Australian Ultimate Championships Division II

April 12-14, 2019 Canberra, ACT

EVENT REPORT

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Executive Summary

The 2019 Australian Ultimate Championships Division II (AUCDII), hosted by Canberra Ultimate, was a significant success. This report summarises the event, and while recommending a ‘rinse and repeat’ approach for 2020, concludes with some suggestions for improvement.

The event was blessed by a massive number of motivated and easily managed players, excellent weather, high quality venues, and experienced and passionate volunteers.

690 players across 38 teams came from around Australia and NZ competed over three days in the largest national championship event on the domestic calendar. There were two less teams from the previous year’s record event in Wollongong, and 54 fewer participants.

On the field, the Women’s Division of 16 teams was won by the Factory Fire team of Canberra, defeating the Sugar Magnolias of Newcastle. The Men’s Division of 22 teams was won by the Phat Chilly team of Melbourne, defeating the Melbourne Carnage. .

Spirit of the Game was high, with the Men’s Division average scoring up from the previous year, while the Women’s Division narrowed. Women’s Spirit of the Game winners were the Melbourne Inferno. Men’s Spirit of the Game winners were Western Australia’s Bronze Bullseye team. Natalie Hoang of Melbourne Phoenix, and Ollie Speldewinde of Canberra’s Fyshwick Unit were voted Most Valuable Players.

The tournament was held at the Dickson Playing Fields and Southwell Park in Canberra. The fields and facilities provided by ACT Sportsgrounds were of a very high quality, and we thank the government for its support of the event.

Administratively, the tournament was delivered smoothly on the backs of a highly experienced volunteer team, plenty of local support, and guidance from the AFDA’s National Events Manager. Nonetheless, there are learnings for next year and our general hosting of events/

Financially the tournament was a success. Fees were the same as 2018 at $500 per team and $140 per player. The AFDA retained around $36k in event-based fees, for its ongoing advancement of Australian Ultimate. Canberra Ultimate received a $16k management fee, with around half retained and half distributed to local clubs and volunteers. An unbudgeted surplus of around $5k was retained by the AFDA.

Feedback to date has been limited (although circulation of this report may trigger more), suggesting the event was well received. Canberra Ultimate looks forward to hosting AUCDII in 2020 – see you there!

Yours in the Spirit of the Game,

Jason de Rooy

Tournament Director - AUCDII 2019 President – Canberra Ultimate

Photos by Scott George

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Key Results – Women’s Division

The Women’s Division saw 16 teams take part this year. The draw prepared by the AFDA saw teams seeded and sorted across four pools, with round robin play results splitting the division into a top eight and bottom eight, followed by quarters, semis and finals to determine all positions.

Semi-Final one saw local club Factory Fire of Canberra take down Bauhaus Birthday Club from Melbourne. Semi-Final two saw the Sugar Magnolias from Newcastle beat Wollongong Surge to set up the Women's Grand Final showdown.

The Grand Final included a very tight first half with both teams trading points until Factory Fire capitalised on a couple of errors to set up a comfortable lead and bring it home to take honours over Sugar Magnolias. Bauhaus Birthday Club took the bronze over Wollongong Surge in third place playoff.

Full match scores can be found here.

1st Factory Fire Canberra

2nd Sugar Magnolias Newcastle

3rd Bauhaus Birthday Club Melbourne

4th Wollongong Surge Wollongong

5th Sublime Ultimate Women's Perth

6th Tempest Sydney

7th Rogue Ice Sydney

8th Dinos Melbourne

9th Factory Flare Canberra

10nd Kaos Ultimate Club Perth

11th Extinction Women's Brisbane

12th Hills Castle Hill, Sydney

13th Melbourne Phoenix Melbourne

14th DarlingThirst Darlinghurst, Sydney

15th Ikigai Ultimate Women's Canberra

16th Melbourne Inferno Melbourne

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Key Results – Men’s Division

22 teams competed in the men's division for the 2019 Division II title, a gruelling schedule across three days took us into two epic semi final show downs to determine who would play in the grand final.

In semi final one Phat Chilly accounted for Townsvillians in a close battle to earn their spot on the showcase field (and defend their title) while Melbourne Carnage upset locals Fyshwick Unit in a universe point thriller to set up an all-Victorian men's final.

