The 37th annual version of the Virginia States Overall Frisbee Championships have come and gone and those who attended experienced another wonderful weekend of Frisbee fun and fellowship. Saturday and Sunday were absolutely picture perfect with temps hovering around 70 once the day warmed up, with a clear, blue sky and warm sun bringing out lots of smiling faces. Event staff did a stellar job per usual, with Tournament Director Eric Olsen leading the way. And, of course, Laszlo’s Wienie World provided everyone with their brand of wholesome goodness at the canteen. It’s never too early to mark your calendars for VA States. Always a great experience.
Conditions for the Final Round of Freestyle were quite nice. There was a light, steady wind, which provided ample opportunity for folks to bring their game to the field and shred. As is the case at VA States, a nice crowd gathered round the playing arena. Family and friends there to see the day’s activities, overall players now resting with favorite beverage in hand, some bringing chairs and couches out from the canteen, lined the field to cheer on the jamming.
Bethany and I were up fourth, and I did not see the first three teams compete. Starting off the round were Tom Lasher and Jay Moldenhauer, followed by Lori Daniels and Bruce Page, then 3rd up was Jonathan Willet and Doug Simon. Bethany and I followed. We didn’t quite create the electricity from the previous night, tho, presented our routine well and held seed. Playing 5th, holding seed and taking 4th Place were Joey Hudoklin and Daniel O’Neill. These 2 again used a lot of the field, mixing up the spin levels, angles, catches and style. A few too many drops kept them from challenging for the podium. Joey pulled off a casual ’round the world brushing run, with nary a need for angle adjustment during the whole trip. It’s so great to see the Oracle playing at such a high level, bringing out the Wisdom of the Jam for all of us to enjoy.
Taking 3rd place was the team of Todd Brodeur, Jake Gauthier and Jeff O’Brian. After winning Pool A the night before, these guys again brought some stellar play. Jeff hit his signature gitis brush to gitis catch. Jake went all long arms against the spin pulls, and ring master Toddy B. conducted the flow with solid moves and huge smiles.
Coming in 2nd place were Larry Imperiale, Randy Silvey and Bill Wright. Their routine has some unique and intricate moments, lots of content and exchanges of the frisbee, with little room to spare for error. This day they connected the dots better than the night before, however, it wasn’t quite enough to reach the top of the podium. Especially compelling for this observer is the double disc work they do, including a roll, delays, and brushes. Will be interesting to see how this routine looks come the World Championships at Santa Cruz in August.
Taking top honors this year was the team of Arthur Coddington, Matt Gauthier and James Wiseman. These guys combined their considerable talents into a nice combination of planned co-ops, spontaneous passing, solid individual play from Arthur and James, and some over the top jamming by Matt to propel them to the top place. Matt was definitely in the zone. On one move he started a tipping sequence, realized he was in the wheel house, and just kept it going. Tipping with both right and left hands, completing somewhere between 20 and 25 consecutive tips in total, then finishing with a double spinning laser catch. Just super. There were at least 3 other moves that were simply stellar. It was a joy to watch someone hit the zone and present so well during a finals round.
Thanks again to everyone who made this such a special weekend, from Tournament Staff, to Laszlo’s Staff, to all the Competitors, what a blast.
Virginia States Freestyle Finals Results:
8th Place: Lori Daniels/Bruce Page
7th Place: Jonathan Willet/Doug Simon
6th Place: Tom Lasher/Jay Moldenhauer
5th Place: Bethany Sanchez/Rodney Sanchez
4th Place: Joey Hudoklin/Daniel O’Neil
3rd Place: Toddy Brodeur/Jake Gauthier/Jeff O’Brian
2nd Place: Larry Imperiale/Randy Silvey/Bill Wright
1st Place: Arthur Coddington/Matt Gauthier/James Wiseman [video]
Nice recap, Rodney. Freestyle is always a crowd pleaser at VA States and this year was stellar. Daniel and Joey were throwing down some very difficult moves and making it look easy. Randy, Larry and Bill had some great co-op that is always scary good…But for me, seeing Matt kill it was epic! There seems to be someone each year that is just bullet-proof and shreds it and 2013 was most definitely Matt G’s year.