Club – 91成人 The National Governing Body for the Sport of Ultimate Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:58:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 /wp-content/uploads/2019/11/cropped-disc-favicon-transparent-32x32.png Club – 91成人 32 32 91成人 Recognizes Key Volunteers /news/2026/06/usa-ultimate-recognizes-key-volunteers/ Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:57:15 +0000 /?p=34192 Colorado Springs, Colo. (June 11, 2026) 鈥 Every year 91成人, the national governing body for the sport of ultimate in the United States and member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, recognizes the top volunteers who contribute to the organization and the sport. 

Coordinator of the Year is a designation given to individual sectional, regional and state coordinators across all competition divisions who have contributed at a high level. The designation recognizes volunteers in these key roles who have gone above and beyond the expectations for their role, consistently contributed season after season or who have made significant efforts toward competition program goals.

The Coordinator of the Year for each competition division is selected based on input from the Competition Working Group, including staff competition managers and volunteer national and regional directors. The honorees for 2025 are:

Club Division

Regional Coordinator of the Year
Amir Kaghazwala – Northwest Mixed Regional Coordinator
Chris Novielli – Northeast Men’s Regional Coordinator
Alyssa Weatherford – Northwest Women’s Regional Coordinator

Sectional Coordinator of the Year
Anna Blasiak – South New England Women’s Sectional Coordinator
Dom Sutherland – Central Appalachia Mixed Sectional Coordinator
Jaclyn Wataoka – NorCal Men’s Sectional Coordinator

College Division

Coordinator of the Year
Shannon Temple 鈥 Southwest Women’s Regional Director

Honorable Mentions
Kevin Baker – Atlantic Coast Men’s Regional Director
Tommy Gebhardt – South Central Men’s Deputy Regional Director听
Alyssa Weatherford – Northwest Women’s Regional Director听

Masters Division

Coordinator of the Year
Lewis Seton – Northeast Masters Regional Coordinator

Youth Division

Central Region Coordinator of the Year
Dan Plamondon – Michigan State Youth Coordinator

Northeast Region Coordinator of the Year
Jon Egan – New Jersey State Youth Coordinator

South Region Coordinator of the Year
Will Graham – Tennessee State Youth Coordinator

West Region Coordinator of the Year
Jacob Barr – California State Youth Coordinator

Get Involved

91成人 provides ongoing support and playing opportunities for athletes across a wide range of age and gender divisions. Every year more than 150 volunteer coordinators support this work, however many coordinator positions remain unfilled. Those looking to get involved and support the growth of ultimate can see open opportunities on the 91成人 website and are encouraged to apply.

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2026 Triple Crown Tour Schedule /news/2026/02/2026-triple-crown-tour-schedule/ Wed, 11 Feb 2026 21:43:58 +0000 /?p=31149 Colorado Springs, Colo. (February 11, 2026) 鈥 91成人 announced today dates, locations and host venues for major events on the 2026 Triple Crown Tour (TCT).

The TCT calendar features all the major regular season tournaments in the club division and represents the highest level of competitive ultimate in the United States with more that 600 men鈥檚, mixed and women鈥檚 teams competing each year.

Also published today are the 2026 Club Division Competition Guidelines 鈥 a comprehensive outline detailing the rules, regulations and structure of the upcoming club season and Triple Crown Tour. Teams are encouraged to thoroughly review the guidelines in their entirety. Notable updates have been made to several sections, including changes to regional scaling, updates to fines for withdrawing from major TCT events, and an updated National Draw Process.

2026 Triple Crown Tour Schedule

EVENTDATEVENUELOCATION
Pro-Elite Challenge EastJune 27-28Bryan Park Soccer ComplexBrowns Summit, NC
Pro-Elite Challenge WestJuly 11-12Crystal Lake ParkCorvallis, OR
Select Flight Invite EastJuly 25-26Pacesetter ParkSylvania, OH
Select Flight Invite WestJuly 25-26Salinas Regional Soccer ComplexSalinas, CA
U.S. Open Club ChampionshipsJuly 31-Aug. 2Aurora Sports ParkAurora, CO
Elite-Select ChallengeAugust 22-23Grand Park Sports CampusIndianapolis, IN
Pro ChampionshipsSeptember 5-7Maryland SoccerplexBoyds, MD
National ChampionshipsOctober 22-25Surf Cup Sports ParkSan Diego, CA
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Competition Working Group Updates /news/2025/12/competition-working-group-updates-3/ Fri, 19 Dec 2025 20:22:43 +0000 /?p=30781 Colorado Springs, Colo. (December 19, 2025) – 91成人鈥檚 Competition Working Group met in Denver, December 6-7 for its annual meeting to discuss various aspects of the sport鈥檚 competition structure for all divisions 鈥 youth, college, club, masters, and beach. The annual meeting included 12 91成人 staff members, two members from the board of directors, and roughly 22 key volunteers and player-elected representatives from the ultimate community.

The following is a summary of each group鈥檚 discussion over the two-day meeting.

Youth

The Youth Working Group consists of 91成人 Director of Youth Programs Dan Raabe, Manager for Youth Competition Josh Murphy, and Regional Youth Directors Jack Kennedy (northeast), Joe Strong (west), Antonia Van Twisk (central), and Jamie Wolf (south). 

A primary goal of the group is to focus on growing the Youth Club Championships. 2025 provided the opportunity to pilot running both a Division I and a Division II using a satellite field site, which was a success. This will again be implemented for the 2026 season as even more teams are expected.

The group also has plans to do more public survey work in the coming year as they investigate the possibility of introducing a new, more accessible, fall junior season. The goal of this addition would be to grow ultimate in new and emerging markets around the country. Research has already begun with select focus groups, and a sentiment analysis from that effort is available.

