The 2018 roster has been posted here: http://www.chicago-machine.com/roster/
Machine appreciates it's supporters, and as a thank you for your support, we are giving away three new Machine discs, while also sharing our 2018 roster!
Below is link to a game where you will be tasked with matching a Machine player's name to their corresponding childhood picture. Spoiler Alert: All of these guys were very cute kids. Also, this game is difficult.
2018 Machine Match Game - https://www.sporcle.com/games/machineultimate/machine2018
Three ways you can win a disc:
- Be the first to submit a screenshot of a successful 100% score on the game
- Be the lucky winner of a random draw among those who scored 100% between now and Friday, June 15th at 11:59pm CT
- Be the lucky winner of a random draw among those who shared the Facebook post or Re-Tweeted the Tweet
Rules:
- You must retweet this Tweet OR share this Facebook post to be eligible
- All submissions must come in the form of a screenshot, shared via a response to the original Tweet or comment on the original Facebook post
- Maximum of one disc per person
- You must live in the United States
Winners to be announced/notified on Monday, June 18th.
The Chicago Men's Club Hat Tournament takes place this Saturday, and is an opportunity for the Chicago Men's ultimate community to come together for a fun day of ultimate, and also serves open tryout for Beachfront Property, Black Market, Haymaker, and Machine. Participants of all skill level are welcome, and you do not need to intend to tryout for a club team.
Below please find the tournament details. An email will be going out to all registrants later this week with team assignments and additional details. This page will be updated afterwards.
If you have not already registered, please do so here: Registration Form (This form also doubles as the Machine tryout interest form for those who cannot attend the hat tournament but would still like to be consider for Machine).
- What: Chicago Men's Club Hat Tournament
- Where: Washington Park - 5531 S. Martin Luther King Dr. Chicago, 60637
- There will be a shade tent for registration at the southwest corner of the cricket/ baseball fields
- When: Saturday, May 5th, 2018 from 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM
- Please arrive at 9:15am to allow time to complete registration and warm-up your throws.
- There will be a registration table for everyone to check-in, pay the tryout fee, confirm your team assignment, receive your disc, and take a picture so that the team captains can identify you
- Machine takes timeliness very seriously. We will be starting promptly at 10:00 AM. Do not be late
- Please arrive at 9:15am to allow time to complete registration and warm-up your throws.
- Payment: We will be requiring all players pay $20 for the tryout entry fee
- In addition to helping cover the field rental costs, all participants will receive a newly re-designed Machine Disc
- Please bring EXACTLY $20
Schedule
- 9:15am - 10:00am
- Registration/ Throwing
- 10:00am - 10:10am
- Introductions from Beachfront, Black Market, Haymaker, and Machine
- 10:10am - 10:30am
- Group Warm-up/ Stretching
- 10:30am - 10:50am
- Individual Team Intros/Warm-Ups/ Drill
- 10:50am - 11:40am
- Round 1 Games
- 11:50am - 12:40pm
- Round 2 Games
- 12:50pm - 1:40pm
- Round 3 Games
- 1:50pm - 2:40pm
- Round 4 Cross-Over Games
- 2:50pm - 3:05pm
- College Football OT Championship Game
- 3:10pm - 3:15pm
- Club Captains Closing Remarks
Tryout Team Rosters/ Game Schedule/ Field Assignments
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10IMKkjP_W7g_a1yue3hni4kBY-ilNixEQBU_qczP2hc/edit?usp=sharing
Don't see yourself on the team list? Contact us
What to Bring
- Please bring a white and a dark jersey
- Please bring water and food (a limited amount of water will be provided)
- Please bring anything else you would normally bring to a tournament
- Plan for the weather
What We're Looking For (for those trying out for Machine)
This tryout format is designed to be both competitive and fun. Play to the best of your capabilities, play hard, and play with respect for everyone else trying out.
Machine is looking for players who:
- Demonstrate athletic ability on D
- Deny their man from touching the disc for the duration of the point and/ or generate turnovers
- Play aggressive offense without turnovers
- Support their teammates
- Drive their team to win
(Any updates between now and Saturday will be sent via email, and will be updated here)
We're looking forward to a great day of ultimate!
Machine Leadership
Rockford, IL - Chicago Machine and Chicago Nemesis partnered to offer a guest coaching program for teams attending Meltdown this past weekend, a collegiate tournament hosted by GLUE Ultimate. The guest coaching program, now in its second year, involves pairing an established club ultimate player with a specific team for the weekend. The goal of the program is to provide an experienced outsider who can answer questions, share advice with leaders, and offer direct feedback for individual players.
