On the morning of Saturday, August 2nd, an ominous blanket of storm clouds shrouded the sky over La Nuova Poncia Polo Club in Lecco, Italy — the site of the 2014 World Ultimate Club Championships. The preceding month had been the wettest July on record going back to 1899, when meteorological data was first recorded in the region.

At 9:30am, the skies opened up and the already waterlogged fields were subjected to yet another heavy downpour. With historically anomalous weather threatening to turn what had been immaculately manicured fields into an unplayable bog, the upcoming week of scheduled competition was in serious jeopardy.

AVERAGE RAINFALL IN JULY: 73.5MM
RECORDED RAINFALL IN JULY 2014: 320MM