BUTC 2013 Review [20/Feb/13]

Oxford A (Matt Langton, Alex Smith, Jack Sobey) won the BUTC 2013 final 16-12 against Edinburgh A (Fraser Keir, Douglas Jardine, Ben Arenas). Oxford put in a very strong performance in the final, including a perfect pass. In the bronze medal match Nottingham A (George Harding, Phil Middleton and Chris Fry) beat Southampton A (Luis Felipe Paulinyi, Andrew Howe, Chris Skipper) 14-11.

Clubs from no less than 26 universities took part, itself a new record for the competition. No less than 4 clubs, Derby, Huddersfield, Hull and Sheffield Hallam hit the hit/miss discs for the first time.

Nottingham A hit the front of the Bray I ranking pack immediately and slowly teased out a lead that eventually stretched to 31 points. Their total of 822 narrowly missed out on the tournament record of 825. Behind Nottingham A there was a chopping and changing leader board with the top six or seven places in constant flux right up to the very final end. The Dark Blues of Oxford A took second place with 791, a single point ahead of Southampton A, with Warwick A in close attendance on 787. Edinburgh A rallied strongly in the second half to place fifth with 782, one ahead of Cambridge A. London A who had started very strongly, drifted out to finish seventh on 778. Liverpool A were on their own in 8th on 770. Positions 9 through to 12 were split by only 5 points. Nottingham Trent A and Bath A rounded off the top 10 with 757 and 755 respectively. Defending champions Loughborough A qualified 11th on 753, 1 ahead of Derby A. BUTTS contributed 7 of the top 12 sides in qualifying. Imperial A finished on 742 points in 13th. Keele A finished on 735 just ahead of Napier A on 733, the Scottish side recovering after a poor start. Southampton B grabbed the last top 16 space with 732.

Top qualifier was Tom Cram (Loughborough A) on 284, ahead of Luis Felipe Paulinyi (Southampton A) on 280, with George Harding (Nottingham A) leading the chasing pack on 276. Cram only missed out on the gents record by 3 points. The top three ladies finished on 263, 262 and 261, Ellie Dyson (Nottingham Trent A) ahead of Maryia Karpiyevich (Cambridge A) and Hannah Beasley-Suffolk (Imperial A). Top novice by some margin was Andrew Howe (Southampton A) who scored an impressive 265 to add three points to the previous mark, shot in 2005.

The format of the knock-out matches was same as it has been since 2007, with the teams of three each shooting four ends of two arrows each at 60mm discs.

There were relatively few problems for the top seeds in the first knock out round, but defeats for all four of the sides making their BUTC debuts. Debutantes Derby were the highest seed to go out in the round of 32, losing a 9-8 thriller against Surrey (qual 21st). Both Nottingham teams made it through to round 2 in contrasting styles. Nottingham A beat Hull 14-2, whilst Nottingham B (qual. 18th) finished 8-8 against Napier A before going on to oust the Scottish club in a shoot off. Napier have now finished 17th= (i.e. joint highest scoring losers in round 1) 4 times in 8 first round exits. Southampton also got both their sides in to the second round - Southampton A beat Lancaster B 9-3, whilst Southampton B edged out Aberdeen 8-5. There was no home advantage for Lancaster's A team either as they slipped out of the competition 10-6 to Loughborough. Warwick A scored 13 to knock out a spirited Bradford A who managed 6. London were relatively untroubled against newcomers Sheffield Hallam going through 11-2, Edinburgh beating Sunderland by a similar 11-3 scoreline. Second seeds Oxford also through, without really hitting top form, 8-1 winners against Imperial B.

Liverpool B (qual. 20th) hit 4 discs in their match against Imperial A, but the Imps could only match that total and the match went to a shoot off, whilst also finished level. Despite being allowed a third bite at the cherry Imperial A came unstuck and it was Liverpool B who prevailed. Liverpool A beat Nottingham Trent B 8-2, although there was better news for Trent's A team as they defeated BUTTS rivals Birmingham A 7-5. The three remaining matches were all tight affairs. Huddersfield A held Cambridge A for much of their match before the Light Blues eked out a 9-6 win. In the remaining two matches, the only represenatives of SWWU Bath, beat Leeds 8-5, Leeds returning to BUTC after 4 years, whilst Keele beat East Anglia by a solitary disc, 6-5.

