2014 ULTIMATE CANADA AWARDS
BUILDER INDUCTEE 2014 Jeff Malmgren - Vancouver, BC
After the first big wave of expansion in the 1990s, Vancouver’s Ultimate scene almost foundered on its own success. Swelled by new players coming out of school programmes and friendship networks, the Vancouver Ultimate League had grown to the point where it was beyond the capacity of amateur volunteers to run. Fortunately, along came Jeff Malmgren, who became a key member of the first generation of professional Ultimate administrators who possessed the skill and savvy to guide the sport through its expansion.
Malmgren served as the executive director for the Vancouver Ultimate League Society (VUL) for eight years, from 2000-2008. During his tenure he guided the growth of the league from 1,200 players to over 4,000, as it became one of the largest leagues in the world. The VUL became the largest user of city fields in Vancouver during that time period and provided a model for other cities to follow.
Before he arrived at the VUL, Ultimate had been regarded by local government bodies as more of a nuisance than anything else, ‘stealing’ scarce field space from traditional sports. But this all changed when Malmgren raised the profile of the sport by serving as president of the Vancouver Field Sports Federation (VFSF) from 2003-2008, establishing Ultimate as a important stakeholder within the City of Vancouver. Under his leadership the VFSF was able to help address issues between user groups and advocate for more turf fields, including the creation of new lit fields dedicated to Ultimate. Under his leadership, the VUL developed a model that other Ultimate organizations across the country have benefited from, and Malmgren was tireless at networking with other leagues across the United States and Canada to spread the benefits of the model.
Malmgren also had a major impact on the national Ultimate scene. He served as chairman of the Ultimate Canada Board of Directors for six years, from 2007- 2013, during which time Ultimate Canada experienced tremendous growth, bringing on 30,000 new members. Under his leadership Ultimate Canada also developed
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a National Coaching Certification Program, created an observer program, and developed a Long-Term Athlete Development model, just for a start. Malmgren also served on numerous sub-committees including the LTAD committee, human resources committee, governance committee, and a variety of ad hoc committees addressing particular issues.
Due to the values they embody, Malmgren and Ultimate were a match made in heaven.
“Before I discovered Ultimate,” says Malmgren, “I’d spent a fair amount of time playing and coaching sports, continually fighting for values that I held around fair play and honour that were too often lacking. To discover them embedded in not only the rules but the culture of a game that was hugely fun to play and offered all the activity I would ever need was truly astonishing. And the community that grew from and drove that culture led me to a place I certainly never expected to find myself at 40+ years of age.”
“Running an Ultimate league was indeed life changing and certainly sometimes challenging, but I wouldn’t have done it if not for the heartfelt respect I had for the Ultimate community, and the trust that I would be treated with that same respect as I took on the job.”
“I’m not much for recognition or individual honours, but I have to say that being inducted into this Hall of Fame really means something to me, not because of the amount of work or time or anything that happened to get done while I was around, but because of the respect I hold to this day for the community from whence it comes, i.e. because of the spirit in which it is given.”
“So thank you, to those who nominated me, and to those with whom I’ve played and joked and worked with in the Ultimate world. The pleasure was (and I hope still is) mine.”
Jeff played in 4 Art Hawkins Great Canadian Ultimate Game legs in 2012 Ultimate Canada Magazine -
www.canadianultimate.com
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