Alexia McCaskill recently became the USA Ultimate Girls’ Outreach Coordinator (GOC) for the Boulder area. As the Boulder area GOC, McCaskill will be a resource for any coach, program, or community in the Boulder area hoping to grow girls’ participation in the sport we all love whether it be in the Mixed, Open, or Girls’ Division.
McCaskill has coached mixed division and girls’ division high school teams for Boulder High School students since Spring 2014. During that time, McCaskill has watched the fantastic increase in the number of boys participating in organized Ultimate but has also witnessed what seems to be stagnation or decrease in girls entering and remaining in our sport. McCaskill would like to help our Boulder-area Ultimate community actively recruit, increase participation, and retain over time the number of girls.
Read moreOur Response to Recommendations Related to Aurora Police Violence
Dear Ultimate Community,
Earlier this summer, USA Ultimate, Altitude Youth Ultimate and other local disc organizations around the country stood in solidarity with Black members of the ultimate community in denouncing the police violence and systemic racism that has afflicted the Black community for centuries and continues to marginalize them to this day. It is clear that all lives can’t matter until Black Lives Matter. We as a community are committed to taking action and prioritizing work around anti-racism and inclusion, recognizing their critical role in the integrity of our sport’s culture, and we welcome your candid thoughts and involvement as we strive to create meaningful change for BIPOC communities.
In response to the racist acts of violence by the Aurora Police Department – some of which made national news – and to concerns for safety from within our community, Altitude Youth Ultimate/Colorado Ultimate recently hosted an independently moderated focus group featuring Black members of the local and national ultimate community and non-ultimate players living in Aurora, Colo. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss what USAU and AYU could do, not just to create a safe and inclusive environment for BIPOC at events hosted in Aurora and at the Aurora Sports Park, but also to actively support and engage with people in the community.
After hearing recommendations from the group and having several internal conversations, USAU and AYU have put together a list of commitments to advance our progress in serving BIPOC communities. We have also provided expanded descriptions of each organization’s commitments.
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Please support our efforts to grow Ultimate by donating on Colorado Gives Day, December 8, 2020.
Community First Foundation and FirstBank present Colorado Gives Day, an annual state-wide movement to celebrate and increase philanthropy through online giving.
Read moreFrom usaultimate.org
While ultimate remains largely on hold, disc sports enthusiasts around the world can now rekindle their competitive fire through USA Ultimate’s newest event – The National Skills Challenge!
After launching a new, interactive skills challenge module on its mobile app earlier this summer, USA Ultimate developed the concept into a full-fledged, competitive event open to both individuals and teams.
The National Skills Challenge features a dozen different activities designed to test an athlete’s accuracy, agility, speed and other ultimate-related skills. Players can participate in any or all of the 12 skills challenges and even enter a multi-skill "Discathlon" competition as an individual or part of a four-person team. Divisions are offered across different age, gender and skill categories for both individual and team classifications.
Both the individual and team Discathlon competition is broken up into two phases: a qualifying round (Oct. 5-18) and a finals round (Oct. 22-25), while single skills competition runs from Oct. 5-18.
Top finishers in both the individual and team Discathlon competitions will receive a commemorative gold, silver or bronze Discraft UltraStar as the event’s inaugural medalists. Additional prizes from USA Ultimate, VC Ultimate and other event partners will be raffled off to players with opportunities to increase the number of raffle entries through competitive performance and social media engagement.
"The National Skills Challenge is the first of several new events and programs we anticipate introducing over the coming weeks and months, and we encourage everyone who loves ultimate to compete and see how you or your team stacks up against players from across the world," commented USA Ultimate CEO Tom Crawford. "The creative team here at HQ and a group of key volunteers have monitored the many obstacles thrown our way this year and remain committed to developing fun, safe and competitive opportunities for our community to stay connected and continue to engage in disc sports. We hope and believe the National Skills Challenge, as well as other new programs coming soon, will ultimately take on a life of their own and present new ways for all our members to play and compete for years to come."
The cost to participate is just $5 per individual and $20 per team with a portion of the proceeds supporting USA Ultimate’s equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programs (see details below). All USA Ultimate members are eligible to compete while others can become a one-time event member to enter.
As a virtual event, competitors can participate and record their results from anywhere, safely adhering to any local health and safety guidelines.
To learn more about how to compete, including a list of individual and team divisions, eligibility, rules, registration, event schedule, and more, please review the guidelines below.
Read moreWe are launching a 2020 Fall Colorado Springs Club Experience that will provide players in the Springs a chance to strengthen skills, build a team culture, and gain a sense of community.
Players develop together throughout the fall, during two intense practices each week led by Peter Kiefer (University School Head Coach).
We are excited to return to play and are sure you are too! We want to assure you that getting back to the fun will not come at the expense of safety. We have undertaken a rigorous "Return to Play Safely" protocol to increase the safety of all players, coaches, and families. These vigorous safety precautions include enhanced sanitation of equipment, program modifications to reduce close contact, social distancing on sidelines, and more (full list of protocols below).
Read moreIn May, AYU and the Cutthroat coaches wondered what if anything to do about our traditional, summer-time Cutthroat youth club teams. In light of COVID-19 and USA Ultimate cancelations of the spring college season and the summer’s Youth Club Championships, doing nothing was a real possibility. Participant safety and compliance with the Colorado Department of Health guidance had to be the highest priorities from the beginning. With masks, social distancing, plenty of sanitizer, and other modifications, AYU decided to offer some of the country’s only USAU-sanctioned youth programming in the country.
Read moreThe Altitude Youth Ultimate board is appalled at the oppression by police of black and brown people that — while a long-standing issue in this country — has been most recently brought to light by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McCain and many others. We are also heartened by the world’s response, rising up with words and deeds to try to put a stop to unfair policing and to promote social justice. And while we find that the actions and conversations happening within the Ultimate community are particularly important and necessary, we know that words or a moment of action are not enough.
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