Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Special Christmas Post

Merry Christmas everyone!

I wanted to share something that may be interesting to a number of you. I took some time to write down some questions for my parents to get an idea of what their perspective on ultimate looks like. My dad generously went through and answered them rather thoroughly, so I'm going to copy and paste the email below.
To me, these answers are a good way to see how Enigma (and the sport in general) looks to the parents who are sometimes on our sidelines.

1) What was your experience with ultimate before your kids became obsessed with the sport?    Mom knew nothing of the sport.  I actually did a presentation my freshman year of high school about Frisbee and it included ultimate as a game that can be played with a Frisbee.

2) Have you ever played ultimate? Before we started playing?     Yes, I played Ultimate at the youth group outing with you.  It was a pick up game and the rules were very relaxed.     Played in the Dayton league last summer. It was much more competitive and I really needed to be in better shape. I wish I  had played when I was running more.  No games prior to you three playing.

3) What do you think of the stereotypes (eg. hippies)?
     Mom did not know there were these stereotypes.  Now she is worried!    I knew of the stereotypes, but related it more to just the free-spirit of throwing the frisbee around.   We both have been more impressed by the character of players. Yes there is some colorful language and commentary, but that is pretty common in most adult sports.  We would not have allowed Chase to participate with the older guys if we felt they were a bad / negative influence.  I always tell others about the positive sense of community and sportsmanship to those who do not know the sport.

4) You both have been to some tournaments, what do you think of ultimate tournaments (regarding the teams, atmospheres, typical characters there)? Dad, how did this compare to going to the Revolution games for you?    We both enjoy the tournaments.  Most of them have a fun festive feel to them.  I really enjoy the camaraderie between teammates and even among teams.  It is also neat to see different personalities coming together; somewhat like animal house where everyone fits.  I wonder if that is true for all teams or not.  I could imagine there being some clique type (selective) teams where they only want “jocks’'.  Watching the Men’s club championship online seemed to show two teams that were made up strictly of the stereotypical athlete.  I could be wrong and I do not know the teams, but watching online I did not see all of the personalities that seemed to show up in the “local” tourneys.  
    The Revolution game had the feel of a minor league baseball game.  You knew that the teams had top line talent and there was a new level of seriousness that I had not seen in Enigma tournaments.  There was also a feel of being around celebrities (but they were approachable), whereas the tournaments that Enigma played in felt more like the good old softball tourneys I played in back in the day.  Everyone was playing to win, but to have a good time doing it.  5) What do you think of a college experience (and the selection of a school) possibly being impacted by his ultimate career?
    It will be interesting to see how colleges recognize ultimate teams in the future.  I am not sure how many high school players know of the college teams and their level of success.  We are fortunate that the college championships were here in the area.  It exposed U-16 and U-19 players to the teams and the level of play.  I suppose more experienced and talented younger players would want a college to have a club team and may be drawn to attend that college or a college with a nationally success team, but it really comes down to the programs / majors colleges offer.  That is until ultimate scholarships become part of the financial decision. 
6) Any final thoughts/comments?
    The commitment that many of the Enigma players have made to the growth of ultimate in the southwest Ohio region has been impressive.  It is great to see players reaching out to high schools to help coach and instruct players of all skills.  It would be awesome to even see some joint practices or teaching scrimmages.   Last of all a local tournament hosted by Enigma would be pretty cool to see. 

2014 was a big year for Enigma, I hope it was as fun for you all as it was for me. I'm looking forward to 2015! More news on what 2015 will look like in the coming month or so.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Offseason


Enigmen and Enigma fans,

Happy Holiday season! I figured it was time to put an end to the drought of blog posts on the Enigma page. You can look forward to a few more in the coming month or so as there are some news items that might be sort of important to our weird little community.

This post is mainly regarding our offseason improvement and the things we can do next season to be better as teammates and as a whole team. I've been working harder, earlier, this offseason to continue getting better. For example; despite not being in college, I played three college tournaments and joined Columbus league for the first time this year. It's important that we keep touching a disc (every day if possible).

Beyond just playing though, doing things to improve your athleticism is huge. Get in the weight room, go for runs, eat better; these are the things that great players tend to do and is the reason they are great. Let's put in the work now so that everything is easier in the summer!

