The 1st Annual
Valley Showcase Game

 

– Women’s Pro Ultimate at its finest!

JERSEY CITY, May 14: During the New York Gridlock vs Medellin Revolution Profesional game at Cochrane Stadium in Jersey City, NJ on May 14, 2022. (Photo by Jen Voce-Nelson)

Saturday April 29th, 7pm
South Hadley High School Football Stadium

Now is the time to purchase your ticket – click here or
use this QR code…

This regular-season Premier Ultimate League (PUL)  game is NYGL’s Home Opener, on the road!  The game will be a highly competitive game featuring PUL East Division teams, NYGL and Portland Rising. 

We expect this game to draw the biggest audience ever for a single-event Ultimate frisbee game in the Pioneer Valley.

Featuring nearly a dozen players who grew up or currently live in western Mass, this game will be both a home-coming celebration for the local Pioneer Valley Ultimate community and a statement of the reach of women’s professional Ultimate as a spectator-friendly fun, engaging, and inspiring sporting event.

under the lights  *  local food vendors  
half-time show  *  lively local personalities
* Players will be available after the game for autographs and to meet & greet.

We look forward to connecting and promoting this exciting event.

If you would like to get involved to support this event – please let us know

 

 

 

Summer Youth Club Opportunities

Our first ever Youth Mixer event kicked off our spring in the Valley with positivity, warmth, and energy!

Thanks goes out to the UMass ultimate programs and representatives from 3 club teams in the Valley, PLOW, Sprout, and Starling, for helping to lead some fun games, and build relationships across multiple levels of ultimate organizations in our community.  

Check out our VU Youth Mixer page for some (very amatuer) photos from the event and information about our summer plans!

Coming Soon: Registration for VU Youth Summer Programming will go live through our website soon, so keep checking for the registration info.  As a reminder, our summer schedule is already set!  Find the calendar on our website and circle the dates!
We hope everyone has an awesome spring season! Go VU!

VU Winter League (VUWL) – 2022-23

Indoor Mixed Hat League

When: Sundays,  6 – 10 pm
Dates : First Session – November 13 – December 18 (6 weeks)
Second Session – January 8 – Feb 12 (6 weeks)
Post-Season – Feb 26 & March 5 (2 weeks)
Location: Allsports, Northampton MA
Ages: 16 & over
Cost: $160 for full season (both sessions & post season)
 ($90 for one session) (sliding scale options available)
Registration: By lottery – October 9 – October 23rd
Ability Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Vibe: Mixed, Competitive, Fun Ultimate!
Coordinator: Kelsey Wentling (pronouns: she/her/hers) & Dan Kaplan (he/him)

Registration – click here 

For more information – click here

Fall League

Welcome to VU Fall League (VUFL) –

Our weekday hat league is back! Plus we have a couple more options –  hopefully you can find one (or more that suits you!)

For more information about each league, please click on link below:

Registration – click here 

Questions: Contact Dan Kaplan – dan@valleyultimate.org

League Goals and Values
This is our 2nd year running this league and we look forward to continuing a welcoming, fun, and competitive atmosphere to keep us all playing Ultimate even as the daylight fades in New England autumn.

We seek to create a community space for players to compete in a welcoming and friendly environment. We strive to foster an inclusive playing opportunity and welcome feedback on how to continue to improve in this area. We adhere to the USAU Gender Inclusion Policy and have collected equity resources on our website, which we encourage players to explore. We expect all participants to demonstrate the highest level of respect for one another and the ultimate community; harassment and discrimination will not be tolerated and should be reported to the league coordinator (contact info below). Players will be removed from play immediately pending further investigation.

Winter Indoor League!!

Valley Ultimate is very excited to announce it’s first-ever Winter Indoor Club League!!

When: Sundays from 6-10pm
Who:  6 (or 8) teams, minimum 10 players
Where:  Allsports Arena,  54 Old Ferry Rd, Northampton, MA
Format: 5v5, mixed (3:2 – offense decides) – see below
Ages: 16+

Schedule: Two 5-week seasons
Season 1: Jan 2 – 30
Season 2: February 6 – March 6
season-ending tournament – March 13

All participants must show proof of vaccination for Covid-19 to participate. Allsports follows current Northampton Health Department rules,  which currently require masks indoors

Coordinators: Kelsey Wentling (she/her) & Dan Kaplan (he/his)

League Goals and Values
This is a new league and the first Ultimate league ever to play at Allsports. We look forward to a welcoming, fun, and competitive atmosphere to keep us all in shape during the cold winter months of New England. 

