Tour 1

[Richard Constable]

Hi all
Tour 1 is London calling on the 26th 27th May.
We could go to this, but at the moment interest is low.
If you are interested in this, then speak loud and soon
Cheers
Sich

[Jason Milligan]

interested

[Stephen Hammond]

Yup, yup, yuppidy yup. So many great memories from the last time we played there.

Ben and linter sharing a suitcase and both forgetting it.

Getting off the tube to find blood everywhere as a guy had been stabbed in the hand.

Ben stealing bin cardboard for a sleeping mat.

Playing our first game on Saturday at about 2 o'clock

Dominating games in the rain and then losing the match once it dried up.

Shuttle screaming in pain from cramps and terrifying everyone else in the restaurant while we all laughed.

Ben giving Hammy J a doughnut only to slap it away from his mouth before he could take a bite. The bin cardboard had infested the tent and food with bugs.

Greamer getting hit on by a local cougar called Kat.

Pete dropping the pull and then calling injury when the disc hit his knee.

The airport party and the girls voicing their disgust at our shanty town.

Linter sleeping in his suitcase.

Fun times. Fun times...

[Stephen Hammond]

Here's the actual report if anyone wants a more detailed trip down memory lane.

So we were a bit short on numbers this weekend with only 7 from Belfast with 
some players who'd never played Tour before and one who'd never played 7s 
before! Thankfully Pete and Hammy J brought a few pickups along and we ended 
up with the following squad: 

Ben 

Chris Linter 

Greamer 

Hammy J 

Ob 

Pete 

Steve H 

And a few pickups 

8 Ball 

Brendan 

J-Lo (or was it jigh-lo?) 

Matt Gaston 

Shuttle 

(tall) Steve 

As soon as we arrived on the Friday night it became apparent that Ben had 
been studying at the 'Chris Linter School of How to Pack Your Bag' as he 
came without a coat, a towel or a sleeping mat. Faced with the prospect of a 
cold night sleeping on the tent floor we went to the local Sainsbury's to 
find some bedding material. The newspaper with the best value per 100 grams 
was quickly identified but unfortunately they didn't have any empty 
cardboard boxes! All hope for a comfortable bed was lost until your eagle 
eyed narrator noticed the rubbish bags set out by a neighbouring restaurant, 
one of which was filled to the brim with luxury bedding cardboard! So a good 
night's sleep was eventually had by all. 

Saturday mornings afternoon's first game was with Strange Blue 2 and was a 
pretty close contest. We had some good play but we still hadn't quite gelled 
together and lost the match 

Strange Blue 2: Lost 12-9 

Straight away we were into our next game with Brighton Beyond and to be 
honest, we were out classed. Even with some sage advice from sister Gaston 
we only narrowly avoided bagels for lunch. 

Brighton Beyond: Lost 13-3 

Our Last match of the afternoon evening was with a poorly spelled team from 
Nottingham. The wind had picked up and we had to play against a well 
rehearsed cup on every upwind point. Our failure to capitalize on easy 
downwind points gave them an early lead, but we kept our heads and had some 
epic plays working the disc slowly up from our own endzone but just never 
seemed to be able to get it over that last 5 yards. I really don't think the 
score line reflected this match well. Props to anyone who handled in this 
game, you guys worked your asses off. 

Flyght Club: Lost 13-4 

Not the most successful days play but the camping crew (BOO Pete!) went out 
from some well earned grub. After an entertaining encounter with the local 
Kitty Cat we found a decent gastro pub and after everyone showed some ID 
(even Ob) we finally got to eatin'. I think I speak for everyone that the 
highlight of the meal came courtesy of Shuttle as he suddenly began writhing 
in pain, much to the merriment of the team and the disgust of the staff and 
other patrons. I mean come on, who doesn't find cramp funny? 

An anxious wait began the next morning. Would the storm pass before we 
started play? Fortunately the rain did stop just before play began and BUG 
started playing more as a like a team that knew each other for years, not 2 
days... Unfortunately our fellow Celtic opposition also knew how to play 
well and it seemed Sunday would start the same as the day before and we lost 
the battle of the pasties. Also, Pete picked up the lamest injury ever when 
he dropped the pull and was almost crippled when the disc clipped his knee 
as it fell to ground. 

Abstract: Lost 13-7 

The next match finally saw us 'bring the rain' and it came it Belfast sized 
portions. The downpour reminded us we were representing our wee country and 
we really upped our game. Great throws, fast cuts and some hard D finally 
earned us our first victory. But would it be our last? 

Curve: Won 13-6 (Longest call ever, I seriously think it lasted longer than 
the actual match) 

Coming into our last match, I hadn't felt that pumped since Super Saturday 
and it seemed the rest of the team were firing on all cylinders as we took 
the early lead. However, the men (and boy) from Devon upped their game and 
fought their way back into the match. With a few rousing words from pete 
everyone gave it their all and we stormed the second half in spite of the 
snipers taking hammy out in the endzone and an easy take for linter won our 
final point. This was my favourite match of the weekend and we had 
highlights right through the whole team and I hope we can start with that 
level of intensity at Tour 2. 

Devon: Won 13-7 

Finished 41st? 

MVP Stephen Hammond 

MSP Adam Glover Matthew Gaston 

After bidding farewell to Pete and Ob, the CHASE crew (plus Hammy J) boarded 
the tour bus to the airport and enjoyed the sights that London had to offer 
before beginning construction of the Stanstead Shanty Town. Several 
passersby made their criticism known, but credit to Linter's ingenuity with 
his suitcase bed, hopefully some pictures of this construction will hit the 
interwebs fairly soon. 

All in all a great weekend was had by all but there's a seriously tough hill 
to climb if we want to make it to the top 32 at tour 2 and qualify for 
nationals 

[Stephen Hammond]

Kind of missing the point of this thread.

Interested List

Steve

Jason

[Stephen Hammond]

A quick blast at flights gives easyjet on friday late afternoon and back on monday morning with a bag for £85. Cheaper options available if you are more flexible on Friday.

[Ben McF]

Absolutely brilliant.

Tour 1 was the first time I had played sevens.