Fudge sent this over today, and I think it's worth reading. He sent it out to Steamboat after reading about the psychology of climbing or something. I know it's hard to take him seriously with that haircut, but trust me when I say this stuff is quality:
  • Adjusting how we give and receive feedback. When providing feedback try to identify suggestions or possibilities to improve upon rather then telling or commanding the individual on what should be done. Also, know going into this we are all working together for the common goal of success on the field. Someone pointing out a suggestion is not a personal attack, it's them caring enough about you to want you to improve. As each individual improves, the TEAM progresses as well. We all put in the work, let's try to get the most out of each other. 
  • Self Handicapping - rationalizing a lack of effort or performance to set your or other expectations lower. Think about a time on the field where you've said or thought something like "Woah, this chick/dude is way better than me. So if I don't get open this point, that's why". This ties back to ego and acceptance. We want people to like us and to be accepted, and we feel like we lose that if we get embarrassed. Setting expectations lower reduces that embarrassment and protects our shitty egos, but at the expense of living up to our self fulfilling prophecy of poor performance. 
  • Fear of Failure - when we do fail, it's super common for the individual to blow out of proportion the magnitude others care about the failure. Making mistakes sucks. But it's fucking inevitable. Everyone does it, but we can adjust how react to failure, both as the individual who made the mistake, and as supportive team mates. Let's say you've got a cutter on their way in, they cut break, you see the lane and you've got space, but when you step out throw your wrist angles ever so slightly down and you turf it. Immediately your head drops. RIGHT HERE is where we start to fix this. YOUR reaction to failure is suggesting you want others to sympathize with you, console you, and prevent you from feeling left out of this group. It's OK to fail! You've learned something from it. Be the person who uplifts others rather than puts them down. 
  • Performance Anxiety - this plagues us on universe point. This eats at us when we are stepping onto the line for the first time against a team that appears to be all studs. Instead of looking across the field and having a panic attack over how good this team might be, slow your roll! Take a deep breath and focus on what immediate things you can do to help the other 6 people on the line with you. Identify where you'll be forcing the cutter so you can make a play on the disc, know that you can be chill with the disc once you get it, then make the smart decision and clear.Focus on these small steps rather than "I've got to score a goal this point!". Focus on the progress rather than the result. 

So take these things into consideration with your college teams, league teams, the Revolution; whoever you're playing with right now and they can carry over to Enigma when we start back up. It's not even Thanksgiving and I am already missing our 90 degree practices.

Last thing. If you didn't see, the Revolution are having 2 more open scrimmage type things and then their combine. If you have any desire to play for the Rev this year I highly recommend going out. Even if you don't want to play for the Rev, it's good ultimate and you'll get a chance to play with referees if I'm not mistaken.

Cheers,
Chad 

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Up Next: Regionals

We are just over one week away from the culmination of all the work put in over the course of the last 4.5 months. The Great Lakes Regional Tournament is next weekend, and everything Enigma has set our sights on achieving is getting oh so close.

After a fifth place finish at Sectionals in Versailles, Enigma will be headed to Regionals seeded in the middle of the pack and ready to make memories in West Chester. We are excited for the chance to play the best teams that Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan have to offer, and we are glad to once again be a part of it.

Time for an Enigma history lesson!

This is the fifth time that Enigma has qualified for Regionals. The 2014 team's fifth place finish at Sectionals may be the worst Sectionals finish for Enigma since 2009, but this team lost only two games last weekend and played the toughest competition very close. Take a look at the Enigma history:




Enigma 2014

With two practices left in the season, every touch and every throw counts toward better performance next weekend. Enigma players should be preparing their bodies for the best competition they've seen all year and readying themselves to play their best ultimate at the right time.

