unconfirmed sources report many young hopeful opponents retreated teary-eyed to their mums. Our senior analysts conclude my success was due to my gargantuan reach, intelligent cutting, and increasingly consistent throws. As of now, no apologies are expected from The Machine. Thank you for listening, I’m Christopher Habgood, in Edinburgh. Good night”

 Avi Sheldon – Avi plays ultimate like the traffic in his home state – aggressive, unapologetic, and merciless. Our resident Masshole was a magnet in the endzone, and he even had a big fat hat trick. Mr. Sheldon mystified opponents by finding open space where there seemed to be none – the mark of true cutting talent. Avi’s goal-scoring cuts were a punishing mechanism of The Machine: just keep that kid away from libraries, OK?

 Julia – Our Gateway to the Midwest became their Gateway to Distress as Julia left the pitch in absolute shreds. The Washington University import exhibited surgical precision in her cutting and quick learning in the utility position – they must teach them somethin’ in Missouri. She ain’t all Midwest though – the native New Englander showed her classic regional stubbornness when she wouldn’t concede a damn thing to Mojo in our last game on Saturday. Julia accelerated The Machine to victory. Put that on the fridge at home.

Kristi – The team mom we were proud to make proud. Her cookies fueled The Machine and her banter contributed to Ro Sham’s party victory. She also has an extra-special sweetspot for certain Disney characters, so that’s kind of funny. Thanks for holding the spirit sheets, Team Mom!

and next from Captain Fletch:

Ro Sham Dollaz

More than a team, this was a journey, a voyage of discovery.
 
Captain $$$ Matthew Fletcher Get real. Who writes about themselves in these things?
 

Andy "not that one" Murray - Introducing one of Ro Sham's 4 year Grad Entry students. Andy was our go to handler all weekend. Despite managing to wreck his calf, he played on like a troop. Andrew has more hammers than a hardware store and i was never one to turn them down, does he like throwing scores? yes. Did he and then some? Yes.
 

Ben "Flatmate's Choice" Preston- I'd like to remind everyone that Preston started playing frisbee in September 2013. YEAH, SERIOUSLY. If there was a pull play that needed running or a deep shot was worth taking,
I put Preston there as our handler, his throws and competence are just excellent.
 
Matt "The Arm" Woods - The Arm. Thats a noun because his arm deserves more respect from you than anyone else in your life. I've been fending off call's from Billy Beane after his performance this weekend. It transpires that woodsy has a brutal flick huck so became a one man pull play for the weekend. As he won both MVP and MIP for the team, you can see how that panned out.
 
Eleanor "GODDAMNIT FLETCH I'M OPEN" Moir -There comes a point at stall 7 when you really would appreciate someone open on the field. Not only open but somehow 10m clear of their defender and switched on to receive with the throws to make use of their position. "Oh Hi Eleanor". All weekend Eleanor was our much needed panic button, ready to receive with an upfield look, thank you.
 

Tamsin "I'll be here next point too" McIver -Tamsin likes to get open on the undercut, she really likes doing that. Like really. She also likes catching things, like really. She is also very patient and makes few poor decisions. All of the above are useful skills for a frisbee player, the last skill is a golden trait. It was said at the end of the weekend that Tamsin has consistency and goddamnit they weren't lying.
 
Andreea "The Executor" Lee- As a captain it's helpful when you have receptive players that listen to your instructions and execute. Andreea is pretty good at not requiring the instructions! I remember zero times when i had to correct something she was doing or give her a pointer. She was focused throughout and did exactly what was required after hearing it once. Definitely a girl to watch.

Blinne "Mariana Trench" Finnegan -. There is one thing you need to know about the Mariana trench, it's the deepest place on earth. I'm gonna assume thats where Blinne is from because damn this girl can run. I believed in Blinne's deep looks so much that she was my go-to threat in a pull play. I reckon that with a little more practise, we could have walked our way to first place with the Wood's flick huck to Blinne score. Magic was being made.
 