Additionally, the group spent significant time beginning the discussion of adjustments for upcoming 2026-2027 Sep-Aug Youth Competition Guidelines (to be released in the summer), including questions and feedback received from constituents around the country.

College

The College Working Group consists of 91成人 Manager for Competition and National Team Programs Matthew Bourland, National Directors Trois White (developmental), Jeff Kula (D-I men), Beth Nakamura (D-I women), Grace Kiel (D-III women), and Kevin Kula (D-III men). 

With the start of the 2026 college season next month, the college working group delved into a wide variety of topics 鈥 including finalization of the 2026 College Guidelines. Noteworthy edits include the updated cap on bids to nationals for D-I (maximum of five per region) as well as the previously announced increased D-III cutoff to include schools with up to 10,000 enrollment.

The group determined that 2026 will also introduce a new early-bird registration deadline. Teams with registrar-verified rosters received by 91成人 by March 4 may add players through March 25. The regular roster deadline will be March 11. Teams who complete a valid roster by this deadline may be allowed to add players afterwards but will be subject to late fees.

Additional work included discussions around future updated Uniform Guidelines and growth conversations regarding reviving dormant teams, supporting new schools, and outreach work needed to grow women鈥檚 division participation.

Club

The Club Working Group consists of 91成人 Manager for Competition and National Team Programs Marc Zigterman, National Directors Adam Goff (尘别苍鈥檚), Genevieve Leo (mixed), Mia Griner (飞辞尘别苍鈥檚), and Sam Kehl (women鈥檚 growth), and player representatives Andrew Riggs (尘别苍鈥檚), Jeremiah Branson (mixed), Kirstin Johnson (飞辞尘别苍鈥檚), Clare Frantz (mixed), AJ Merriman (尘别苍鈥檚), and Tayara Romero Pena (飞辞尘别苍鈥檚).&苍产蝉辫;

One of the 2026 season changes coming out of these discussions is the introduction of a Pre-Sectional Regional Qualifying competition. This concept will be piloted only in select sections and divisions with a history of a sectional tournament surpassing 16 teams. The group also discussed updates for the coming year to the 鈥淲orld Cup Draw鈥 procedure for seeding at Club Nationals. 

Further changes being evaluated for 2026 include the redrawing of the regional boundary to move part of Kansas to the South Central Region/Red River Section 鈥 keeping the greater Kansas City area in the North Central Region/West Plains Section, and the possible expansion of the Select Flight Invite 鈥 making a major Triple Crown Tour event accessible to more teams.

Another key topic addressed was a proposed 鈥渁cademy model鈥 for team development. While the group has determined that model will not be adopted at this time, additional steps will be taken this year to create more support and resources for new and developmental teams. Among these resources are the addition of a new Women’s Strategic Growth Program, which will launch in early 2026, and the development of a resource document for new teams.

Ongoing work for the next year will include evaluation of the roster size limits, discussion of gender signalling in the mixed division, and the revision of the Uniform Guidelines document.

Masters

The Masters Working Group consists of 91成人 Senior Manager of Events and Masters Competition Byron Hicks, National Directors Jason Howard (mixed), Kyle Christoph (men),  Kristi Schmeling (women), and at-large masters working group representative Chris Cianfrani. Christoph, Shmeling, and Cianfrani all attended remotely. Adam Tarr, head of the Formats Committee, was also in attendance as a consultant.

One major point of consideration for 2026 was the allocation of regional bids. Following some anomalies last year, and in the interest of fairness, the decision was made to move away from the current method and to adopt the 鈥淗amilton/Hare method鈥 for regional bid allocations moving forward. This method focuses on awarding bids proportionately, rather than using specific size benchmarks

Participation numbers in the Masters Division grew by 11% in 2025, and the group discussed ways to both continue that trend and ensure the season structure can accommodate future growth. Age division renaming was discussed but not adopted. Topics under ongoing consideration include roster limits and the addition of satellite fields at the Masters Championships in Aurora.

Beach

The Beach Working Group consists of 91成人 Senior Manager of Events David Raflo and Regional Beach Directors Hayden Weaver (Great Lakes), Alex Jacoski (Florida), Grant Boyd (Pacific), Sam Broaddus (Atlantic), and Max Grove (Gulf Coast). Boyd and Grove attended remotely. 

A primary focus of the group鈥檚 discussions was finalization of 2026 timelines, with the due date for applications to attend the 2026 Beach Championships being set for February 9th. Additional discussion was held around the possibility of adding a calendar of sanctioned beach events and/or a qualifying event in future years.

The National Beach Championships continues to be an event seeing year over year growth. In order to continue to facilitate that growth across all divisions, the decision was made to continue offering discounts for participation in the women鈥檚 division.

Additionally, consideration was given toward instituting a requirement that National Team candidates for beach events must have previously participated in 91成人 sanctioned beach events. This recommendation is still under consideration and will be part of the group鈥檚 work throughout 2026.

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Full 2026 Championships Schedule Finalized /news/2025/12/full-2026-championships-schedule-finalized/ Fri, 12 Dec 2025 22:19:50 +0000 /?p=30680 Colorado Springs, Colo. (December 12, 2025) 鈥 91成人 confirmed today the full calendar of 2026 Championship Events. The first event of the year will be the Beach Championships, returning to Virginia Beach on May 9-10. The event, which has seen record growth the past four years, has taken place in Virginia Beach 10 of the last 11 years. The 2025 event marked the biggest 91成人 beach event to date, with growth across nearly all divisions.

Many other previously announced events are returning to familiar locations in 2026, with both the Masters Championships and the Youth Club Championships taking place in Aurora, CO. 2026 also marks the final year of a three year agreement to host the National Championships in San Diego, CA 鈥 which has hosted the event since 2018.

