emo - a brief history

In the autumn of 2003 east midlands open (emo) was formed for the sole purpose of breaking into the top 8 of the national ultimate tour. In its first season the club grew to 50+ members and was able to field two teams at all the major national tournaments. By the end of the 2004 season emo had established itself as the leading team in the midlands, making quarter finals at UK Nationals.

Further focus and drive was placed on reaching a top 8 place for the 2005 season. This meant the overall club size shrunk slightly, fielding only one team at tournaments. The year was a resounding success with top 8 finishes in 3 of the 4 main national tournaments, leaving emo with an overall ranking of 6th.

In 2006, emo qualified to play in the World Ultimate Club Championships (WUCC) in Perth, Australia where we finished 17th. We also achieved our best result yet, a 5th place finish at Tour 2 domestically, as well as winning the spirit prize at Tour 3.

The loss of a large number of more experienced players left emo a big job in 2007, where the focus was rebuilding and training the next generation in order for more success in 2008. The hard work paid off and 2008 saw emo's best ever performance on the domestic scene finishing in the top 7 at all 3 Tour events and a record 6th at UK Nationals.

Looking to build on the successes of the 2008 season, emo trained hard during the off-season (as well as hosting the first emo Invitational) and looked forward to shaking things up in and around the top 6 in 2009. After winning Tour 0 North, emo had 6th place finishes during the season, whilst an emo second team had broken into the top 8 of the second division. Domestically a very good season, but with big European Championships (XEUCF) hopes emo finished a disappointing 26th, bizarrely finishing below a couple of teams they beat over the course of the competition.

The 2010 season brought about some very strong competition by new and revamped teams, with the introduction of regional qualifiers later in the season. Strong finishes in the early events sent emo to Regionals to dominate the Midlands teams then going on to finish a respectable 8th at UK Nationals.

The end of the 2010 season saw a number of players move out of the region, but allowed a large intake of new talent for the 2011 squad. A 45-man strong squad including Great Britain representatives took emo into 2011. With National commitments and injuries we used 2011 to build our squad throughout the tour season and enter Nationals with high hopes, and a 6th place finish at UK Nationals meant qualification into European Championships Finals. With more people than ever staying with the team into the following season and the same management team in place things can only get better!

Helping the Region

The midlands region has also seen the benefit of emo's rise to stardom. Many of the players who play for emo also coach local teams in other divisions, at university and under 18 levels. To increase the number of players we can help, emo has begun hosting skills days for players of all levels of experience. These aim to pass on some of the tactics and skills required for playing ultimate competitively at a high level. emo have hosted 8 of these events in the last 6 years with attendance averaging more than 60 people and ranging in age from 14 to 40, all of which have been a resounding success. Skills days may be planned for the 2011/2012 season, check back soon for any updates!

Join us for 2011/2012

emo continues to train new players to take on the best in the UK and abroad. 2011/12 sees our largest squad of hard working players. If you want to be part of it, we would welcome your attendance in the autumn/winter of 2011 for our new intake to take us into 2012! Check out our training page for more information.