Crowd pleasing highlights from both teams but Phat Chilly's experience was no match for Carnage in this game, settling early and taking a very comfortable lead to seal the championship and earn the title. Fyshwick went on to secure bronze over Townsvillians in the third place play off.

Full match scores can be found here.

1st Phat Chilly Melbourne

2nd Melbourne Carnage Melbourne

3rd Fyshwick Unit Canberra

4th Townsvillains Townsville

5th Krank Wollongong

6th Mammoth Ultimate Milton, Brisbane

7th DUFF Stout Ermington, Sydney

8th DUFF Darlinghurst, Sydney

9th Bronze Bullseye Perth

10th Gold Coast Ultimate Gold Coast

11th Outbreak Apocalypse Adelaide

12th Manly Ultimate Club Manly, Sydney

13th Fresh Chilly Melbourne

14th Ballarat Gold Diggers Ballarat

15th Extinction Men's Willawong, Brisbane

16th Ironbark XIX Castle Hill

17th Ikigai Ultimate Canberra

18th Work Bench Sydney

19th Sublime Ultimate Club Perth

20th Reverse Garbage Tempe, Sydney

21st Melbourne Colossus Melbourne

22nd U-Beam Newcastle

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Key Results – Spirit of the Game and Most Valuable Players

Spirit of the Game – and through it a common understanding of the rules and cultural norms of the sport - is central Ultimate, particularly at AUCDII which brings together a wide range of player experience and skill levels. Some participants are at their first Ultimate experience ‘away from home’, while others may have decades of national and international experience.

Following each game, teams assess their opponent’s Spirit against five international criteria to produce a score out of 20, typically with a high bell curve. A score of 10 is fine. Scores above 12 or below 8 are rare and indicate a performance that is outside the norm and typically worthy of comment and noticeably enhancing or subtracting from the team’s reputation.

While the focus of spirit scoring is to provide feedback and encourage self-reflection and improvement, it is traditional to present a trophy or prize to the ‘Spirit Winners’, the team with the highest average score for the event. While individual variations in scoring mean that any of many teams could be named the Spirit Winner, this provides a significant acknowledgement of the importance of Spirit of the Game.

The Men’s Division at AUCDII 2019 saw an improved average spirit score across all teams of 10.72, up from 10.48 for the previous year. Six teams scored an average of less than 10. Full Spirit of the Game results can be found here.

The Women’s Division at AUCDII 2019 saw a decline in the average spirit score across all teams of 10.5, down from 10.77 for the previous year. Nonetheless, a spirited result, with only one team scoring an average of less than 10. Full Spirit of the Game results can be found here.

Most Valuable Players

Following each game, teams are invited to nominate the most valuable opposition player. These votes are collated and at the end of the tournament the most valuable female and male players are recognised.

Male MVP – Top Results Female MVP – Top Results

1st Ollie Speldewinde (Fyshwick Uni) 35 points 1st Natalie Hoang (Melbourne Phoenix) 42 points

2nd Holly Reeve (Work Bench) 34 points 2nd= Anita So (Melbourne Inferno) 28 points

3rd= Santiago Cuartas (DUFF) 31 points 2nd= Chelsea Cheng (Sublime Women’s) 28 points

3rd= Tom Anderson (Townsvillians) 31 points 2nd= Emma Hayes (Ikigai Women’s) 28 points

5th Anthony O’Hagan (Ballarat) 28 points 5th Kirsten Nott (Extinction Women’s) 27 points

6th= Jack Lilwall (Mammoth Ultimate) 27 points 6th= Alex Hah (Wollongong Surge) 24 points

6th= Myall Hingee (Ikigai Ultimate) 27 points 6th= Georgie Burchett (Dinos) 24 points

6th= Nathan Pearsall (U-Beam) 27 points 7th Gina Hill (Sugar Magnolias) 23 points

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Men’s Division – Spirit of the Game Placing and Scores