91成人 has a full calendar of premier events scheduled for 2026 鈥 in collaboration with a number of trusted local partners 鈥 offering the ultimate community opportunities to compete at the highest level across all disciplines and divisions.

The full 2026 Championship Events Schedule is listed below.

EventDateLocationVenueLocal Organizer
91成人 Beach ChampionshipsMay 9-10Virginia Beach, VAVirginia Beach OceanfrontCity of Virginia Beach Sports Marketing and Resort Management LLC
91成人 D-III College ChampionshipsMay 16-18Waukegan, ILGreg Petry Sports ParkIllinois Ultimate
91成人 D-I College ChampionshipsMay 22-25Rockford, ILMercyhealth Sportscore TwoIllinois Ultimate
91成人 Masters ChampionshipsJuly 17-20Aurora, COAurora Sports ComplexAltitude Ultimate
U.S. Open & Youth Club ChampionshipsJuly 31 – August 3Aurora, COAurora Sports ComplexAltitude Ultimate
91成人 National ChampionshipsOctober 22-25San Diego, CASurf Cup Sports ParkSan Diego Ultimate

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Competition Working Group Updates /news/2025/01/competition-working-group-updates-2/ Tue, 21 Jan 2025 18:16:41 +0000 /?p=27842 Colorado Springs, Colo. (Jan. 15, 2025) – 91成人’s Competition Working Group met in Denver, December 7-8 for its annual meeting to discuss multiple topics around the sport’s competition structures for all divisions – youth, college, club, masters and beach. The annual meeting included nine 91成人 staff members, two members from the board of directors and roughly 30 key volunteers and player-elected representatives from the ultimate community.

The two-day meeting is followed by a summary of each group’s discussion.

Beach

The Beach Working Group consists of 91成人 Senior Manager of Events David Raflo and Regional Beach Directors Grant Boyd (Pacific), Sam Broaddus (Atlantic), Max Grove (Gulf Coast), and Hayden Weaver (Great Lakes). 

After a successful 2023 Beach Nationals, 91成人 saw continued growth at the 2024 Beach Championships in Virginia Beach. With eight divisions, 75 teams and 1,100+ athletes, the tournament continues to see marked improvement. The group again considered plans for a youth mixed division, looking to bring U-20 teams to the event in 2025. 

With the strategic plan in mind, youth inclusion remains a key focus for the beach group along with growth in the women鈥檚 division. 

The group also welcomed several beach tournament organizers from across the U.S. as a way to learn and communicate with key individuals in a breakout session. The larger group discussed topics like resource development, increased competitive opportunities and promotional strategies for beach-specific events. 

The group saw participation from Ocean City Beach Ultimate鈥檚 Bryant Dean, Wildwood Beach Ultimate鈥檚 Beverly Barnum and Mike Adlis, Throwback Beach Ultimate鈥檚 Louis Gosart, former regional director and current WBUC Assistant Coach for 91成人 Sean McCall, and Zig Zag Ultimate鈥檚 Mike Zaagman.

Last year, the group conducted several surveys in early 2024 to learn more from the community. They intend to focus on organizer feedback with another survey in Q1 2025. 

Note: At Beach Nationals, high school athletes are encouraged to compete. The clock for college eligibility will not begin for such athletes should they compete in the event. 

Masters

The Masters Working Group consists of 91成人 Senior Manager of Events and Masters Competition Byron Hicks, national directors Kyle Christoph (men), Jolien Munsterhuis (mixed) and Kristi Schmeling (women), at-large masters working group representative Chris Cianfrani, and special guest regional coordinator Jeff Berget (south central). 

A major highlight for the masters working group included the age reclassification for two divisions. In an attempt to create more consistency with WFDF, the group lowered the minimum age for the great grandmasters men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 divisions. The great grandmasters men鈥檚 division鈥檚 minimum age will move from 50 to 48. The great grandmasters women鈥檚 division鈥檚 minimum age will move from 47 to 45. The change was also made with growth in mind for the great grandmasters women鈥檚 division. 

The group discussed the 2024 Masters Championships, which hosted 2,600 athletes on 109 teams in eight divisions. The discussions also included how to grow the event with limited field space. 

Bid allocations will mostly remain the same as 2024 with the exception of a few minor adjustments. The previously named 鈥渟uper regional鈥 will be renamed as 鈥渟uper qualifiers鈥 with no changes to the format.听

Other topics, including division title names and potential growth strategies were discussed along with other questions posed by the community. 

Club

The Club Working Group consists of 91成人 Manager for Competition and National Team Programs Marc Zigterman, national directors Mia Griner (women), Genevieve Leo (mixed), and Adam Goff (men), and player-elected representatives Clare Frantz and Eli Motycka (mixed), Kristin Johnson and Tayara Romero 笔别帽补 (women) and AJ Merriman (men). 

The group decided on the redrawing of sections to provide quality sectional events and promote fair competition formats given the new restrictions on the number of games per weekend. Sections with more than 16 teams have been reviewed and redrawn. Sections with two or fewer teams may be combined for regionals. The specific redraws will be available in the club guidelines. 

The club group also reworked deadlines for roster flexibility with the goal of improving the women鈥檚 division in mind. Woman-matching players will have roster flexibility until July 30, which is the Wednesday before U.S. Open. Man-matching players have roster flexibility until June 25, which is the Wednesday before the Pro-Elite Challenge.

Also on the topic of roster flexibility, the group continued discussions from 2024 on a potential 鈥渁cademy鈥 model. The proposal was suggested by the community as a way to allow increased roster flexibility for teams that have a closely-related developmental team. While no decisions were made, the group will continue to work out the idea in 2025. 