We seek to create a community space for players to compete in a welcoming and friendly environment. We strive to foster an inclusive playing opportunity and welcome feedback on how to continue to improve in this area. We adhere to the USAU Gender Inclusion Policy and have collected equity resources on our website, which we encourage players to explore. We expect all participants to demonstrate the highest level of respect for one another and the Ultimate community; harassment and discrimination will not be tolerated and should be reported to the league coordinators (email addresses).

How are teams formed:
This is a “club league;” If you are interested in submitting a bid to have a team in this league, please fill out the following Captains Form. You will need to have at least 8 players committed to submit a bid. At least half of your roster must consist of woman-matching players (see ‘matching preference’ section for details’. You can sign up for one or both seasons. Once your bid is accepted, each of your players will have to fill out a registration & payment form. (All players will have to be USAU members or purchase the once-a-year affiliate fee of $17 to be insured). The cost for each player in each session will be $45-$90 (sliding scale) for each participant.

click here to submit a team bid!!

All teams have been selected for the season

Free Agents:
If you are interested in signing up for the league as a “free agent” you can do so here. League coordinators will strive to place all free agents as team and league needs allow. This may result in free agents being placed at the discretion of the league coordinators, or placed on a substitute list depending on team capacity.

click here to register as a player on a team or as a free agent!!


Matching Preference 

Here is language we will use regarding match-ups:

  • Woman-matching: any non-cis gendered man who prefers to match against women or nonbinary players
  • Man-matching: Any person who prefers to match against men 
  • Anyone-matching: any non-cis gendered man who is comfortable marking any player on the field

Note* When selecting your preferred matchup, please keep in mind that we envision the “anyone-match” position to be occupied by players who are not cisgender men. The position exists to create space for nonbinary/genderfluid players in mixed ultimate, and to allow all players to feel comfortable in their matchups.

We request that participants refrain from terms such as “mark gender across,” and “man defense.” Instead we suggest counting off across the line or simply saying, “match across” and requesting switches as preferred when on defense.

Send questions and feedback to kelseyjwentling@gmail.com and dankaplan888@gmail.com

click here for League Rules, etc

New Indoor Pickup Opportunity in Northampton!

Wednesday nights –
December 15 & 22 – 9-11pm
Ages 16+
Limited to 24 players
 Allsports – 54 Old Ferry Rd., Northampton, MA 01060.
$15/person
(pre-register – https://allsportsoccer.com/ultimate-frisbee/ –
and receive a discount for multiple dates)

Allsports is offering this on a trial basis on Dec 15th and 22nd. Let’s show up in force, so they see there’s a market for indoor pickup. With a good showing we can convince them to run this all winter long.
 
Contact Lee – lfeldscher@northamptonit.com with questions. 
Looking forward to seeing you on the field.
 

Hatgiving

HatgivingLogo-01

Valley Ultimate is very excited to host the 7th Annual Valley Ultimate Hat Tournament! 

 A single-day Ultimate Frisbee tournament 
Who:  open to players, of all skill levels, age 12 or older. 
When: Saturday, November 27, 2021, 9am – 5pm
Where:  Oxbow Marina Fields in Northampton, MA

We look forward to a fun day for the entire Valley Ultimate community to come out to the fields and play together outside one more time before the snow flies!

click here to for more info!!

Youth Summer League 2021!

VU Youth Summer League 2021–Registration is open!
Youth Summer League will run on Tuesdays and Fridays 5-7pm from July 13 to August 20th. One day will be conditioning and skills focused and the second day will be scrimmage focused.

VU is piloting our sliding scale payment policy with this program. For more information on what that means, please visit the website http://valleyultimate.org/introducing-sliding-scale-payments/

The prices we suggest for this program are: $125 to cover our cost to run the program; $150 as the traditional full fee; $200 for sustainers to pay it forward for other participants and support VU’s future programming; and $60 to adjust for financial hardship. Full scholarships are also available, by request no questions asked. If these suggested rates don’t work for you, please reach out.