Last year, Machine approached GLUE Ultimate to trial-run the Guest Coaching program, in hopes of creating more opportunities for Machine team members to give back to the local ultimate community. The program itself was largely inspired by Without Limits, a tournament management organization who has historically offered a similar program at Women's Centex in Austin, TX. This year, Machine teamed up with Chicago’s elite women’s team, Nemesis, to increase the number of available coaches for interested teams.
The weekend itself was cold and WINDY, but that did not discourage teams from battling it out on the turf fields at Rockford's Sportscore 2 athletic complex. On the women’s side, DePaul took home the crown, and on the men’s side it was Marquette leaving with the title.
Across the two divisions, 10 teams took part in the guest coaching program. The participating teams represented a wide spectrum in terms of experience, from former D-III Nationals qualifier Knox College, to first time sanctioned tournament attendees Ferris State. Across the board, coaches were welcomingly embraced by teams, and the feedback from both players and coaches was tremendously positive.
Coaching Pairs
- Bradley University (Open) – Cullen Geppert
- Central Michigan (Women’s) – Eileen Duffner
- Ferris State University (Open) – Tim Fergus
- Knox College (Open) – Kevin Kelly
- Knox College (Women’s) – Emily Hadel
- North Park University (Open) – Walden Nelson
- Olivet Nazarene University (Open) – Andy Neilsen
- University of Illinois Chicago (Open) – Brad Bolliger
- University of Northwestern – St Paul (Open) – Jenni Corcoran
- University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh (Open) – Erica Danckers
Machine and Nemesis were humbled to share this opportunity with such bright young players, we look forward to building upon this initiative in future years and future events.
Machine tryouts are set to start with the Chicago Men's Combine Hat Tournament on May 5th! For more information and to register, please visit: http://www.chicago-machine.com/tryout-form-2018
What to say? What to feel? In the immortal words of Jann Arden,
How do you turn your eyes from the romantic glare?
How do you stop the sound of a voice you'd know anywhere?
And I'm not even talking about Neal singing Moana at Captain Curt's.
I'm talking about Nationals.
Machine entered the tournament as the 7 seed in a pool with Sockeye, Florida United, and PoNY. Sockeye, Machine had beaten. PoNY had gotten the better of Machine twice, and Florida was a black box of unknowns. Would the squad's momentum from a regional championship carry them through? With a focus on the present, could they come up with the results? Come with me. Let's find out.
Machine faced PoNY first, and things looked great to start. Turnover free holds in the heavy-moderate diagonal wind for the O line gave way to struggles from PoNY's O. The D was playing unfortunately like Rich Girls ("Don't you know that it's wrong/to take what is given you") and kept gifting back the turns from PoNY's O. The teams traded until an upwind downwind break combination led to a PoNY lead of 8-6 at half. That, in retrospect, was enough, and though Machine fought hard in the second half to adjust to PoNY's upwind upline game, the squad fell 11-14.
Hearing that Sockeye had been beaten by Florida United during the round only distracted Machine from its central truths, and the second game followed a similar pattern to the first. Lots of opportunities on D that they weren't able to cash in, and an O line that seemed to wear down as the game wore on. After Florida's giant brought down a downwind break D chance at about 11', Florida punched in their upwind O point for a 11-13 lead, breaking on the following point to hand Machine its second 11-14 loss.
Facing championship elimination, Machine switched fields from the good field to the bad field to match up with Seattle Sockeye, who was also 0-2 after a loss to PoNY. Machine started by getting broken going upwind on offense, but that didn't deter the Rich Girls. They responded with an upwind break of their own, and that was the first of many reversals in the first half. It seemed the Machine O couldn't score upwind, and the Sockeye O couldn't score downwind. A thunderous AJ Nelson footblock led to an upwind break, and a Rowdy Boys only line converted the downwinder for an 8-6 halftime lead. Big blocks from Von and Jesse in the second half kept things out of reach for the Fish, and Machine came away with their first game win of the tournament, 13-10.
As dear sweet Fate would have it, this win combined in the heavens with a Ring of Fire loss to Ironside to match these star-crossed lovers together in the bracket for the 4th year in a row. With several Machine alums on Ring, the squad found their biggest focus challenge of the week. Don't think about pink elephants they said.
Well.
Machine found a small margin for error in the elimination rounds, and after what looked like classy holds on the first three O points, the throwaway, drop, and inefficient-spacing-slash-stall-count-management bugs all bit at once, and Machine found themselves in the blink of an eye on the shit end of the 3-8 halftime score stick. While things calmed down in the second half, the damage was done, and Machine was broken again for a 7-15 loss.
