2014 Competition Working Group Meeting Wrap: Part 2 (Beach Division)
Posted: February 9, 2015 02:13 PM
COMPETITION WORKING GROUP MEETING WRAP
Part 2 – The Beach Division
Colorado Springs, Colo. (Feb. 9, 2015)—Several weeks ago, Dec. 6-7, USA Ultimate hosted its annual gathering of headquarters staff, national volunteers, player-elected division council athlete representatives and delegates from the competition working group to discuss, plan and refine a variety of topics and future programs.
The Winter Competition Working Group Meeting was held in Denver, Colo., and focused on several areas, including the Triple Crown Tour and USA Ultimate’s Beach, Youth and College divisions.
The meeting, which included 30 of the brightest, most well-respected and passionate stewards of ultimate in the United States, resulted in the implementation of several changes and improvements to existing programs as well as productive discussion and sharing of ideas related to the future of ultimate.
USA Ultimate would like to thank the following individuals for their participation in these meetings and recognize their ongoing commitment, vision and support:
Tyler Kinley – Club Working Group; Men’s Division Athlete Rep
Jack Marsh – Club Working Group; Men’s Division Athlete Rep
Michelle Ng – Club Working Group; Women’s Division Athlete Rep
Peri Kurshan – Club Working Group; Women’s Division Athlete Rep
An-Chi Tsou – Club Working Group; Mixed Division Athlete Rep
Steve Sullivan – Club Working Group; Mixed Division Athlete Rep
Adam Goff – Club Working Group; Men’s Division National Director
Remy Schor – Club Working Group; Women’s Division National Director
Dave Klink – Club Working Group; Mixed Division National Director
Alyssa Kelly – Youth Competition Working Group; West Regional Youth Director
Jinny Eun – Youth Competition Working Group; South Regional Youth Director
Josh Seamon – Youth Competition Working Group; Northeast Regional Youth Director
Fran Kelley – Youth Competition Working Group; Central Regional Youth Director
Claire Chastain – Youth Outreach Working Group; National Outreach Director
Heather Ann Brauer – Youth Outreach Working Group; National Girls Director
Zara Cadoux – Youth Outreach Working Group; Chair, Girls’ Ultimate Movement (GUM)
Amy Hudson – College Working Group; National Developmental Director
Beth Nakamura – College Working Group; National Women’s College Director
Jeff Kula – College Working Group; National Men’s College Director
Kevin Kula – College Working Group; National D-III College Director
Kimberly Beach – Beach Working Group; Atlantic Regional Beach Director
Sean McCall – Beach Working Group; Gulf Regional Beach Director
Becky LeDonne – Beach Working Group; Great Lakes Regional Beach Director
Rocky Beach – Beach Working Group; Pacific Regional Beach Director
Baker Pratt – Former USA Ultimate Manager of Competition & Athlete Programs (Youth)
Connor Maloney – Incoming USA Ultimate Manager of Competition & Athlete Programs (Youth)
Mike Lovinguth – USA Ultimate Manager of Education & Youth Programs
Ty Krajec – USA Ultimate Manager of Competition & Athlete Programs (College)
Ernest Toney – USA Ultimate Manager of Competition & Athlete Programs (Club)
Byron Hicks – USA Ultimate Manager of Events
David Raflo – USA Ultimate Manager of Events
Will Deaver – USA Ultimate Managing Director of Competition & Athlete Programs
Following these meetings, USA Ultimate is slated to issue a series of releases describing some of the decisions that were made and many of the ideas that were presented and shared by the group. The collaborative nature of these discussions and the decision-making process, as well as the valuable input and perspective provided by many members of the ultimate community, resulted in many exciting updates and ideas worthy of future discussion and consideration.
The second installment of these releases focuses on the future of the new USA Ultimate Beach Division. The first installment focused on the Triple Crown Tour.
BEACH DIVISION
Following the 2010 World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) World Congress, WFDF officially recognized beach ultimate, incorporated the World Championships of Beach Ultimate into its competition structure and granted existing national federations such as USA Ultimate the authority to govern beach ultimate in their country. After receiving approval from the board of directors, USA Ultimate began overseeing beach ultimate late in 2010 with the formation of a beach committee. Since that time, a beach working group was developed and is now part of the larger competition working group at USA Ultimate.
Early in 2014, USA Ultimate announced plans to host the first Beach National Championships during the 2015 calendar year, and after an extensive bid process, Virginia Beach, Va., was announced in October 2014 as the host city for the inaugural event.
During the 2014 Club Working Group meeting in Denver, working group members met with USA Ultimate headquarters staff to make considerable strides in the development of the beach division.
Beach Regions Established
For the division’s inaugural year of competition, the beach working group established four regions: East Coast, Great Lakes, Gulf Coast and West Coast. The working group considered all available, relevant information, including distribution of USA Ultimate members, existing club division sections and regions, regional distribution among teams at the 2014 National Championships and competing teams per region in the club division in 2014, when deciding on the regional lines.
The four initial regions will be considered for implementation in the future. For the purposes of the 2015 Beach National Championships, rules regarding geographic composition of teams will be based on the current club division regions. USA Ultimate staff and the beach working group will monitor levels of participation in the beach division from each geographic region and consider any needed revisions to the lines of the current four-region structure.
USA Ultimate 2015 Beach Competition Rules Set
In the division’s first year of competition, USA Ultimate beach competition will be played using the World Flying Disc Federation’s rules for beach ultimate.
The beach working group is reviewing the rules carefully and will inform players participating in the 2015 Beach National Championships before the event if any rules are determined to be in need of adjustment.
Regional Beach Directors Appointed
Four volunteers were appointed as regional beach directors for the division’s first year of competition, the last of which was officially appointed after discussion at the Competition Working Group Meeting in Denver.
Regional Beach Directors:
- East Coast – Kimberly Beach
- Great Lakes – Becky LeDonne
- Gulf Coast – Sean McCall
- West Coast – Rocky Beach
Division Guidelines and Beach Nationals Applications Completed
Close collaboration between USA Ultimate staff and the beach working group resulted in the publishing of the first beach competition guidelines. The guidelines establish parameters for the 2015 Beach National Championships: how to apply, requirements for team composition, player minimums and maximums, age limits for age-restricted competition divisions and gender ratio rules for the mixed division.
Team applications for participation in the inaugural Beach National Championships were also completed. The application was posted online and available to any teams interesting in competing in one of the event’s seven planned divisions: men’s, mixed, women’s, men’s masters, mixed masters, women’s masters and grandmasters. Phase one applications were due January 23, with the final roster deadline for accepted teams set for April 3.
The inaugural Beach National Championships will provide national-level competition for athletes in the beach division and will be used to assess the level of demand for the beach division at large. The beach working group and USA Ultimate will thoroughly review athlete and event feedback this summer to determine how best to move the beach division forward and create the best competitive experiences possible for athletes participating in beach ultimate.
For more information on USA Ultimate’s beach division and to keep up with all the latest developments, visit usaultimate.org/beach.
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