2022 Canadian University Ultimate Championships: Tournament Preview and How to Watch
Canada’s top universities are battling it out this weekend to see who becomes number one.
October 14, 2022 from guest author in the preview with comments
This post was written by guest author Sarah Pledge Dickson.
The Canadian University Ultimate Championship (CUUC) begins on October 14th. Regional events have taken place across the country and teams now compete in Brampton, Ontario for titles in the Open and Women’s divisions.
Tournament Profile:
Live Stream Schedule
look here
October 14th
- 11:35 a.m.: Women’s game (teams open)
- 2:35 p.m.: Open Game (Teams TBD)
15th October
- 09:55 UVic vs Laval (W)
- 1:15 p.m.: McMaster vs. Manitoba (W)
- 4:35 p.m.: Montreal vs. UBC (O)
October, 16th
- 7:55 p.m.: Open Quarterfinals
- 1:15 p.m.: Women’s final
- 2:55 p.m.: Open final
tournament format
CUUC is divided into Division 1 and Division 2 for both open and female division. Teams are battling for the last few spots in Division 1 on Friday: three for the women and two on the open side.
The bottom three places in the women’s division will be decided in a series of eight teams, with top seed University of Guelph playing No 1. 8 Team Regina and so on. The two teams that make it to the finals go straight to the top division, while the teams that lost in the semifinals then fight for the last spot.
This format places great emphasis on the first game of the day. If teams make it past the quarterfinals, they have two chances to earn a Division 1 spot.
Before qualifying, Guelph has a third-place finish at Regionals and an even 6-6 record. No. 2 seed McGill (Montreal) finished second in his regionals and had close matches with the University of Toronto, McMaster University and Université Laval.1
3-seeded University of Ottawa are also tied at 3-3, with all losses coming in close games. Two of her victories include victories over Queen’s and Waterloo at Regionals. The No. 4 seeded Queen’s will also be in contention for a spot, taking on teams they’ve won against (such as Western and TMU) and lost to (McGill) in previous tournaments.
On the open side, 16 teams compete for the last two spots in Division 1. Divided into two pools of eight, each win brings Division 1 teams one step closer, while a loss puts them out of contention altogether. Only the best team from each pool advances to Division 1; All other teams play for the Division 2 title.
The University of Waterloo and Université Laval are at the top of their respective pools. Waterloo has a second-place finish at Steeltown and a third-place finish at Regionals to his name, while Laval separated two games against McGill, including a 9-8 win at the CQUUC Finale Provinciale.
After the final few spots are decided, pool play begins in Divisions 1 and 2 on Saturday. Division 1 has two pools of four in both the women’s and open categories, while Division 2 has eight open pools and five women’s pools. Division 1 teams will then be re-ranked upon completion of pool play.
Sunday begins with bracket play and, like the Open Friday Qualifiers, is won by whoever clears the post first.
Women’s section
So far, five teams have qualified for Division 1 women’s division: McMaster University, University of Toronto, University of Victoria, University of Manitoba and Université Laval.
No. 1 seed McMaster (Hamilton) qualified after his first place finish in Steeltown. Despite losing to Queen’s (Kingston) in the crossover game, McMaster fought back to beat them in the finals and won the first Ontario bid.
Second-seeded University of Toronto qualified for the Eastern Championship (CEUUC) after beating McMaster 10-9 in the final. Toronto’s only loss this season came from McMaster in the Steeltown semifinals.
Third seed Victoria qualified at their regional event, CWUUC. After a fourth-place finish at CUUC in 2021, they are back with a 2-1 record, losing only to Moiseclipse at CWUUC.
With a 5-0 record, no. 4 Seed University of Manitoba has dominated the women’s division. They rolled through pool at the Prairies Championship (CPUUC) by a 29-point margin, beating Winnipeg 14-10 in the finals.
The last team to qualify in the women’s division was fifth-seeded Université Laval in the Quebec Championship on September 25. After big wins in 2017 and 2018, this undefeated team is in contention for another title.
Open department
Six teams from the Open Division also qualified: Université Montreal, Queen’s University, University of Manitoba, University of British Columbia, University of Ottawa and Dalhousie University.
Five of the six qualified teams are undefeated. Top-seeded University of Montreal (UdeM) boast a 7-0 record and a strong squad, but they played close games against sides like Laval.
2nd-seeded Queen’s University received their bid at Steeltown, winning both that tournament and the Regionals to maintain a 10-0 record.
After a strong provincial performance at the Open Club Nationals this year, no. 3 Seed University of Manitoba is a team to watch for. Some of their players were on the winning team from General Strike and we’ll see if that momentum carries them to a CUUC title.
Fourth-seeded University of British Columbia (UBC) will be hoping to reciprocate last year’s seventh-place finish and continue a 3-0 winning streak. 6th-seeded Dalhousie University (Halifax) also remains undefeated, winning their bid after beating the University of New Brunswick at CAUUC.
University of Ottawa, the No. 5-seeded and lone open team with no unbeaten record, went 9-2 in the regular season, with losses to Queen’s in the semifinals at Regionals and to Waterloo at Power Pools in Steeltown. They earned their bid by finishing second at the Regionals.