Queen’s (we’re not from New York – word) headed down to Limerick at the weekend to participate in one of the fastest growing tournaments in Ireland – the Siege of Limerick. We were to be the first team from Northern Ireland to enter the competition, be we very nearly didn’t make it down after a number of last minute drop-outs. Thankfully the 8 strong squad from the north made the 5 hour journey down south to represent!

After a few drinks in the student bar, the team headed to James’s house, a player from UL who kindly let us sleep on his kitchen floor. It wasn’t very comfy but the price was very appealing to us poor students.

We did not fare well in the group stages. Having lost the first match against DCU pretty convincingly, the team then got bagelled by the first seeded Ragnorok from Denmark. Some progress was made against Broc2 as we began to raise our game, but were eventually beaten by our more experienced rivals. Our next match was a crossover against Jerk Factory which we were keen to win, but our lack of subs started to have an effect on our legs and we ended the day with another loss. The persistent rain and finally sleet didn’t help much either. A very wet and tired squad headed back to James’ flat, leaving my car on the pitch overnight as I had accidently let the battery die.

Even though we had lost all our matches, our morale was still relatively high. We had gelled as a team and everyone was improving game after game. We feasted at Jumbos, an all you eat Chinese for dinner which was delicious. Some of us attended the “pre-game” in someone’s flat where we witnessed Beer Pong and played Flip Cup - some opted to sleep instead. After we had a few beers we then headed to the party under a hotel, via a shortcut through a muddy field. Queen’s incurred a party FAIL, as we never got costumes sorted and left early because we were exhausted. Ob, a seasoned Ultimate player, decided to stay and party without us for another few hours.

As we headed to the pitch for the first match at 9 against UCC2, we soon realised after seeing a lot of empty pitches that the match was actually at 10. This gave us extra time to waken up and “warm up” by push starting my car, which thankfully worked. Our D was excellent in this game and we battled our way to a victory which was well deserved. We then got beaten by UL Ninjas (after a pitch change from mud-bath to water-logged) and Jerk Factory, but I think most of us were either injured or too exhausted to take these games.

We were never going to annoy the top teams with our lack of subs and experience, BUT I think we can hold our heads high, finishing in 16th place out of 22. Our beginners David Proctor, Chris Agnew and Jonny Workman did a stellar job at their first weekend tournament, and I could see a significant improvement in their game match after match. Special thanks should go to our pick-ups John and Ob, whom without we could not have played the tournament, and captain Alan for organising the weekend. I personally got a lot out of the weekend and it was good to see the amount of progress the team is making. I’m sure we’ll be back at Siege next year, but hopefully with a few more players.

Results:
6 - 13 to Captain Huck
0 - 13 to Ragnarok
9 - 13 to Broc 2
9 - 13 to Jerk Factory
13 - 8 to Skultimate 2
8 - 13 to UL Ninjas

Players:
Alan Cooper(c)
Ob Stikle
John Houston(MVP)
Teddy Graham
Chris Linter(MSP)
Jonny Workman(MSP)
David Proctor
Chris Agnew