Brass Monkey

** 2008 Brass Monkey to be held - June 7-8 full details to follow **

2007 Brass Monkey – the 10th anniversary edition

Rotorua DiscSports Association is proud to bring you BM07 – the 10th anniversary edition of the Brass Monkey! That’s right, ten fantastic years of ultimate in the sulphur city – and we’re planning to make it one fantastic weekend!

Final costs are not yet confirmed - stay tuned for more information.

For those who have been before, expect the same great times as always (but even better!). If you have never attended a Brass Monkey, find out what you’ve been missing and see why the Brass Monkey was voted NZ’s tournament of the year for the 2006-2007 season!!

All of course, located in aromatic Rotorua. Accommodation is recommended at the Kiwipaka, who have once again come to the party with some great deals (see below for details). For bookings email Jan (mention that you’re with the Brass Monkey ultimate frisbee group for the deals). If you book with them, make sure you pre-register. Registration proper will open in mid-April.

In the meantime, we are looking for any items of Brass Monkey yesteryear to celebrate the 9 previous years’ tournaments. If you have any photos, articles or anecdotes from previous Brass Monkeys, we would love to hear from you (and there will be prizes!).

So: keep that weekend free, start planning your travels, contact the Kiwipaka for a great deal, get your indoor team motivated, and stay tuned to these lists for further announcements!

Kiwipaka accommodation deals

Chalets (en suite, Beds made)

Lodge (communal bathrooms, linen incl)

Jeremy

Final Update @ 6 June

Hi everybody,

Things to bring:
- $50 registration fee
- a white and dark top for the outdoor hat tournament
- swimming gear (for the Kiwipaka spa)
- wet weather gear (while the weather here has been fantastic lately, it is still June! Games will go on regardless).
- warm clothes - it goes without saying that it will be cold at the fields (0°C at 9am this morning), but it takes hours for the indoor stadium to heat up, so don't forget warm clothes for Saturday.

Important times:
Friday 8:30pm - registration opens at Kiwipaka bar
Saturday 8:15am - registration opens for those who didn't register on Friday night.
8:40am – captain’s meeting
9am (sharp!) - game on for indoors
6:30pm - indoor final
7:35pm - ABs vs France at Kiwipaka bar
9:15pm - LIVE hat draw begins at Kiwipaka pool
Sunday 8:30am - assemble at fields
9am (sharp!) - game on for outdoors
4.30pm(ish) - prizegiving, head home

Arrival to Rotorua:
Registration will open at 8.30pm Friday night at the Kiwipaka backpackers. As usual, first in gets best choice of the player packs. On a general note, please remember that the Kiwipaka are our friends, and we would like to make life easy for them. Please respect their rules and if possible, we recommend you pay in full on arrival (this makes life easy for you too, since you don’t have to worry about this while you’re rushing to get to the hat tournament on Sunday).

Meals:
A basic breakfast will be available at the Kiwipaka early on Saturday and Sunday mornings. If you want anything more elaborate than the standard cereals or toast, please make sure you bring this with you or visit a supermarket in Rotorua. Pizza will be provided on Saturday evening during the A grade final. Vegetarian options will be provided, but if your team has a huge number of veggos, then please make me aware of this so we can accommodate you.

Note that lunch is not provided on either day, and unfortunately Subway were unable to come on board this year with their usual deals. There are many close-by food vendors, though because the draw is so tight, you may like to bring your own lunch (supermarkets are located on the attached map).

Indoors - Saturday 9th
Due to the compressed draw, games will begin at 9am sharp. Please be there by 8:30am (unless you are not registering until Saturday morning – see below). Venue is the Southern Trust Sportsdrome in the new Energy Events Centre on Queens Drive.
Captains meeting will be at 8:30am. Game lengths are 20 minutes for the initial seeding round and 25 for pool play and the placement games. The final of the A grade is scheduled to begin at 6:30pm, followed by prizegiving.

If you aren't arriving until Saturday morning, please ensure you are at the stadium at 8:15 am to register - you won't be able to play until you have paid. Teams fielding an unregistered player will be disqualified. If you are arriving on a Saturday morning flight, it may be easiest to get a team-mate to register on your behalf.

The draw is the same as last year - 4 initial pools of 4 teams, based on preliminary seedings. These pools will play out to re-seed all teams. The top two teams from each pool will continue through to the A grade, the bottom 2 will go to the B grade. 2 pools of 4 will form in each grade, and these pools will play out. Quarters, semis and finals will follow. Captains have received a copy of the draw, rules, and seedings.

