

January 15, 2020

The AUDL has launched an inclusivity initiative focused on race and culture that will be driven by players, owners, and community leadership. Known as the AUDL Inclusive Initiative—“AII Team”—the mission of the program and its members is to increase racial, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity and awareness within the sport of ultimate by engaging communities of color and other marginalized groups.

“We strongly believe the sport of ultimate and our business needs to engage with new communities so that we learn, improve, and become more reflective,'' said AUDL CEO and Commissioner Steve Hall. “I’m excited to hear the thoughts and opinions of this team, and to establish measurable goals for the initiative so that we can maximize our impact in ways big and small.”

The AUDL expects to make more announcements on its goals over the next month. As a launching point, the league is excited to announce that they will be a Platinum Sponsor of the Color of Ultimate showcase game scheduled for this Saturday, January 18 at the LA Throwback tournament in California.

“This event is a great opportunity to springboard from, as it embodies and showcases the true importance of diversity in ultimate,” said AUDL Youth Coordinator and initiative member Matt Smith.

“We believe that ultimate has one of the lowest barriers to entry of any sport—you just need a disc to play—but that, like in many other sports, costs and fees have developed exclusionary practices,” continued Smith. “We would like to find ways to provide as much accessible ultimate as possible, for everyone.”

The Color of Ultimate is an initiative run by AFDC (Atlanta Flying Disc Club) Project Diversity which is focused on creating more equitable opportunities so ultimate is more accessible to people of all socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. Check out the documentary of last summer's inaugural Color of Ultimate showcase game.