From a beginning in the swirling snow at Terminus early last spring, through 100+ degree practices, jubilation at success at summer’s end, and frustration in the early fall, the reason for all the work is upon us. Starting Thursday morning in Sarasota, FL, Chain Lightning and the 15 other top club teams enter championship week, a season unto itself.

the UPA Championships site
tournament schedule and results

After a runner-up regionals finish, we ended up as the 10 seed, in pool B. Friday has upper and lower division pools, and Saturday, placement games begin. If we meet success, quarters would be Saturday morning and semis in the afternoon, finals to follow on Sunday.

Our Thursday slate, starting 930 EST:

Colorado’s Johnny Bravo

the Twin Cities’ Sub-Zero

and NY’s PoNY

Bravo is the top pool seed, and the #2 overall seed, following last year’s strong performance and finals appearance. Chain won a barn-burner between the teams in 2006, but has not faced Bravo this season. Sub-Zero is the central region champion and a perennial (3rd year in a row) Chain opening pool opponent, good games won both times by the Atlantans. PoNY (Pride of New York) has emerged as a tough team this season with an infusion of new talent; Chain won the teams’ meeting earlier this season.

misc. notes:
-this is the first men’s club nationals for rookies Poole, Schrafft, Moore, Snow, and Wilson — and for Poole, Snow, and Moore, the first nationals in any division

-John “Kid” Hammond (with 12) and Rob Barrett (13) appear to be among the highest in the division in terms of open nationals appearances, both beginning as Chain rookies in Birmingham in 1995 (the one other player that seems likely to have more appearances is Ring of Fire’s Robbye Brooks, himself a player who began his career with Chain)

-at 39, Barrett may be the oldest surviving player in the tournament’s open division

-with some good fortune, Chain potentially faces 2 teams (the Bay Area’s Revolver and NC’s Ring of Fire) in Friday play that it engaged in very close games with in the latter stages of the ‘06 tournament

-Sarasota will be the site of the first tournament at which Chain will have its entire squad on hand (Dusty Smith, Grant Kirby, and arguably our best big-game player, Dylan Tunnell, were absent at regionals)