2025: The biggest club mixup yet?
With the university season mostly wrapping to a close, the eyes of Scottish Ultimate shift their gaze towards an arguably completely reshaped club landscape. After one of the most interesting transfer and trial seasons we’ve seen in a long time, how have things changed from last year? The following diagram looks at where people were in 2024 and compares them to where they are now:
Source: Instagram and personal research
Here are my 5 observations:
- The New Alba
Since their creation in 2018 (or arguably their real creation in 2019 — story for another time), Alba have been a powerhouse in the UK and European Ultimate scene, boasting GB stars, a national championship final, and an impressive 7th-place finish at the European Championships in 2023.
Yet, since that day in Poland, the story around Alba has slowly started to shift. After a less-than-optimal 2024 season — including an iconic universe point loss to Smash’D, a 5th-place finish out of 8 at Nationals, and failure to qualify for Euros — the winds of change are hard to ignore. Looking at the diagram above, it’s difficult not to see this as a complete reshaping of the club.
48% of Alba players this season will be sporting the iconic stag for the very first time — and that’s not even mentioning the departure of coach Leo Micklem at the end of last season.
There are two ways to look at all of these changes. A more pessimistic mindset might say the backbone has been ripped out of Alba: with Andrew Dick and Cameron Agnew retiring (or at least stepping away for most of the season), and Joel Terry and Ben Cornelius moving to GUX, Alba are essentially starting over.
An optimistic view would see the refresh as a good thing — enthusiastic fresh legs stepping in to replace an older generation that paved the way. From Glasgow Ultimate veteran Nick Byrne, to GBU24 athlete Ronan Kelly, to up-and-coming last years XYZers like Rob Avontuur and Frederik Dalgaard Kjær, there’s new energy across the roster. With no stars comes no egos, and (hopefully) a full squad ready to work hard and push each other without the reliance on a set few players.
There’s even an argument to be made that last season, Alba underperformed relative to the sum of their parts, regardless of whatever quarrells they had with the publicly known ranking algorithm. There’s no guarantee that the shake-up will reverse that trend — but only time will tell. One thing’s for sure: the new coach Sam Lord will be a welcome addition.
2. A look at imports and exports
Although it’s only a one-year sample size, it’s long been assumed that Scotland feeds into England when it comes to player movement — with players typically leaving for London or Bristol (usually for work) and getting scooped up by the likes of Deep Space or Bristol.
Yet this year, the trend appears to be almost reversing with Scotland actually gaining from England, with players like Tilly Mason making the move from London based Spice to join Heck, and the much-beloved Iain Campbell making his grand return to Glasgow Ultimate after a brief stint with the Carlisle Lakers during his recovery from injury.
It’s hard to say whether this marks a long-term shift, but it’s certainly encouraging to see that the Scottish region isn’t bleeding talent into England as heavily as once assumed.
As for other sources of migration, unfortunately the good news ends there, with Scotland has releasing just as many abroad as it has to England – with Zoe Todd, Flora Girard and Antoine Richard all returning to their home country, and the surprise departure of Leon Williams to Amsterdam’s GRUT.
3. Are XYZ actually a feeder club?
“A team, often from a lower division, that provides training and experience for young players, with an agreement that successful players can move to a higher-level club”.
Forming in 2024, XYZ were formed as GUXYZ, they aimed to carve out their own identity and avoid being seen as simply “GUX 2s.” And statistically, that identity is holding up.
61% of players who played up for XYZ last season are returning this year, and only six have moved to another elite-level club: the two previously mentioned Alba players, along with James Rayfield, Linn af Björkesten, Will Harrison, and Ali Brown who have all joined Glasgow.
So, does that make XYZ good for development if there is little movement away from XYZ? Well, with 40% of their new recruits coming straight from university — including Strathclyde captain Kai Dias-Smith, Dundee’s Emma McPherson, and fellow journalist/awful predictor Kabir Adkoli — it’s clearly providing graduates a valuable opportunity to experience high-level club.
At the very least, on that front, XYZ is absolutely doing its job — and with so many players choosing to return, it’s fair to say the team is carving out its own identity and proving itself as more than just a feeder squad.
4. A big year out
This year saw a significant number of players step away from the Scottish Ultimate scene — whether by choice or circumstance.
Aside from the previously mentioned Alba stars, GUX veterans have also taken a pause: Audrey Melançon-Fournier is shifting her focus toward mixed masters, while her former teammates Will Watt and (handsome journalist) Johnny Tofalis are taking the year out to recover from a shoulder and knee injury, respectively.
Marking 17 total retirements, this has been a big season for those taking a step back and especially for Glasgow, which has opened the door for the aforementioned new players to trickle through.
5. A blooming rivalry
The introduction of Edinburgh-based Heck was a welcome one for the Scottish scene last year, as it brought more than just a new club — it sparked a brand-new rivalry almost overnight. The current head-to-head stands at 2–1 in Glasgow’s favour, with both teams earning a universe-point win over each other during the regular season, followed by nothing short of a battering by Glasgow in Belgium.
This year, both teams will be looking ahead with ambition — one eye on a potential Worlds qualification, and the other firmly fixed on their rivals. Heck remain relatively consistent, returning 24 players from their debut season – more than any other club. They’ve also picked up a few key additions, including Alba rookie Matthew Miller and several university players such as Chelsea Qui and Jackson Elder.
Glasgow, on the other hand, sit somewhere between the relatively unchanged Heck and the freshly rebuilt Alba, with 17 returners. They also welcome Angus from the GU Juniors youth team, who joins his brother — Strathclyde captain Andrew — on the roster.
With rosters tightening and experience deepening on both sides, this rivalry could deliver even higher-level matchups in 2025
Where does this leave us?
Quite frankly – there is a lot of changes this year. One could easily make an arguments for teams looking stronger or weaker. What a team loses in star power, chemistry and experience it gains in longevity, enthusiasm and untapped potential, setting the stage for a season full of surprises and breakout performances.
Scotland has consistently punched above its weight in qualifying for the World Club Championships — with two teams earning spots in 2018 (Black Eagles, Glasgow Ultimate) and again in 2022 (Alba, Scram). As we look ahead to 2026 qualification, I’ll be watching closely to see if they can match those impressive past performances and see if this massive transfer season will pay its dividends!
John Tofalis