Benji "One more on the board please" P-s Every team needs a decent end zone threat that gets on board with a handler and gets some synergy going. Enter Benji, who was my continuity specialist. Brilliant security on the disc made this guy a strong end zone target. The astonishing thing was that due to the language barrier it was towards the end of day one that the "Open side" was explained properly, he'd been doing in instinctively! Abosolutely incredible.
 
Megan "PHD - Potential Hyperawesome Disorder" Melanson- If i could chat here about dance moves and party abilities in face of the fact that you have a PHD waiting for you back at home I'd start talking about Megan. But that isn't what we're talking about here. Megan revealed something in the circle at the end of the tourney "i need to work on my flick - i didn't throw one all weekend…" wait a minute. We were forced flick ALL WEEKEND. I also never noticed this happening, as she never threw the disc away. that means that we may have on our hands the first Ro Sham player to throw an ENTIRE tournament's worth of breaks!! Now if you aren't even vaguely impressed by that, i don't know what you will be.

Erasamus "Big Guy" Haggblom- Blaze could only identify erasamus as "the big guy" on the line and to be honest, it kind of suits him. Erasamus is a presence on the field, his confidence is a big help on the line. But confidence doesn't score points, but Erasamus does! Scores galore from this guy. The Finn was able to cruise by marks into the space. Word of Warning, he has an lethal high-five after scoring so maybe settle for a pat on the back…

Angus "ANGUS ANGUS ANGUS" Millar- Our JTM needs little in the way of an introduction. He's a D Machine, huge wide force makes breaking a nightmare and my word he touches the sky a lot. The famous ANGUS ANGUS point with all of Ro Sham Joe watching his back was definitely a tourney highlight for me. Huge sky D, followed by a turn, followed by ANOTHER SKY D. We like turning over just to watch him play D again.
 
Tobias "The German Utility" Griessler- "Tobi, what do you wanna do?" "hmm, utility" Tobi was alongside Eleanor in the panic button core. A utility specialist, he would (dare i say arrogantly) pounce from the front of stack just as you were about to start crying at the lack of options , sweep up the disc and move it on before you could say "Ein Gross Bier Bitte?" Another reminder here is that alongside Preston, Tobi is another member of the class of '13. 
  OVERALL.... a fantastic tournament....

and did we mention we won the party prize?? SPRRIIINNNGG BREEAAAKK!

'Player' Profile: Leyla

Starting the Player Profile this year will be, not a player but, our most valuable mascot and a committed member of the team... Leyla!



The basics...

Leyla is a Golden Retriever/ Collie mix and is now 5 and 1/2 years old

Repertoire of tricks... 

Sit, stay, spin, up, down, roll over, crawl, figure 8, play dead, and R-Kelly (pees on command)

Favourite toy...

Her first Xmas present: a Teddy bear

Favourite Ro Sham Bo member (after Jay of course)...

Hrmmm, probably Nicole! It was touch and go when they first met, but now they're besties 



Favourite hobby...

Making doggy friends on the meadows, eating dirt, and cuddles

I bet you didn't know....

Leyla was worth 15 dollars at a shelter in Indiana!

She didn't bark for the first year that Jay owned her!

Interview with Jay Norm

First post in 2 years!

Welcome back to the blog!!

Here we will post the latest Ro Sham news, events, match results and maybe even bring back some old traditions such as 'player profiles' and 'where are they now' articles... watch this space...

We are delighted to have so many new members joining our team this year, both experienced and beginners. The club has been busy attending fresher fairs, running taster sessions and various social events to welcome our newest members. Over the past two weeks, our beginners have been learning new skills and tactics in the training sessions. Already, we have seen great improvement in their play!



Sports Fair 2014

Here are some pictures of our beginners putting what they have learnt into practice during games.



Sunday 21st September training

Glasgow One-day 2012

As most of you know last Sunday (7^th October) was the annual one day tournament in Glasgow. A chance for the beginners to play more indoors and a chance the Open squad to get some pitch time in before regionals. 

Beginners team:
Duffuls ©
Noblett ©
Fraser
Keir (MVP)
Jools
Pepe
Wojtek
Fletch

Experience Team:
Ross W © (injured)
Noblett
Deniz
Ben W
Ben K
Ross M
Nigel
Alex
Jake
Gaffers (MVP)

The beginners squad started off their campaign by playing against Flatball. They came through with a convincing victory, especially for a group of people that have played very little together: 9-2.  This was then followed by a solid speech from Hamish Duff “Your squad has a lot of diversity which worked well at times".  A man of few words, thankfully.

