Regional Update - Spring 2015
My friend’s son has become obsessed with Ultimate, even presenting a project on Ultimate to his grade five class last year. He brought in a local club player to teach his classmates to throw while he spoke about the game with a passion and clarity that isn’t normally seen until later in an individual’s career. The result of this one boy’s passion: His elementary school now supports 30 kids coming out and playing Ultimate regularly. Until this point, youth under the age of 16 were only exposed to Ultimate through older peers or parents who play the sport. They could throw around or play recreationally, but did not have an outlet to really learn the game and participate in league play.
The WYUL opens registration on an individual basis. Because of this, kids from separate schools will be forced to mingle. This creates an amazing opportunity to inspire so many new programs to flourish. All it takes is that one player, the one filled with a passion to play, to bring that spark to practice. With the right coaching, this spark can catch the attention of the other kids and send any program into a firestorm where an incredible amount of learning can take place. More importantly, this firestorm doesn’t stop burning when the practices cease or final games end. Instead, every player that has that burning passion will go back to their respective schools and become a new spark. They begin sharing everything they learned and motivating friends to join. If the spark burns hot enough, it may even lead to the beginning of a new Ultimate program at their school, just like my friend’s son was able to do at his school.
Whether the cascade effect of WYUL reaches wider audiences or not, the fact of the matter remains: using a format that is radically different than previous attempts, MODS may have very well become a leader in youth Ultimate for years to come.
Get Involved with the WYUL Ages 9-11
Ages 12-15 T
ouch of Grey – A Look at Grand Masters Ultimate in the Nation’s Capital
Ontario By: Karlis Bouse
With our sport now midway through its fifth decade, a group of Ultimate Frisbee players across Canada are embracing their graceful aging through the introduction of Grandmasters (GM) Ultimate. Limited to men aged 40 and over, and women 37 years and older, the GM division provides options for those who want to continue to play, while wisely avoiding the requirement to chase after 20-year olds in order to do so.
Building on the success and enjoyment of the North American Grand Masters Ultimate Championships held annually in Montreal in late September, a group of Ottawa-based Ultimate players recently launched the inaugural Grand Masters Indoor Spring League. Under the banner and with the support of the Ottawa Carleton Ultimate Association (OCUA), the league rapidly filled the 75 co-ed roster spots to comprise six teams. As homage to the storied history of Ottawa Ultimate (celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2015), the teams in the new GM league will be named after the original six OCUA teams. The GM Spring League games will be held in one of the many indoor domed facilities in Ottawa, and run for five weeks through April and early May.
The new GM league is also allowing some recently retired OCUA players to lace up their cleats once more, secure in the knowledge that they won’t be only the forty-something on the field. In fact, players in the OCUA GM League range in age from their late 30’s up to 60 years of age, with some players boasting 30 years of Ultimate experience. Early indications for a sustainable Grand Masters league in Ottawa already look extremely positive, with lots of interest, a waiting list for players, and a demographic that promises a
Ultimate Canada Magazine -
www.canadianultimate.com 27
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