For the TCT, the group discussed using a 鈥淪wiss鈥 draw format for earlier, major TCT events. The group reviewed the format for Nationals and is not recommending any changes. 

While the complete TCT calendar will be announced soon, the schedule will look similar to 2024 and again feature an east and west version of the Pro-Elite Challenge and Select Flight Invite, The U.S. Open, Elite-Select Challenge and Pro Championships. Notable elements of the TCT in the soon-to-be-released competition guidelines include: 

  • The Pro-Elite Challenge will continue to be split into east and west events to reduce travel costs while continuing to provide meaningful playing opportunities for more teams.
  • The Select Flight Invite will again be split into east and west and will include both Select Flight teams as well as high-ranking Classic Flight teams.
  • The Elite-Select Challenge will continue to be required for Elite Flight teams with an opportunity for Select Flight teams to be invited. 
  • The U.S. Open will again be required for the top-four ranked Pro Flight teams, with invitations being sent to teams ranked 5-8. Invites will again be extended to international teams. Games against international teams will again count towards overall game totals, but results will again not be factored into rankings.
  • The Pro Championships will be limited to eight teams per division with initial invites going to Pro Flight teams. The expansion of divisions to 12 teams will be considered, based on interest. 

The club working group met with the college and rankings working groups to discuss the possible implementation of a 鈥減robabilistic model鈥 for Nationals bid allocation in 2026. The group will review throughout 2025. 

The group also engaged in discussions regarding growth in the women鈥檚 division. The group recommended several improvements to the division including a matching or mentoring program for women鈥檚 leaders to discuss important topics and a volunteer role focused on women鈥檚 division growth, amongst other ideas. 

Another important topic was signaling each athlete鈥檚 gender match on any given point in the mixed division. The group will add a best practice signaling suggestion to the guidelines which will require each player on the line to signal their gender match if requested by the opposing team. 

Other topics included the video review discussion, postseason registration timelines and a larger mixed club nationals format. 

College

The College Working Group consists of 91成人 Manager for Competition and National Team Programs Matthew Bourland, national director (developmental) Trois White, national directors Jeff Kula (men), Beth Nakamura (women), Grace Kiel (D-III women) and Kevin Kula (D-III men). 

While the group didn鈥檛 have many changes, the focal point of discussion was the restructuring of the developmental division. The group met with key volunteers across the country and collected feedback to discuss potential key changes to make for 2026 as the system in place isn鈥檛 meeting the needs of all and inhibits the growth of the entire division. The group intends to make structural changes to the regular season and postseason for 2026. 

The group also discussed the potential change of the D-III enrollment cutoff number but will want to evaluate further and assess how it could impact teams. 

Youth

The Youth Working Group consists of 91成人 Director of Youth Programs Dan Raabe, manager for youth competition Josh Murphy and regional youth directors Jack Kennedy (northeast), Joe Strong (west), Antonia Van Twisk (central) and Jamie Wolf (south).

The group鈥檚 focal point was to discuss the recent survey that sought perspective from organizers, coaches, parents and players on the future structure of the Youth Club Championships. The group discussed potentials for the improvement of YCC as the event has grown to capacity. 

The results were comprehensive and allowed for several decisions to be made and more discussions to take place. If you are interested in seeing the results of the survey, . 

One of the key decisions that was made is related to team participation in 2026. Divisions with more than 24 teams will be split into two different tiers (DI and DII). The two-tiered system will allow for more teams to participate and avoid turning teams away from the event.

The group also discussed other ways to include all teams at the event in addition to improving the experience and will continue to investigate potential solutions. 

One of the other decisions made was to not require summer regional event attendance for YCC teams, while still encouraging participation at such tournaments for YCC warm-up and seeding opportunities. 

More discussions are upcoming for the group as the youth guidelines are released at a different time of year, spanning from September through August. 

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National Championships Returning To San Diego Through 2026 /news/2024/03/national-championships-returning-to-san-diego-through-2026/ Mon, 18 Mar 2024 19:49:40 +0000 /?p=25240

March 18, 2024 (Colorado Springs, Colo.)–The National Championships will return to San Diego this fall as part of a three-year deal that keeps the tournament in southern California through 2026, 91成人 announced today. The new agreement marks the return of the most prestigious ultimate tournament in North America to Surf Cup Sports Park in the nearby beach community of Del Mar.

The dates of the National Championships for the next three years are October 24-27, 2024; October 23-26, 2025; and October 22-25, 2026.

The 91成人 National Championships represent the culmination of the club ultimate season and crowns national champions in three divisions 鈥 men鈥檚, mixed and women鈥檚. Each year, more than 600 club teams compete in the regular season before playing in a postseason championship series of sectional and regional qualifiers. Forty-eight teams qualify for nationals (16 in each division).

鈥淲e are excited to have Nationals back for the next three years after five successful years of the event at Surf Cup Sports Park,鈥 commented Mark Neville, CEO of Sports San Diego.  鈥淲e recognize the positive impact that events like Nationals can have on our local economy, tourism industry and community spirit.鈥

San Diego first hosted the National Championships in 2018 against the backdrop of the sport鈥檚 50th anniversary celebration. Since then, it鈥檚 hosted the last four editions. The National Championships also serve as the third leg of ultimate鈥檚 Triple Crown, along with the U.S. Open (Aurora, CO; August 2-4) and the Pro Championships (Rock Hill, SC; August 31 – Sept. 2).