The experienced then played against Flatball and in a strange case of almost-Déjà vu the score line read Ro Sham 8 - Flatball 2. Not quite as good as our beginners counter parts, but a solid victory for the boys. 

The beginners then played against Farflung and during this game the boys were looking unstoppable. Some great grabs and a very slick looking offence lead to them hitting score cap sealing their first 11-0 victory. Mmmm bagels.

The experience were playing against Glasgow Club ultimate. A ropey start from our boys and a very fast and fluid play from Glasgow we lost 9-6. Kicked down, but by no means out of the tournament yet.

The beginners then had their next game against pick up and we thought it would be a good chance for the experienced side to show the begginers how to play indoors. The plan was to go 100% for the first 4 points, go 4-0 up and then ease off the gas and let them try some new stuff. Apparently the beginners weren't going to let us do that. After the first 3 points it was 2-1 to the old guys. Some great plays from the beginners, burning us deep, skying us on more occasions then I am proud of. This game was not going to be one that the experience could “ease off the gas for” these boys made us work hard for the entire game. But as the buzzer went it was 8-7 to the experience we managed to retain our dignity but only just.

The experience then went to play Horses and off the back of our “victory” against the beginners we had something to prove and a game to win. 8-7 to the good guys, both teams going into the semi-finals.

The beginners were playing Dundee and the experienced were playing Dundee. I’d like to say that we both came out victorious but once again it was the beginners showing the experienced how things should be done.  Beginners through the final, experience sent with their tail between their legs to go fight it out for 3/4.

The experience game came first and it was against Blaze. They were looking solid and we were not playing good enough D to shut them out. We were then making silly mistakes on O to let them capitalise on their lead, they went 6-3 up. Highlight of the match: Gaffers screaming and kicking a wall (we all love angry Gaffers). But like the little mouse in the bucket of cream, the boys kept of kicking and they turn that bucket into cheese. Bring it back to 10-10 all, universe point. Boys on D needed to get a block and put the score in, and that is just what they did. 11-10 Ro sham can go home with their head held high and watch the beginners play in their first ultimate final (of many).

Beginners were playing against Horses in the final. Well fought game that the beginners made look all too easy.  The scoreline may have looked close at times but the boys never looked in any danger of losing the game. Coupled with some great puts from both the captains they won the final with ease. Highlight of the final comes from Fletch. Picture this: he is on Defence, the disc is thrown to his man who has doubled back on his cut and miles away from getting a bid on it. Fletch runs past it a chest height and lets out a massive “boooom!” shout and he smashes that disc out of the air. Living up the Ro Sham title he didn’t even know that he had. Classic.

Great day all-round. The Experienced guys got a chance to try out their new Offence plays and have a few things to work on before regionals in just under a fortnight’s time. The beginners got to show the rest of Scotland that Ro Sham has huge prospects for the future. Does anyone remember who won MVP of Glasgow one day final in his first year? I heard he went on the play for GB or something like that… the future is looking very bright for all the beginners this year.

Ross Walder

Tournament Recap: Edinburgh Invite

 By Tom McClintock

Welcome readers to the first ever Tournament Recap here on Ro Sham Blogs. This weekend saw the hometown heroes host the Edinburgh Invite. As this is the first tournament since the inception of this blog we are breaking new ground here. Hopefully we'll be able to provide coverage of all of our future tournaments, especially Regional and National Championships. So without further adieu, let's get rolling!


Setting the Stage:
Edinburgh Invite was intended to give Scottish Uni teams a chance to compete in a one day event in the midst of most student's finals before the most important weekend of the year: the National Championships next weekend. With Aberdeen Mojo and Stirling Blaze unable to attend, this left Ro Sham Bo and the Shooting Stars to battle it out. A third team dubbed themselves the Edinburgh Squirrels participated. They were a sort of frankensteinesque conglomerate of Sneeekys, Fusion, and local pickup players that provided some variety and allowed teams to see some new looks.

