Men's 4x4
The popularity of this division continues to grow and expand as more and more players get the taste of the quick game involved in 4x4. 2003 featured several new teams and returning teams. The teams that attended the 18th USFFD National Championships were Aerial Attack, River Rats, Jesters, Cleveland D-Dawgs, Dragons, WDSC, Valley Billards, Sprint Relay Texas, Chicago and Reapers. River Rats stormed onto the scene buoyed by their league experience in their hometown against local teams Valley Billards and Reapers while Jesters showed the fans and players what youth and speed can do. However, Aerial Attack was unstoppable - their 198 points scored in 5 games presents a new National Championship record for most points scored in a tournament and highest scoring average. We look forward to even more growth in the 4x4 format next year and for the years to come.
Women's 4x4
The 2003 tournament saw the women's 4x4 division grow to 7 teams - they were Tippy, Xtremes, WCG A, Stormy Lilacs, WDSC, WCG B and Austin Bats. Newcomer Tippy won the 18th USFFD National Championship by defeating an excellent squad in Xtremes who were devasated by their loss and vowed to come back in 2004. The women's division looks very balanced with three different national champions in the past three years...Will another team claim the crown in 2004?
Men's 8x8
After years of escalating physical play on the field, we were pleased to have such a great referee crew in 2003. They kept the tournament under total control and made several ejections for unsportsman conduct. We hope this sends the message to all players that we're playing for recreational fun and not to take it too seriously. The finals saw a rematch between Sprint Deaf Texans and Aerial Attack who faced each other in 2002. However, Deaf Texans were clearly outmatched by the speed and smarts of the Aerial Attack squad who defeated the Deaf Texans twice 24-6 to put an excalamation point in their season.
Will a team ever equal Aerial Attack's performance in 2003 and at the 18th USFFD National Championship? That'll be a tough task for any team considering what these boys did in 2003. They went 17-0 during the year against deaf opponents and racked up lots of points and awards along with a tenacious defense that only allowed a total of 12 points in 4 games in 8x8 at Wisconsin.
Final details are being put together for the tournament in Pittsburgh which looks to be a great one! Please check www.usffd.org for the latest updates and we'll all see you in Pittsburgh in 2004.
