On the weekend of October 26-27, the mixed team of Quijotes and Dulcineas competed in the Central Zone Mixed Beach Ultimate Regionals, where 4 spots were up for grabs for First Division Beach Ultimate Nationals and 6 for Second Division Beach Ultimate Nationals.
Saturday was sunny, and the first match of the morning against Disckatus NB helped us get a feel for the sand and build some team chemistry. We won 13-3. In the second game, we faced the team from Mallorca, Voltaris, and Q+D really started clicking and played a dynamic match, winning 13-6. We were ready for the last pool game against our neighbors from Madrid, Disckatus. Unfortunately, just before the opening pull, Henar, a key player, got injured during warm-up. The game started out close until Q+D got the first break, then a few more on the bounce to seal a 12-8 win. The group stage was complete—we were top of the group and had already secured a spot for Second Division Beach Ultimate Nationals. We had a two-hour break before the quarterfinals, our last match of the day, and the game that could earn us a First Division spot.
Our quarterfinal opponent was Jumanji, a team from Alicante that trains on the beach and has improved a lot in recent years. The wind picked up in the afternoon as the match began. Jumanji got an early break in the opening points, building a lead that we couldn’t overcome, and we ended up with a 6-11 loss. Disappointed, we let go of our First Division aspirations and congratulated Jumanji on their intensity and precision. The next day, we kept pushing to in order to secure a good seeding for Second Division Beach Ultimate Nationals. We wrapped up the day with Lili’s team activities—a great way to get to know each other even better and have some fun over dinner.
The next morning, we woke up to rain and wind, but we started the day with high energy. The first match against one of the home teams, Murcis Centellas, was tight. We had to attack some zone defense and hold strong on defense ourselves to get the first break after a long point. In the end, Q+D took an 11-8 win, moving on to the 5th-6th place game. The final match of the tournament against Bárbaros y Vikingos was extremely contested up until the very end. Although Q+D had plenty of chances to break over the course of the game, the stiff headwind kept us from finding the end zone. We began universe point on offense, but the win slipped away, and we ended up losing 7-8. We finished with mixed emotions—sad about the last loss but happy with the overall effort and a job well done.
Next stop: Second Division Beach Ultimate Nationals in Valencia, December 14-15.
1, 2, 3, Q! 1, 2, 3, D! 1, 2, 3, Q+D!
