The ninjas never looked so good at our first tournament of the year (UCLA Rookie Tournament – Oct. 16th) as we played in our purple swag. Shout out to Pokey and her artistic roommate for designing the tees. For those who couldn’t order in time this year, no worries because we are most likely keeping the design for years to come.

As a recap of the rookie tournament, the ninjas kicked (…or should I say flicked?) off the day with a victory over the mixed team of ninja alumni, San Diego Psychos, and UCLA Blue. Also not to mention, our most creative cheer of the day: The GRASS is green…the sky is BLUE…and we are all PSYCHO for you! Unfortunately, the day ended with one of our beloved ninjas getting injured in a collision with a player that resulted in a visit to the ER. Our best wishes of a healthy recovery goes out to Lorrain ‘Doboi’ Ko who has come such a far way as a natural cutter and promising handler. Although there are risks that come along with playing ultimate, all of our girls have inspired me with their true love for the game and their teammates by coming back from injuries with more resilience and fiery passion than before.

I am so proud of all my baby ninjas who played their hearts out and learned the force like a Jedi (especially Aimee aka ‘Vader’)! Also, props to all the vets who stepped up as handlers and guided the rookies on and off the field. You guys are all growing up so fast!

Photo taken by Steve Lowe.

As a final note, thank you to everyone who helped out this weekend at the Huckfest BBQ fundraiser and a special thank you to Ikea for making it all possible with her yummy chili and grill networking skillets! Hope everyone had a blast dressing up for Halloween!

Photo taken by Lisa Wu…with Ellen Smith’s camera..thanks for lending it to us!

Lots of Ninja <3, Lisa.

Nothing screams a new season of ultimate ninja-ness more than our welcome week events of recruiting at the Anteater Involvement Fair, teaching our ninja ways to new players at co-ed pick up games, and topping it all off with our annual Highlight the Night Event at the Goonies. Thank you to everyone who stalked incoming freshmen, played with sweaty boys all week, and dressed their brightest Friday night! Also, hats off to our ULTIMATE NINJAS who mastered this summer’s throwing challenge: Abby ‘Cobra’ Safarian racking in 735 mins, Leticia ‘Lala’ Lozano with 655 mins, and Tallin ‘Dyno’ Muskat with 585 mins! I have nothing but high hopes and excitement for this upcoming year…let’s show them how it’s done Ninjas! <3 your Prez Cap’

Welcome to the Women’s Ultimate Frisbee club at UC Irvine! Thanks for checking us out.

College is a time for new experiences and discoveries, so why not try something new and exciting? We are a closely-knit group of passionate athletes looking to grow in our knowledge of the sport, create lasting friendships through shared experiences and hard work, get in shape and stay fit, and most importantly, HAVE FUN!

What is Ultimate? Here is the 10 second summary of what Ultimate is all about:
Objective: to catch the disc in your endzone for the score.
How: by passing the disc back and forth amongst your teammates.
Kind of like: football and soccer combined.

To get a better idea of what to expect, check out our highlight video from last season: http://blip.tv/slowe84uncut/2011-grass-ninjas-highlight-video-5200797

Don’t actually know how to play Ultimate? Have no fear! We will teach you everything you need to know. Please come out to our Welcome Week events and see if Ultimate is right for you!

For more information, contact Lisa Wu (619-254-2761) or w.lisa068@gmail.com

Dear Iris, our beloved Lil’ Coach,

For many of us, you are the reason why we love this sport called Ultimate Frisbee. For many of us, you are the first thing we think of when someone says Grass Ninjas. For many of us, you are the glue that holds together this team, this club. For many of us, you are someone who has touched and changed our lives. How can such a little person have such a big effect on the world?!

We all have memories, moments, and inside jokes with you. You are not just a coach, but a friend and teammate. We are SO proud and happy to see you growing as an individual and pursuing bigger things. However, seeing you go is bittersweet. We will truly miss you in every way possible. We will miss you showing up to practice on a skateboard. We will miss you falling on your ass on that skateboard. We will miss you making fun of Allen. We will miss your inspirational pep talks. We will miss your stupid giggle and big laughs. We will miss your wispy hairs. We will miss “Iris Hugs”. We will miss saran wrapping your car and foiling your room. We will miss seeing Cliff Bar wrappers. We will miss your chipmunk cheeks. We will miss your terrible dance moves. We will miss your photo bombs. We will miss taking embarrassing pictures of you in your underwear. We will miss hearing your voice on the sideline. Most of all, we will miss the way you make this team feel with your presence. Whether you know it or not, the minute you walk onto the field for a practice or for tournaments, our team changes. We change from this rookie mentality to believing we can do anything. We believe we CAN beat this team of giants. We believe that we can hand block this veteran handler. We believe we can go to the finals, to sectionals, and even REGIONALS! Because, when it comes down to it, you are what makes this team BELIEVE. You are the heart and soul of Irvine Grass Ninjas. You make us dream and want bigger things. You have always believed in each and every one of us. So, for all that you believe in and all that you have done, not only for this team, but for this club, we will forever hold you in our hearts. You will be a legend and hero that we will tell all the future rookies about. You will never be forgotten, but always remembered. WE LOVE YOU AND WE WILL MISS YOU!!!!!!

