Wisconsin State Skills Challenge

Wisconsin State Skills Challenge

The 2021 Skills Challenge has closed! Check RESULTS here.

While the Covid 19 pandemic has made traditional team based activities difficult, Wisconsin Ultimate is excited to offer an individual skills challenge for youth across the state to showcase their talents. Athletes will compete in four ultimate-related skills, scoring points for themselves and their teams. This competition is open to any high school or middle school player regardless of experience with ultimate.

The Skills

Accuracy

Athletes will throw 15 throws at a target positioned 20 yards away from the thrower. 5 throws will be straight on from the target, 5 to the left, and 5 to the right. Athletes can choose where to throw each of the required throws, and can mix and match at each location. The 5th throw at each location is the "money-disc" worth 3 times as much as previous throws. Athletes will be timed in order to break ties (the faster of two equal scores wins).

Distance

Athletes will throw both forehand and backhand throws as far as they can. Distance will be measured in a straight line off of yardage markers (i.e. straight throws score better). Backhand and forehand distances will be added for the total score.

Speed

Athletes will traverse a small cutting pattern, totaling about 60 yards of running, with several changes of direction. Athletes can choose either the 'left' or 'right' orientation, but must touch all cones in the pattern. Fastest time wins.

Height

Athletes will grab a disc off a vertical jump tester. They may use any approach they like, but only those that result in catching the frisbee will count.

The Scoring

Individuals

The top 16 individual athletes in each category will earn points on a sliding scale in their respective gender division. Scores from the individual events will also be combined to determine the 'Ultimate' individual champion.

Teams

Any points earned by individuals from a school will be totaled within their respective gender division. There is no minimum or maximum number of athletes required to score team points.

The Prizes

The top three scoring athletes in each category as well as the top three overall teams will earn prizes. Prizes are still TBD but they're gonna be sweet.

The Event(s)

Because there is no need for a centralized date/time/location, and in order to increase accessibility, Wisconsin Ultimate will host many opportunities for athletes to compete. Once registered, athletes will be able to self-select dates and locations that best work for them.

Once dates and locations are set, athletes will be sent a time period to show up. Only one athlete will be allotted per time slot and we ask that athletes please do not come early and leave immediately after finishing their competition. All athletes must be masked at all times during competition.

If there are no events in your area or you do not feel safe with the above protocols, please reach out to wisconsinultimate@gmail and we'll discuss virtual entries with you.

The Cost

To compete in the Skills Challenge, all athletes must be USA Ultimate members with current memberships. The cheapest available option is an Affiliate Player Membership, which costs $17.

Everyone should have the chance to experience the joy of ultimate, and no one should be denied the opportunity to be a part of the ultimate community because of their socioeconomic status. Play It Forward provides membership support for youth. This program helps eliminate some of the financial barriers to playing ultimate, such as event fees, membership dues and other commonly required costs. Fill out this Play it Forward application to apply for a 2021 USA Ultimate membership. A Spanish Application is also available.


If you are interested in an Affiliate Membership ($17), recommended, then all you need to do is fill out the form and no additional documentation is required. If you are in need of a Youth membership ($40, for YCC and HS States) we prefer a letter of support to be sent to Leah at Leah@hq.usaultimate.org in addition to the application form.


If you are in need of financial assistance please take advantage of the Play it Forward program.


The Registration

TWO PARTS! YOU MUST COMPLETE BOTH PARTS TO BE REGISTERED!

1) Google Form Registration

Please fill out this google form with athlete and parent/guardian info. This is also where you will request your individual event day/time. We will assign your specific time based on your preferences and work with you if you have conflicts.

2) USA Ultimate Registration

You must register for this event through your personal USAU account. If you have never participated in an individual event before, this may be new to you. Here are helpful steps.

  1. If you already have a USAU membership, skip this step. If you are new to USA Ultimate Sanctioned Events, you must first create an account. Here are instructions to do so.

  2. Make sure your membership is current by signing all your waivers and paying your dues. Both of these must be done annually. As mentioned above, the cheapest membership option is the Affiliate Player Membership which costs $17. We recommend this for all participants. Reminder as well about the Play It Forward program which covers memberships costs for those in need also explained above.

3. From this registration page, hit the green register button. You'll need to sign into your USAU account if you are not already signed in.

4. Isolate Wisconsin in the pull down menu or scroll to find our event. Select your appropriate age and division and hit the green register button.