Ultimate Players Association

The Ultimate Players Association, founded in 1979, is a not-for-profit organization that serves as the governing body of the sport of Ultimate Frisbee in the United States.

Overview

Its mission is "to promote and support the sport of Ultimate and its players; to increase participation in the sport of Ultimate at all levels; to uphold the Spirit of the Game, including personal responsibility and integrity; and to provide a framework for players to organize and conduct competition and other activities related to Ultimate." [http://www.upa.org/upa/factsheet.pdf] (PDF)

The UPA's main focus is the Championship Series; it sanctions certain tournaments that are held throughout the year in three divisions (Club, College, Youth) and runs the championship tournaments at the end of the respective seasons. These events are governed by the 11th Edition Rules [http://www.upa.org/files/11th_ed_Final_3_6_07.pdf] .

Club Series

The Club division is subdivided into Open, Women's, Mixed, and Masters divisions, which have their season in the fall. The first national championship took place in 1979 in State College, Pennsylvania. The Women's division was added in 1981. The Masters Open and Women's divisions were added in 1991; the Masters Women's division was discontinued in 1997. The Mixed Division was added in 1998. Club tournaments have been held in Sarasota, FL for the last few years, and the UPA appears to have settled down there as their preferred location.

College Series

The College division is subdivided into Open and Women's divisions, which have their season in the spring. Over 300 Open teams and 200 Women's teams took part in the College Championship Series in 2005. The College Open division was first held in 1984 in Somerville, MA and was won by Stanford University. The College Women's Division was added in 1987.

Youth Series

Originally, the National Youth championship was loosely a high school-based competition, with guidelines determining how many players must be from one high school. In the early 21st century, the UPA moved more towards a complete high school nationals, which launched in 1998 in Maplewood, NJ.

In 2005, two significant changes were made: High School Nationals was split into Easterns and Westerns, split by the Mississippi river, held in May each year, and a Youth Club Championships was created, for club teams assembled from various cities/regions across North America, held in August each year.

Other Programs

Aside from the championship series, other programs exist, such as Innovation Grants which are given out to local Ultimate organizations who apply for funding for special programs.

The UPA is run by a twelve-person Board of Directors that is elected by the membership; a director's term is three years, rotated such that four seats come up for election each calendar year. At least one representative is elected from each of the six UPA Club regions (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, Central, Southwest, Northwest) with the remaining six elected from the membership at large. The Board is responsible for hiring and overseeing the executive director, budgeting, strategic planning and considering proposals, policies and rule changes.

Over 20,000 people are currently members of the UPA; memberships are $40 per calendar year ($30 for college students, $20 for players 18 and under) and allow participation at sanctioned events, as well as a subscription to the quarterly UPA newsletter and discounts on some Ultimate paraphernalia. There is also a $750 lifetime membership option available. [http://www3.upa.org/membership]

The UPA is a member of the World Flying Disc Federation, the international governing body for flying disc sports. WFDF is a member of the General Association for International Sport Federations (GAISF), The International World Games Association (IWGA), and the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE).

Championship Series History

Club Series

Youth Club Championships

[http://www.upa.org/hof Ultimate Hall of Fame]

Class of 2004

* Suzanne Fields - Inaugural Class
* Irv Kalb - Inaugural Class
* Tom "TK" Kennedy - Inaugural Class
* Dan "Stork" Roddick - Inaugural Class
* Larry Schindel - Inaugural Class
* The "80 Mold" Disc - Special Merit

Class of 2005

* Jon "JC" Cohn - Player
* Kelly Green - Player
* Jim Herrick - Player
* Kathy Pufahl - Contributor
* Sholom "Eric" Simon - Contributor
* The "Founders": Buzzy Hellring, Jonny Hines, Joel Silver - Special Merit

Class of 2006

* Tom "Timba" D'Urso - Player
* Steve Mooney - Player
* Ann (Cohan) Orders - Player
* Heather Morris Raker - Player
* Robert L. "Nob" Rauch - Contributor

ee also

* List of Ultimate teams

External links

* [http://www.upa.org The UPA Homepage]
* [http://www.callahan-mvp.com/ Callahan Award Website]
* [http://www.upa.org/ultimate/rules 10th Edition Rules]
* [http://www.wfdf.org World Flying Disc Federation]