2024 Triple Crown Tour

EVENTDATEVENUELOCATION
Pro-Elite Challenge EastJuly 13-14Publix Virginia Soccer Training CenterFredericksburg, VA
Pro-Elite Challenge WestJuly 13-14Crystal Lake Sports FieldsCorvallis, OR
Select Flight Invite EastJuly 27-28Pacesetter ParkToledo, OH
Select Flight Invite WestJuly 27-28Skagit River Sports ComplexBurlington, WA
U.S. Open Club ChampionshipsAugust 2-4Aurora Sports ParkAurora, CO
Elite-Select ChallengeAugust 17-18Grand Park Sports CampusIndianapolis, IN
Pro ChampionshipsAugust 31 – Sept. 2Manchester Meadows ParkRock Hill, SC
National ChampionshipsOctober 24-27Surf Cup Sports ParkSan Diego, CA
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2024 Triple Crown Tour Schedule /news/2024/03/2024-triple-crown-tour-schedule/ Wed, 06 Mar 2024 22:06:03 +0000 /?p=25076 March 6, 2024 (Colorado Springs, Colo.)鈥 91成人 announced today dates, locations and host venues for major events on the 2024 Triple Crown Tour (TCT).

The TCT calendar features all the major regular season tournaments in the club division and represents the highest level of competitive ultimate in the United States with more that 600 men鈥檚, mixed and women鈥檚 teams competing each year.

2024 Triple Crown Tour Schedule

EVENTDATEVENUELOCATION
Pro-Elite Challenge EastJuly 13-14Publix Virginia Soccer Training CenterFredericksburg, VA
Pro-Elite Challenge WestJuly 13-14Crystal Lake Sports FieldsCorvallis, OR
Select Flight Invite EastJuly 27-28Pacesetter ParkToledo, OH
Select Flight Invite WestJuly 27-28Skagit River Sports ComplexBurlington, WA
U.S. Open Club ChampionshipsAugust 2-4Aurora Sports ParkAurora, CO
Elite-Select ChallengeAugust 17-18Grand Park Sports CampusIndianapolis, IN
Pro ChampionshipsAugust 31 – Sept. 2Manchester Meadows ParkRock Hill, SC
National ChampionshipsOctober 24-27Surf Cup Sports ParkSan Diego, CA
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208 Players Invited to 91成人 Tryouts for 2024 WUC /news/2023/12/208-players-invited-to-team-usa-tryouts-for-2024-wuc/ Mon, 18 Dec 2023 19:11:13 +0000 /?p=24502 Colorado Springs, Colo. (December 18, 2023)鈥More than 200 players have been offered an invitation to try out for the U.S. National Team that will represent the United States at the 2024 World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) World Ultimate Championships, 91成人 announced today.

The final list of 208 athletes was selected from a pool of applicants that expressed their interest in competing for 91成人.

Scheduled for August 31 鈥 September 7 in Gold Coast, Australia, the World Championships will be contested for the first time since 2016 following the cancellation of the 2020 edition.

91成人 will host a pair of tryouts over the winter where national team coaches will evaluate players before determining rosters for three separate teams 鈥 mixed, open and women鈥檚 鈥 all three of which will enter the 2024 tournament as defending world champions.

Men

Name City
Axel Agami Contreras Columbus, OH
Mathieu Agee Boulder, CO
Josue Alorro Brooklyn, NY
Marc Anthony Munoz Kent, WA
Paul Arters Chicago, IL
Alex Atkins Boulder, CO
Hayden Austin-Knab Atlanta, GA
Jeff Babbitt White Plains, NY
Noah Backer Cape Elizabeth, MA
Johnny Bansfield Lexington, KY
Conor Belfield Seattle, WA
Ethan Bloodworth Durham, NC
Peter Boerth Boston, MA
Christian Boxley Washington, DC
Will Brandt Edina, MN
Tobias Brooks Durham, NC
Calvin Brown Aptos, CA
Orion Cable Burlington, VT
Simon Carapella Brighton, MA
Nathan Champoux Ypsilanti, MI
Tyler Chan Somerville, MA
Noah Coolman Denver, CO
David Cranston Washington, DC
Ben Dameron Carrboro, NC
Antoine Davis Greenwich, CT
Dylan DeClerck Urbandale, IA
Caleb Denecour Saint Paul, MN
Ned Dick Cambridge, MA
Trent Dillon Seattle, WA
Travis Dunn Tempe, AZ
Thomas Edmonds Washington, DC
Khalif El-Salaam Seattle, WA
Alexandre Fall Washington, DC
Benjamin Field Salt Lake City, UT
Quinn Finer Northglenn, CO
Dylan Freechild Portland, OR
Jeffrey Gao Chicago, IL
Harper Garvey Brooklyn, NY
Nate Goff Chicago, IIL
Leo Gordon Berkeley, CA
Matt Gouchoe-Hanas Chapel Hill, NC
Adam Grossberg Blue Bell, PA
Jack Hatchett Portland, OR
Raphy Hayes Portland, OR
Mac Hecht San Francisco, CA
Kyle Henke Austin, TX
Simon Higgins Alameda, CA
Troy Holland Washington, DC
Brett Hulsmeyer Madison, AL
Henry Ing Pittsburgh, PA
Michael Ing San Francisco, CA
Ben Jagt Queens, NY
Pawel Janas Los Angeles, CA
Delrico Johnson Elkridge, MD
Tannor Johnson-Go Medford, MA
Anders Juengst Chapel Hill, NC
Cole Jurek Washington, DC
Sean Keegan Brooklyn, NY
Wyatt Kellman Amherst, MA
Justin Kendall Burnett Memphis, TN
Elijah Kerns Alameda, CA
Jordan Kerr American Fork, UT
Chris Kocher Brooklyn, NY
KJ Koo Newbury Park, CA
Jeremy Langdon Sandy Springs, GA
Daniel Lee Portland, OR
Grant Lindsley Brooklyn, NY
Will Lohre Portland, OR
Jonny Malks Arlington, VA
Rowan McDonnell Washington, DC
AJ Merriman Berryville, VA
Jimmy Mickle Brooklyn, NY
Jibran Mieser Brooklyn, NY
Terrence Mitchell Durham, NC
Tyler Monroe Washington, DC
Jonathan Nethercutt Boulder, CO
Jacques Nissen Washington, DC
Keegan North Cincinnati, OH
Ryan Osgar Brooklyn, NY
Paul Owens Villanova, PA
John Randolph New York, NY
Kyle Rutledge Chicago, IL
Brett Rutledge Smith Chapel Hill, NC
David Sealand Portland, OR
Liam Searles-Bohs Durham, NC
Will Selfridge Salt Lake City, UT
Max Sheppard Pittsburgh, PA
Zach Slayton Castle Rock, CO
Jacob Smith Oakland, CA
Leo Sovell-Fernandez Saint Paul, MN
Cody Spicer Highlands Ranch, CO
Nicky Spiva Atlanta, GA
Adam Stautberg Chadds Ford, PA
Calvin Stoughton Boulder, CO
Nick Stuart Seattle, WA
Evan Swiatek Austin, TX
Conor Tabor Littleton, CO
Eric Taylor Durham, NC
Jasper Tom Washington, DC
Jason Vallee Palo Alto, CA
Bryan Vohnoutka Minnetonka, MN
Cameron Wariner Brunswick, NY
Joseph Wylie Austin, TX
Sol Yanuck Apex, NC

