SUCCESS STORIES

AUSTRALIAN YOUTH ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIPS (AYUC)

Over the last school holidays, James French, Lachlan Arneil, Hamish Felder, Harry O’Dea and I (Abby Bachrach-Cox) represented Victoria in the Australian Youth Ultimate Championships in Adelaide from 6 – 9 July, with the girls taking Gold and the boys taking Silver.

It was an amazing weekend with very tough competition from all teams there, but I am very proud to say that Blaze, the Victorian girls, indeed came out blazing! They have progressed from Bronze in 2016 to Silver in 2017 and finally to Gold in 2018!

Day 1 of AYUC, Blaze won games against SA and the ACT, 11-2 and 11-3 respectively. The Bandicoots, the boys’ team, won against ACT (15-6), WA (15-1) and SA (15-3). A recovery swim that evening alternated between the teeth-rattling cold outdoor pool and the warmer indoor pool. Following this was the tournament social; 100+ pizzas and several games of spike-ball.

Day 2, Blaze again came out on top, beating NSW 15-3. Our only challenge came competing against SA for the second time. Their 8-player team came out with a vengeance, getting 3 points before our first. After ‘waking up’, we won by our narrowest margin, 12-8.

Day 3, Finals. The girls’ Gold medal match saw Blaze own the tournament with a crushing 15-1 win over NSW, who had been the reigning champions for the past three years! The Boys’ Final, however, was much closer and came down to “universe point” at 9-9, with the next point deciding the game no matter who scored. An exceptional play from NSW clinched it, handing the Bandicoots their only defeat of the tournament.

Abby Bachrach-Cox

Player on the Victorian U18 Women’s Squad