Pride and malaise - Panthers Ultimate after EUCF 2022

At the most important ultimate tournament of the season, the European Club Championship in the Italian Caorle, Panthers Wrocław did not achieve their goal and did not advance to the top ten. They were 15th in the Open category and 16th in the Women category, but they still left a good impression.

For discus throwers, the European Club Championship is a competition comparable to the Champions League in football, a real ultimate celebration, during which the best teams of the Old Continent are selected in three categories (apart from the two mentioned at the beginning, also in the Mix category). The mere participation in such a prestigious competition can give the youngest section of the American sports club Panthers Wrocław, debuting in the event, a lot of benefits.

A year ago, the gentlemen (i.e. simply the Open category), still as The Bridge Team, ranked 13th, so this time they aimed a bit higher.

We would like to improve the result from last season in Bruges. We set ourselves the task of entering the top ten. If we do this, it will be a historic result, because our last year's performance is currently the best result of the Polish team in this category - said the Panthers Ultimate player Łukasz Dobranowski before the escapade to the Apennine Peninsula. Ultimately, during last week's competition, it was not possible to achieve this, the Panthers won one match (with the third team of France - Ré Flying Oysters, which, incidentally, the players representing the ultimate beach version won the national championship), lost five times and ended the competition in 15th position.

This is the second European Club Championship in this formula and the third overall. Last year's tournament was a bit different, more teams competed, there were also more categories. So we perceive the results quite differently. Now we fought most of the matches with teams that have been hosting such events for many years. Members of each of them praised our game, emphasizing the need to outplay less experienced players - commented one of the most experienced players, Michał Dul.

Close battles

How was the male part of the tournament?

The two biggest defeats we have suffered are those against the finalists of the event, Ranelagh Dublin and Clapham Ultimate London. We fought an equal fight with the rest. A slight loss against Wall City Berlin 12:15, against which we lost much higher this year, showed that we can compete with them on an equal footing. In turn, the negative result from 3SB from České Budějovice did not allow us to jump to a place similar to the one from last year. The Czechs are a renowned team, from the top eight of the previous tournament, having performed at the World Cup. What hurt the most was the failure to the Finnish PirU, which will be a lesson for the future. We are constantly getting closer to teams with much more experience. Ultimate is a very young discipline in Poland, it appeared in Wrocław itself some 12 years ago. Meanwhile, we are in the best sixteen in Europe, and in Rimini itself, so not far from Caorle, there are three hundred players and sixteen teams - said Dul. He and his colleagues had one more game to play on Sunday, which was canceled due to difficult weather conditions and the poor condition of the facility.

Motivation for the future

There were also participants of recent The World Games in the competition. In total, 24 Open teams and 22 in the Women category took part in the competition (where Paulina Dul's players won against Swing to Hell, lost five games and was placed 16th).

The first sixteen in Europe we found ourselves in is a great prestige. We faced renowned teams from the top, with whom we fought an equal fight. It is nice, because many of these federations have thousands of players competing locally from an early age. We have to draw conclusions and translate into results in the next competition. We have a great team to play, people involved in the project, leaving a lot of health on the pitch. Personally, I am proud of what we have achieved. Most, however, feel unsatisfied, but that's good, because it means more motivation for the future - ends Michał Dul.

The material was prepared by Arkadiusz Barski