Release the Hounds: Version 2.0

Years ago, a pack of Superflies travelled to the highest Summit in Idaho at Midnight in search of perfection. The events that transpired have become the stuff of legend, for on that fateful moonlit night, the greatest ultimate frisbee team was born. And the world has never been the same.

Release the Hounds is an Ultimate Frisbee team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They have been playing together since April of 2005. This is their story.

In the Spring of 2005, Simon Maycock brought together an eclectic mix of players to compete on Thursdays in the Toronto Ultimate Club. From teams that he had played on in the Toronto Central Sport and Social Club, the squad of 14 players was ready to take TUC by storm. The initial team consisted of Simon, Felix, Pierre, Bonnie, Mark, Lyanne, Laura, Matt, Tien, Nat, Austin, Chris, Hamid and Jocelyn, with help from Lara, as well as late-season pick-up Joel. They had an up and down inital season, finishing 11th in the final tournament, but the building blocks were apparent. It was obvious they could eat chicken wings, but would that translate to success on the pitch?


They ventured indoors for the TCSSC Sunday Speedpoint League, where they continued to improve. Dan joined the fray, adding a much needed "hippie" element to the Hounds. They finished 3rd and 4th against their toughest competition yet, but they really turned the corner at the Big Nickel.



For two days, the Hounds and friends (Olympia, Graham, Matt G) went to Sudbury as "Hounds on Ice" for some beer bongs, jacuzzi-ing, great food, dragonflies, and...oh yeah, an ultimate tournament played in 2 feet of snow. After seven games and a 5th Place finish, they returned home to an evening Speedpoint match against a tough Wasabi team. The Hounds, exhausted, played a great game, losing by only one point. While it was a difficult loss, RTH elevated their games after that point.


The Summer TUC season started very well for the Hounds, as they moved up the Thursday standings, and by the end of the regular season, they finished 2nd in the highest tier (4). The Playoff Tournament started well, as they rolled through three easy victories on Saturday. But, with high hopes,the wheels came off and they were upset on Sunday by the finalists. A final victory to take 5th did little to heighten spirits after the tough loss.

After the Summer season, it was back indoors for the TCSSC Speedpoint League. RTH was breezing through the season, and was poised to take the Championship. But, destiny threw them a scoober, as Joel was lost for almost a year to a knee injury (or "a knee" as Al Michaels would call it). The silver lining in this story is that it opened a spot for Christian to join up full-time, and the Hounds went on to take the title.


This brings us to the present, which is the point of all this. The past year has been documented by Hamid, on the initial Hounds blog who has gone onto create The Roman Empire. I've got some big shoes to fill, but I've got a lot of socks. It's on.


Smithers!
Yessir?
Release the Hounds!