Women

Name City
Abbie Abramovich Seattle, WA
Carly Atwell Austin, TX
Amel Awadelkarim Oakland, CA
Erica Baken Big Lake, MN
Alex Barnett Chapel Hill, NC
Danielle Byers Minneapolis, MN
Erica Birdsong Chapel Hill, NC
Claire Chastain Denver, CO
Angelica Chambers McMinniville, OR
Abby Cheng Queens, NY
Viv Chu Oakland, CA
Dawn Culton Chapel Hill, NC
Makella Daley Minneapolis, MN
Lisa Dang Wilmington, DE
Genny De Jesus Hamilton Township, NJ
Aubree Dietrich Fort Collins, CO
Tulsa Douglas White Plains, NY
Mel Dunn Tempe, AZ
Ronnie Eder Denver, CO
Charlie Eide Everett, WA
Dena Elimelech Sacramento, CA
Jamie Eriksson Arlington, VA
Carolyn Finney Oakland, CA
Robyn Fennig Sacramento, CA
Kira Flores Chester, VA
Frances Gellert Seattle, WA
Tori Gray Northfield, MN
Kami Groom Washington, DC
Lorraine Guerin Austin, TX
Murl Hammond Eugene, OR
Olivia Hampton Portland, ME
Shayla Harris Oakland, CA
Sydney Harris Brooklyn, NY
Abby Hecko New York, NY
Kaela Helton Coronado, CA
Lien Hoffmann Somerville, MA
Cheryl Hsu Seattle, WA
Avo Igawa Whittier, CA
Sadie Jezierski Seattle, WA
Kirstin Johnson Oakland, CA
Alika Johnston Arvada, CO
Ella Juengst New York, NY
Sophie Knowles Medford, MA
Jolie Krebs Brooklyn, NY
Sharon Lin Oakland, CA
Stephanie Lim Seattle, WA
Saioa Lostra Boulder, CO
Becky Malinowski Northampton, MA
Rachel Mast Dundee, OH
Megan Maxfield Sandy, UT
Kat McGuire Ann Arbor, MI
Jade McLaughlin Albuquerque, NM
Lindsay McKenna Malvern, PA
Sarah Meckstroth Saint Paul, MN
Kendra Miller Provo, UT
Bridget Mizener Durham, NC
Linda Morse Philadelphia, PA
Raha Mozaffari Philadelphia, PA
Amanda Murphy Alexandria, VA
Anna Nazarov Berkeley, CA
Luisa Neves Astoria, NY
Nhi Nguyen Boulder, CO
Carolyn Normile Pittsburgh, PA
Maggie O’Connor Long Beach, CA
Sumi Onoe Philadelphia, PA
Emma Peaslee Minneapolis, MN
Alyssa Perez Denver, CO
Stephanie Phillips Seattle, WA
Lisa Pitcaithley Denver, CO
Kristen Pojunis San Diego, CA
Erin Rea Cambrdge, MA
Kristen Reed Boulder, CO
Claire Revere Carrboro, NC
Mary Rippe Apex, NC
Sam Rodenberg Seattle, WA
Kaitlynne Roling Seattle, WA
Maggie Ruden Oakland, CA
Erynn Schroeder Wauwatosa, WI
Blaise Sevier Washington, DC
Julia Sherwood Eugene, OR
Jesse Shofner Nashville, TN
Amber Sinicrope Roslindale, MA
Sami Smalling Arlington, VA
Tyler Smith Charlotte, NC
Julia Snyder Seattle, WA
Lindsay Soo Durham, NC
Shira Stern Seattle, WA
Claudia Tajima Portland, OR
Sara Taggart Denver, CO
Anna Thompson San Francisco, CA
Qxhna Titcomb Raleigh, NC
Claire Trop Washington, DC
Caroline Tornquist Somerville, MA
Sharon Tsao Seattle, WA
Rory Veldman Denver, CO
Marge Walker Tacoma Park, MD
Allie Wallace Richmond, VA
Kaitlyn Weaver Santa Barbara, CA
Julianna Werffeli San Francisco, CA
Cassie Wong Seattle, WA
Steph Wood Minneapolis, MN
Yuge Xiao Somerville, MA
Theresa Yu Huntersville, NC
Angela Zhu Medford, MA
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Competition Working Group Updates /news/2023/12/competition-working-group-updates/ Fri, 15 Dec 2023 18:59:11 +0000 /?p=24443 Colorado Springs, Colo. (Dec. 15, 2023) 鈥 91成人鈥檚 Competition Working Group met in Denver, December. 9-10 for its annual meeting to discuss multiple topics around the sport鈥檚 competition structures for all divisions 鈥 youth, college, club, masters and beach. The annual meeting included eight 91成人 staff members, one member from the board of directors and roughly 30 key volunteers and player-elected representatives from the ultimate community. 

