#TuksUltimate: Binnelanders 2016 Tournament Report

Posted on April 15, 2016

Over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of April the annual Binnelanders tournament was held by Wits on the beautiful Milton Cricket oval. Soft green grass welcomed 8 teams to the tournament, hailing from places as far as Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg.

The first game of the day was against Bloemfontein Ultimate Frisbee (BUF) which would be a tough game to kick off the tournament. The game proved to be quite evenly matched with Tuks and Bloem trading points throughout the game. The game was extremely competitive and well spirited. After trading a few early points TuksUltimate managed to score 3 answered points in a row firmly putting the pressure onto BUF. However, the halftime score was a lot closer with BUF managing to drag the score back to within 2 points the teams going into half time at 8-6. The second half proved to be a much tougher affair with BUF showing off their athleticism and speed. After scoring a few break points the game was won by BUF with a final score of 12-11.  A narrow victory and maybe TuksUltimate feel that with a bit more patience things could have finished in their favour.

The second game of the day was against Wits or the Voodoo Kudus as they affectionately known. The game was played in the heat of the day with no respite from the sun. The game was rather one-sided with TuksUltimate scoring the vast majority of the points going into half time 8-2 up. With the resumption of play after half time Wits managed to score only a single point in the second half with TuksUltimate finishing 15-3 winners at the end of the game. The absence of key players was definitely felt by Wits but the game was still played with excellent spirit and a positive attitude.

Immediately following the Wits game, TuksUltimate would face up to Frankenteam (who were undefeated so far after beating Wits 15 – 0 and Bloemfontein 15 – 6). Frankenteam was a team made up of players from Durban and Polokwane.  The game proved to be extremely competitive and tough with the teams being evenly matched during the first half. However, the skill and experience of Frankenteam came to the fore during the second half and they began to run away with the game with TuksUltimate losing 12 – 7 in the end. TuksUltimate could be proud of the result as they had given Frankenteam the sternest test in the tournament so far.

Having played 3 matches on the Saturday many tired and weary bodies arrived early on Sunday morning for the remaining two games of the tournament. The first game of the day was against the Spirits, a development team from Soweto. The game was keenly contested by both teams with great handler play from two of the ladies on the Spirits team. TuksUltimate eventually ran out as 11-7 winners with an admirable performance being displayed by The Spirits.

The second and final game of the day on Sunday was against Skyveld in the 5th/6th place playoff. The game was extremely closely contested and points were traded throughout the game with no team ever having a clear advantage over the other. Pressure from the TuksUltimate zone defense managed to force a number of turnovers and one or two easy points were gained in this way. The second half proved to be another matter with TuksUltimate only managing to score a point for every two that Skyveld scored. Skyveld finished 15-9 winners and thoroughly deserved their victory.

TuksUltimate finished 6th in the tournament which was the first tournament for many of the players on the team as well as the first competitive matches for a number of the players too. With injuries keeping one or two key players on the sidelines it proved to be a valuable learning experience for all players and excellent prepration for the Mixed Nationals tournament to be host by UCT in Cape Town at the end of April. 

 

- Author Rudolph du Plooy

Copyright © University of Pretoria 2024. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 Corona Virus South African Resource Portal

To contact the University during the COVID-19 lockdown, please send an email to [email protected]

FAQ's Email Us Virtual Campus Share Cookie Preferences