The 2014 team has a chance to make a real name for Dayton Ultimate. This year was quite the change from last year, but Enigma still has the opportunity to do big things this weekend. Nothing is sweeter than ruining a tournament for another team. As a middle of the pack seed, we have the chance to do that. With an eye on the future, Enigma should push to finish as high as possible next weekend so that new opportunities may open up next season. ZERO ZERO

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Motown Preview

With our Throwdown in Motown (in Sylvania, Ohio) coming up this weekend, it seemed like a good time for an update. Enigma received our screen print jerseys this week and they look pretty sweet, especially the white ones. Thanks again to Brewster for helping with the jersey order process. If you are an Enigman that still owes Chad money for jerseys, please pay up as soon as possible.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Tryouts Are Over

Scinny is over, Enigma went 3-4 and finished fifth. With that, the tryout process is over. We thank everyone who came out and made our decisions difficult, it really was tough picking the last few spots. We had great turnouts over the course of the last couple of months, and hopefully everyone had fun even if they didn’t make the roster. Please continue to come out to practice if you are interested. We’d love to help you become a better ultimate player and spend more time with all of you. Also, if anyone gets injured or simply can’t make a tournament we may be calling on some of our practice squad players to step in. Plus, if you ordered a jersey, we will still get that to you when they come in. If anyone still owes money, please get that in asap.


Those who are on the roster, congratulations! We are ready to get serious about the season ahead of us. Motown Throwdown and The Three Ring Rally are about a month away, so we have plenty of time to continue improving. Get your final roster dues ($20) to me so that we can pay for the Series.


I’ll announce the roster below, but first a little recap of Scinny. We came in with expectations to compete for the Golden Gnome, and this weekend Enigma did a lot of competing for sure. Losing by 2 points in each of the first three games, at a tryout tournament, was frustrating. Backs against the wall though, Enigma was able to get a win to play for the gnome on Sunday. This was short lived, however, as we weren’t able to pull out the win over Castle. In the second game on Sunday, Enigma entered the 5th place bracket and won two games to capture 5th place. After all of that, it’s easy to see that the team has a lot to work on but it’s going to be a lot of fun to get this team where it needs to be come September.


Without further ado, the roster for your 2014 Dayton Enigma:


#0 JT “Jit” Fischer - O Line Cutter (Wright State)*
#1 Michael “Rapsheet” Mills - D Line Cutter (Dayton)
#2 Evan “Van” Wilder - D Line Cutter (Washington University)*
#3 Chris “Chrispy” Pickard - O Line Handler (Wright State)
#5 Todd Chamberlain - O Line Utility (Ohio Northern)
#6 Jesse “Zubat” Grewal - O Line Cutter (Dayton)
#7 Jack Kelly - D Line Cutter (Wright State)
#8 Zach Peugh - O Line Handler (Ohio State)*
#9 Alex “Flammchops” Flamm - O Line Cutter (Cincinnati)*
#10 Chad “Mr. President” Gregory - D Line Handler (Ohio State)
#11 Micky Koho - D Line Cutter (Northwestern)*
#13 Benny Rider - D Line Handler (Wright State)*
#15 Brian “Waffles” Walsh - O Line Handler (Dayton)
#16 Kaz Teope - D Line Handler (Air Force)*
#17 Alex Semaca - O Line Cutter (Cornell)
#19 Dylan Corwin - D Line Cutter (Dayton)*
#22 Matt “Watersnake” Muhlenkamp - O Line Cutter (Wright State)
#27 Ian Cannon - O Line Handler (Dayton)*
#34 Josh Fries - O Line Handler (Harvard/Wright State)*
#37 Tony “Little Cesar” Donato - D Line Handler (Cedarville)*
#54 Avery Moeller - D Line Cutter (Wright State)
#66 Z Knight - O Line Cutter (Dayton)
#68 Dan Miner - D Line Handler (Wheaton)*
#73 Adam Luthman - D Line Cutter (Clemson)*
#76 Jordan Kinde - O Line Handler (Wright State)*
#88 Matt McDonald - O Line Handler (Air Force)
#97 Alan Huels - D Line Cutter (Dayton)

* = Brand New Enigma Rookie

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Gnomes

There are three practices left until Scinny. Get out there and work hard so we can take it to everyone in Lebanon. We will be playing for the Golden Gnome once again, and we need to get that thing back from CaSTLe.

Not the actual Golden Gnome


There are also three practices (and a tournament) left until we announce the full roster for Enigma in 2014. You’ve seen a few announcements in the last couple of weeks on our Facebook page, but we will not be announcing anymore until after Scinny. Please fill out the spreadsheet so that we know who is coming to practice, and also let us know your availability for the tournaments (especially the Series). These kind of things make a difference.


