Collaboration through Cooperation

CUPA invites league organizers, general managers or anyone else actively involved in their Ultimate organization to a conference being held November 12-13, 2005 in Montreal.

The main purpose of the conference is to share ideas and best practices for organzing leagues at grass roots and regional levels.

Click here to participate.

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On the Friday evening during CUC, the Canadian Junior Ultimate community held its first meeting amongst coaches and individuals interested in improving and promoting Juniors Ultimate in Canada. Reg Gabriel, the National Juniors Director, chaired the meeting. Topics of discussion included increasing participation regionally and nationally, a Junior-dedicated web site, and disciplinary concerns. Please click here to read the minutes.

With the World Juniors Ultimate Championships (WJUC) taking place in Boston next August, the crowning of the national Junior champion, which usually takes placed during CUC, may actually happened beforehand so as not to coincide with WJUC. This will be determined before the end of the year. Meanwhile, the selection process of coaches and players for the WJUC teams is being reviewed. A more comprehensive program including tryouts and training camps are slated to be scheduled starting in October and having the final team members picked in February 2006.

If you have any questions or comments about the Canadian Junior Ultimate scene, please feel free to contact Reg Gabriel at .

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The WFDF World Ultimate Club Championships will take place November 13-19, 2006 in Perth, Australia.

Bids to Canadian teams will be primarily based on the results of CUC 2005. WFDF has notified CUPA the initial number of bids Canada will receive per division: Masters - 3 , Mixed - 5, Open - 4, and Women's - 3. CUPA will notify all the teams that participated in CUC 2005 and ask for a response by a certain date regarding their interest in participating in WUCC 06. Please do not send CUPA an email. An official notice will be sent out in the near future.

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CUPA is currently accepting bids to host the Canadian Ultimate Championships (CUC) that will take place in August 2007.

To bid on hosting CUC, please click here to download the bid template (MS-Word format).

Bids must be submitted by Monday, November 28th, 2005, 5pm EST, to Shiellah Quintos, by email, at . The host city will be announced in late 2005 or early 2006.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Shiellah. Good Luck!

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As part of GAIA's sponsorship of 2005 CUC, each player in attendance has the opportunity to join GAIA's Elite Player Program. GAIA's Elite Player Program entitles you to wholesale price (50% off retail price) on all purchases made online at www.GAIAultimate.com for one year. See below for further details.

If you provided your information at CUC and received a confirmation email from GAIA, you have successfully joined the Elite Player Program.

If you did not provide your information at CUC nor have received a confirmation email from GAIA, you have not yet joined the Elite Player Program. To join the Elite Player Program please click on the following link and create an account with GAIA - you will automatically receive the Elite Player discount on all purchases. If you currently have an account with GAIA click on the following link and login with your username (email address) and password. If you have forgot you password, enter your email and click "Forgot Password" - a temporary password will be sent to you.

Click here to join the Elite Player Program.

If you have any questions please contact customerservice AT gaiaultimate DOT com or 604-707-1088

Click here for program details.

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Right after the Juniors All-Star game, Dean Wright, the founding Canadian National Juniors Coordinator (1994-2004), was presented with a plaque from his peers and engraved on it was:

For his dedication to Junior Ultimate players across Canada, shaping the face of the Canadian Juniors Ultimate scene for hundreds of our youth. The Junior players and their coaches thank you for your time, energy, and love of the sport of Ultimate.

August 2005, Winnipeg Manitoba.

How long have you been playing Ultimate?

I started playing Ultimate 16 years ago. That was when the Winnipeg Ultimate League only had four teams. It has been fun being involved in the growth of the greatest sport in the world.

St. John's Ravencourt Varsity Boys Team, Burlington, Washington at UPA Western Championships

How long have you been coaching Ultimate?

I started coaching when I started teaching at my current school 14 years ago. Since I loved playing Ultimate so much, it seemed obvious that the game was made for kids. The whole concept of Spirit is a perfect fit for a learning community. At times, though, it is evident that the kids could teach adults a lot about spirit.

What Ultimate individuals inspire your playing or coaching?

Over the years, there have been several people who have inspired me as a player and a coach. When I first started playing, I loved playing in Winnipeg with Mike Jones and Simon Cotton. They taught me a ton about the sport. I still enjoy playing with Mike when I get the chance. As I started coaching, I was inspired by the adult players at CUC who took the time to watch the Juniors' games. I remember one Sunday at Nationals when Steve Oldenberg of Ottawa had my entire Junior team sitting around him, immediately after he had won the championship game. He was handing out WaX jerseys to the kids. In the end, I think the person who has inspired me the most is the guy who has been my teammate and playing partner for my entire career...my brother Dave. He knows what spirit of the game is all about, and he shows it in every game he plays.