A perfect storm of injuries, the flu, and non-ultimate commitments resulted in the Squirrels and Ro Sham combining forces to give Dundee two well spirited and hard fought games. Players rolled up between 10:30 and 11:30 AM. Some well rested, some not so much (looking at you Oli). The fireworks that took place on the fields drew literally ones of fans away from the Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon taking place not fifty yards from the sideline. As old bags wheezed on by towards the finish line at Holyrood Park, young spry legs got the most out of Sunday's morning games.




Game One:
In the afternoon's opening match up Stars took on the Squirrels who were supplemented by Ro Sham Bo's Mike Noblett, James Glover, Tom McClintock, and Ross Walder. Squirrels struck first after receiving downwind with Walder seeing Andy Quickfall (Fusion) in the endzone, but Dundee took the early break to take a 2 - 1 lead after a flick to space from Andy McCilwrath found Dave Alexander in the back corner. Stars would break again three points later with the same throw to make the score 4 - 2, but this time from Jared Cordner to rookie standout Andy 'Dickers' Dick, who made his first-team debut at Regionals just a few weeks ago.

Ro Sham finally recovered one break when Walder and Quickfall reversed rolls to score an upwinder to even the score at 5's. This was only a hiccup for Dundee though, as their O-line marched up the field to score 6 - 5, and Cordner found primary cutter Graeme McDowell after an untimely Squirrels drop to reclaim their two point advantage. At this point, however, our local heroes had enough of this outsider success and decided to step their game up. The next four points saw eight different players earn fantasy points for the Squirrels, highlighted by Barry O'Kane (Fusion and GB Masters) finding Quickfall on the breakside with a hammer. Stars' O-line took to the field to stop the bleeding with Cordner hitting Dave Rostill to bring the score to 9 - 8, advantage Squirrels, however this would prove to be only a temporary reprieve. The Squirrels continued to throw both junk and FSU zones to force Dundee handlers to either throw over the cup or bring McDowell to play behind the disc rather than in front of it. In this uncomfortable position the Stars were unable to navigate the field with consistency, allowing Fusion teammates Noblett, Glover, McClintock, Quickfall, and late addition Ali Brown to connect on the last four points and close out the morning round.


Final score: 
Squirrels 13 Stars 9.


Playmakers: 
Stars Jared Cordner (5 assists, 1 goal)
Squirrels Andy Quickfall (1 assist, 3 goals)


Game Two, the Rematch:
The second game of the day was supposed to be Ro Sham Bo vs. Shooting Stars, however with Ro Sham only able to field eight players due to a combination of factors, the Squirrels reformed to give Stars another go. Team leaders decided to split the Edinburgh team into two lines that each played back to back points before switching: a Ro Sham line and an Edinburgh Celebrity (a.k.a. everybody else) line.


Dundee came charging out of the gate with a changed mindset and renewed vigor. Ro Sham took to the pitch first and traded points with Dundee to make the score 1 - 1. With the addition of cutters Connor Gaffney and Johnny Towler, Ro Sham was able to play a more disciplined style and run their set plays much more easily. For the visiting team Ciaran Delaney, Neil Henderson, and Isaac Smith were able to come alive, finding space against zones and in their roundhouse both underneath and deep. Critically, Dundee was able to work the weak side, as Cordner hit McCilwrath with an around break to make the score 5 - 2 only twenty minutes into the game. As the Celebrities took to the field they responded in resounding fashion. Quickfall caught an underneath pass from Oliver Browne (Sneeekys), pivoted wide and ripped a massive flick in the direction John Stainsby (Sneeekys and Heriot-Watt). Stainsby kept his eyes on the floaty disc but kept his defender McDowell in his peripheral. McDowell, known for his his bids, throws, and especially his ups, was not prepared for the athleticism of Stainsby; a relative unknown outside of the local scene. Stainsby showed why he deserves more respect around Scotland, and got an easy four inches over McDowell to make the catch deep in the endzone to put one more on the board for the home team.