Hearing that the loss did not mean the end of games to one, the boys got a little #rowdy and took 15 such games in a row against Patrol. In the quiet words of the narrator of the Big Lebowski, "sometimes you eat the bar, and, well, sometimes the bar eats you." Life is weird.
After a bye, the squad suited up in white for the sixth game in a row against old Central Region friend Sub Zero. A slow start got the boys down, but after hanging tough through some early second half adversity, they clawed back with three breaks in a row to force double game point at 12-12. Unfortunately, the Sub Zero O went all Benihana on the Rowdy Boy D line and sliced and diced into the endzone in frankly anticlimactic fashion, handing Machine a 13-12 loss and an 11th place finish in the tournament (accompanied by a 3rd place finish in overall team spirit scores: http://tct.usaultimate.org/2017/10/25/2017-national-championships-spirit-scores/).
From there, the Rowdy Boys would ride out the Siesta Key sunset by running with the bulls all the way from the Captain Curt's karaoke stage to the Daiquiri Deck dance floor.
And then it was over. The squad chilled at the fields in the waning overcast twilight and thought about eternity for more than a few beats. Every year it's striking how much the team reconstitutes itself into something new. It's a mistake to look at that as a natural phenomenon, though, as much as its inevitability makes it feel like one. The team grows like a weed solely and with no other factors than the blood and sweat and sacrifice of its constituent members. 24 deep and with many of those greener than an early spring crabapple, Machine experienced just a wild amount of team and individual growth. Pride's a sin and I know that's right, but damn if it is not pretty tempting when you look at this squad.
You can get along if you try to be strong, but you'll never be strong. Much love 2017 Machine.
Chicago Machine heads to Sarasota, FL this week for USA Ultimate Club Nationals. The tournament runs from Thursday October 19th to Sunday October 22nd, and features the top 16 teams in the country from the Men's, Women's, and Mixed divisions.
It has been over five years since the last time the Club Championships were held in Sarasota (after a 13 year run from 2000-2012). Only 8 members of 2017 Machine have been on the squad long enough to remember the white sand beaches of Siesta Key, and the legendary escapades of Captain Curt's/ Daiquiri Deck.
This season, Machine comes in seeded 7th overall, pitting them in a pool with Seattle Sockeye (#2 seed), Florida United (#11), and New York PoNY (#14). Pool play games will take place on Thursday, leading into Pre-Quarters/ Quarters on Friday, Semi-Finals on Saturday, and Finals on Sunday. (Link to USAU Score Reporter Page)
The Nationals tournament format has been adjusted as of 2016 so that the First place finisher in each pool receives a bye directly to quarterfinals. Second and Third place finishers advance to pre-quarters, and Fourth place finishers are eliminated from the championship bracket.
Notes:
- Machine has played Sockeye once this season, winning a close quarterfinals at the Pro Championships in Burlington, WA.
- Machine has yet to play Florida United in 2017.
- Machine is 0-2 against PoNY, having lost on universe point at the Pro-Elite Challenge in Colorado, and in a lopsided affair at the Elite-Select Challenge in Appleton, WI.
While a few players are coming off of minor injuries, Machine will have a full roster in attendance.
Machine is not the only Chicago based team attending the tournament. The Chicago women's team, Nemesis, will also be attending. Both teams will be staying in the same beach villa complex in Siesta Key, creating a Chicago home base in the Sunshine State.
None of Machine's game's are currently slated for filming/ live streaming, but Machine will be filming games to be used for a post-tournament highlight video.
To follow the results over the weekend you can check in on the Chicago rowdy boys through Facebook / Twitter for regular updates.
Oh regionals. Aren't you the best tournament? Are you where dreams are made and broken? Don't you set apart the wishers from the doers? Who can escape your call? WHOSE HEART CLUTCHES NOT WHEN THEY HEAR IT?
Certainly not the ROWDY BOYS. With the trepidation of a blushing bride, the Rowdy Boys pulled up to Voice of America Park in sweaty West Chester, OH for the privilege of earning one of two bids to the 2017 USA Ultimate National Championship in Sarasota, FL next month. Could the RRRs find focus with all the pressure? With all the heat?
It turned out that the answer was yes. Tight defense efficient offense led to a 1 turnover first half 7-1 against fellow Chicagoans Beachfront Property. The 'front got rolling on O a little bit in the second half, but not enough to prevent a 13-4 win for Machine.
Next up was Baemaker, who ran into the Mike Schwenk buzz saw. A dime from Michael Wormley was the lone bright spot. 13-1 final.