Other indoors info:
- Parking - please don't park in the museum carparks (it will be obvious).
- Showers will be available.
- With any luck there will be some spectators throughout the day, so please keep valuables secure.
- We hope to have massage available later in the day, so bring cash if you would like to be manipulated…

Party:
Venue is once again the Kiwipaka. There will be a bar tab, drink specials, the usual hi-jinks in the giant spa, and the All Blacks vs France match in the bar (complete with traditional man-love sweepstake, of course). Happy hour is 7:30-10:30pm. The highlight of the party, the LIVE hat draw, will commence from 9:15pm at the pool.

The Kiwipaka are enforcing their rules strictly this year – there is to be no outside alcohol brought in to the bar/pool area, and absolutely no glass in the pool. Anyone caught breaking these rules is likely to be kicked out – so don’t say you haven’t been warned! To assist in this we have increased the bar tab this year and negotiated better drinks specials, so please respect the rules.

Outdoor Hat - Sunday 11th
Game on at 9am - please be at the fields by 8:30am. The venue is Medical Officer’s Reserve, opposite Rotorua Boy’s High on Pukuatua St. For those playing just the outdoors, again please be there early to register. At this stage it looks like games will be 55 minutes long, and teams will be spread over 2 pools of 4 before going straight to placings and the final. Be aware that to allow an early-ish finish time, games will be shortened if the morning starts late - so be sure to settle your account with the Kiwipaka, pack up your hangover and get your ass to the fields on time!

Once again the Brass Monkey hopes to encourage newer players to reach the next level. Please make any beginners on your team feel welcome – we were all there once (some longer ago than others).

It should be all over by about 4:30pm to allow for safe travelling for all you out-of-towners.

A map is attached (provided the lists let it through – I will try to get this posted to the website as well) showing venues, Kiwipaka and supermarkets (for all your carbo-loading requirements). So no excuses for getting lost, but if there are any emergencies give me a call on 021 728 478.

For any other last minute questions, please feel free to email .

Drive safe

Jeremy

Update @ 25 April

Hey Brass Monkey enthusiasts!

45 days to go! The 10th annual Brass Monkey will be held in Rotorua on June 9-10. Team registration is now open for indoor teams. Plenty of teams have already expressed an interest, so I'm expecting a flood of emails - make sure you get your team bid in ASAP to secure your team's spot. Get in early to avoid disappointment and see why last year’s Brass Monkey was voted NZ’s tournament of the year for the 2006/2007 season!

Registration process:
Team managers - please send an email to brassmonkey@ultimate.org.nz, which includes the names of at least 7 players, including at least 2 women. You will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours. More formal registration will occur closer to the event.

Once the 16 team spots are taken, additional teams will be placed on a waitlist, in case any teams fall through the cracks. This will be on a first-in, first-served basis!

As in past years, the monkey is flexible:
Don't want to play indoors, but love the hat? No problems - drop me a line and prepare your game face for the Sunday.
Don't have an indoor team, but want to play? Due to likely demand, there will probably not be a pickup team, but there are always teams looking for extra players, so drop me a line and I'll add you to the list...

If you've got this email but haven't got a clue what the Brass Monkey is, ask the person you're marking at this week's league game. They'll know.

Things you need to know about this year's tournament:
- indoor teams competition on Saturday 9th June
- party at the Kiwipaka on Saturday night - including All Blacks vs France, giant spa and live hat draw. Think undies, undies, togs as you wander from bar to pool...
- outdoor hat competition on Sunday 10th June
- the budget is still being worked through, but expect the cost to be around $50 per player (slightly more than last year unfortunately, due to increases across almost all costs). More info posted as things are finalised...
- accommodation deals are available at the Kiwipaka (see the website link below)
- plus the same great prizes, player pack and benefits that you've come to expect from past monkeys!

We are looking for any items of Brass Monkey yesteryear to celebrate the 9 previous years’ tournaments. If you have any photos, articles or anecdotes from previous Brass Monkeys, we would love to hear from you (and there will be prizes!).

More info will be posted at http://www.ultimate.org.nz/pages/tourneys/2007brassmonkey.htm and to these lists, so stay tuned for further details! In the meantime, if you have any further questions, please email brassmonkey@ultimate.org.nz

Jeremy