Ro Sham and the Stars traded the next two points and Dundee would go on to take half 7 - 4 on the ensuing possession. Out of half it was much the same, with Henderson finding Alexander to widen the gap to 8 - 4. At this point two diverging story-lines emerged. With the split lines for the Squirrels, we saw two very different teams taking to the pitch every two points. While the Celebs would not find the key to score the rest of the game, the Ro Sham Bo line would not miss a point. Five players for Ro Sham threw for scores including Noblett (twice), Glover, McClintock, Walder, and Gaffers, with four of those scores made by the speedy Towler. For Stars, Pierre McCarthy and Toby Waterhouse found space against the Celeb zone looks and kept Dundee either three or four points ahead at all times.

Dundee would go on to win the game 13 - 10 after capping it off against the Celebs on the eleventh time their line took to the field with only two subs, however the statistic to remember is the 9 - 3 differential between the Ro Sham Bo line and the Stars. Standout players for the visiting team included McDowell, who made a filthy bid on a huck from Cordner that was unfortunately brought back due to an unrelated pick call, as well as Dickers, who got up over a group of players to make a momentum saving grab against Ro Sham's junk set as well as getting a run-through D against the Celebs on an undercut which would later lead to a break for Dundee. For the Squirrels, few could argue that the big guns were Towler and Noblett. Towler racked up his four scores in the second half to prove that he deserves to play first team, despite being off the squad for the indoor season. Noblett was able to live up to his Fusion nickname by putting up big numbers on both sides of the disc, and provided a firm foundation and first look as Ro Sham Bo found their rhythm.


Final Score:
Stars 13 Squirrels 10


Playmakers:
Stars Graeme McDowell (1 assist, 3 goals)
Squirrels Mike Noblett (3 assists, 3 goals)


Looking Ahead:

Game two may play spoiler to an eventual Finals or Semifinals matchup between Scotland's two powerhouses next weekend at the National Championships. The big question for both of these teams is how they can adjust their game and prepare for more diverse competition down South. The Shooting Stars will be bolstered by the addition of offensive handler Chris Hunter and defensive specialist Jo Trotter. Will these two be able to reproduce the chemistry displayed by Dundee at Regionals that allowed them to make their spectacular comeback? Ro Sham Bo will see even more additions. While Jay Felver-Gant, Todd Graham, and previous UKU Champion Jack Beezer will surely add life to the sometimes stagnant O-line, the biggest splash could be standout rookie Jake Cowpland. Cowpland led Ro Sham in D's at Mixed Nationals and has demonstrated tremendous improvement each time he takes to the pitch, whether it's on offense or defense.

Stars are looking to be among the top seeds at the championship, while Ro Sham is likely to be horrifically underseeded, coming in around 10th spot, so upsets will be the name of the game. Will the Open title finally return to Scotland? And if so, where is it going? Get ready for fireworks when these teams get to work next weekend and chase down the title. Stay tuned to Ro Sham Blogs for a recap, and thanks again for reading!


*Many pictures courtesy of Rob Starr and Jo Trottet.

Player Profile: James D. Glover, Ph.D.

By Tom McClintock

Hello again everybody. In this installment of Player Profiles we'll be getting to know the beloved James Glover. You may know him from Ro Sham Bo, Flatball, Fusion, or any of the local nudie bars around the city. As you'll soon come to realize, Glover is no stranger to top level ultimate, and with Outdoor Nationals coming up Glover is looking to lead his teammates to a championship. We'll also hear a little bit about the work he does in the lab, his future plans, and the story behind his chest hair. Thus, if you feel prepared, read on at your own risk.

People want to know the man behind the muscles. When and where did you start playing ultimate, and what drew you to the sport?

I started playing in my second week at uni in St Andrews. The pitches were next to our student accommodation, so my flatmates and I thought we would go check out the 'taster' session. We enjoyed the first session and then swiftly went to the social in the evening. We got absolutely hammered, got on really well with people in the club and the rest is history. I played two tournaments in my first month and from then on was hooked. 

Tell us about your involvement with Fusion and Black Eagles.

