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The Ultimate Players Association, founded in 1979, is a not-for-profit organization that serves as the governing body of the sport of Ultimate in the United States.
Overview
Its mission is "to promote and support the sport of Ultimate and its players; to increase participation in the sport of Ultimate at all levels; to uphold the Spirit of the Game™, including personal responsibility and integrity; and to provide a framework for players to organize and conduct competition and other activities related to Ultimate." * (PDF)
The UPA's main focus is the Championship Series; it sanctions certain tournaments that are held throughout the year in three divisions (Club, College, Youth) and runs the championship tournaments at the end of the respective seasons. The Youth aspect was recently expanded into two separate divisions: a high school Nationals (later split into Easterns and Westerns) held in May for individual high schools, then a youth club championships series held in August, for youth club teams assembled from various regions. These events are governed by the 10th edition rules.
The Club division is subdivided into Open, Women's, Mixed, and Masters divisions which have their season in the fall. The College and Youth divisions are subdivided into Open and Women's divisions and have their season in the spring. Over 300 Open teams and 200 Women's teams took place in the College Championship Series in 2005. Aside from the championship series, other programs exist, such as Innovation Grants which are given out to local Ultimate organizations who apply for funding for special programs.
The UPA is run by a twelve-person Board of Directors that is elected by the membership; a director's term is three years, rotated such that four seats come up for election each calendar year. At least one representative is elected from each of the six UPA Club regions (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, Central, Southwest, Northwest) with the remaining six elected from the membership at large. The Board is responsible for hiring and overseeing the executive director, budgeting, strategic planning and considering proposals, policies and rule changes.
Over 20,000 people are currently members of the UPA; memberships are $40 per calendar year ($30 for college students, $20 for players 18 and under) and allow participation at sanctioned events, as well as a subscription to the quarterly UPA newsletter and discounts on some Ultimate paraphernalia. There is also a $750 lifetime membership option available.*
Championship Series History
Club Series
| Open | Women's | Mixed | Masters | |
| 2005 | Furious George | Riot | Brass Monkey | Old and in the Way |
| 2004 | Sockeye | Riot | Shazam | Kavu |
| 2003 | Furious George | Fury | Donner Party | Refugees |
| 2002 | Furious George | Lady Godiva | Donner Party | Old Sag |
College Series
| Open | Women's | |
| 2006 | University of Florida | Stanford University |
| 2005 | Brown University | Stanford University |
| 2004 | University of Colorado | UC Davis |
| 2003 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Stanford University |
Youth Club Championships
| Open | Women's | |
| 2005 | Seattle | Seattle |
Youth Championships
| Open | Women's | |
| 2004 | Amherst HS Hurricanes | Yale Secondary Ultimate |
| 2003 | Amherst HS Hurricanes | Amherst HS Varsity |
| 2002 | Paideia HS Gruel | Amherst HS Varsity |
| 2001 | Paideia HS Gruel | Amherst HS Varsity |
| 2000 | Seattle MoHo | Amherst HS Varsity |
| 1999 | Tennessee (Brutal Grassburn) | Amherst HS Varsity |
| 1998 | Amherst HS | Stuyvesant HS |
High School Championships
| Easterns: Open | Women's | Westerns: Open | Women's | |
| 2006 | Amherst HS Hurricanes | Amherst HS | Northwest School | Nathan Hale Girls |
| 2005 | Amherst HS Hurricanes | Amherst HS | Northwest School | Nathan Hale |
The Callahan Award
The Callahan Award is an annual award given by The Callahan Award committee, with assistance from the Ultimate Players Association (UPA), to the best male and female college ultimate players. In addition to honoring extraordinary physical talent and skills, the Callahan Award also honors sportsmanship and leadership. Each Open and Women's team can nominate a single player for the award. Beginning in 2000, players could also be nominated for the Callahan by UPA college regional coordinators.
The winners are selected through online balloting by other college ultimate players. The award is named after Henry Callahan, one of the early pioneers and ambassadors of ultimate. The Callahan Award was initially created by Charles Kerr and was first awarded in 1996.
The 2005 Callahan Award winners were Joshua Ziperstein of Brown University and Cara Crouch of the University of Texas.
Past Callahan Winners
- 2006: Open - Tim Gehret (University of Florida); Women's - Alex Snyder (University of Colorado)
- 2005: Open - Joshua "Zip" Ziperstein (Brown University); Women's - Cara Crouch (University of Texas)
- 2004: Open - Joshua "Richter" Ackley (University of Colorado); Women's - Miranda Roth (Carleton College)
- 2003: Open - Ben Wiggins (University of Oregon); Women's - Chelsea Dengler (University of Oregon)
- 2002: Open - Michael Zalisk (Tufts University); Women's - Pauline Lauterbach (Brown University)
- 2001: Open - Alex Nord (Carleton College); Women's - Lindsay Goldsmith (Swarthmore College)
- 2000: Open - Justin Safdie (Brown University); Women's - Johanna Neumann (Tufts University)
- 1999: Open - Fortunat Mueller (Brown University); Women's - Jody Dozono (University of Oregon)
- 1998: Open - Brian Harriford (Louisiana State University); Women's - "AJ" Johnson (Stanford University)
- 1997: Open - Jim Schoettler (Stanford University); Women's - Dominique Fontenette (Stanford University)
- 1996: Open - Keith Monohan (Oregon State University); Women's - Val Kelly (University of Pennsylvania)
External links
Ultimate | Non-profit organizations based in the United States
"Ultimate Players Association"