2013 WORLD CUP TITLE GOES TO TORCH AND KIRBY!!!

It is OVER!!! The most epic weekend we could imagine has FINALLY come to a sunny, happy end.
The UFO is proud to recognize TORCH and KIRBY MCILVEEN as our 2013 World Cup Champions!!!
This young lady and her extraordinary dog keep raising the bar, and now add the UFO title to their already stellar resume.
After multiple trips to the World Cup Finals over the years, Kirby put the perfect capstone an an amazing World Cup Series with a nearly flawless round of freestyle. Even with a moderate Colorado breeze blowing, Torch made easy work of the throws Kirby dished out.
Kirby and Torch had a decent lead coming into the final, having dominated the series most of the season. The final tally added 100 more points to their horde, as Kirby capped off the great year by winning the World Cup Final with Torch at her side.

The pair won Final, but not without being pushed by other equally amazing teams. The always incredible Andrew Han with Solar brought their very entertaining style to the park in Littleton, and then revealed to everyone that he had a Throw & Catch game to match. A 17 point T&C round on Sunday morning put Solar in the lead at the cut going into the final round.
Bringing some Florida sun with them, Andrea Rigler and Moxie were toe-to-toe with Kirby and Torch through the freestyle, but couldn't find that killer T&C round to deliver the win.
Going into the Finals, reigning champions Chuck Middleton and Bling Bling knew it was mathematically unlikely that they could take the series title a second year in a row. However, anyone who knows Chuck knows that his disarming Texas charm masks a competitor that NEVER holds back-He and Bling brought their smooth style and put up 3 BIG freestyles. Again, only a slightly below par T&C kept them from the Finals win for the second year in a row.

The finals event was exciting and thrilling with such an amazing group of handlers and the best disc dogs on planet earth. The World Cup Freestyle Championship once again went to Andrea Rigler and Moxie. They represented the Southeast incredible freestyle that was dropping jaws everywhere.
The Freestyle title is always a tough one to win, as the Finals brings in the best of the best. The judges have the task of splitting hairs over which of the amazing dogs is just slightly more amazing on a day when amazing soup is served for breakfast. It could certainly have gone to any one of our top 10, and forces the judges to take into account even the smallest bobbles-because that is usually the only thing separating these teams.

The World Cup Throw & Catch competition was a hard fought battle with sky high rounds going down all over. In the end, Maggey and Mike Hanson put up enough points to hold off a tough field, and take the World Cup title. The pair had to top 2 former T&C Champs, plus an entire field of teams that came armed with fast dogs and mean backhands. It takes 4 rounds to win, and through all 4 rounds, Maggey only missed 1 disc. 2 days of T&C-always coming AFTER tough rounds of Freestyle, and this amazing dog only dropped 1. Simply incredible.

Also being contested this weekend was the UFO Dtour championships for Men and Women. For the second year in a row, the UFO Finals included a long distance championships.
On the women's side, our youngest finalist made the most of her trip; Ellie Stivers and Presto Changeo put up enough big throws to hold off the competition and earn a World Cup title. This big win was not against lightweights-Quadruped champions Kirby McIlveen, Jackie Sheets and Christi Campbell were among the amazing throwers they faced. As if winning with her dog wasn't enough, Ellie used a borrowed dog-Jeff Hill's Muse-to take second place as well! In third, a patient Kellie Hanson had the talents of the amazing Maggey at her fingers, and she put up very respectable throws that just might hint at a new Colorado distance power!

The Men's side saw reigning champs Mike Dillon and KT show up to defend their title. In the end, KT took second as her sister Molly wins the 2013 World Cup Men's Dtour championship. Mike's distances were simply too much for the field, including a winning catch of over 70 meters! Mike and his two dogs managed to hold off a neophyte thrower/dog team from Colorado, Rusty Redinger and Perseus. It is guaranteed we will see more of this team in the future!

The World Cup Finals was made even more special by the attendance of one of disc dog history's most important people, the legendary Eldon McIntire. Eldon was a judge for all three days, and when he wasn't judging, competitors were seeking him out for autographs and stories-both of which he was happy to share. As the winner of the first official disc dog contest EVER (with his dog Hyper Hank), and such an influential figure in our sport's history, it was truly an honor to have Mr. McIntire attend and judge the 2013 UFO World Cup finals.

It was a terrific weekend and huge thanks to the host club, The Colorado Disc Dogs. Despite a couple of delays, the club pulled off a massive 3 day event with incredible cheer and accuracy. The Colorado weather cooperated to supply 3 days of warm sunshine, though it was a bit stingy-cutting us off at 6:20 each night. The camaraderie, fun, anticipation and overall epic nature of the event will not soon be forgotten.
The UFO thanks our event sponsors: the Wright Life, Harmony Animal Wellness, Novartis Animal Health, and our series sponsors, Discovering the World.
And a HUGE thank you to the many, many volunteers who put in countless hours preparing the event, and then 3 solid days of HARD WORK to execute this championship.
This amazing weekend has finished, the Frisbee gods now return to their hidden dimensions, and the World Cup Series will return very soon!!!

- The UFO