Play Local
We need to talk about access to Ultimate
Ultimate should be a super-cheap sport. There is virtually no equipment, and costs are shared with your teammates. But our reliance on play based around weekend events is a real barrier for people who cannot give up so much time, or who cannot afford the travel costs. We plan to use 2021 to start us on the way to resetting that balance.
Clubs Clubs Clubs
Our clubs are at the heart of how we all play.
Club sessions will be first option for playing. We produced a comprehensive set of guidelines and resources to help clubs train between August and November. Just as we did in 2020, as government guidance changes we will do our best to provide rapid and regular updates to support club committees and covid officers.
We also continue to request that clubs log their activity at least once a month and report on covid infections that impact on the club.
Take care of yourself!
Ultimate is HARD. After such a long break from playing, most players will be at risk of injury if they are not careful.
Take a look at these resources produced by Jools Murray and James Mead respectively which provide some ideas and exercises to help. And there are of course plenty of other places to find help and advice.
Schools & Unis
School sport and trips have been stopped for a year, although some local school sport is getting started now. If your club wants to know how to safely bring in younger players, please check out our Club Safeguarding Pack.
Many university clubs made a surprisingly good start to the academic year in the circumstances, recruiting new players and running training with all the extra conditions and requirements. Sadly almost no university competition was possible, and BUCS eventually had to cancel all of the league and cup competitions they had tentatively planned. There are tentative plans for some limited inter-university fixtures after Easter.
Now, more than ever, we hope to encourage crossover in terms of practicing and competitive play between club players and the uni and school players in their area. Please try to reach out.
Local Hat
Short and simple hat tournaments are a great way to create a one-off, low-commitment opportunity for people to play. We think this can be particularly attractive to ex-players who are out of the habit and don't want to, or cannot, make a more regular commitment.
Hat involves some challenges because in general we don't want to bring large groups of people together if they do not normally mix. So for now, think small, not big. But the basic principle of 20-40 people coming together to create 4-6 small teams and play each other for 2-3 hours is perfectly reasonable. We also suggest consider using Phase C modified rules to make such events more appealing to people who would like more time before getting back to normal rules.
If you're thinking of trying this and want to talk through your ideas, please get in touch.
Summer League / Draft League
Summer Leagues are a great way to allow players to access a regular game of Ultimate close to home. Consider mixing things up:
Draft leagues can help mix players up in different groups and keep games competitive.
Play small-sided games to make it easier to create teams.
Offer prizes for bringing new players.
The UKU Challenge League may offer an alternative simplification: organise a shared booking between a group of clubs and take it turns to meet up for games that you register with the Challenge League.
If you are thinking of setting up a local league and would like some help, or just want to discuss your ideas, please get in touch.
Parkulti or pickup groups
Historically there have been pickup groups who meet up regularly for a few simple games amongst themselves. Team and pitch sizes change from week to week, but most have a core group of regulars. Most are open to anyone in the area who fancies coming along from time to time. There's no training or formal coaching.
These groups are often very well-organised, and we worked with a number of them in the autumn to make sure they could satisfy the requirements of being "organised sport" in the context of covid-19 restrictions.
This is an alternative great way for people to play regularly and we'd love to see more of it. If you're thinking of doing this and would like some help, please get in touch. But in the meantime, here are some tips from a group in Richmond, south-west London.
5 TIPS FOR PARK-ULTI GROUPS
Create a simple webpage or perhaps facebook group with information about where and when you play - and how people can get in touch and join in.
Run a simple poll each week to know who's coming, and make a go/no-go decision in good time (e.g. the evening before).
Take a moment before the session each week to allow everyone to introduce themselves to the group. Remind everyone that not getting hurt, and not accidentally hurting anyone else, is the TOP PRIORITY.
Remember to share the disc.
Take a happy group pic each week and share it with the people who sometimes come - e.g. a facebook group.
GB Futures
Sadly most of the international tournaments have been cancelled for 2021. The European Ultimate Federation has not made a final decision, but even if the European Youth Ultimate Championships go ahead, we have already decided and confirmed that we will not send teams.
Over the winter we have been working on a new programme to extend the competitive training opportunities for younger ultimate players (across U17-U20-U24 age groups) in their region of the UK. We will soon be launching approximately 10 training hubs across the country for players in the 14-24 age-group.
