* Angelfish

Super Magic Sparkle Angelfish Go! 5: Hyper R' finish 4th in Belfast Christmas Cracker 2009

27Dec2009

It was only a year ago that The Angelfish made their debut at the annual Christmas tournament held in Belfast. Since then The Fish have competed in four tournaments and one league in a very active year of ultimate frisbee. Their day at the Christmas Cracker was not met without problems as a cancelled flight and a broken down bus meant that key player, Ryan Mulligan, had to miss the first two matches.

Despite this, The Angelfish came out of the pool stages as 6th seed and went on to edge out Dublin-based Broccoli in a very intense 3 v 6 match that was won almost entirely on what Captain Philip Chan described as "epic defence". The Fish finished the day placed 4th.

The Fish have made incredible progress in a year, having gone from a beginners' team to a team that can now be competitive in Northern Ireland. Their success and ever expanding ranks seem to be a direct consequence of the enthusiasm and camaraderie that define the team. Those interested in playing frisbee with The Fish could do worse than to visit their Facebook page.

Festivities did not end with the tournament as the first annual Belfast Ultimate Christmas Dinner Dance took place at Park Avenue Hotel in East Belfast. The impressive attendance acted as a fitting marker for the state of ultimate in Northern Ireland - ever growing, stronger than ever and slightly drunk.

Angelfish Place 4th In Belfast Summer League '09

26Aug2009

(Post edited to include part 3 of documentary.)

Belfast-based ultimate frisbee team Ultra Mega Super Magic Sparkle Angelfish Go! 3: EX Plus Alpha made their third career competition appearance this year in Northern Ireland's biggest ultimate frisbee event, Belfast Summer League, in which over 70 players took part throughout June, July and August. The Fish placed 4th in the league that was won by Comber-based CHASE, with The Swerve of Coleraine taking Spirit.

Fans were surprised The Fish even managed to pull together a squad this year, with star players Christopher Burress and Michael "Vick" Johnston having been suspended following gun and animal abuse charges respectively. Luckily, The Fish are a dedicated group and joining the core team of Philip Chan, Nigel Chan, Ryan Mulligan and John McConkey were returning Fish: George Paxton, Jonny Baillie, Peter Alexander and John Meenan. In addition, veteran Jeremy Moore and undrafted rookies Nick Shaw and Andy "T1000" McNeice became integral members of the squad.

The Fish, who made their debut a mere nine months ago, are going from strength to strength. The constant recruitment of young, enthusiastic players means that the future is bright for the Belfast-based team that draws its players from universities throughout the whole of the UK. They intend to enter more competitions in the near future.

The Fish are always looking for new players of all abilities and are a coed team. If you are interested in playing ultimate frisbee please contact the team. To find out more about Belfast Ultimate, look no further than this excellent documentary by Kebab Hammer's Luke Carlisle:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Super Magic Sparkle Angelfish Go! Take Belfast Christmas Special 2008 Title In Ultimate Frisbee Debut

30Dec2008

The annual Belfast Christmas Special beginners' indoor ultimate frisbee tournament took place at the newly built Grove Wellbeing Centre. This year saw the debut of a new fish-themed franchise "Magic Sparkle Angelfish Go!" that was divided into two separate squads: "Super" playing in green and "Hyper" playing in purple. The drama began early on in the day when up and coming Glasgow University rookie Nigel Chan suffered an inversion injury to his right anterior talofibular ligament during a warm-up, rendering him unable to play and causing Hyper to lose a valuable handler. In addition, QUB rookie John Meenan also suffered a grazed knee when going all out to score a point during a match. With such a handicap imposed upon them, Hyper were unable to keep up with some of the more experienced teams. However, under the leadership of their two Scottish captains Colin Muir and John "John Super John" Russell they were awarded the much deserved spirit prize. Super, under the leadership of Andrew Todd and franchise founder Philip Chan went from strength to strength, defeating every single team in the competition and winning an intensely fought final against Comber-based CHASE who were out for revenge. MVP was awarded to Ryan Mulligan who is showing some incredible potential in his rookie year; using his height, athleticism and smarts to be an invaluable first cut or end zone man. Congratulations to both Super and Hyper Magic Sparkle Angelfish Go! for such an inspirational debut. It looks like 2009 will be the year of the Angelfish.