Dates, Locations Announced for 2017 Youth Club Regional Championships

Colorado Springs, Colo. (Feb. 16, 2017) – USA Ultimate, the national governing body for the sport of ultimate in the United States, announced today the dates and locations of three of the first-ever Youth Club Regional Championships. Dates and the location of the fourth event will be announced in the coming weeks.

These club events replace the high-school-based regional events that were held from 2012-2016. The same regional boundaries that have been in place for the past five years were used to determine locations for this year’s events, and the event names still reflect those regions, but the boundaries will not limit teams to a specific event. Teams may choose to apply to compete at any of the four events.

The Youth Club Northeastern Championships will be held October 7-8, at Edinboro University, just outside Erie, Penn., and will be hosted by the Erie Sports Commission and Erie Ultimate League Enterprises.

"The Erie Sports Commission is proud to host USA Ultimate as it brings the 2017 USA Ultimate Youth Club Northeastern Championships to Erie, Penn., for the first time," said Ron Sertz, Executive Director of the Erie Sports Commission. "We are thrilled to have been chosen to host hundreds of young athletes from across the northeastern United States and expose them to all the great amenities our region has to offer. I'm certain this is just the beginning of a long relationship with USA Ultimate."

"Erie Ultimate League Enterprises is excited to be working with the Erie Sports Commission and Edinboro University to bring the 2017 USA Ultimate Youth Club Northeastern Championships to Erie, Penn.," said Hayden Weaver, Founder and Director of Erie Ultimate League Enterprises, LLC. "Hosting this premier event is a great chance to showcase this new sport to all of the local schools and youth. EULE looks forward to helping USAU expand ultimate's presence in Erie."

The Youth Club Central Championships will be held November 4-5, at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa – the home of the last three High School Regional Championships. Once again, the Ames Convention & Visitors Bureau, Iowa State Woman Scorned and the Iowa State Ultimate Club will serve as the local organizing committee.

"Iowa State’s Woman Scorned are excited to be hosting the first Youth Club Regional Championship in Ames next year," said Woman Scorned President Jessica Mazzio. "We look forward to hosting Centrals and find hosting to be a great way to showcase the sport of ultimate. We are thrilled for the opportunity to open our doors to the ultimate community once again."

"The Ames Convention & Visitors Bureau is thrilled to support USA Ultimate," said Seann DeMaris, sports and leisure sales manager for the Ames Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Our relationship with USA Ultimate continues to grow, and by working together, we are able to host ultimate events in our community, including this new event. While the players and teams from the Midwest bring a significant economic impact to our community, they also bring energy and passion for their sport, which Ames fully welcomes and embraces."

The Youth Club Southern Championships will take place November 11-12 at Camp Jordan Park in Chattanooga, Tenn., with the Chattanooga Sports Committee, Chattanooga Flying Disc Club and East Ridge Parks and Rec serving as the local organizers.

"We are thrilled to have USA Ultimate back in Chattanooga hosting the Youth Club Southern Championships," said Jeb Barrett, President of the Chattanooga Flying Disc Club.

Brant Donlon, Sports Account Manager with the Chattanooga Sports Committee agreed, "USA Ultimate is an amazing organization to work with. Our team is excited to once again showcase our community to these incredible athletes traveling in to compete."

The dates and location of the Youth Club Western Championships will be released in the coming weeks.

In the first year of these new club regional events, applications will be accepted in three age divisions: U-20, U-17 and U-15. Applications will be available beginning in June 2017.

Additional information about the Youth Club Regional Championships, including team and player requirements, is included in the 2017 Youth Guidelines at usaultimate.org/youth_guidelines.

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