Also, make sure to turn in dues before Scinny and get jersey money in as soon as you can.

Just for nostalgia sake, my favorite Enigma highlight video:




Friday, June 6, 2014

Getting Ready for Scinny

Monkey Bowl has come and gone, after only losing to one team (twice) Enigma is looking forward to driving much less for our next tournament at the end of June. Scinny is up next, in Lebanon, and this will be the last tryout tournament for the boys from Dayton. We will  play some tougher teams at Scinny, but expect to be competitive and strive to win the Golden Gnome.



Don’t forget to get your dues in if you haven’t paid yet. The $35 ($20 if you were in Dayton Spring League) pays for practice and the first two tournament bids. Also, don’t forget that we will get jersey forms ready soon. Just waiting on a sample so we can see if we want to get way cheaper subs.

After Scinny, the roster will be put together with 27 guys that we hope can help us compete at our highest level at Motown, Three Ring Rally, Sectionals and Regionals. Remember that everyone who is cut from the final roster is still able to come to practice and be a part of that. In the case of final roster players not making tournaments because of injury or other reasons, we will draw people from the practice squad to fill the gap.

A word on what we are looking for when we select the final roster:

-Skill/Talent/Ultimate IQ/Field Awareness
-Obviously we want good ultimate players who can make plays to help us win games

-Knowing how to play and act in your role
-If you don’t have a throw, don’t try it in a big game. If you aren’t an established leader on the team, maybe you hold back on critiquing teammates. Just a couple examples.

-Being a fantastic teammate
-Fun to be around, positive attitude, rowdy on the sideline...those kind of things

-Coachability
-Listens and responds to critique in a positive way, works hard at practice, etc.

We will begin rolling out some roster announcements next week. These announcements shouldn’t be shocking, and all of the major decisions will be made after Scinny.

Under a month left until we do have the full roster put together. There will be some difficult decisions to be made this year, which is something that is kind of new for Enigma. Work hard and layout, zero - zero.

Monday, April 28, 2014

1 Week

Just over a week away from the first Enigma practice (May 6th)! I don’t think I could be more excited, we’re going to have a fantastic season.


Dayton Spring League has kicked off, and for those of you who didn’t register, you're missing out. A new administration has entered the Dayton League, ready to take over where Weyers left off. That’s right, now that Captain Crunch is out west, the White House is looking to keep the Dayton League title in the hands of the Enigma D line.


Oh yeah, and Ohio Valley Regionals were this past weekend. Great performances by all the local teams, including Cedarville (GOING TO DIII NATIONALS!). Sadly, the DI teams couldn’t get it done because Pitt is just a monster of a program. That said, UD played well this weekend and all of the Dayton teams had big seasons. Congrats to all of you!




Ok, Enigma stuff. Again, practice will start on the 6th. Since we are giving up Thursdays to Dayton League until this session is over, be prepared to do some drills and conditioning from the get go (it won’t be too hard I promise). I shouldn’t have to tell you what to bring, but just in case:
-Water
-Cleats
-Light shirt/jersey (white)
-Dark shirt/jersey (not gray)
-Dues (please get this to us as soon as you can)
-$35 if you are not in the Dayton League
-$20 if you are in the Dayton League

We are going to send out an email with this Schedule/Attendance sheet attached to it. Please fill it out if you will be there or not. We did this in 2012 and it helped with attendance and conditioning. If a player does not either fill out that “Yes”(or) "Green" I will be there, or “No” I won’t be there, then the players who are at practice will have to run for it at practice that night. Please be a good teammate and fill out the spreadsheet. Thanks!


Oh and enjoy this throwback:



Monday, April 14, 2014

3 More Weeks

Another awesome weekend of ultimate is behind us now, with Ohio State (hey Cody) coming out on top as the Ohio Conference champions. There was some crazy action, and I mainly stayed around the Dayton teams, but there were some great surprises this weekend. Congratulations to everyone who is going to Regionals in two weeks.


Both days, Wright State put scares into teams ranked ahead of them. Airstrike lost to both Case Western and Cincinnati on universe point, indicating things that might be coming in a couple weeks in Toledo.