What aspect (it could be a change in rules, introduction of hi-performance clothing, out-of-the-box thinking of strategies, etc.) of the sport of Ultimate has improved it?

If you are referring to level of competition, it is definitely the increasing level of strategy involved in the game. The game is no longer just 14 players running around on a field flinging a disc back and forth.

Competitive teams need to have several offenses and defenses. Because of this, practices have changed. As a coach, I have found myself spending a lot more time reading about strategies, watching other teams play, and thinking about strategies that will help my teams. Also, the commitment that players have made to the sport have changed. Most top level players play Ultimate as their number one sport. The players are much fitter than they were when I first started playing. (Maybe that is why I am getting left behind in my old age.) These aspects were obvious at the World Championships in 2004. It is evident that Canada and USA have players and teams that are well prepared for a higher level of competition than most other nations.

What role should parents play in the development of young Ultimate players?

The best role that a parent can take is to be supportive of their children as they play. As a hockey coach, I have seen too many parents who take their children's sport way too personally. An Ultimate Mom or Dad should definitely be there to cheer on their child (and the other athletes on the field). They should drive their child to the park. They should encourage their child's love of the sport. They should encourage "Spirit of the Game", and practice it themselves on the sidelines.

I've often noted that parents of Ultimate players are great, because they don't know much about the game. This means they don't know when to yell obsenities or cause problems during the game. They just sit back and watch their child having fun playing a cool game. Usually, the first thing they notice is the high level of sportsmanship their children are showing, even in competitive situations. It's fun to hear a parent say, "Is that my son (daughter) discussing a call with a kids on the other team? How come they aren't arguing?"

What piece of advice do you have to offer to those youngsters starting out in Ultimate?

I have one piece of advice: Play as much as possible. You are starting to play the greatest sport in the world!

Who are the future stars of Canadian Ultimate? From the international scene?

I've had the privilege of coaching some phenomenal players over the years. At the 2002 World Championships in Latvia, Oscar Pottinger, Derek Alexander and Adam Melnyk dominated every game that we played. It's neat to see names of players from that team published on websites and newsletter now. I enjoyed watching Derek and Oscar playing for Canada on the Open team in Finland. I noticed that Tom Dowler was the 2004 CUUC MVP ...cool!

2004's crop of players was just as awesome. Alex Ramadan is a strong leader and a top level handler. Blair Hole has a terrific sense of the field. Yvan Duban has it all on defense and offense. Garrett LeBlanc is a mad man who has no respect for his own body. His defense is awesome! All of the guys on that team showed some things that not many young players have. If Josh Magnusson and Dave Bryngelson continue in the direction they are going, I look forward to seeing them lead the Junior team in 2006. Kira Frew and Kaitlyn Lovatt are two young women who really performed for the Canadian Junior Women's team in Finland, amongst several others. No doubt there are a ton of great young players all over Canada. Watching the Junior Division at this summer's CUC in Winnipeg certainly proved that.

BC seems to have a non-stop flow of young stars. I'm proud to say, despite Winnipeg's smaller size, its Junior program always seems to have some pretty impressive players.

Internationally, I think everyone would agree that the U.S. has some pretty spectacular players. There was one kid who was outstanding in the finals at Worlds, A-Ron (sorry, I can't recall his real name). He scored most of their points. In fact, he set up the final point by laying out for a "greatest" just outside of the endzone. There are a few schools in the states that always seem to dominate the tournaments and UPA Championships. I would say Amherst, Massachusett and Paideia High School in Atlanta are the two best programs in the U.S. right now. I was pleased to see the progress that the German Juniors have made in the past few years. They had a great tournament in Finland, placing third.

Now that you've retired from the Ultimate scene, what are your current past times?

I have retired from my post as Juniors Coordinator, but Ultimate is still a large part of my life. I'm still running the Ultimate program at the school where I teach. We're just starting to prepare for the Fall season. And I plan to play at least a few more years in the Winnipeg league, as long as my body can hold out. Since last September, when my daughter Millie was born, my interests have definitely shifted to family. I love spending time with my little girl, just playing with her and watching her sleep. Who knows, I may be coaching her when she grows older. Wouldn't be cool to be coaching Millie when she's playing for Canada in the Olympics? She already has a pretty mean forehand for a one year old.

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