In a faceoff for the pool, Machine took on Four from Ann Arbor. While early mistakes plagued this brightly camo'd crew, they did get some second half beastings in on some certified big doggs, and for that you've got to give them credit. Machine wins 13-6, and takes the pool.
That dub put Machine in the semifinals against Brickyard from Indianapolis. Brickyard came out intense on D, but a huge sky muted their cheers for the 1-0 Machine hold (GIF below). They held on a big grab of their own. The Machine D got hungry, and after a hold a mind bending Von Alanguilan layout sky kicked off off three breaks in a row, and got one more to take half 8-2. Determined to continue to ramp up in the heat of the day, Machine fought hard despite the excellent play of Rick Gross and Jake Fella, eventually winning 15-6.
A few placebos and a team meeting later, the Rowdy Boys were sawing logs in preparation for the final against regional rival High Five.
Coming into the final, lots of external factors came at the Rowdy Boys. Bids to nationals. An opponent they had lost to handily just four weeks earlier. The sweltering Cincinnati afternoon, and the possibility of a longer time in it if they lost. But as our mentors have said, "you can get along, if you try to be strong / but you'll never be strong, whoa."
This is all to say that Machine defeated High Five 15-11 in an intense final that Machine led wire to wire. An opening hold from the O line on some strong under work, and the D line punished an errant swing for the 2-0 lead. After a pair of trades each, Machine broke again on another missed swing, and the teams traded out to an 8-5 halftime lead for Chicago, a perfect 6-6 on O line possessions. The second half tightened, and the D couldn't punch in multiple turnovers from High Five's offense, while the O line saw its first turnovers of the game. The D line broke through for a 12-8 lead, but High Five answered with a poach D 10 yards outside the Machine endzone and flipped in a fast break to narrow the lead to 12-10. The O line answered on diving catch by Tim Fergus on an aggressive Alex Evangelides bomb for a 13-10 lead (GIF below), and Machine capitalized on an errant endzone shot with a Kevin Kelly huck to Brad Bolliger for a 14-10 lead. Multiple D possessions on the next point couldn't find the winning score, so the O line sliced through the High Five D on the following point, keeping the stall under 3 the whole point and scoring quickly for the 15-11 win.
The squad earned its second consecutive GL region title and will be back at nationals for the 12th year in a row. Instant hot takes were recorded afterwards as part of our ongoing "Ten Yards with Travis" Twitter featurette: https://twitter.com/MachineUltimate/status/912028102179553280
Look out for a highlight video and nationals preview coming soon!
In the meantime, we would like to extend a big time thank you to the USA Ultimate volunteers and the on-site tournament volunteers through Oshadega, as they did a fantastic job before, during, and after the tournament!
Additionally, we would like to thank our sponsors Five Ultimate (ultimate jerseys and apparel) and Mint Ultimate (ultimate gloves)!
And... while we are at it, thanks to all the former Machine big dogs who laid the foundation for the 2017 program.
The 2017 USAU Club Series is in full swing, and Machine is looking to qualify for Nationals this weekend at the Great Lakes Regionals in West Chester, OH.
The USAU Series involves a sequence of elimination tournaments starting with Sectionals, then Regionals, and concluding with Nationals. Machine was allowed to skip Sectionals and advance directly to Regionals based on qualification for the 2016 National Championship, and attendance at two or more USAU Triple Crown Tour event's (the Pro-Elite Challenge, Elite-Select Challenge, and Pro Championships).
Each region receives 1 automatic bid to Nationals, with additional bids being earned based on the number of in-region teams who fall within the top 16 of the USAU regular season ranking algorithm. The Great Lakes region has two bids to Nationals up for grabs this season as both Machine (11) and Michigan's High Five (5) finished in the top 16 of the USAU regular season rankings.
Machine enters the tournament as the overall number 2 seed, and will play three pool play games before entering into a bracket during the final round on Saturday. Pool winners will move directly to semi-finals, second place pool finishers will still have a chance to qualify by advancing through a backdoor bracket, which culminates with a "game to go" against the loser of finals.
Full Game Schedule: http://play.usaultimate.org/events/Great-Lakes-Mens-Regionals-2017
Machine expects to have their full roster healthy and in attendance, with the exception of Cullen Geppert (doubtful due to work obligations).
Machine will also be keeping close tabs on the Women's and Mixed division play over the weekend, which takes place at the same complex. Chicago's Nemesis and UPA will both be competing to make the trip to Sarasota in their respective divisions (the Women's division has two bids, while the Mixed division has 1 bid).
To follow along for live updates: http://twitter.com/machineultimate
Check back after the tournament for a recap, highlight video, and more!