Another classic Manresa Open is in the books. Participants to this Santa Cruz beach tourney/campout were treated to perfect winds, sunny skies and the traditional ammenities associated with the rich history of this event. Total participation was down no doubt to the World Disc Games which will happen in two weeks. However here are the results and accompaning narrative.

Judging system is the traditional “Pinball” method. Routines were 7 minutes
long (2 time outs per team).

Bonus Points (1-5 points for best example of the move were for:
Flying Gitis
Backroll to a team mates catch
Scarecrow Brush

Super Bonus Points (5 points if the move is completed)
Water Catch
Triple Spinning Catch
Under the leg cuff to team mate

Difficulty (1-10 points)

Maximum score for a team is 40 points.

Open Pairs (Saturday)
Masters of the sliced orbular corpusle, Doug Korns and Mike Esterbrook pieced together a smooth flowing styled routine to take the fourth spot. Narrowly edging them out with what amounts to a bit of an upset was local chicka Melissa Trail and Seattle’s neophyte Mike Galup. Melissa is quickly picking the game up and showing new found confidence with each passing tourney. Mike’s go for it attitude made for some exiting moments. Their futile water gitis were as entertaining as it gets. 2nd place went to Jamie Chantilles and Marko Regalbuti. These guys were trying to bust huge moves but never quite put is all together. Highlights from the team were Buti’s huge flying Phlaud and Jamie’s big gitis.

In 1st place was resident shredster Skippy Jammer and the up and coming Matt Gauthier. This team made a huge statement with their first two moves. Skippy did a scarecrow brush to Matt’s massive gitis then Skippy did a skid combo to Matt’s solid scarecrow. Matt has developed into a high caliber player. His difficulty and execution are really coming together. Skippy went dropless until a couple of futile water catches with about 30 seconds left.

Co-op (Sunday)
Third place went to the spirited team of Melissa Trail, Mike Galup and Tam Wolfe. Highligts of the routine were Melissa and Tam’s back to back Bad Attitudes and Melissa’s huge gitis which was awarded as the “Biggest Gitis”
from Jamie Chantilles. Second place went to Jamie Chantilles, Mark Regalbuti and Johnny “Sky” O’Malley. This team narrowly avoided an upset loss. It did not complete a single catagory until about 1 minute and a half was left in their routine. From Jamie’s 4th attempt at a self rev utl cuff which barely made a scrambling JO’s finger on the team made up for lost ground completing all of the necessary requirements. A side note to this was Jamie’s damaged hand from attempting so many cuffs. Swollen and bruised he carried on despite his ailment. Maybe next year he’ll have learned the subtle art of the cuff.

In first place in what amounted to a blow out were the team of Skippy Jammer, Matt Gauthier and Arthur Coddington. This team quickly dispatched of all of the necessary requirements immediately then got down to the business of shredding. A brief lull in their play prompted a time out. Skippy and Matt put on Hawaiian shirts then went back to business. The final 2 minutes of their routine were as good as any play in the history of the event. Of note is Arthur’s fine play. His overall game exudes a depth and diversity that has put him into some very rarified air.