1st Bronze Bullseye Perth 12.25

2nd Melbourne Carnage Melbourne 12.14

3rd Outbreak Apocalypse Adelaide 11.88

4th Ikigai Ultimate Canberra 11.38

5th Krank Wollongong 11.38

6th Work Bench Sydney 11.25

7th Melbourne Colossus Melbourne 11.25

8th Ballarat Gold Diggers Ballarat 11.22

9th Sublime Ultimate Club Perth 11.14

10th Fyshwick Unit Canberra 11.13

11th U-Beam Newcastle 11.13

12th Townsvillains Townsville 10.78

13th Reverse Garbage Tempe, Sydney 10.71

14th Mammoth Ultimate Milton, Brisbane 10.67

15th Extinction Men's Willawong, Brisbane 10.38

16th DUFF Stout Ermington, Sydney 10.13

17th Phat Chilly Melbourne 9.86

18th Gold Coast Ultimate Gold Coast 9.56

19th DUFF Darlinghurst, Sydney 9.5

20th Fresh Chilly Melbourne 9.42

21st Manly Ultimate Club Manly, Sydney 9.38

22nd Ironbark XIX Castle Hill 9.33

Women’s Division – Spirit of the Game Placing and Scores

1st Melbourne Inferno Melbourne 11.29

2nd Kaos Ultimate Club Perth 11

3rd Ikigai Ultimate Women's Canberra 11

4th Dinos Melbourne 10.86

5th Melbourne Phoenix Melbourne 10.71

6th Factory Fire Canberra 10.43

7th Factory Flare Canberra 10.43

8th Sugar Magnolias Newcastle 10.43

9th Tempest Sydney 10.43

10th Hills Castle Hill, Sydney 10.43

11th Bauhaus Birthday Club Melbourne 10.31

12th Extinction Women's Brisbane 10.29

13th Wollongong Surge Wollongong 10.29

14th Rogue Ice Sydney 10.14

15th Sublime Ultimate Women's Perth 10.14

16th DarlingThirst Darlinghurst, Sydney 9.86

Event Planning and Delivery

A particular challenge for Canberra Ultimate in hosting the event was learning how to do it under the AFDA hosting model. While Canberra Ultimate had a lot of experience in the practicalities of running a large tournament, this was the first time we’d done so collaboratively with the AFDA. AFDA provided plenty of written material and the National Events Manager was always available for guidance, but nonetheless it took time for us to work through and understand the details.

Broadly, we prepared for the event in a relatively loose manner, confident that our experience meant we were focused on the key actions (although occasionally a little anxious that we’d overlooked something). The experience of 2019, including developing this report, will substantially inform our hosting of AUCDII2020 and future AFDA events.

Canberra Ultimate’s key goals in hosting AUCDII were to:

‘do our bit’ in hosting Australia’s national events, making use of our extensive volunteer experience and depth, and to showcase Canberra as a great place to play Ultimate;

foster growth and development of Canberra-based players and clubs competing in national events; and

generate additional income following our hiring of a Development officer in May 2018.

Canberra Ultimate’s successful bid to host AUCDII2019 and 2020 is available online at: https://canberraultimate.com/planning-and-reporting.

Key Personnel and Activities

The tournament was managed by the President of Canberra Ultimate, Jason de Rooy, and the Canberra Ultimate Development Officer, Hannah Monty. Canberra Ultimate’s Treasurer, Anthony Perry, supported decision-making and led financial management and liaison with venue providers, ACT Sportsgrounds. The tournament was supported by the AFDA National Events Manager, Anna Haynes, who provided advice and attended and assisted during the event, in addition to her own duties. A learning for Canberra Ultimate looking towards 2020 is that regular teleconferences with Anna is probably the most efficient method of sharing information, ideas and advice, and also provide informal deadlines for key activities.

A number of highly experienced volunteers were recruited as field managers, and rostered for the duration of the tournament, including Shoko Okada, Karl Adamson, Chelle Adamson, Leon Smith (pictured

left) and Larissa Arney, in addition to Anthony and Jason (Hannah was coaching a team during the event). Feedback suggested that a field manager should be present at Frisbee Central in Dickson at all times to answer questions, rather than balancing this role and various field duties.

