AUDL Championship brings ‘legends of ultimate’ to Montreal
Beau Kittredge is coming to Montreal. The man who has been called the best ultimate Frisbee player in the world lands in our city this weekend with the San Francisco FlameThrowers to compete in the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) Championship Weekend.
And there’s a fair chance you’ll see him compete against his former team (and last year’s AUDL champion) the star-studded Dallas Roughnecks in Sunday’s final. The Toronto Rush and Madison (Wis.) Radicals round out the program, bringing top-flight ultimate talent to Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Saturday and Sunday.
“It’s the best ultimate we’ve seen in town for a long time,” said JeanLévy Champagne, president and co-owner of the Montreal Royal, which reached the AUDL’s eastern division playoffs this month, losing to the D.C. Breeze team that fell to Toronto for the division title.
“There will be legends of ultimate on the field in Montreal,” Champagne said. “It won’t happen every year, so we’re very happy about that. I’m not sure who’s more excited — the players to come play for the crowd in Montreal, or the crowd to see the players.”
Montreal has gained renown for its high attendance — the Royal averaged 900 fans per game, second only to Madison — and fan enthusiasm in the emerging AUDL, which was launched in 2012. Those were big factors leading to the city hosting this year’s final showdown, Champagne confirmed.
“I’ve been to tournaments, talking to players and there’s something mystical about Montreal,” he said. “People don’t understand how we draw that big of a crowd, every time. There’s a kind of legend of Montreal in the league.”
The Royal’s popular Eaglets zone, where parents can leave their kids, age 4 to 12, to be taught ultimate skills and jump around in the bouncy castle while they watch the game, will be in effect this weekend as well. Parents must sign children up in advance on the Royal website.
Champagne is hopeful that the 6,000-capacity venue will be close to full, Saturday and Sunday, noting that advance ticket sales have been robust.
Montreal’s tight-knit ultimate community will help fill many of those seats. But Champagne is optimistic that newcomers to the sport will be drawn in by the chance to see ultimate at its finest.
A quick search through AUDL highlight videos provides a taste of the dazzling athletics that will be on display. A cross between football, soccer and basketball — with an end zone, no contact, no running with the disc — ultimate is at its most spectacular when a player goes long and has to leap up over a throng or lay out to somehow come up with the disc. Exhibit A: Kittredge. The former university track star gained ultimate fame in 2006 when a video of him leaping over an opponent to make a catch went viral. He will anchor San Francisco’s offence, Saturday at 4 p.m. against Madison.
“If (his teammates) have no option (for a safe pass), they’ll prefer to huck it deep, because they know he’ll be there.”
Madison has its work cut out, and will likely resort to its effective zone defence, Champagne opined.
“Madison is the Cinderella team,” he said.
“They’ve been division champions since they started (in 2013), but they always fall short in the semifinals. They have a huge, good zone D and that could help them win. If it’s a windy game, I put my money on Madison. If not, the athleticism of San Francisco might be better.”
For more information about the AUDL Championship Weekend, visit royalultimate.com/en/ championship-weekend-2017