World Championship Selections Digest #1

Saturday morning saw a dreary, drizzly start to the first selection camp for the Australian World Championships. Approximately 50 guys were there with ages ranging from 20 years old right up to the high-30 year olds who, quite frankly, are totally past it.

The weekend consisted of several round robins between teams that were mixed up at the start of each session. The style of play was somewhat different to that usually experienced by Sublime team members. At one point an excuse-filled Johnathon Potts exclaimed that 'there was somebody in front of me, so I had to jack it long' after looking off a wide open dump cut by Timmy Delane. Events like this were not rare, many a disc was turfed after an over-excited squad member attempted to 'showcase' their powerful but surprisingly inconsistent throwing skills.

The final session of the weekend was an old-vs-young fight to the death. Split down the middle at age 27 the young squad starred Abra Garfield and Mike Nield, while the pensioners had Matt Dowell, Anthony Dowell, Pete Gardner, John Damiani, Gus Keenan, etc. While some players got stuck right in and showed the selectors how well they stood up in a pressured grudge-match, others were quickly swallowed and crushed by the oversized teams of 20 or more players each.

Interspersed throughout the weekend were a number of AIS lectures, topics included Sports Psychology and Strength & Conditioning. A pool-based recovery session was guided by an AIS instructor on Saturday night, which included a relaxing spa followed by an icy few minutes in a plunge pool, which seemed to be filled with liquid oxygen.

The flight home was less than comfortable with an ever-so-slightly drunk procession of WA boys stuggling through the excessively delayed 5 hour flight home to cross-windy Perth, ending the weekend with a rather interesting landing.

An impressive Paul Denyer now waits eagerly by the internet machine in the hopes that he has secured his place on the Australian Men's World Championship team, while JD and Tim hang out for the Mixed Squad selection camp in Sydney. JD is nervous about his chances of making the team, while Tim appears to be an absolute shoe-in.