The five local AUCDII teams were rostered to support setup and packup of the venues each day, and provided with an honorarium of $500 per team. The roster reflected the draw, for example with teams playing at 9am at Dickson or Southwell rostered for setup, and teams playing at 3.40pm rostered for packup. For setup, this generally involved at least half the team arriving about 7.30am, to allow for 30-45 minutes to assist with setup before

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commencing their warmups. For packup, teams were able to bring equipment in and generally help to tidy after their games.

In practice, we were surprised at how useful and time and labour saving using the golf carts were, with field managers for example being able to put cones for nine fields out in around 15 minutes, and transport of water and shade occurring far more quickly than if volunteers needed to carry them about. Our local teams reported that they were perhaps overcompensated for the assistance they provided – however, one of Canberra Ultimate’s goals for the hosting AUCDII was to enhance local clubs, so providing this cooperative task and a portion of the funds from Canberra Ultimate’s income was well worth it and will be repeated in a similar fashion in 2020.

Canberra Ultimate paid the ANU Ultimate Club to provide field marking volunteers the day before the event. ANU had a mix of people who’ve marked fields before at the venues, and new enthusiasts who

learned the ropes. We hope their skills will be applied in future events in the ACT.

The much-welcomed snack packs were purchased and distributed through a mighty effort from Heather McDonald, Chantelle Jones and Adam Kroll and their helpers. Sara Gillett arranged fruit including delivery through Alpha Fresh foods. Anne Baker arranged volunteer and staff lunches and undertook various tasks during the event. We should have had a lot more toilet paper and sunscreen on hand before the tournament, as we ended up buying more each day.

First aid and physiotherapy services were provided by Ben Mortimer, who recruited local staff. Approximately 50 injuries were reported, while physiotherapy was provided on a user-pays basis. While things went well thanks to good will, additional planning and reporting would enable more effective preparation and sharing of information. Following AUCDII2019, and reflecting on other tournaments, the AFDA NEM has undertaken to create standards for the provision of these services at AFDA national events.

Local firm Sly Fox Coffee provided welcome (and low effort for the volunteer group) canteen and coffee services at both venues. We had a small hassle on day one, with our keys being unable to open the Dickson canteen until the ranger arrived. We remedied this for the remainder of the tournament by gaining a key direct from ACT Sport on the Friday afternoon (returning this key on Monday).

A ‘thank you’ dinner for Canberra-based volunteers was held at a popular Indian restaurant three weeks after the tournament.

Broadly, Canberra Ultimate would look to repeat these personnel arrangements in hosting AUCDII2020.

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The AFDA’s NEM coordinated:

photographer Scott George – Scott’s photos can be found here;

livestreaming via Ulti-TV staff Mike Palmer and Rex Johnston – all coverage is available on the Ultimate Australia YouTube Channel;

a great range of streaming commentators;

AFDA social media volunteer Evynn Lim;

Game Advisors Steve Baker, David McMahon, Anson Chun and James Walker; and,

Spirit of the Game Director John McNaughton.

Venue, Transport and Accommodation

Our engagement with ACT Sportsgrounds was very good. They notified other field users of our booking several months before the event, through to assistance with last minute changes to our bookings reflecting the draw released a week before the event. The players appeared broadly happy in regards the field quality and facilities available, although additional toilets at Southwell could be provided in 2020.

Volunteers did not observe, and participants did not report any particular issues with transport, parking and accommodation. The nearby Canberra Park was very positively reviewed as a team-friendly accommodation, and should be engaged with ahead of AUCDII2020 and other large events Canberra Ultimate hosts at Dickson and Southwell.

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Registration, Administration and Communications

Registration and much pre-tournament communication was managed by the NEM. A learning for 2020 is for the non-playing volunteers to be registered so that they receive the emails sent to the players.

We used Facebook to get attention to particular (perennial) messages via creative memes, which appeared to be well received.

As with any event, getting more information out early, and then repeating it, is desirable.

Finances

Key numbers:

Fees were set at $500 per team and $140 per player, which was identical to 2018 AUCDII.

690 players registered and paid through the AFDA’s online registration system and accounts.

This made total income of around $116k.

The AFDA retained around $36k at $17.50 per player per day through its event based fee policy for its ongoing advancement of Ultimate in Australia.

