U23 Possible Countries?

There’s a lot of speculation surrounding who will and who won’t attend the U23 tournament this summer.  Within Canada there’s quite a bit of discussion amongst potential players that’s heavily in favour of sending teams and as of yet Ultimate Canada has not made a decision.  That said, let’s speculate as to who will and won’t attend.

One of the biggest problems facing many countries is the short notice.  This problem is compounded in larger countries such as the US and Canada where established local systems and the distance required to attend tryout camps may make it infeasible to send teams.

Without citing sources (as is my habit on here) I have heard from many independent and reputable persons that the UPA will not be sending any teams to the U23 tournament.  The US has always been a dominate force in Juniors championships and it would have been great to see whether other countries had grown up and closed the gap.  Regardless, who else is likely to make it?

Sources indicate that European powerhouses such as Germany, Sweden, and the UK are likely to attend.  Italy, as hosts, Some Eastern European countries have also expressed interest (Russia and Hungary) while Western Europe is expected to send a few more teams.  Missing from the list of powerhouses is Austria but I would find it hard to believe that the National Champs would skip such a prestigious event.

Going further Columbia and Japan are considering sending teams while Australia will definitely attend.

I’m continuing to check in with other countries and will have updates as I know.  The team intention to attend deadline is January 31st and a list should be available shortly afterwards.

Also, I will be trying to cover the U23 tournament from location as it’s only a week or two after Prague.  I guess that means I’ll have to provide coverage leading up to the tournament.