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聽
Alyssa Weatherford – Northwest Women’s Regional Director聽

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.

The first installment of this ongoing series will focus on Leadership, and feature GUM Advisory Council member Isa Brady, 2022 Callahan award winner and World Games player Dawn Culton and U-20 National Team player Carly Atwell. Challenging players to 鈥淒are to see yourself as the leader you inherently are鈥� this webinar reminds attendees that leaders play a major role in setting the tone and shaping the experience of a team and its players. And, while captains and coaches play a major role in that, individuals don鈥檛 have to be a captain or a coach to be a leader on the team. 

to join the first GUM UnWrapped conversation and learn how these strong leaders empower players and create a welcoming and inclusive environment for their teams, while fostering a competitive spirit that matches their team鈥檚 culture.

Alongside the expanded funding coverage, the program is introducing the Play it Forward Partners initiative. 91成人 recognizes that coaches and local disc organizations play a critical role in building trusting relationships with, and advocating on behalf of, youth players. The new Partner designation encourages teams and organizations to actively champion accessibility by advocating for their players, including those with financial need. By identifying participants who require assistance and coordinating directly with 91成人, Partners ensure that no athlete is left on the sidelines, while respecting the privacy of individuals and families.

Play it Forward is a key initiative through which 91成人 provides financial aid and membership assistance to youth who face economic barriers. Play it Forward gives youth an opportunity to play in events, become a member, and be a part of the ultimate community regardless of socioeconomic status. To be eligible for the program, players must have financial need, not yet have graduated from high school and be planning to participate in a 91成人 sanctioned or championship event. Qualifying individuals may .

The Play it Forward program is funded by donations to . Since the program’s inception, Play it Forward has supported over 2,150 youth. To learn more about Play it Forward or how to partner with 91成人 to improve youth access, contact Leah Dolan-Kelley at leah@hq.usaultimate.org.

GUM is a 91成人 program that provides resources and funding to drive girls鈥� participation in the sport, develop leaders and inspire female athletes. Originally co-founded in 2014 by Zara Cadoux, Heather Ann Brauer and 91成人 Manager of Youth & Educational Programs Mike Lovinguth, the program has been carried on through the role of state based Girls鈥� Outreach Coordinator volunteers.

Despite the initial success of this program, GUM has struggled to come back to full programming following the pandemic shut-down of events, and the corresponding loss of 91成人 staff and staff transitions. While local organizers continue to run GUM clinics and events, the outreach coordinator model has not been as effective as needed in rebuilding successful programs since the return to play in 2021. 

Advisory councils have been successful in supporting both the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC ultimate communities, so the decision was made to follow that model for GUM as well. Interviews for council positions were conducted earlier this year, with the goal of building a capable and diverse group that represents the community. Offers to candidates were made in February, and the first council meeting took place at the beginning of March.

Goals for the new council will be to provide top level support and a unifying messaging around GUM programming and events. Over the next year the council will assist 91成人 staff to:

• Introduce refreshed branding and marketing support for the GUM program to increase visibility and engagement.
• Launch a series of community virtual meetings to share insights and collaborate across local efforts.
• Increase the amount of GUM clinics, leagues and women coaches in local communities nationwide.

2026 will also see the return of the GUM Ball at the Youth Club Championships in July, and the launch of new GUM merchandise from Spin Ultimate. 

Meet the GUM Council

Isa Brady (she/her) began playing ultimate as a freshman in high school, and has competed in the Youth Club Championship series with the Colorado Cutthroat U20 girls team since 2021. Isa is currently a freshman at DePaul University in Chicago where she plays with the Laser Chains. 

鈥淚 played ultimate for four years in high school and am excited to continue playing throughout my college career. My time playing in high school gave me many opportunities to grow both as a player and as a teammate. Through these experiences, I became increasingly aware of the need for more girls in ultimate. Since starting college, that motivation has only grown stronger, and I am passionate about helping expand opportunities and encouraging more girls to get involved in the sport.鈥�

Ally Fion (they/them) started playing ultimate in college at Northwestern University in 2014 and continued playing with the Imperial College of London while studying abroad in 2015. Experiencing how global and tight-knit the ultimate community was, Ally became passionate about fostering and building community within the sport, and has been deeply ingrained in ultimate ever since. Upon moving back home to North Carolina in 2019, Ally helped develop an LGBTQ frisbee league and joined the Triangle Ultimate staff as the Director of Marketing and Community Engagement. Ally also serves as the 91成人U State Representative for North Carolina and is the Executive Director of North Carolina Ultimate. When not working in ultimate, Ally does more ultimate. Ally plays mixed masters and women’s club in the area and coaches women’s college and middle school. Occasionally, they’re joined by their frisbee dogs, Koda and River. 

鈥淣ow more than ever, people are paying attention to girls鈥� and women鈥檚 sports. We鈥檙e in an exciting moment where new digital platforms like TikTok, alongside outspoken champions and investors in women鈥檚 sports such as Billie Jean King with the Professional Women’s Hockey League, and Michele Kang with women’s pro soccer, have expanded visibility and access to these spaces. As such, there’s been an exciting momentum shift with more people than ever motivated to support opportunities for girls and women in sport. I鈥檓 excited for GUM to tap into that energy. Ultimate has always been a community-driven sport, and I look forward to our community coming together, fired up to expand access, visibility, and opportunities for Girl-Matching-Players in ultimate.鈥�

Libby Cravens (she/her) lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with her husband Michael, a fellow ultimate player. Libby is a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist, proficient American Sign Language user, enthusiastic hiker, and mediocre gardener. She runs a local MS and HS ultimate program, is a U-20 Girls’ Division YCC coach, serves as the Outreach Director for Altitude Ultimate and on the Fort Collins Ultimate Board, and has been playing, coaching, and organizing ultimate for 20 years. She started playing in Houston as a high schooler, played and coached for many years at the University of Texas at Austin before her time in Philadelphia/New Jersey. Libby moved to Colorado in 2021, and is officially Grand Masters eligible. She has been involved with GUM since the Best Practices panel when it was first being created. She owes much of the love in her life to the sport of ultimate, and the communities that have shaped her.