Canberra Ultimate was provided with around $16k at $7.95 per player per day as its management fee. Canberra Ultimate distributed its management fee as follows

o $3,000 volunteer honorarium to the Tournament Director. o $2,000 volunteer honorarium to Assistant Tournament Director (for work undertaken well

above her paid role as Canberra Ultimate Development Officer). o $2,500 in volunteer honorariums to five Canberra-based AUCDII teams (Ikigai, Fyshwick

United and Factory) – essentially offsetting their team entry fee. o $845 for the volunteer thank you banquet. o $8,120 retained for the ongoing advancement of Ultimate in the ACT.

Total expenditure was around $101k. The local ANU club was also paid $2,000 for field marking.

AFDA reimbursed around $23k to Canberra Ultimate for expenses (for example, field hire and marking, snack packs and fruit, first aid and cart hire), while AFDA paid the remainder directly (for example, discs and medals, and media and stipends).

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AFDA may be able to claim some of these costs as part of their quarterly GST rebate, of approximately $10k.

AFDA retained an event surplus of around $5k.

In preparing the budget, Canberra Ultimate largely took the budget for the 2018 AUCDII as hosted by Hills Ultimate at Wollongong. This resulted in some unused budget lines (which were still useful for planning).

A significant variation between the budget and result was our underestimation of the costs of field hire, including goal post removal. However, this was offset by overestimations of the costs of first aid, volunteer food during the events, and waste management (which was included in field hire). The budget also set aside $1,000 for a social event, which we did not use.

The experience of hosting the 2019 AUCDII in Canberra will be applied for our 2020 hosting, primarily in being able to apply the venue costs for 2019 to the 2020 budget. We anticipate offering the same team and player fee for continuity, but may be able to offer additional services.

What We Didn’t Do (or Did Minimally)

Other comparable Ultimate tournaments give attention to local marketing and promotion, sponsorship and signage, media engagement, merchandise and social events.

Broadly, we took these as low priority for a range of reasons. Ultimate is relatively well established in Canberra, meaning we were not looking to leverage increased participation via media and other exposure. We unsuccessfully sought a grant from ACT Events, but would not recommend doing this next year.

For social events, we directed people to a couple of local venues, as this minimised effort and risk for our volunteers. This could be improved, with ideas for 2020 including a Trivia Night fundraiser for a junior team at a venue that provides meals and drinks.

These areas could be addressed in 2020, should suitable volunteers be enthusiastic about delivery. Having quantities of ‘Play Ultimate’ and ‘Canberra Ultimate’ merchandise available at AUCDII2020 may provide something for players who want a souvenir in addition to their disc, while still leaving something that can be sold after the event.

See you in Canberra for AUCDII2020 on 17-19 April!

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Attachment A – Summary of Recommendations for AUCDII2020

Things to improve on the AUCDII2019 experience for AUCDII2020 (in no particular order):

1. Do everything a bit earlier, and share the information more regularly via website, social media and emails. And repeat it.

2. Adjust budget and base engagement with ACT Sportsgrounds on 2019 experience – there are a number of small tweaks that can be made that will have positive impacts.

3. Engage earlier with AFDA on the draw, to enable more effective adjustment of field hire and costs. 4. Hire additional portaloos for Southwell Park. 5. Register volunteers so that they receive communication sent to participants. 6. Have a lot more toilet paper and sunscreen in stock – Canberra Ultimate can always keep it for future

events. 7. Schedule regular (monthly, through to weekly) teleconferences between the key volunteers and the

NEM. These provide action deadlines, and are easily cancelled if there isn’t enough to talk about. 8. Follow up on improving arrangements for first aid and physiotherapy services. 9. Better manage hire and delivery of golf carts, and transport of the AFDA crate. 10. Consider how players can communicate more easily with volunteers during the event – eg dedicated

‘Help Desk’, providing TD phone number, etc. 11. Have an event logo that uses the Canberra Ultimate colours, to align with Canberra Ultimate

merchandise. 12. Seek a financial contribution or user discounts from accommodation and social venues in exchange for

our directing traffic there. 13. Engage in local marketing and promotion, signage, and media engagement, with a focus on enhancing

Ultimate’s visibility in the Canberra community. 14. Make all necessary offerings to the Spirit Goddess and/or Bureau of Meteorology to ensure similarly

magnificent weather next year.