USA Ultimate

Stops include Twin Cities; New York metro area; Loudoun County, Va.; Aurora, Colo.; Santa Cruz, Calif.; and Frisco, Texas

Boulder, Colo. (Feb. 27, 2014) – USA Ultimate, the national governing body for the sport of ultimate in the United States is excited to announce all the dates, locations, venues and host organizations for this year’s Triple Crown Tour events. Stops on the second-annual Triple Crown Tour include several of the biggest and most passionate ultimate communities in the country.

The Triple Crown Tour represents the highest level of competitive ultimate in the world and consists of two major events – the U.S. Open and the National Championships – and a regular season rankings formula. Prize money totaling $27,000 is on the line for winners of the three individual elements of the Tour, as well as for any team that can claim all three titles to win the Triple Crown.

USA Ultimate’s media partners, ESPN and NexGen, will provide an unprecedented amount of comprehensive coverage of the 2014 Triple Crown Tour.

U.S. OPEN ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIPS & CONVENTION – TWIN CITIES, MN – JULY 3-6

The 2014 Triple Crown Tour will kick off in Minnesota’s Twin Cities with the third-annual U.S Open Ultimate Championships and Convention, July 3-6, hosted by Minnesota Youth Ultimate and USA Ultimate. Once again, some of the world’s most competitive ultimate teams will make the trip to the United States to challenge America’s best and play in a final tune-up before the World Ultimate Club Championships. Eight teams in each of the men’s, women’s and mixed divisions will face off at the National Sports Center in Blaine in an effort to claim the first leg of this year’s Triple Crown.

"Minnesota Youth Ultimate and the Twin Cities ultimate community are pleased to host the U.S. Open in 2014," said Bruce Mebust, tournament director and chairman of Minnesota Youth Ultimate. "This is the first time we’ve been privileged to host this premier event with USA Ultimate and we look forward to delivering a quality, world-class tournament. We anticipate that hosting the U.S. Open will contribute to the continued development of the sport at all levels in the Twin Cities and Minnesota."

The U.S. Open will also again feature a convention portion of the event will welcome participants from all corners of the ultimate community, from players to coaches to organizers and entrepreneurs. The convention is a place for ultimate’s best and brightest to exchange ideas and learn more about topics ranging from coaching to how to prevent injury to the business of sports. The event will also play host to a Learn to Play clinic, with one session specifically for girls in grades 7-12 and one for boys and girls of all ages.

Stay tuned to usaultimate.org/usopen for more details on all aspects of the Championships and Convention.

PRO–ELITE CHALLENGE (M&W) CHESAPEAKE INVITE – LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA – JULY 12-13

On July 12-13, the Triple Crown Tour’s Pro and Elite teams will face off in the Pro-Elite Challenge. The Chesapeake Invite will play host to the top teams in the men’s and women’s divisions. The event will be organized by Chesapeake Ultimate, the Washington Area Frisbee Club and the Central Maryland Ultimate Association. "Chesapeake Ultimate, with the support of the Washington Area Frisbee Club and Central Maryland Ultimate Association, are very excited to be a part of the Triple Crown Tour this year.  We welcome the opportunity to host some familiar faces and show some new teams what Chesapeake has to offer.  Working with top-notch partners like Visit Loudoun and Morven Park gives us the unique opportunity to provide a quality event within close proximity to the nation's capital," explained members of the local organizing committee.

PRO–ELITE CHALLENGE (X) NEW YORK INVITE – MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – JULY 12-13

Pro and Elite mixed teams will head to Middletown, N.Y., on the same weekend, July 12-13, for the New York Invite, hosted by DiscNY and 7Express. "7 Express is excited to join forces with DiscNY to bring teams from around the country to the metro New York area for the Mixed Pro-Elite Challenge, the New York Invite," said Ashely Snyder of 7Express.