The tie of the round in the last 16 was unquestionably Warwick A against Liverpool B. This should have been a no contest, with Warwick A 16 places and 82 points better off in qualifying and Liverpool B squeaking through the lowest scoring first round match on a tie breaker. However a transformed Liverpool B did keep pace with Warwick with neither side able to take an advantage. With Liverpool A scraping past Nottingham Trent A 6-3 in the neighbouring match, noise levels ratched up and up. In an intense atmosphere, the match threatened to boil over and it was certainly Liverpool B who profited going through to the last eight 12-11. Nottingham A went through comfortably against Southampton B 13 discs to 7. Southampton A could also only manage 7 discs and with their opposition Keele A also hitting 7, a shoot off was required, the south coast side evetually heading through. Loughborough against Cambridge always looked like a juicy tie and so it proved. Loughborough were actually the lower ranked side going in to the match, 11th against 6th, but produced a 14 hits to their league rival's 10. Edinburgh began to flex their muscles with a 15-7 win over Surrey. Oxford beat Nottigham B 11-6, whilst London beat Bath 9-6 to make their first quarter final since 2003, the very first BUTC of all.

All four quarter finals were fascinating affairs in their own way. At the half way point of Liverpool A v Nottingham A and Liverpool B against Edinburgh A, both Liverpool sides appeared to be heading towards an improbable semi final meeting. Eventually however both Nottingham A and Edinburgh A were able to exert their authority on their respective matches, Nottingham coming through 13-9 and Edinburgh 10-7. Liverpool have made two previous appearances in the BUTC QFs, in 2004 and 2009 when they lost to sides from Edinburgh and Nottingham respectively. The other two quarter finals were higher scoring affairs, both decided by a single disc. Southampton A hit 14 (after 9 and 7 in the previous rounds) against the 13 of Loughborough, to bring their title defence to an end despite a great effort. Oxford and London duelled it out with the match ending 13 hits to 12 to the Dark Blues.

The two semi-finals were run concurrently - the winner of Oxford v Southampton would contest their first BUTC final, with both sides having made the semis in recent years. The other semi final was between two BUTC behemoths Edinburgh and Nottingham, who between them have contested every BUTC final, including in 2010 against each other. Edinburgh seemed to relish their position as underdogs and an entertaining battle ensued. Nottingham had finished 40 points ahead of Edinburgh in qualifying and hit 40 discs in three matches against Edinburgh's 36. However during the match, Nottingham struggled to build any momentum at all and their disquiet seemed to feed Edinburgh who nudged in to the lead and subsequently took the match 13 discs to 12, thus denying Nottingham a fifth consecutive final. Southampton were not able to repeat their heroics in the previous round, scoring only 9 and leaving themselves open to Oxford, who managed 12, winning a semi-final at the third time of asking. Oxford became the sixth BUTTS club to make the BUTC final - in fact you have to go back to 2005 to find the last time no BUTTS club was involved.

The bronze medal match was a good contest between Nottingham and Southampton, with Nottingham eventually coming out on top 14 discs to 11. Nottingham claimed bronze medals despite never going below 12 discs, or put it another way, never having more misses than hits. Fourth place for Southampton equals their best performance at a BUTC two years ago.

So the BUTC final saw two teams in dark blue take to the floor in pursuit of the coveted BUTC title. Oxford were competing in their first BUTC final, having made the semis in 2009 and 2012. Edinburgh's history in this tournament is rich, with no less than 5 wins, but since their 2010 triumph they had not been back to the final. Could Oxford do what their arch rivals Cambridge failed to do in 2006 and again in 2007 and beat Edinburgh in the final?

