YCC Participation Now Requires Attendance At HS State Championships

A surprise eligibility change could have wide effect.

This week, USA Ultimate announced the 2017 Youth Competition Guidelines, which lay out some significant changes to the structure of youth ultimate.

As announced in March, high school Regionals have been discontinued and replaced by a new regional structure for youth club Regionals (unaffiliated with high schools). But an unexpected eligibility change for the Youth Club Championships has also made waves: “Players must have participated with their high school team in the most recent USAU High School State Championships in order to be eligible [to compete in YCC].”

Although USAU conformed the age eligibility rules (U20 and U17) to match those of the World Flying Disc Federation, for the older cohort1, the new age rules are not likely to matter, as the new HS States requirement will effectively limit competition to those currently in high school. In recent years, many top YCC teams have contained young college players who met the age eligibility requirements.

“The idea is much more targeted at stimulating the growth of state championships within the USA Ultimate structure than it is at individual athletes,” said USAU Director of Marketing and Communications Andy Lee of the primary purpose for the new rule. He added that the second goal is to “restrict the participation of college athletes from the Youth Club Championships, which over time we believe will contribute to the growth and development of youth players and local youth communities.”2

While the rule seems certain to advance those two goals, many online have expressed concerns about possible negative effects, including in states where high school competition is not centered around USAU-sanctioned HS State Championships (e.g. Washington or Vermont) and areas with less developed high school ultimate scenes. USAU does note that “exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.”3

Former USA Ultimate (then Ultimate Players Association) Director of Youth Development Kyle Weisbrod4 was sharply critical of the changes on Twitter, arguing that the “new structure isn’t player focused or growth oriented.”

The new rules are set to go into effect beginning with the 2017 Youth Club Championships, which will be held in August in Blaine, MN, alongside the US Open.

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Here is the full statement from USA Ultimate’s Andy Lee about the rationale for adding the new HS States eligibility rule: