Scobel Wiggins Photography

Over the past few years, the Mixed Division has striven to increase inter-regional competition among top tier teams prior to the UPA Series. The Emerald City Classic has become a key component of that quest and this year's tournament was another step in realizing a more structured regular season. The ten teams that comprised this year's ECC field included seven of the eight quarterfinalists from last October's Club Championships (though a couple of those teams have changed name), two other Nationals qualifiers and a strong up-and-coming team from the perennially brutal Northwest Region. After a weekend of tough competition, one thing became abundantly clear to us: this is the deepest and most talented year the mixed division has seen in Slow White's six years of existence.

In the past, there have been dominant teams, a small number who could realistically challenge for a title and then a host of somewhat weaker teams to fill out the sixteen spots in Sarasota. The difference between the haves and the have-nots was both vast and obvious. At ECC this year, parity reigned. Every team suffered at least one loss and the deciding factors in who won games were individual matchups and game-plans rather than huge differences in team-wide skill level. With the addition of a few very strong teams who didn't make it out to Seattle, the quarterfinals in Sarasota this October should be the most entertaining and competitive the division has possibly ever seen.

That said, the dominant style exhibited at ECC could make for some ugly Ultimate in the Sarasota winds. More and more top mixed teams seem to have adopted a long-ball strategy. As serious athletes continue to migrate to Mixed, the big open spaces afforded by having only eight men on the field are being exploited far more than in the past. Almost across the board, guy-to-guy hucks have become the primary looks both from the pull and off turnovers. While the quality of many of the women in the division has also improved, very few teams are making use of these players. Most women seem to have been relegated to a more supporting role as secondary cutters or even bail out options. The few who are consistently seeing the disc are those who are also a danger to put up a big throw downfield. I hope this strategy changes when conditions dictate a more conservative approach and teams who capitalize on the full potential of all of their teammates find success.

Lastly, thank you to Andy, Ben and everyone else who helped put on this incredible tournament.

Stephen Sullivan plays for Boston's Slow White.