Storm

 Storm at Nationals!

Thursday August 11th, 2011

Nearing the end of a season of training and constant progress, Storm is ready to demonstrate all the skills achieved during the summer and the chemistry that has grown between the players. It is with great enthousiasm and motivation that the team starts their first day of the championship, on a clear and sunny day. The warm-up ensues with a palpable liveliness and to the sound of fresh beats compiled for the event. Storm’s first game against their faithful rival Stella (Ottawa) ends in a 13-7 victory, where each player gave all their intensity. Feeding on the past triumph, the Montreal girls fire up their second game against Dames (Ottawa) and prevail with a 14-6 score. After a well deserved break, Storm faces Fusion (Winnipeg). In spite of a good fight, it is not enough to get the game, and Storm is defeated with a 3 point difference (8-11). Still, the girls end the day with their heads up, satisfied with their performance, and with a smile on their face. The tournament has just begun, and the team needs to rest in order to stay focused on their objective: top 4!

Friday August 12th, 2011

Again today, it is under blue skies and low wind that the day begins for Storm. The warm-up, although a little tougher than the previous morning, is still run with high energy and zeal. Although their adversary Capitals (Toronto/Ottawa) is seeded first, the game starts with high intensity, where each girl gives their maximum to get that one break. The only point made by Storm is scored in the first few minutes of the game, for that matter. From that point on, the energy stays high, but many unforced errors from Storm faced with Capital’s flawless offense gives the Ontario team a considerable lead to win the game 15-1. Luckily, Storm doesn’t let this discourage them in face of the game against Salty, a Halifax team with high spirits. A decisive win of 15-4 is enough to give Storm the confidence to give yet another good performance in front of Wild Rose (Calgary). For the last pool play game, what better than a 15-6 victory to end the day on a good note?

Saturday August 13th, 2011

Despite an aching body from the efforts deployed in the past days, it is with great determination that Storm faces Fusion, yet again, this time for the quarter final. As Storm is looking to finish top 4, this victory means a lot for the team. The game is kept to a tight score up to 10, where Fusion scores three consecutive points and defeats Storm’s initial goal. Although you can feel the deception, the team decides not to let negative emotions affect their play, and gets ready for the next game against their eternal rival Stella. This great attitude allows the Montreal team to win the game 14-10 and a chance to grab 5th place. A hot battle against PPF (Kitchener-Waterloo) ensues, with many turns on each side. Finally, Storm triumphs with a 14-12 score and a spectacular come back. The girl’s expressions after the game definitely reflect the satisfaction of their performance during the Canadian championship; it is with peace of mind that the team can go celebrate this wonderful end of season.

Congratulations again to the captains, who took this young formation to a whole new level and who never stopped believing in each and everyone one of us, in the team. Without you, Storm wouldn’t be what is is today. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Jazzfest 2011

 After a very challenging tournament in Boston, Storm was ready for JazzFest on their home turf. This tournament allowed the team to consolidate certain skills in order to be ready for the CUC qualifications. With the Provincial championship fast approaching, it was time for Storm to step-it-up. http://scores.usaultimate.org/scores/#womens/tournament/943

Saturday Game 1 vs P77

he Storm ladies were on time and ready for their first game of the tournament, unlike some P77 girls who celebrated a bit too much the day before. The warm-up was effective and well executed, and Storm was ready to take on any challenge. Part of the P77 roster was on the PPF team that beat the Montreal girls in Toronto. Storm was thirsty for revenge, and was thoroughly satisfied with a 15-5 win.

Game 2 vs Qarma

This new Quebec team, against whom we played at White Mountain, was not to be taken lightly. Despite some unforced errors on both sides, Montreal still pulled it off with a 15- 1 win.

Game 3 vs Vintage

Storm seemed to be facing some problem with third games on tournaments, and this was no exception. With a short roster, physical and mental fatigue was starting to take its toll, and mistakes were multiplying. Vintage, a very experienced Montreal team, dominated 15-5. But the tournament was just beginning, and Storm wasn’t ready to abandon ship...

Game 4 vs Lotus

For this last game of the day, Storm as we know them was back with all its vitality and was looking for a big win. With a 12 people line up and the sun still blazing, the girls got their second wind and played with as much intensity as their first game. Lotus did a nice last minute comeback towards the end, but it wasn’t enough and the game ended at 15-7 for Storm.

Sunday

Game 1 vs Exo

The first game of the day was against Exo, Sherbrooke’s women’s team. They arrived well prepared and used a cup defensive. During the first half, Storm took longer than expected to adjust to this D. Fortunately Montreal came back with a 3 point gainer and created the final score of 10-8 for Storm.

