PREVIEW: Scottish Club Women’s Indoor Nationals
Nicky Shaw (with some help from Rhona Gordon) takes us through the competition at this years Scottish Club Women’s Indoor Nationals.
Many of us enjoyed running off the Christmas pounds at Motherwell Mini Madness to kick off the new year in style, but this was just in preparation for the official start of the club indoor season with Men’s UK Regionals and Women’s Scottish Nationals on Saturday 20th January. There is some fierce competition in the women’s division, which has grown substantially since I took a wee team of Horses (Strathclyde Uni) along to SoccerWorld back in 2014.
Hosted at the fabulous Ravenscraig venue, we have 10 teams battling it out, to score points, get blocks, and win against their best pals. We have numerous university based teams who are mostly using the tournament as a warm up for University Indoor Nationals on the 3rd/4th February, alongside an array of club teams. Before I begin, you may have noticed the absence of Swift in the schedule for Saturday. Swift decided that it wasn’t necessary for them to enter as their players already have local teams to play for and building these connections will be more beneficial to the development of Scottish Women’s Ultimate. So let’s take a look at the teams for this weekend.
Full schedule and groups available here.
Dark Horses
Fresh off the blocks from competing in the U24 World Championships in Australia, Hayley Dalmon will lead the Dark Horses team. They are a powerful force in the University scene just now, complete with the experience of their captain and her athletic freshers, including the likes of Caroline Charnley and Erina Brown. Strathclyde will be a tough team to beat!
Dundisc
Dundisc have snuck into the seedings mid table. They look promising with a host of freshers, working on development and fun in the Kingdom of Fife. Captained by Beth Hall, it’ll be exciting to watch them face rematches against other university teams and see how their young’uns fair against the oldie veterans of the sport.
Farflung and Flungkadelic
Captain Jae, of Farflung, told me they are looking to prepare for University Nationals, a showdown of the best university teams from across the country, by improving the camaraderie within their squad and having fun. Always known for their depth, they also have a second team called Flungkadelic – full of up and coming “Flungers”. Two to watch out for!
Stirling Blaze
In the absence of the Blazettes captain Louise Webster due to injury, alumni Ashleigh Spalding is heading up the girls in green this weekend. Possibly lacking a few of their show runners, the team is mostly made up of some new but very committed players who have been enthusiastic in getting involved in Winter League, Women’s friendlies and other club events. I’m sure they will be able to use some of this new experience against their opponents at Scottish Nationals! I’m excited to see how this team performs and hopefully they will be able to use their knowledge and expertise to increase the growing Stirling contingent in the Glasgow club scene!
Ro Sham Bo
Ro Sham Bo were dominant at University Regionals this season and I expect to see a similar performance this Saturday. Captained by Kate “Staffie” Stafford, they are going to “let their slick offense and fiery defense do all the talking”. Some hot words there from the captain, I’ll leave it at that and see what they bring on the day!
ELF and ELF X
Moving outwith University, but still in the Capital, Edinburgh Ladies Frisbee (ELF) have a squad of players split into 2 even teams. There is a distinct international flavour, with team members from Germany, Australia, USA, Russia, New Zealand, England, Ireland and Scotland – all brought together “by a love of living in the great city of Edinburgh”! The ladies have a wide range of talent from international experience to relative beginners and university players. The aim for the tournament is to improve individual skill levels, build on connections that have developed during recent skills sessions and play some hard, fun, spirited Ultimate. They are mostly excited about throwing scoobers, Kat’s playlist, and Annie’s baking.
Glesga Gals
Meanwhile, the ladies of Glasgow Ultimate have been working on developing women’s Ultimate in the city to build numbers for regular competitive training. The “Glesga Gals” are looking to develop as a team after lots of practise at GU’s Winter League, Saturday morning throwing and a friendly game against ELF. Their players come from a mix of backgrounds; alumni and current players from various universities and other players who have been introduced to the sport by various come and try sessions.
AMAZONS
AMAZONS are back featuring the return of an injury free Shona Whiteley and one of the original founders Mairi McClean, thanks to a temporary transfer from London. The ladies will be looking to defend their title but if last year’s UK Nationals results are anything to go by they will have to work hard to keep up with the talent that is popping up in Scottish Women’s Ultimate.
I’m certainly looking forward to a cracking day and best of luck to all the teams participating.
Nicky’s Predictions:
- Ro Sham Bo
- AMAZONS
- Dark Horses
- ELF
- Farflung
- Glesga Gals
- ELF X
- Stirling Blaze
- Dundisc
- Flungkadelic
Rhona’s Predictions:
- AMAZONS (Gotta back yourself)
- Ro Sham Bo
- Dark Horses
- Farflung
- ELF X
- ELF
- Glesga Glas
- Striling Blaze
- Dundisc
- Flungkadelic
Do you disagree? Are we selling you short? Feedback and alternative predictions followed by “I told you so’s” welcome!