Do you love ultimate? Are you interested in expanding your knowledge and introducing the game to others? Become a coach!
Ultimate Newfoundland and Labrador is hosting two free coaching courses in February.
Feb. 2: Community Coaching Course
This one-day course incorporates both classroom and practical learning for participants interested in coaching at a beginner level. For more information and to register, click here.
This two-day workshop is aimed at those interested in coaching competitive youth programs or adult development programs. For more information and to register, click here.
Both courses will be held at the College of the North Atlantic on Prince Philip Drive in St. John’s.
There is a $40 registration fee per course that will be refunded upon completion of the course.
Ultimate Newfoundland and Labrador is offering a youth competition development camp for teens ages 13-18 this winter.
Participants will enjoy drills, skills development and game situations while also receiving one-on-one mentorship and guidance from experienced ultimate players and coaches. It’s the the first time that Ultimate NL has offered a camp specifically targeted at developing potential competitive athletes.
“The purpose of this camp is to help young players take their skills to the next level,” says Luke Dyer, Ultimate NL’s youth performance and development co-ordinator. “We will work with them to identify their strengths and weakness as well as show them what’s necessary and expected for players on a provincial-level team. Through individual feedback, we hope they can gain a greater understanding of what they need to work on to improve as ultimate players.”
“The purpose of this camp is to help young players take their skills to the next level.” – Luke Dyer
One of Ultimate NL’s priorities is to grow its junior competitive program. There are currently two competitive club teams in the junior open and women’s divisions, both named Storm. The competition development camp is intended to build player skills and capacity that will eventually help increase the competitiveness of the Storm teams.
In 2018, Ultimate NL sent its first junior women’s team to the Canadian Ultimate Championships where they finished 20th overall and second in the spirit rankings. The open team broke seed to finish 20th (up from a 24th-place ranking) and 11th overall in spirit.
“We’re offering them the opportunity to demonstrate and improve their skills, which they can then bring to competitive teams like Storm now and in the future,” said Dyer. “While you don’t have to be a Storm player to take part in the camp, we hope many participants will discover the fun and camaraderie that comes with playing on high-level teams and come out to tryouts later this winter.”
Storm tryouts will be held in February and March. Details will be announced in the coming months.
The competition development camp will be held on Thursdays from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at the Techniplex in St. John’s from Feb. 7-March 14. The cost is $60.
Nick House, president of Ultimate NL and MAUL (right), poses with Jody Williams, manager of Bridges to Hope, and donations from the annual MAUL/SWURL charity game.
The fourth annual MAUL/SWURL holiday charity game raised $800 and over 400 non-perishable food items for Bridges to Hope.
The St. John’s-based non-profit organization offers several programs aimed at providing food aid assistance to citizens in the Northeast Avalon region. These include a food pantry, community kitchen and community outreach and education.
“This game is a highlight for many players in our leagues,” says Melissa Wheeler, SWURL president. “It’s a great opportunity for our players, as well as players that have returned home for the holidays, to get together and play a game for fun with the intent of giving back to the community. SWURL and MAUL provide the field space free of charge for any players that want to play in our charity games with the caveat that players bring cash or non-perishable food items that we can then bring to Bridges to Hope.”
“Being able to provide such a substantial donation each year is something that our leagues are very proud of, and our players continually impress us with their festive spirit and their generosity for those in need,” she adds.
Participants in the annual MAUL/SWURL holiday charity game.
“It’s heartwarming to see generosity of our members at this time of year, just one more example of what makes our community special,” says Nick House, president of MAUL. “We are grateful for their contribution to an important cause.”
St. Bonaventure’s College recently won the Mount Pearl Senior High invitational tournament.
Six teams recently took to the court at the third annual Mount Pearl Senior High invitational tournament.
Mount Pearl Senior High, Holy Heart High School, Holy Spirit High School, Gonzaga High School and St. Bonaventure’s College participated in the one-day tournament held Dec. 8.
This year, the tournament format was changed to four-on-four to reflect the version of ultimate recently adopted as a Foundation Sport by School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador (SSNL). This version of ultimate is fast-paced and provides equal playing time for male and female players with a 2:2 ratio.
“Players really seemed to enjoy this change!” said Aaron Power, tournament organizer and coach of the Mount Pearl Senior High squad. “Play was very competitive and quick-paced with all games in the round robin being close and exciting games.”
The gold medal game saw St. Bon’s take on Holy Heart in a competitive and highly-spirited match. St. Bon’s won the game 14-9.
Spirit of the game is an integral and essential aspect of ultimate, and on Monday, Dec. 3 it’s being celebrated worldwide with International Spirit of the Game Day!
As International Spirit of the Game Day falls on Mile Zero Ultimate (MZU)’s regularly scheduled league play, we’re pleased to partner with MZU to help mark the occasion. We are:
– encouraging spirited play in all games (and leagues!);
– inviting all teams to play a spirit game following their spirit circle;
– celebrating the Most Spirited Players with swag and photo ops; and
– encouraging players to have discussions about spirit both on and off the field.
This year, the theme for iSOTG Day is “youth,” so we’ll also be giving Spirit of the Game extra emphasis in our youth leagues on Dec. 2. We’ll talk about the importance of spirit in ultimate as well as play some spirit games so the next generation of players is able to carry forward the respect, passion and fair-mindedness that spirit of the game represents.
Four-on-four ultimate is fast-paced, fun and great for improving skill.
Games are Thursday nights at 10 p.m. Each team will play two 45-minute games per night over the nine week season. League play will run from Jan. 10-March 7.
Sixty spots are available and players may sign up alone or with a partner. The cost is $100. Registration will open on Dec. 7.
Huckfest is a co-ed 5-on-5 tournament that will take place on Dec. 27 from 5-10 p.m. at the Techniplex. The cost is $40 for five hours of turkey-burning, cookie-cleansing fun!
This year, we’re aiming for equal numbers of male and female players to alternate gender ratios each half (i.e. the first half will be 3:2 of one gender and the second half will be 3:2 for the other gender). This will depend on the number of registrants for each gender and we’ll notify participants of changes prior to the tournament in the Facebook event.
Curious about who exactly comprises the Ultimate NL board of directors? Check out this Facebook album to learn about your board, why they love the sport of ultimate frisbee and what they hope to achieve over the next year!