In the final itself, Oxford struck early, with a perfect opening of three hits out of three, building a 5-2 lead by the end of the pass. The second pass finished all square, but Oxford seemed to be in charge, 8-5 up at the half way stage. In the third end, the Dark Blues made what proved to be the decisive move. Two successfully claimed disc cutters added to four definite hits gave Oxford a perfect pass and when a reeling Edinburgh could only muster 2 hits in reply, Oxford were 14-7 up and definitely champions. The last pass was purely academic, but Edinburgh threw off the shackles and, to growing cheers, got within a shot of a perfect pass of their own. A delighted Oxford however were able to enjoy the last end of the day knowing they would get their hands on the trophy and the match ended 16-12. Oxford have a strong history at all the British university level events, with few recent placings outside the top 8. This does appear to be the Dark Blues' first title win at this level, their most recent medals coming at BUCS Indoors 2009.

BUTC could not go ahead with the support of its two key long terms sponsors, Clickers and Beiter who were once again critical to the success of the day, with Clickers supplying the bosses and timing equipment and Beiter the hit/miss apparatus. Thanks are also due to the many people who worked hard in the months and days leading up to the tournament and on the day itself, particularly Michael Lindsay and Lancaster (and Huddersfield and the extended NEUAL family) as well as the judging and organising teams, commentators and absent friends.

There are a mind bending 611 entries for BUCS in Telford in 10 days time, but for BUTC the last discs have fallen and the echoes of the enthusiastic crowd have just about died away. Could your club help to organise a competition like that? Of course you wouldn't be on your own - contact UKSAA and let's see what 2014 brings.


Quarter Finals

  • Nottingham A (1) beat Liverpool A (8)
  • Edinburgh (5) beat Liverpool B (20)
  • Southampton A (3) beat Loughborough A (11)
  • Oxford (2) beat London (7)

Semi Finals

  • Edinburgh A beat Nottingham A
  • Oxford A beat Southampton A

Third/Fourth place play-off

  • Nottingham A beat Southampton A

Final

  • Oxford A beat Edinburgh A

News and Editorials 2012/2013

  • August and everything after [13/Aug/13]
  • It's 2014, this must be Belgium [31/Jul/13]
  • Catching up with NEUAL [16/Jul/13]
  • Exeter ease to SWWU crowns [12/Jul/13]
  • H2H at Lilleshall, SEAL [01/Jul/13]
  • BUCS Outdoor 2013 Review [20/Jun/13]
  • NEUAL, BUTTS Outdoor titles [30/May/13]
  • London calling... for help [16/May/13]
  • Bath time: Clout & SWWU [07/May/13]
  • Outdoor Joy for Aberdeen [30/Apr/13]
  • E-League win for Warwick [25/Apr/13]
  • SWWU 3, Clout Champs info [04/Apr/13]
  • London calling for SEAL [01/Apr/13]
  • Keele claim NEUAL Indoor win [27/Mar/13]
  • Telford SEAL, SWWU and Survey [18/Mar/13]
  • Champions face E-League Drop [13/Mar/13]
  • BUCS Indoor 2013 Review [05/Mar/13]
  • BUTTS and SUS Championships [28/Feb/13]
  • London in SEAL driving seat [25/Feb/13]
  • BUTC 2013 Review [20/Feb/13]
  • Edinburgh win Titles Fight [15/Feb/13]
  • League Match win for Aberdeen [08/Feb/13]
  • A BUTTS match and a half [06/Feb/13]
  • Red Rose, Yellow Disc [04/Feb/13]
  • More January Updates [28/Jan/13]
  • January Updates [18/Jan/13]
  • Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, ELeague [09/Jan/13]
  • New Year NEUAL catch up [02/Jan/13]
  • Duo in dual SEAL duel [21/Dec/12]
  • Exeter win, Other corrections [12/Dec/12]
  • Joint Leaders for BUTTS [07/Dec/12]
  • Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Coventry [04/Dec/12]
  • Modernisation vs Insurance [28/Nov/12]
  • 4 points split BUTTS top 3 [21/Nov/12]
  • Opening shots fired [15/Nov/12]
  • Four more rounds [08/Nov/12]
  • Ireland UK Cup in January [30/Oct/12]
  • Thirteen Hosts - Part 2 [16/Oct/12]
  • Southern Leagues set to grow [08/Oct/12]
  • Thirteen Hosts [15/Sep/12]

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