I cannot be more proud of how the Ninjas finished off the 2012 Ultimate season. We showed up in style to Sectionals, held our own in Santa Barbara this year, rocking our purple hair ribbons. Despite the nasty wind on Saturday and the challenging teams we played, we remained positive and high in energy. This was definitely reflected in our games where we had some really amazing breaks and runs especially against SLO where we only lost 12-15. There was so much improvement in the individual players of the Ninjas and the team as a whole. Our string plays earned us a bunch of scores, our points were well matched, and we made other teams fearful of our deep game (way to go handlers!). Those teams had to fight for their scores. Let’s not forget that WE made Santa Barbara stop to practice their throws. Everyone of you was crucial to our accomplishments through the season and I hope you all recognize how far we have come together!

Sectionals in SB - Photo taken by Steven Lowe

It has been a real honor to captain the Ninjas in our last year at UCI. Even though I will miss you guys dearly, I have no doubt in my mind that all the vets will become phenomenal leaders. The rate at which the rookies improved this year surpassed my every expectation, and I can only look forward to what next year’s round of recruits will bring…

We might be graduating, but who says you’ll get rid of us that easy! :p

Graduating Captains Signing off!
- Hannah & Lisa

There’s nothing like finishing off the quarter by hosting a tournament of our own! I want to give special thanks to Abby (our Tournament Director) for coordinating with other teams and making sure everything ran smoothly in despite of her crazy finals and sickness. Also, we could not have done it without Consuelo (aka Con-dawg) who made the event a hit with her awesome baked goods and contributions from Specialty Breads. Other honorable contributions came from Costco who generously donated $100 gift card to our cause and other bagel stores such Einstein’s Bagels, Shirley’s Bagels, and Breugger’s Bagels who donated to our hungry players. Oh and we can’t forget to mention Harley’s parents who BBQ’ed mouth watering burgers and hot dogs for the team right on the fields. Anyone who carries around portable collapsible trash cans deserves to win Best Team Parents of the Year!

A thanks to our donors:

Condawg's hook up!

After a long weekend of playing in Vegas, our Ninjas went through another round of close matches against Cal, Long Beach, and San Diego State who went undefeated at Irvine Invite. One thing is for sure. Our team will be training fiercely these next couple of weeks in preparation for Sectionals which will be hosted in Santa Barbara. Universe point will be ours!

Ninjas and Nightlife!

KILLED: Tech, Abby, Marvin, Adam, Karolyn, Tits, Tasha, Zach G., Vandy, Cougs, Keegan, Kerrick, Vendetta, Joel, Lauren, Euro, Leo, Andrew

ALIVE: Rocket, Mitch, Mowgli, Amy, Lala, Lisa, Squeeks, Harley, Pokey, Dexter, Dyno, Chea, Travis, Yogi, Tyler, Keita, Alf, Bambi, Bui, Lorrain, Matt Vo, Heidi, Clayton, Nimbus, Ikea, Logan, Arl, Dean, Devon, Chuckles, Zorro, Ross

NEW RULES!!!!

1.) The only safe zone is now the ARC and the ARC fields. All homes and team gatherings are no longer safe. Bedrooms are not safe. Sleep well!!

2.) If you have not killed, you are in a drawing that will occur every night starting tonight. I will be drawing two names through this week each night. If your name is drawn, you die. You are not entered into the drawing if you have killed.

SAFE FROM THE DRAWING: Josh, Jared, Tyler, Avatar, Kyle, Lisa (Come on NINJAS! Where are you at???)

If you have any questions, text or email me!

GOOD LUCK and HAPPY KILLINGS!

-Hannah

Luxor hot spot

What our coach goes through to motivate us...Meow!

Grass Ninjas and Nightlife took Vegas last weekend at the annual Trouble in Vegas Tournament. Saturday was a true showcase of strength as the Ninjas competed in five hard fought games; two notably close games with Wyoming and Nevada-Reno and a 11-8 win against Lewis and Clark. Sunday, Ninjas played an impressive game, beating Chicago 11-8 as well. The flow of the team showed great improvement as cutters made smart continuation cuts and recognized the open space. Rookies have advanced dramatically and are almost indistinguishable from the older members. We also had the pleasure of adding a new player to the line. An exchange student from Denmark, Rikke is an accomplished ultimate player that has stepped onto the field adding a new perspective and confidence to the team.

Saturday night, de-cleated and dignified, the team headed back to the Luxor and slipped into their heels. Ninjas changed from ultimate badasses to alluring bombshells as they strutted to the Planet Hollywood Buffet to have dinner with Nightlife. Great company and endless plates of food could not have set the night off any better. And after that?…Oh. That stays in Vegas.

After our 5 games Day 1 and 2 games Day 2

Classic Group Shot 2011

Treatsmas was a major success this year as three teams were formed between the girls and the guys teams to show their artistic skills and take on the gingerbread house theme of… wait for it: DISNEY! Two teams chose the daunting task of creating pride rock from the lion king while the other bold team created an underwater paradise with Ariel’s palace from the little mermaid!  All three teams fought it out to the finish shopping for supplies, planning strategies, scoping out the competition and creating masterpieces to win the ULTIMATE crown! After two long hours of work and thirty minutes of strict judging of certain criteria including best playing location for ultimate games, best defensive structure and most appealing the fun filled building night came to an end.  The four judges (provided by the men’s and women’s team captains) ULTIMATELY awarded Ariel’s palace with top prize and bragging rights for the year! Treatsmas is an amazing annual tradition and if you missed it, sadly you missed out but its never too early to start gathering your ugly sweaters in time for next years holiday festivities. – Rocket

Pride Rock #1

Pride Rock #2

Ariel's Castle - Winner!

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