Hatgiving is a mixed gender event. Valley Ultimate is committed to providing players with a safe, equitable, and spirited mixed experience. With that in mind, please note these important guidelines and goals.

• When doing introductions, invite people to share their pronouns (e.g. “Hi, I’m _____. I use they/them/theirs pronouns.” “Hi I’m ____. I use she/her/hers.” “Hi I’m ______, I use he/him/his.” ) If someone doesn’t share, that’s ok, but opening the conversation allows people to identify themselves as they feel the need to.
• Practice using gender neutral language whenever possible. For example:
  •  “Folks,” “people” or “y’all” instead of “guys”
  • “Person defense” or “match defense” rather than “man defense”
  • “Person across, ask for switches” instead of “gender across”; Or just count off!
• Focus on skill/athleticism and height rather than assumed gender of players when matching for defense. Allowing people to ask for switches when lining up across allows people to choose their comfort level.
• Remind yourself that ultimate is a NON-contact sport. Aggressive play, even accidental contact, between a larger player and a smaller player often results in injury for the smaller player only. Standards of what is aggressive play and physical stature of players varies widely in mixed gender playing, so play it safe and avoid contact of any kind.
• Pay attention to who is calling plays, lines, etc. Try inviting other voices to speak up if you notice you are talking a lot. Try speaking up if you notice you have been very quiet.

Valley Ultimate reminds everyone that developing an equitable playing culture is an ongoing practice and honest mistakes will be made. VU invites all players to go into Hatgiving ready to assume the good intentions of their peers as players practice these guidelines. If you have questions about this topic, please reach out to our Hatgiving coordinator – Kyle Taylor