Courtesy of Therapist

Sitting in the Speckled Hen pub in St. Albans on the Saturday evening of SEUOIR was one of the best evenings I can remember in a long time. With Mohawks having no fewer than four teams entered it ensured that the pub�s population on that fine evening were largely people who usually reside in Brighton. There was one point shortly after finishing what I could of my apple and raison crumble where I simply sat back in my chair, hands behind my head, smiling. I think it was then James Wotherspoon who commented saying that I looked very content and he couldn�t have been more right � I was surrounded by the best people in this world: The Mohawks.

Some of the people in the pub that evening I have known for about 3 years now, others I met in October or even that very day! And yet as a group it was just fantastic. Sure there were subgroups, and I didn�t chat with everybody that evening but I wouldn�t have had it any other way: the overall dynamic of the Mohawks that evening was second to none and I cannot wait until the next time.

Ultimate wise the weekend brought fantastic success to the club across all four teams. Mohawks 1 did what they wanted and won the tournament (credit to Disc Doctors and Sublime for huge battles in the semi and final, respectively) with all three of the other teams beating their seeding in one way or another! Also, Mohawks 1 & 4 tied second overall for spirit � fantastic work Mohawks!

Mo 1 cruised through the Saturday somewhat without ever getting out of (or needing to) second gear they won their pool with relative ease despite a fair number of miscommunications. The Sunday was much tougher. The semi-final with DD went all the way to sudden death, Mo 1 eventually taking it 4-3 even though they turned during that final point. The low scoring was largely down to DD playing a zone which slowed the game down massively, but good fight Mohawks, and great sideline support, too!

The final was a more expansive and open game and after the first couple of points both teams settled into playing some good ultimate and the end result of 8-4 in Mohawks� favour is probably a fair result. The offense finally looked slick and the defence was hungry for blocks and ready to switch against the Sublime long game. Regionals success again, let�s hope nationals follows suit.

The Mohawks 2 weekend was always going to be a tough one: having made the top 16 last year they found themselves in a tough peer pool alongside Sublime 1, HU? 1 and Knights. They ended third in the pool which meant that they had a crossover to stay in the top 12 and in the hunt for nationals � they won it meaning that Sunday could bring nationals qualification.

Unfortunately it didn�t. In the 8v9 game against Sublime 2 they struggled to get any flow going against the Sublime defence (a combination of intense man on man and zone) and were out manoeuvred by the Sublime offense: a deserving victory for Sublime 2. Still, Mohawks 2 ended the weekend 12th beating their initial seed of 13 and have every reason to be very proud of what they achieved. Particularly their performance against Sublime 1 in pool play, where their defence in particular really stifled a very useful Sublime 1 outfit, good job Mo 2: plenty learned in preparation for next year.

The Mohawks 3 weekend was a strong one, ending up 16th could well mean that if it is peer pooled again next year that Mohawks would be representing in three of the four top pools! Some excellent play throughout the weekend saw Mohawks 3 take some impressive scalps, including a deserved victory against HU? 1! Given that, on the Saturday, the team had five fully fit players (and one half-fit player) they did exceptionally well to put themselves in the position that they did and ended the weekend strongly.

I think particular mention for their patient play through some zones has to be highlighted, with beginners and experienced people combining nicely to wait for the inevitable holes to appear � how they held onto the disc for so long is impressive. That, coupled with some fantastic man defence and the occasional poaching block made the weekend one to remember for Mo 3. Well done guys, hold your heads high (and your back straight).

Mohawks 4 were, in my opinion, the most exciting team to watch in the entire tournament. Intelligent play combined with audacious throwing made sure that nobody quite knew what to expect from this Mohawks outfit. Defying all logic they finished higher than no fewer than FIVE second teams, three third teams and a women�s team in 23rd place, whilst claiming joint second for spirit, too!

I run out of superlatives for the fourth team � thrown together fairly last minute they adapted well to a variety of different defences put in their way and played some fantastic tactical positional defence to stop their opponents scoring. Also, most importantly, Mo 4 saw the birth of Thor, regenerated from American Kyle. No longer just associated with the Germanic people and the Vikings: Thor is a Mohawk.

Apologies that it took so long to summarise all the ultimate that took place over the weekend. I know it is not what you wanted to read and you would rather hear about the rest of the stuff that happened � there was plenty.

I think when a highlights video is put together it will be worth watching for much of the first team�s attempts at trick shots: it�s fairly impressive, especially when the bin miraculously moves for Kneetu�s rolling disc. Also, Shimmy�s slam dunking of his water bottle is a sight to behold and Robbie, Rapist and Kneetu�s failure to get a disc into a grit salt bin from 20 yards is worth a watch if you�re wondering how to throw hammers� However, the single greatest thing that I remember seeing over the weekend actually happened on the field of play, brought to us by Mirro on Mohawks 4.

Mirro was playing D and his man went long, Mirro chased him nicely and it would have to be a pretty pin point disc for the goal to happen. What did happen had the entire balcony in awe. The disc was thrown. The �UP!� call shouted. Mirro could not possibly see. The disc was destined to go past his right ear to his man and a goal would be scored. BUT NO! Mirro, without looking, raised his right hand and calmly caught the disc, still without a backwards glance, on the back of his head. Job done, D achieved, let�s play. Absolutely wonderful.

Anyway, there was, as ever, plenty more that I could put into this report but I think it has gone on long enough. You will hear the new nicknames echoing around Russell�s Clump and in future tournaments and stories will be shared and retold for generations but I just want to end by taking you back to that pub on the Saturday night�

Dude asked me if Mohawks had a slogan, something fun that we could chant or something, at which point Megan said that the slogan has always been: Once a Mohawk, always a Mohawk.

Never before that Saturday night have I been so happy that I am a part of this club. Sat amongst my friends, my teammates and my fellow Mohawks. And the thing that really made me smile when Wotherspoon told me I looked really content was how happy I am that I am a Mohawk, and as the expression goes, I always will be.

Once a Mohawk. Always a Mohawk.