U.S. Open is "Perfect Preparation" for World Championships
Posted: January 30, 2014 04:09 PM
UK’S TOP MEN’S TEAM, CLAPHAM, CITES U.S. OPEN AS "PERFECT PREPARATION" FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Boulder, Colo. (January 30, 2014) – The U.S. Open Championships is an annual opportunity for teams from around the world to compete against America’s best. In a World Championship year like 2014, competition at the U.S. Open becomes even more compelling. Teams are gearing up to make a stand on the world stage at the World Ultimate Club Championships (WUCC) in Lecco, Italy this August, but several will first make the trip to Minnesota’s Twin Cities for the U.S. Open, specifically using the event as final preparation for Worlds.
Clapham Ultimate, based in London, headlines the international roster of teams in the men’s division for this year’s Championships. Clapham is the reigning European, UK and UK Tour Champions, and they have taken the top spot at U.K. Nationals for 13 consecutive years.
"The timing of the tournament makes it a perfect preparation to WUCC. By then, the club will have already had a few nationals and European events, so we hope this will take us forward to the next level just in time for World Clubs," explains Clapham captain Marc Guilbert. "We are also extremely excited by the tournament's format, whereby we will meet up against all the top U.S. clubs, something we can rarely achieve in regional U.S.A. tournaments. Clapham Ultimate has a history of visiting the U.S.A. and taking part in invitational tournaments. We use these to gauge our performance on an international level and to test out our systems against clubs which we don't play regularly. This exposure has made us stronger in the past, and we hope this event will allow us to progress further forward."
In the women’s division, Bogotá’s Bamboo will make the trip to Minnesota, continuing the trend of Colombian representation at the U.S. Open. Bamboo was founded in 2006 and finished second at Colombian Nationals in 2013 and is excited to take on the best of the U.S. this summer.
"Our team is thrilled with the opportunity to play at the U.S. Open 2014," said Bamboo head coach Nicolas Restrepo. One of our main objectives is to be national champions for 2014 and also to be one of the best women’s teams in the Pan American region. Obviously to achieve this, we had defined very solid foundations like to seek competition at the very best level."
London’s Iceni, the most successful women’s team in Europe over the past eight years, has also already committed to the competition field at the 2014 U.S. Open. The competition is already shaping up to be the most competitive U.S. Open yet.
Continue to check back at usaultimate.org/usopen or follow @USOpenUltimate for the most recent information regarding all aspects of the U.S. Open, including further team announcements and details.
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