Both Dayton teams played similarly well, and matched up in bracket play at the end of Sunday and we say UD come away with the win. The wind was terrible on Sunday, and UD was fortunate to get some upwind breaks at the beginning of the game which quickly put Wright State in a hole they could never get out of.

I shouldn't forget to mention Cedarville, who was probably a bit disappointed to not win the Conference in DIII. They will get a chance at revenge and are looking primed to make a serious run at Nationals.


This weekend was also the beginning of the AUDL season. The Cincinnati Revolution took on the Madison Radicals, and played a hard fought game. Unfortunately, some unforced errors and bad decisions allowed Madison to go on a run that put them ahead for good during the second quarter. Our very own Jamie Horne and Chris Hoy did some good work as the announcers, and I’m looking forward to more of their work. This area of the Revolution experience is already much improved over last season. Get out there on Friday to support the Rev when they play Chicago!





Lastly, after being around all of the Enigma guys and potential 2014 Enigmen this weekend, we are incredibly excited to get the season started. If I can say anything about the upcoming summer, I can say it’s going to be a blast.


And remember, zero - zero.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Getting Closer

It’s April! The weather is getting warmer, the college season is flying by, and the club season is getting closer. Next Saturday, April 12, the Cincinnati Revolution open their season at home against the Madison Radicals! I plan on being there and you should too. As mentioned before, there is a large Enigma presence on the team, and afterwards they are having a cool open house/party type of thing at Rhinegeist in Cincinnati (stay tuned). A bunch of club teams will have representatives there to recruit. Come and help us out with the recruiting!


On that note, don’t forget to fill out this FORM if you have even just an interest in playing Enigma this year. It’s been awesome to see the responses coming in from vets and prospective rookies.


The best two responses for the goals section:


Alan
“Poop on a lot of shoulders. Better defense on in-cuts, and when trailing deep cuts (footspeed and a fast read to reaction time). Have a stronger mark by learning to footblock like the Chode. Play physical on guys bigger than me. Don't let guys smaller than me get the disc. Ever. Drop a guy to the ground that is playing physical with me and no-contest his foul call. Sleep in a bed with Chad. Own Hammer of Thor. Throw an enigma party and play cups on sticks. Improve flick hucking by jerking off with Mike Ames. Heckle more. Keep not playing O-line. Stay sexy. Get a good tan. Consistent pulls. Sign a baby.”




Snake
“Sky some bitches and throw some hucks (oh and beat Madcow).”




If you know anyone that you think would be an awesome addition to the team, let them know about Enigma and/or get us their contact information. We appreciate it!


Zero - Zero

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Excitement!


562767_10101278224350028_1379935115_n.jpg

We are one week closer to the beginning of Enigma 2014. This past weekend was Boogie Nights at Miami, and it was a lot of fun. Enigmen were found on various teams, and potential recruits were everywhere.

Wright State ended up winning the tournament and seemed to be pretty dominant all weekend. The only close game was the last game of pool play on Saturday against UD Alumni. I was fortunate to be playing with Get Old Force for that game, and was impressed by many of the guys who will hopefully be joining Enigma this summer. Airstrike pulled that game out on universe point to get the 15-14 win. Oh, and Jack Kelly had possibly the best catch I’ve ever seen in my life. The kid has all sorts of #BallerLayouts

There really is a different feeling about this offseason. Seeing so many guys playing for the Revolution, and the excitement around watching them next month is awesome. Hearing great buzz about Enigmen lighting up the college game is fantastic. Knowing how many guys are getting involved at the youth level and in the local leagues is inspiring. Enigma is a major, MAJOR, part of the ultimate community; it’s an honor to know you’re a piece of that.

What’s really exciting, and also different, about this offseason is the preparation that’s being put in. Hearing from numerous guys about how they are working to get ready for the summer is incredibly encouraging. Keep doing work yall!

Last thing. I saw that Ultiworld reported the AUDL will have at least a few of their games on ESPN3. That’s awesome news and I can’t wait to get more details! I have some interesting thoughts on how this impacts the whole pro league vs. pro league vs USAU saga, but that’s not really Enigma related, so I won’t get into that here. You can view my wall for what I think about that.