鈥淚 want EVERY ultimate player to know what GUM stands for and to be doing their part to get more girl-matching players (GMPs) playing ultimate! I want to see communities all across the country celebrating our talented girl-matching and women-matching players, encouraging more women-matching players to coach, and showing girls that our sport is a space for them. People can’t support the important work that GUM is doing if they do not know GUM exists. Eventually, every single adult community will benefit from having supported the growth of the number of GMPs. Increasing GUM’s visibility will allow us to have a bigger impact. I hope every player that sees this will support GUM’s growth and truly make this an unstoppable movement. 鈥�

This series of free community events is intended to introduce ultimate to middle school youth ages 10-14. The events are offered in partnership with 91成人 Affiliates and other Local Disc Organizations. 91成人 provides participating organizations with marketing materials and a simple, fun curriculum of engaging activities meant to familiarize newcomers with the basics of the sport.

Last year鈥檚 inaugural DISCover Ultimate Day featured events across 15 states with a total of more than 255 registrants in the 22 communities that participated.

鈥淥verall, we considered it very successful,鈥� shared 91成人 Director of Member Services and Community Development Stacey Waldrup. 鈥淲e ended up with more sites than we anticipated for year one, and all the host feedback we received was positive 鈥� with 100% of respondents saying they would consider running the event again. We look forward to building on that success this year as DISCover Ultimate Day becomes a nationwide celebration of what makes our sport unique.鈥�

Along with the confirmation of the 2026 date, registration is now open for local organizers to host an event. For more information on DISCover Ultimate Day, including how to host an event in your community, visit .

The effort 鈥� led by 91成人鈥檚 Youth and Education Program Manager Sam Callan 鈥� was developed in collaboration with Youth Programs Director Dan Raabe and Grant Boyd of 91成人 Affiliate, California Ultimate, with input from others in the ultimate coaching community.

The program went live with a soft launch near the end of last year and is currently available through the 91成人鈥檚 website and app.

The course is aimed at those looking to start middle school programs and includes:

• An introduction to coaching, including advice from elite ultimate coach Matty Tsang.
• A module covering the basics of the game and how to facilitate a learning environment with videos covering how to teach skills, including throwing and catching.
• Videos featuring longtime ultimate coach Libby Cravens explaining how to teach offensive and defensive plays.
• Four introductory practice plans with equipment lists and advice for how to change things up to fit different groups and spaces.
• A kid-friendly rules introduction and additional resources.

鈥淲e are excited to introduce this new coaching program for adults who are newcomers to ultimate,鈥� shared Callan. 鈥淢aking ultimate accessible is an ongoing goal of 91成人U and getting parents and teachers involved is a great way to extend the availability of ultimate programming to youth who are exploring new sports.鈥�

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Under a new partnership agreement, 2-4-1 Sports will integrate ultimate into its school-based and camp programming 鈥� introducing new players to the sport and creating pathways for continued engagement through 91成人鈥檚 youth membership and collaboration with local disc organizations.

91成人 will provide technical guidance, curriculum support, and promotional visibility, while endorsing 2-4-1鈥檚 model as a proven framework for long-term athlete development.

鈥淗aving recently testified before Congress on the state of youth sports in this country, it was reaffirming to see bipartisan acknowledgment that access, affordability, and where sports live matter just as much as competition,鈥� said Steve Boyle, Executive Director of 2-4-1. 鈥淥ur partnerships with national governing bodies like 91成人 Fencing and now 91成人 validate the boots on the ground work we are doing every day in schools and communities. We love ultimate because it is incredibly accessible. Kids can play it almost anywhere, often with minimal equipment, and the sport naturally teaches problem solving, self regulation, and conflict resolution. It is one of the best entry points for helping kids fall in love with being active and connected through sport.鈥�

The partnership also includes collaboration with the , 91成人鈥檚 philanthropic arm, to co-develop grant opportunities and expand access for underserved youth and girls nationwide.

鈥淭his partnership embodies our mission to grow the sport of ultimate and ensure that every child has the opportunity to play,鈥� said Kevin Erlenbach, CEO of 91成人. 鈥�2-4-1鈥檚 approach to sport sampling and social-emotional learning is a natural fit for ultimate鈥檚 emphasis on inclusivity, self-officiating, and community.鈥�

Together, the organizations will identify pilot sites, co-host events, and create training resources that combine physical literacy, play, and ultimate to help children build lifelong healthy habits.

Players were named to one of three rosters 鈥� mixed, open, or women鈥檚 鈥� and were chosen from a pool of more than 200 invitees who attended a pair of tryouts this fall.

Overall, coaches selected 24 players to each team, including six athletes who won world titles in 2024 as part of the gold-medal-winning mixed and open squads, and four athletes who took silver in 2024 as members of the women鈥檚 team.

91成人 has competed in 16 editions of WJUC dating back to 1988. The open team has earned ten gold medals, two silvers, and four bronze.

Since the women鈥檚 division was introduced in 2000, the U.S. National Team has captured six gold medals, four silvers, and a bronze.

91成人 took the gold in 2024 in the mixed division, the first time at that event. The mixed division was introduced to WJUC in 2022.  

WJUC 2026 is set to be held July 11鈥揓uly 18 in Logro帽o, Spain and is co-hosted by WFDF and the local organizing committee in Logro帽o.

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.