The two-day meeting is followed by a summary of each group鈥檚 discussion. Following the release of 91成人鈥檚 Strategic Plan earlier this year, a special emphasis was put on the four major strategic priorities: elevate youth and grassroots ultimate, enhance local disc organization success, promote excitement for ultimate and fuel the future

Youth

The Youth Working Group consists of recently hired 91成人 Director of Youth Programs Dan Raabe, manager for youth competition Dana Jefferson, regional youth directors Jack Kennedy, Joe Strong, Antonia Van Twisk and Jamie Wolf and guests from Denver-based Altitude Ultimate, Libby Cravens and Justin Salvia, who provided additional perspective, ideas and content to the discussion. 

91成人鈥檚 strategic plan, which was influenced by input from the ultimate community鈥檚 many stakeholders, is strongly focused on advancing and growing youth and grassroots ultimate, particularly at the local level. The youth working group had lengthy, complex discussions regarding how to best attack the goals outlined in the plan. 

As the group discussed how to proceed, it concluded that significant growth would require decisive changes to 91成人鈥檚 competition structure over the course of the next several years. It plans to begin with widespread data collection and community discussions with youth leaders across the country. The development of a youth department and addition of Raabe to the newly created, director-level position at headquarters was the first major step of many towards building a more complete, connected and cohesive youth ultimate scene. 

The group discussed several aspects of the Youth Club Championships (YCC), including the bid acceptance process, priority structure and equity across divisions. The promotion of girls鈥 ultimate continues to be a top priority of the group. 

The eligibility rules for YCC were further developed to best fit the players that YCC is intended for and took into account situations like dual-enrollment, early graduation, gap years and more in the process. 

As part of the eligibility discussion, the group explored exceptions and clarifications, including a new rule that will shift the responsibility for exception requests to the local disc organizations and away from individual players.  

Another major point of conversation was the youth volunteer structure. The group discussed a potential restructuring in upcoming years with greater collaboration between youth outreach volunteers and youth competition volunteers in the near term.

College

The College Working Group consists of 91成人 Manager for Competition and National Team Programs Matthew Bourland, national developmental college coordinator Amy Hudson, national directors Jeff Kula (men)  Beth Nakamura (women), Grace Kiel (D-III women) and Kevin Kula (D-III men). 

The group used a thorough analysis of participation data from the last several college seasons to discuss several points of emphasis for the upcoming year.

Rankings were a focal point following the 2023 season and the group addressed multiple concerns, including the ranking algorithm, roster validation and forfeits. The upcoming competition guidelines will reflect a change to the algorithm that removes any benefit for teams that had results invalidated due to issues of athlete eligibility. (Invalidated results will only be included if they lower a team鈥檚 ranking.) 

The group also reinforced the need for teams to play all of its scheduled games via the addition of a new forfeit deterrent. The rule was inspired by community feedback that forfeited games take away playing opportunities and that teams intentionally avoided opponents they believed could hurt their ranking. By default a 60-point power rating penalty will now be assessed to forfeiting teams, which will be applied to their final regular season ranking. An appeal process will be instituted for legitimate circumstances, including health and safety risks and other verifiable logistical challenges. 

The group also decided that an institution鈥檚 second/third team, etc. (i.e. developmental teams) at D-III programs will compete in the D-III division during the postseason. 

Another key decision was made on the topic of conference 鈥渁ll-advance鈥 events. While these events remain important to properly evaluate and seed teams at regionals, conferences with up to six teams will now use a one-day tournament format. This decision was made to increase the likelihood that events can still be completed in a weekend in the event that inclement weather occurs. 

Another major topic of discussion for the group was regional event scaling as it worked to balance the growth of meaningful competition with the growth of the number of teams competing in the college division. A decision was made to specify how many bids would be given to regionals based on team count, gender division and competition division. The scaling determination recognized that D-I and D-III women鈥檚 conferences are at a different growth stage, but also aligned with input received to make postseason events more meaningful.  

Club

The Club Working Group consists of 91成人 Manager for Competition and National Team Programs Marc Zigterman, national directors Carolina Gonzalez-Llanos (women), Genevieve Leo (mixed), and Adam Goff (men), and player-elected representatives Clare Frantz and Eli Motycka (mixed), Kristin Johnson and Tayara Romero 笔别帽补 (women) and Pawel Janas and AJ Merriman (men). 

A primary point of discussion for the working group was the Triple Crown Tour (TCT) and how to best continue providing meaningful playing opportunities to club players of all levels. Per the group鈥檚 analysis of the EOY player and team surveys, there was a significant rise in satisfaction from the women鈥檚 division, which was a specific point of emphasis from the previous year鈥檚 meeting. The group also spoke about how to best continue supporting all divisions while specifically pushing for continued advancements in equity for the women鈥檚 division. 