I have been involved with Fusion in one way or another since my first 6 months playing. I played tour with them in my 3rd year and then when I moved to Edinburgh I got very involved. I have been one of the captains of Fusion for the last two seasons, and we have been regularly competing for a top four place in the UK and have qualified for Europeans 2 years in a row. The year when it was Noblett's stag was the best, ask him about the teddy bear! It's a brilliant club to play with, the camaraderie in the team is second to none and we have had numerous players represent GB. In the last few years we have been trying to bring young players into our team, get them experiencing ultimate at the top level and generally increase the level of ultimate across Scotland. Been involved with Fusion is probably one of the most enjoyable aspects of ultimate for me.

Black eagles is a completely different kettle of fish. Me and Gordon drunkenly conceived the team whilst at a party. The name came first, followed by that kit! Most of you have probably seen it, it looks like a Danish death metal band's album cover, with eagles fighting bears. However the team itself is actually quite talented. We finished 6th at MT1 this year, having never played together, winning 3 games in sudden death. Our eventual plan is to go to worlds with this team, and just party. 

Reflecting on your many years on the Uni ultimate scene, what have been some highlights for you?

I have 3 experiences which really stand out for me. Firstly in my 2nd year at St Andrews we came 3rd at indoor nationals. This was the first time medals were up for grabs at tournaments and we had to play Bristol in a 3 vs 4 match. After losing heavily to them in pool play the day before, we got our revenge and won in sudden death. We also won spirit at this tournament, along with every other uni tournament that year.

My second highlight is from my final year in St Andrews. We were in the quarter final against Cambridge on the Sunday morning of outdoor nationals. At half time were 7-0 down. The sh*t had already hit the fan, and covered everything around so the only thing left to do was just fight. We came out on offense and scored 8 points in a row, eventually winning the game 11-9. I will always remember a team coming together in one moment and just believing in themselves. Plus it was hilarious because the captain from Cambridge looked like a Hamster, and when we won his sad droopy face was a picture.

The third experience that really stands out for me is outdoor nationals in my first year at Ro Sham. Again in a quarter final, I found myself in a team down at half, this time it was against dirty dirty Manchester. We rallied back to win in sudden death, with a cheeky hammer from Cosmic. We continued on to win the semi against Warwick and played Portsmouth in the final. We sadly lost the final, but the team ethos was fantastic and it was just a really great time. Plus we had topless rugby watching and an epic songwriting session on the coach down. That year we also had 6 players represent Great Britain in Florence, which demonstrated the caliber of players that Edinburgh continues to produce. 

I understand you're doing a PhD here in Edinburgh, what type of research do you do?

I am a biologist and primarily work on a type of stem cell. Basically if you ask anybody what I do, they say I make green chickens. This is not exactly true, I don't spend my days creating a Frankensteinian zoo, although that I do work on chickens. I am primarily looking at what keeps a sex cell, a sex cell and not revert back to another type of body tissue. And that's enough about my work...

(If you're interested in reading about some of Glover's work, his two publications can be found here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2993963/

and here:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0015518

The first paper is free to download from, no joke, the Journal of Poultry Science, while the second is unfortunately proprietary.)

What are your plans after graduate school? Will ultimate still be part of your life?

I am not sure of my exact plans after I graduate, again. I am thinking about moving to Canada, so if I move there I will probably continue to play one or two seasons with either Goat or Furious. But seen as though all of my friends are in Edinburgh and the rest of the UK, I will most likely end up pussying out and stay here. If that happens I will play Fusion until my legs eventually pack up then pursue my life goal of becoming a professional figure skater.

Were you born with a hairy chest, or did you use Rogaine when you hit puberty?

I was actually born with a hairy chest and beard. I'll try and dig out the pictures. My dad had always questioned my mothers fidelity, as he is convinced she got a bit 'too intimate' with a wolf.

You know, some say that the only way to kill Glover is to shoot his chest hair with a silver bullet, or stab it with a silver stake, or trim it with silver scissors. Whatever the case, the man has some super-human ultimate powers, so beware if you see him step onto the pitch. If you want to see Glover in action, check him out at this Sunday's Edinburgh Invitational or next weekend at University Outdoor Nationals. Until next time, thanks again for reading Ro Sham Blogs.