We are trying to introduce new formats of competition - primarily because we believe it will improve accessibility to ultimate. With this in mind we are looking to trial one or more mixed leagues this year. Please read on for an outline of how things might work. There is a link to an Expression of Interest form at the end.

Structure

Our goal is to set up a competition where teams play a full round-robin, competing against all of the other teams in the league, with matches spread out over weeks or months.

Games will take place on the weekend. We will aim for games to be held on Sunday mornings, but teams may need to have some flexibility to play at other times.

We assume that the ideal fixture structure is that 3 teams meet at a location and all play each other, with the home team playing the first and last game. But we will also include some single-match fixtures involving only two teams.

We plan that for most fixtures, players would travel maximum approx. 1 hour; but occasionally it may be up to 2 hours. We really don’t want to have anyone travelling more than 2 hours for any game.

We hope that some clubs will organise their own home venue; but we will also look at providing a central venue for those that cannot or do not want to organise their own.

The league will be counted as a UKU Tier 2 Ranking Event.





When

We’d like to get started after Easter, in April. The end date will inevitably depend on the size of the league - but hopefully we can get into June at least. We are thinking fixtures every 2-3 weeks; and will work around major UKU event dates.

Cost

We don’t know yet! Basically we just need to make sure we don’t lose loads of money on it. We want to find out if any clubs want to play from their own home venue, versus those who want us to handle that. And at this point we want to figure out a costs / pricing model with teams that want to be involved.

We will charge a team fee, and you should probably assume that it will be more expensive per game than a tournament. Assume that we will be charging approx. £50-£100 per team for administering the league, and that we (or the club) will also need to cover the costs for venue hire e.g. if you have 20 players involved from your club, you might expect a cost of £5 for taking part + a share for venue hire and associated costs

Since it is a Tier 2 UKU Ranking Competition, players will need to have full UKU membership.

Location

We’ll try to run this in any area/region where we have viable numbers.

Format

We are going to start with Mixed, gender rule A(* see below). We want squads with equal numbers of female and male players.

(*) Ratio Rule A (“prescribed ratio” rule):

At the start of the game, after the first disc flip, an additional disc flip happens with the winner selecting the gender ratio for the first point. For the second and third points the ratio must be the reverse of the first point. For the fourth and fifth points the ratio must be the same as the first point. This pattern of alternating the ratio every two points repeats until the end of the game (half time has no impact on the pattern).

If we are successful we will of course also start looking at Open and Women’s division leagues too. If your club would be interested in a single-gender league in the future, please let us know in the Expression of Interest form (link below).

Who is it for?

All clubs are welcome. We also want to hear from individuals that would like to play but are not part of a club that will enter.

We want to provide a competitive format that is different to weekend tournaments. If that appeals to you, this is for you! We also know that sadly some people leave the sport because they cannot play weekend tournaments and there isn’t much else on offer. If you know someone like that - please share this with them.

We want to see league-formats running across the UK that enable players to access competitive ultimate with a different type of regular time commitment. This announcement is step 1. We have a long way to go…

Expression of Interest

So if you are interested in the idea, please complete this no-commitment Expression of Interest form.

PLEASE NOTE: the form is for CLUBS, INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS or VOLUNTEERS