While the complete TCT calendar will be announced after the new year, the schedule will look similar to 2023 and again feature an east and west version of the Pro-Elite Challenge and Select Flight Invite, The U.S. Open, Elite-Select Challenge and Pro Championships. Notable elements of the TCT in the soon-to-be-released competition guidelines include: 

  • The Pro-Elite Challenge will continue to be split into east and west events to reduce travel costs while continuing to provide meaningful playing opportunities for more teams.
  • The Select Flight Invite will again be split into east and west and will include both Select Flight teams as well as high-ranking Classic Flight teams. 
  • The Elite-Select Challenge will continue to be required for Elite Flight teams with an opportunity for Select Flight teams to be invited. The group reiterated the importance of this structure to achieve connectivity in the rankings and earning bids to regionals.
  • The U.S. Open will again be required for the top-four ranked Pro Flight teams, with invitations being sent to teams ranked 5-8. Invites will again be extended to international teams. Games against international teams will again count towards overall game totals, but results will again not be factored into rankings. 
  • The Pro Championships will be limited to eight teams per division with initial invites going to Pro Flight teams.  

The group also evaluated several notable ideas that came out of the survey data, including a potential 鈥減reseason鈥 that would introduce club tournaments with no impact on rankings, as well as more inclusive high-level events later in the season. Time was also spent discussing the viability of a late-season, second-tier national tournament (similar to the NCAA鈥檚 NIT basketball tournament). While no decisions were made, the group acknowledged the challenges with planning such an event but is committed to gathering additional input from the community throughout the year. 

Discussions also took place around rosters with regards to injury deadlines, late-season roster extensions and roster mobility. 

With the success of local disc organizations being a significant goal of the new strategic plan, the group also explored ways for club teams and local organizations to build or enhance mutually beneficial relationships, connecting the groups through coaching, clinics, events and more. 

The 鈥淲orld Cup-style鈥 draw will be used again for the National Championships with minor modifications. 

Other topics of discussion included National Championship costs, bid 鈥渢heft鈥, registration deadlines, mixed division personnel ratio and majority pull rule, the redrawing of sections to address limitations caused by new competition formats, Classic tournament quality and language around suspended games. 

Masters

The Masters Working Group consists of 91成人 Manager of Events and Masters Competition Byron Hicks, national directors Kyle Christoph (men), Jolien Munsterhuis (mixed) and Kristi Schmeling (women), at-large masters working group representative Chris Cianfrani, regional coordinator Jeff Berget (south central) and special guest Charles Cooper

A major focal point for the group was improved communication across the board from 91成人, national directors, regional coordinators and more. The group is working immediately to put together a toolbox of useful communication documents and examples for volunteers, organizers and more. 

The group also discussed the 2023 Masters Championships, which hosted 2,500 players on 108 teams across eight divisions. The group elected to scale back the number of teams in 2024 to 100. 

At last year鈥檚 working group meetings, the masters team worked to form 鈥淪uper Regionals鈥, which will continue in 2024 after discussion by the group. 

Other topics, including age reclassification and longer national events were also discussed along with additional ideas posed by members of the community. 

Beach

The Beach Working Group consists of 91成人 Manager of Events David Raflo and regional beach directors Sam Broaddus (east coast), Grant Boyd (west coast), Max Grove (Gulf Coast), Alex Jacoski (Florida) and Hayden Weaver (Great Lakes). 

Looking to improve on a successful national event, which was 91成人鈥檚 largest ever with eight divisions, 68 teams and 1,000+ athletes, the tournament will include a youth mixed division beginning in 2024. It will be contested as a 4 vs. 4 competition with a 2:2 gender ratio.

The group also intends to build on the successes of 2023 by conducting player, team and organizer surveys in Q1 2024 and create a database of resources for beach event organizers.

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U.S. Open, YCC Returns to Aurora, CO in 2024 /news/2023/12/u-s-open-ycc-returns-to-aurora-co-in-2024/ Thu, 07 Dec 2023 18:55:58 +0000 /?p=24352 Colorado Springs, Colo. (December 7, 2023)鈥The nation鈥檚 top club and youth teams will return to Colorado next August as 91成人 announced today the return of the U.S. Open Club Championships to Aurora. The four-day event, which features both an elite-level club tournament, as well as the Youth Club Championships, will take place August 2-5 at the Aurora Sports Park outside of Denver.

鈥淲e are absolutely thrilled that 91成人 has again chosen Aurora as its home for the U.S. Open in 2024,鈥 said Visit Aurora CEO Bruce Dalton. 鈥淲e will be fortunate to witness the best ultimate players in the world compete at the highest level with the majestic Rocky Mountains as their backdrop. I鈥檝e even gotten into the spirit by perfecting my huck in the backyard! We invite competitors and fans alike to explore our diverse and dynamic community by enjoying our 300+ international eateries, world-class craft breweries, and so much more. May the spirit of competition unite us all in Aurora in 2024!鈥

For club teams, the tournament will run from August 2-4 and feature a field of 36 teams (12 each in the men鈥檚, mixed and women鈥檚 divisions) from across the United States and around the world.

For youth teams, the Youth Club Championships will again run from Saturday through Monday, August 3-5, and include U-17 and U-20 boys and girls divisions and a U-20 mixed division.

All totaled, the event is expected to host more than 3,000 athletes.  

Aurora hosted its first U.S. Open last year but has a long history of hosting major ultimate events over the years, including six iterations of the Pro-Elite Challenge (2015-17, 2019, 2021-22) and the 2021 Pro Championships.

Altitude Ultimate will again serve as the local organizing committee.

鈥淎ltitude is excited to have the U.S. Open return to Colorado in 2024,鈥 commented Altitude Ultimate鈥檚 Operations Manager Mike Richard. 鈥淗osting this past summer was an amazing experience and we鈥檙e ready to again bring together our fantastic community in support of the highest level of ultimate for both youth and adult athletes.鈥

The 2024 edition again provides an opportunity for some of the nation鈥檚 top elite ultimate teams to compete in front of local fans in their home state. Reigning national champions in the mixed division, Fort Collins shame., and third-place finishers in the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 divisions, Johnny Bravo and Molly Brown from Denver.

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