Great Britain open

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Great Britain comes into Worlds 2004 as the second -seeded team, a great achievement for a country that is still coming into its own among international competition. Great Britain has long been unable to defeat Europe’s standard-bearers Germany, Sweden and Finland but now they have eclipsed all three. The U.K. won the 2003 European Championships convincingly and defeated Germany and Sweden at the Nations Cup before falling by two to Finland.

Despite the success, the British teams maintain a good sense of spirit and humor. They have to keep up the running jokes and have a standing order to increase the GPM, or "gags per minute"

"We prefer to gas ourselves up and do what we need to do on the pitch," says representative Rob Mitchell, reluctant to discuss secret English strategies.

The English teams are receiving welcome press at home and have a full-time reporting contingent called the GB sideline crew that will following UK games. The roving fanclub,  not quite unlike well-tamed hooligans, will undoubtedly provide Great Britain with strong sideline support that cannot be underestimated at an away tournament.

Like the women, the men have benefited from an organizational re-structuring of the United Kingdom Ultimate Association put in place by team captain Si Hill. "We realized that if we were going to compete with the rest of the world we needed to restructure British Ultimate," says Mitchell.

The results have been seen almost immediately. Two English clubs, Clapham and Chevron finished as the best non-American teams at 2002 Worlds in Hawaii. There’s a reason for it. "We're a team of guys that have been playing with or against each other over the past 10 years," says Mitchell.

Will they be ready for Finland? "Our team represents the creamy bits of British Ultimate, culled indiscriminately from the top club sides. Many of our squad members have been part of the GB set-up for several years, a few are pulsing with young, vibrant blood, all have competed at the highest international level in club Ultimate and all are primed to go off proper style in Turku."

When Great Britain Receives the Disc

The most unique aspect of this team can be seen in its offensive and defensive lines. There are 25 players on the roster but only 9 play on the offensive team while the other 16 stick with defense. The nine "O" guys are terribly familiar with each other and you can expect certain players to be scoring a lot of goals almost exclusively.

The structure is thus very loose. They will run horizontal and vertical stacks and they work well with breakdowns as well. Can their offense play D in case of a turnover with all their top D guys hanging out on the defensive sideline? "If we turn it over on O we’re so pissed off that we find a way to get it back."

Look for these players when Great Britain has the disc:

Alex Bowers, #22 nicknamed "Carthorse" is a veteran with a lot of admirers and a lot of big throws. Been around for awhile.

Si Hill #8 brains behind the operation. Also a handler. Also very wry.

Si Weeks #4 has a big deep game and endless energy. Has big ups and a big frame to box opponents out for the disc. Makes tough grabs look easy. Moves in the lanes. Will make big plays happen for this team.

Christian Nistri, #1 has a voice like a foghorn. used to play with Catch22. Has been playing with captain Si Hill for a long time. Offensive receiver.

Rob Mitchell, #16 nicknamed "Sourpuss" is one of the team’s core veteran leaders and handlers.

Great Britain on Defense

On defense, this team is surprisingly simple. They send fresh legs out to run hard. They have 16 guys on the defense squad. "Everyone wants to play on the D line, they all want to get bocks," explains Mitchell. “They're all mad for it, just relentless really. I think they're basically just idiots."

They will play smart, hard D and see similarities with Sweden in their hard-running defensive game. Obviously a lot of depth helps. "Out philosophy is: if we throw everything we got at them and they come out the other side -- then good luck to them."

They will mix it up with junk zones, clams and switches. Look for these players when Great Britain is pulling.

Marc "Great Britainy" Guilbert, #15  A Canadian by birth and an animal on the field. He's the guy that everybody looks to for intensity on D. Also a theoretical physicist who works with Stephen Hawking in his day job and wants to someday train as an astronaut.

Stu Mitchell #34 calls the defensive lines. speedy and quick.

Rob "Randy" Alpen #43 A New York transplant, speedster Alpen can come up with layout blocks at will.

Dave 'C-Lo' Sealy, #2 6 foot 7. has layouts despite his frame. Fast for his height.

David 'Barn Door' Barnard, #7 is speedy and doesn't weigh anything, Gets lots of blocks.

Ian Pearmain 0, nicknamed "Sickboy" is a speedy fast and smart defender who will be everywhere at once.

Team Colors:
Red, White and Blue

Roster:
25 players 

Captains:
Stu Mitchell
Si Hill
Rik Shipley
Alan Cummings