Love,

Your Babies, Your Grass Ninjas <3

Sorry for the lack of updates. The website was mysteriously down for a couple of weeks, but it’s back now!

We ended our 2010-2011 season with a strong effort at Sectionals in San Diego on April 23-24. We played hard and we played well, but were unable to secure a spot to Regionals. Next year Ninjas!

On May 21 was our end-of-year banquet, celebrating all of our notable achievements throughout the season.

our three graduating seniors with their customized trucker hats

Offensive MVP went to Rachel ‘Rocket’ Brown, defensive MVP was Leticia ‘Lala’ Lozano, Most Improved went to Lisa Wu, Rookies of the Year were Lorrain ‘Doboi’ Ko and Kristi ‘Chuckles’ Lin, and the Most Spirited award went to Lexi Whalen. Congratulations to everyone!

Ninja ladies lookin' fly at banquet!

Here is our 2010-2011 highlight video. We look ballinn’.

At the Club Sports banquet, the Grass Ninjas were recognized as the most spirited team and won the Anteater Award! Kristin Ng also received an All-Star club officer award. Congratulations Kristin!

Looking to the future -
Next year’s captains and officers were formally announced at banquet. Next year’s leadership will be as follows -
Captains: Rachel ‘Rocket’ Brown, Hannah Wells, Lisa Wu
President: Lisa Wu
VP: Charistia ‘Pokey’ Chiok
Treasurer: Lola Morales
Tournament Director: Abby ‘Cobra’ Sarafian
Fundraising/Social Chair: Nicole Haydt

We are holding one last fundraiser at Gina’s Pizza this WEDNESDAY! (06/01) Please come out after 5PM and help us raise money. Tell all your friends!

It has been a spectacular season for the Grass Ninjas. It was a pleasure playing, learning and growing with each and everyone of you.

- Grass Ninja out.

Here’s my opinion about how tonight’s practice is gonna go -

Let’s do this Ninjas!

This past weekend, Grass Ninjas headed to Las Vegas, Nevada for an extremely successful final Vegas tournament ever.

We went undefeated on Saturday, winning games against Nevada-Reno, Utah, Arizona-B, and Air Force. On Sunday, we came back for another successful day of Ultimate, winning games against Willamette and Nevada-Reno, losing to Arizona State, walking away from this tournament with a 6-1 record overall and a third place finish. Awesome job ladies!

We cannot emphasize how proud we are of every single person on the team. Everyone played with a great deal of heart and determination. All the hard work everyone has put in was reflected on the field this weekend, and we had fun! Our team has improved so much over the course of this season. Let’s continue to do so and end this year off strong!

Photo credits to Brianna ‘Butters’ Breault

Irvine Ultimate family :] (Photo credit: Charistia ‘Pokey’ Chiok)

On February 5-6th, Grass Ninjas played hard at the Pres Day Quals tournament at UCSD, earning a win against Cal Poly Pomona on the second day.

The next Saturday (Feb. 12), a couple of our girls traveled down to SD yet again for an individuals clinic held by the club team Safari. They learned drills that focused on several aspects of the game – throwing, cutting, and defense – and got the opportunity to play some Ultimate with girls from many other schools.

On President’s Day (Feb. 21), 12 Ninjas headed down to SD for a third and final weekend – this time for a team skills clinic hosted by Without Limits and Safari. They enjoyed a full day of Ultimate (9am-5pm) and worked on improving many skills – marking, timing of cuts, hucking, defense, cutting, and more!

Here’s what we have lined up for the next month -

March 5-6: TROUBLE IN VEGAS!
Grass Ninjas will be tearing up the fields in Las Vegas for a weekend full of Ultimate and fun! Check your emails for more information about that. Reminder: $42 is due to Elaine Weng by Wednesday, March 2.

Jamison’s throwing challenge –
If you weren’t at practice on Wednesday, Jamison (an Irvine Ultimate alumni) generously offered to donate money to our club based on the number of girls who successfully completed his challenge.
First years* must throw to a stationary person 25 yds away.
Second years* must throw to a stationary person 40 yds away.
Third years* and beyond must break a mark and throw  to a stationary person 10 yds away.
*years based on years of Ultimate experience, not necessarily class year

Jamison will be back in 4 weeks to test us again and give us the opportunity to win more money, so let’s practice those throws and earn some money!

**Every Ninja also owes him 190 minutes of throwing outside of practice. Record your minutes on the Grass Ninja doc. The last day to get your minutes in is March 24th!

Looking to the future -

Nominations for officers/captains for next year. Nominations are due to Elaine by Monday, Feb. 28th, and we will be voting shortly after Vegas. The positions open are President, VP, Treasurer, Social Chair, Fundraising Chair, Tournament Director, and Captain(s).

Reminder: The assassins game is still going on. You have TWO WEEKS to kill or be killed.

- Grass Ninja out.