Game 2 vs Vintage (semi final)

This game against Vintage was awaited by many, especially by the captains that had elaborated different strategies to adjust to the opponent’s tactics. Storm was better prepared and was looking for revenge. The team tweaked its offense to overcome Vintage’s sharing strategy. Storm started off strong with a 4 point lead, but faster than you can say TURN! the all-talk no practice team caught up. The rest of the game was tight, with the score gapping by only one or two points. The last point was played on a Universe; after some nail-biting turns on both sides, Storm leaped for the last crucial point, and victory was theirs.

Game 3 vs Stella

For the first time this season, Storm was playing in finals. Stella has always been a rival team, although Storm won by a considerable difference in Toronto. This tournament, we had quite a different team in front of us; Stella had a couple girls from Capitals, and had gained considerable experience during the last month. Storm wanted to break the third game curse, but it took a while before they actually started playing. Stella had come from a shorter game and had time to recompose before the finals, whereas Storm had played to the horn at the semi final. The Ottawa team took a 4-0 lead, but Montreal showed enormous character by not letting physical fatigue affect their mood and determination. It’s with high intensity that the finals ended, and a 12-11 win by Storm on home turf!

Boston Invite june 25th-26th 2011.

As third tournament of the season, Storm played at the Boston Invite. This is a high calibre tournament with some of the best teams in North America and it was a great opportunity to play in the elite division.

First game: Storm vs Hot Metal

Hot Metal is a young team from Pittsburgh. As the first confrontation, we had a good chance against a fast and physical team; like many of the american teams. We had some problems completing our throws at the beginning of the game, maybe a signs of being nervous, but we make some adjustments and we started to come back into the game. However, it was too little too late and we lost that game 15-12.

Second game: Storm vs Capitals

After a two hours break, we met Capitals; finalist of UPA championship last October. We knew that it would be a really tough game and the score reflected that. All the girls gave a really strong performance. We got some great D's but had trouble converting these into points. Capitals took the half 8-1. Our captain challenged us to come out strong and to score 5 points in second half. This was what we did and the game ended at 15-6; a marvellous effort against a very strong opponent.

Third game: Storm vs Ozone

Ozone is a team with lots of experience and great technical abilities. Their players were well versed in the long game and used it effectively. We gave a great opposition and had some really tough points, but the experienced side finally pressed their advantage and the game finished at 15-9.

Fourth game: Storm vs Bent

Last game of the day. Another game in our reach. We were really up for this game and we came out intense. Again, it was a game of strong D but we just were not as efficient on O and Bent eventually run away with the game at 15-11.

Fifth game: Storm vs Safari

It was an intense first game on Sunday morning, each team wanted the win and the right to progress to the quarter finals. We started strong and took the first few points, but it was not enough to turn over Safari. In this 2 hours marathon-game, we traded points in much of the game but Safari took some decisive break points and took the game 14-11.

Sixth game: Storm vs Green Means Go

Without a break, we started our last game of the tournament. We were a bit lethargic to start but we eventually got ourselves into the game. Green Means Go eventually took half 8-7. The fatigue was beginning to show within the team at this point and Green Means Go showed a bit more killer instinct and took the game.

This tournament was always going to be tough and we were not disappointed. It was a great opportunity to test ourselves against some of the best teams in North America; including some of the best players in the world. The weekend, unfortunately, ended with 6 loses but there were a lot of close battles in each game, and overall, the girls were really committed and gave their all over the weekend. The progression of the team throughout the tournament, was there and we were able to raise our level. The weekend was a good learning experience and has shown that we need to be slightly more efficient on O to be able to convert these close loses into wins.

Next stop : Jazz Tournament, Montreal, 2nd and 3rd of July.

Toronto Ultimate Festival (TUF),  May 14th and 15th, 2011.

Storm 2011's attended its first tournament in Toronto on May 14th and 15th. Their goals were to develop team cohesion and to get to know each other on the field, and these objectives were well reached. The team also worked on some other aspects of the game, such as being stable and taking smart decisions. The Storm ladies had had the chance to play as a unit during practices; however this tournament was really the first ground test. As the day progressed, the players demonstrated a greater chemistry on the field, which definitely improved the flow of game. It is just the start of the season and there is still a lot to learn, both individually and as a team; nevertheless Storm is off to a very good start.

First game: The tension was high: not only was this their first game, it was also against a team that had a lot of rivalry with Storm. Stella (Ottawa) exploits a very physical style of play, but Storm deployed a new approach that proved to be successful. With a good lead at half, the Montreal team never let their guard down and stayed intense all the way through, which allowed them to win the game with a comfortable 7 point lead at 13 to 6.