ELITE–SELECT CHALLENGE (M, W, X) COLORADO CUP – AURORA, CO – AUGUST 2-3

This year’s Elite-Select Challenge will again be Colorado Cup, hosted by local teams Johnny Bravo and Molly Brown. Teams from the second and third tiers of all three divisions – men’s, women’s and mixed – will meet at the Aurora Sports Complex in Aurora, Colo., on August 2-3.

"We're excited to continue the tradition of hosting a great event here in Colorado," commented Johnny Bravo captain Ryan Farrell. "Part of that tradition is to serve a testing ground for up-and-coming teams that want to prove they belong in the top 20. I expect this year's cadre of Select teams to be the strongest yet."

PRO FLIGHT FINALE (M, W, X) LABOR DAY CHAMPIONSHIPS – SANTA CRUZ, CA – AUGUST 30-31

The regular season will conclude August 30-31 at the Pro Flight Finale in Santa Cruz, Calif. The Santa Cruz Labor Day Ultimate Championships, hosted by California-Santa Cruz Men’s Ultimate will determine the winners of the 2014 regular season, the second leg of the Triple Crown Tour, in all three competition divisions.

"We love getting elite ultimate in Santa Cruz," said Jeremy Yong. "The community was practically built to sustain the high-intensity and dynamic nature of the sport and has loved the caliber of play they've seen in previous Labor Days, but this is the real deal we've been looking for. The picturesque fields, overlooking Monterey Bay, serve as one of the best locations in the world to play our beautiful sport. We're looking forward to filling those verdant spaces with the nation's elite teams."

USA ULTIMATE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – FRISCO, TX – OCTOBER 16-19

The season will culminate with the 2014 USA Ultimate National Championships October 16-19, in Frisco, Texas. Again hosted by the Dallas Ultimate Association, in conjunction with USA Ultimate, the National Championships will return for a second year to Frisco and the FC Dallas Toyota Soccer Center. The annual event hosts 48 teams and over 1,200 athletes, all seeking to compete at the pinnacle of the sport with an eye on becoming national champions.

"The Dallas Ultimate Association is honored to assist USA Ultimate in hosting the 2014 National Championships, as we did last year in 2013." commented Dallas Ultimate Association President Jeff Jordan. "Our players, volunteers and fans from Texas and across the Southwest are eager once again to participate, support and watch the best ultimate in North America."

SELECT FLIGHT TOURNAMENTS

In addition to the Pro and Elite Flight regular season events, a number of Select Flight-focused playing opportunities will be identified and promoted for the 2014 regular season. These opportunities will be announced and described in more detail in March.

As part of USA Ultimate’s ongoing efforts to enhance programs and competition offerings for athletes nationwide, all aspects of the Triple Crown Tour are being reviewed in the off-season by USA Ultimate staff and the player-elected competition working groups. The current state of preseason planning will be outlined in a related news item posted later today on the USA Ultimate website.

Stay tuned to usaultimate.org for updates and to find the most current information on the 2014 Triple Crown Tour.

Event	Date	Divs.	Location & Venue	Host Organizer(s)
U.S. Open Championships & Convention	July 3-6	All	Twin Cities, MN National Sports Center Embassy Suites-Brooklyn Center	Minnesota Youth Ultimate USA Ultimate
Pro-Elite Challenge: Chesapeake Invite	July 12-13	M, W	Loudoun County, VA Morven Park	Chesapeake Ultimate Washington Area Frisbee Club Central Maryland Ultimate Association
Pro-Elite Challenge: New York Invite	July 12-13	X	Middletown, NY Blue Sky Polo Club	DiscNY 7Express
Elite-Select Challenge: Colorado Cup	Aug 2-3	All	Aurora, CO Aurora Sports Park	Johnny Bravo Molly Brown
Pro Flight Finale: Santa Cruz Labor Day Ultimate Championships	Aug 30-31	All	Santa Cruz, CA University of California-Santa Cruz	California-Santa Cruz Men's Ultimate
National Championships	Oct 16-19	All	Frisco, TX FC Dallas Toyota Soccer Center	Dallas Ultimate Association USA Ultimate

 

(PDF of the 2014 Triple Crown Tour schedule)

 

 

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