Thanks bye.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Get Ready

Enigma 2014 is almost underway! Get excited, get amped, pumped, jacked, stoked, other words Peter might use! Most of all, get fully torqued! It’s March, and we are only a couple of months away from the kickoff (pull?) of our 2014 season!





Ideas for 2014 are becoming plans for 2014, and plans for 2014 will soon become things we are actually doing for 2014. Expect to receive an email later this week about the upcoming season. In the email you will receive a form to fill out so that we can gauge your expectations going in and see if they match our goals.


Enigmen in college, make sure you talk to your teammates about Enigma and get your studs interested in Dayton’s Premier Club Team. We are looking for as much talent as possible, but we also want to make sure this is still the awesome group of dudes that it always has been. Most of all, there are certain teams that we’d all love to beat. I don’t need to say who.


Our first tournament will be Monkey Bowl. So mark on your calendars that you’ll be in Nashville the last day of May and first day of June. There will be some good teams there, and they say they have an awesome party. We will have massive amounts of fun.


Lastly, if you have any questions, comments or concerns please bring them to Token or me. We want to be as transparent as possible and make sure we are communicating everything we can, so please let us help if you need anything from us.


Zero-Zero

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Building the Community

This blog post is dedicated to those Enigmen and women out there who are helping to grow our sport. In Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus, our team is dedicating a lot of time and effort to teach ultimate to young players in those respective areas.

I was at the YUC (Youth Ultimate of Cincinnati) lock-in last weekend and was amazed at how many kids were there playing ultimate. I have been in and around YUC for 4 years now, and did not expect to see as many high schoolers as I did. It’s an exciting time to be playing ultimate, and Enigmen were there in numbers.

Mike, Tim, and Todd were at the lock-in representing the Cincinnati Revolution, who did a great job putting together drills and games for the kids to interact with professionals. Joe Z and myself (Chad) were fortunate enough to coach an awesome team of kids, and we had a blast. The lock-in was a major success for all parties involved.

Beyond the lock-in, I believe the Revolution plan to continue their youth/community involvement. This is great for the sport, and should be a good boost to their ticket sales as well. We also have a number of people involved in the YUC league as high school coaches. Tim will be coaching Springboro, Todd will likely be involved with either Sycamore or Milford after tax season, and of course we have the squadron of coaches at Centerville with Hoy, Joe Z, Z Knight, Allison, and Esteban. I’ll be involved with Centerville at a minimal level, but I am also coaching a first year program at Oakstone Academy in Columbus. (If I’m missing anyone, let me know)

Last but not least, it’s always important to recognize and thank Brewster for the hard work he has put in to make Dayton ultimate a real thing. It’s been a full year of leagues now, and he is gearing up the community for the second year of spring league. Awesome stuff.

Oh, and Token found out he is staying in Dayton. So be ready for news on what the season will look like before the end of March. Congrats Zubat.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Updates!

It’s mid-late February and here come some notes to get you thinking about Enigma!


This week has been relatively warm; but as you know, this winter has been brutally cold at times. Still, Dayton ultimate is thriving. The indoor winter leagues seem to be a success and the weather hasn’t stopped the local college teams as they travel south for warmer playing conditions (though superior competition might, I don’t know).





In snowier news, a few Enigmen joined up with local oldsters to play at Arctic Vogue once again. This year the snow was above the ankle (almost knee deep on Dilworth in some areas) Saturday morning and after an easy 11-1 win in the first game, Thunderpants the Magic Dragon lost the magic and the next two games. Sunday was easier running as the snow had been packed down, and Thunderpants rolled in to get beat by Frostboat for the first game of the day. However, consecutive victories over Animas Raptor from Tennessee (same team we beat day 1) and Cedarville’s B team raised spirits. We also saw Chase “cut like he’s at summer league” thereby making Todd proud.





Now for some actual Enigma news. There really isn’t much to be shared, but we do need to take a second to be proud of how many Enigmen will be playing/working for the Cincinnati Revolution this year. It’s like... 9, I think…


We are also starting to look at tournaments to attend this year and some may be interested to know that Monkey Bowl (Nashville, TN) will be held on May 31st and June 1st. If we chose to go to Monkey Bowl it would be our first tournament of 2014 and would likely be a fun “team-building” tournament to get us going.


This blog should be getting more active as we move along. Let us know what’s on your mind!

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