Second game: Fueling on the past victory, Storm went on to face Lotus (Toronto). This time, the pace was set faster, but the game proved to be less physical. The girls repeated the exploit with a final score of 13 to 6.

Third game: After a much deserved game break, it was time to play PPF (Waterloo). The intensity of the first games had worn out, and the girls didn't show up until half time after trailing 4 points at 5-1. It was time for a comeback, and Storm got back into the game by taking it one point at a time and by concentrating on the basics. Unfortunately it was too little too late, and the dream team hung from a thread ending the game at 9 to 10 for the Ontario team.

Fourth game: Storm called on the rain for the last game against Who. Their legs were getting heavy and the fatigue was kicking in as little mistakes started to accumulate. Nevertheless, Montreal dominated the game with a 13 to 2 win.

Unfortunately, the storm had spoken and the fields were filled with water, so the Sunday games had to be cancelled. With three victories up their sleeve, the team finished third overall!

With this new season comes a new leadership team already very enthusiastic about taking on the challenges that await Storm this summer. The leadership team is composed of:

• Cathy (“Kattsee”) Janvier;
• Mélanie Prescott;
• Isabelle Lemay;
• Frédérique Asselin.

For those of you interested in perfecting your running technique, we’ll have running training sessions at the Claude Robillard Center starting Monday January 17. The sessions will be taught by Alex Doré of Spécifik Performance, a consulting business in physical activity. The sessions will be held on Monday evenings starting around 8 PM (exact starting time to be confirmed.) The cost is $10 (+ taxes)/session/person (please note that this does not include access to the Claude Robillard Center’s running track which costs about $40.) To sign up: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=fr&pli=1&formkey=dHl3RS1VQUZ...

We also invite you to sign up for the women’s league that takes place every Wednesday at the Loyola Campus of Concordia University. It’s an excellent way to stand out and meet us. All of the details can be found on the website of the AUM: http://www.montrealultimate.ca/

Open tryouts for all of the players interested in joining Storm for her 2011 season will take place this Spring. The exact date and time are to be confirmed. As soon as we have more details, we’ll keep you informed.

If you have questions, do not hesitate to communicate with us. Otherwise, happy training everyone!

Storm 2011

stormultimate@gmail.com

Storm wins Canadian Nationals!

At last weekend’s Canadian Ultimate Championships held in Sherbrooke, Storm took home the gold, with a resounding 15-6 win over Stella from Ottawa. Now in its 8th year of existence, Storm has always reached the quarter-finals, and has been in the semis-finals every since year 2006. In 2008 in Calgary, Storm made it to the finals but unfortunately lost to Stella 15-11 in a hotly contested battle. This year, the team was formed in early April, in order to prepare for its participation at WUCC in Prague. Under the tutelage of our coach, Lorne Beckman, Storm had an impressive debut on the world stage, finishing 13th. However, our goal for 2010 was always to win a nationals championship.

Our tournament in Sherbrooke started on Thursday with pool play against Lily from Toronto, PPF from Waterloo and Mystik, our sister team. Although a little rusty after the long post-worlds layoff, Storm finished the day with a 3-0 record, having had 14 goals scored against them. Pool play was completed on Friday morning, with a resounding 15-2 win over Fusion followed by a 15-0 win over Salty. Having assured ourselves a spot in the quarter-finals, we was able to relax for the rest of the day and cheer on the Montreal teams. However, it was back to business Saturday morning, with a quarter-final match up against Wild Roses from Calgary. Momentum had been slowly building since Thursday morning, and the team was focused on playing efficiently, and delivered a 15-2 victory. This set up the match that we had waited for since game 1: a semis match-up against Lotus, from Toronto. Storm arguably played its best game of Ultimate ever, and before we knew it, the game was out of reach and a spot in the finals was assured with a 15-2 win.

This set up a re-match of CUC2008 against Stella. The conditions were similar: bright, sunny and quite windy. However, there was never a doubt that Storm was not going to be intimidated by its opponent or the weather conditions. Storm took half at 8-4, and put the game out of reach early in the second half, sealing the victory on an up-wind flick huck to a striking handler. Not only did Storm win gold, we also won the spirit award, a true testament that the Spirit Of The Game can exist at the highest level of competition.

Storm would like to thank all supporters who made the trip down to Sherbrooke, and supported the team throughout the season. Next stop, Fall Series, and hopefully a trip to sunny Sarasota!