Please wait to fill out the form until you have submitted payment via PayPal to ValleyUltimateBoard@gmail.com
You do not need to register with PayPal to pay via PayPal.com. If you require alternative payment methods, please email us at ValleyUltimateBoard@gmail.com

Paypal Link: https://paypal.me/valleyultimate?locale.x=en_US

Please direct all league questions to Joe Costello at joe.costello2@gmail.com. Please direct payment questions and scholarship inquiries to ValleyUltimateBoard@gmail.com
Registration form link: https://forms.gle/dcxAPxRkCfW3QfKq7

Youth Summer League COVID-19 ConsiderationsWith the May 29th announcement from Governor Baker lifting almost all the COVID-19 Regulations on the state level, Valley Ultimate, just like all of you, is in the midst of re-evaluating what our COVID-19 policy and procedures need to be. Now that statewide regulations are dropped, we think it is more important than ever that we set some clear expectations for our programs. In our process, we are looking at vaccination data and case numbers for the three primary counties we serve–Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin–as reported via the state. We are also looking at information from USAU Return to Play guidelines and the CDC. The vaccination rates and case rates (both deadly and “normal” varies between each county.)  Valley Ultimate remains committed to making the play experience as safe as possible for even the most vulnerable in our diverse community.

Please check out the current draft of our practices and policies for this summer’s league here. Let us know your thoughts!


We are still hiring!
Coach hiring survey will be out soon! Check your calendars. Coaches will be hired on a session by session or full series basis! USAU Chaperone or Coach status preferred!

Introducing: Sliding Scale Payments

Valley Ultimate has always offered financial assistance by request or coach recommendation, but now, we wish to expand this practice in a more nuanced and far reaching way. As such, Valley Ultimate is implementing a sliding scale fee system for our programs on an exploratory basis. We are inspired by our neighbor, Boston Ultimate Disc Alliance (BUDA) and other successful ultimate organizations like Triangle Ultimate in North Carolina to embrace this equitable practice in our own financial planning. We hope to discover that this practice serves to expand and strengthen our community and extend the practice to all our future programs. 

What does this mean for registration fees?

VU will list what it costs to run the event based on a certain number of expected registrants, exact program needs, and a small margin in case of lower registration. VU will then also list what we would typically charge as a full registration fee for the event or program–that number builds in a margin to provide for possible financial assistance and long term viability and sustainability of the organization and program. VU will also list a suggested price for financial hardship. Those numbers are reference points for you to decide how much you can afford to pay. Your choices are to:

  • Pay the full registration price.
  • Pay what it costs to run the program.
  • Pay the adjusted for financial hardship price.
  • Pay more than the full registration price (Sustainer price) to pay it forward and support accessible programming through Valley Ultimate.
  • Request a full fee waiver, no questions asked.

How do I decide what to pay?

Consider whether paying the full registration would be a financial hardship or a financial sacrifice.

Financial hardship is if paying the full registration fee would be challenging to pay, but possible without impacting necessary living expenses. If it would be a hardship, consider paying the full registration fee or choosing to pay the program cost or the adjusted cost.

Financial sacrifice is if paying the full registration fee would impact your ability to pay rent, buy groceries, etc. If it would be a financial sacrifice, consider paying the adjusted cost or requesting a full waiver, no questions asked.

If the fee would be neither a hardship or sacrifice, consider paying the full amount or even paying a higher fee to pay it forward.

Consider volunteering as an alternative way to support the quality (and quantity) of Valley Ultimate programming no matter what fee level you choose to pay.

What are the costs of running a program?

Each program is a little different. The common costs are physical:

  • Field Reservation (maintenance)
  • Field Lining
  • Porta potties
  • First Aid Kits
  • Discs/Jerseys
  • Generic supplies

Other costs, depending on the program, includes personnel:

  • Trainers
  • Coordinators
  • Coaches
  • Observers

While Valley Ultimate is still primarily run on volunteer work, we strive to provide payment for these key positions and strive to expand our ability to pay the people who work to provide our programming–we can only do this through you!

This information is just the tip of the iceberg about pay what you can or sliding scale payments. We will add to this FAQ over time as we develop this practice. In the mean time, we invite you to look over the way Triangle Ultimate explains their pay what you can system.

As always, we welcome your feedback!

We’re Hiring!

Valley Ultimate is looking for a Youth League Coordinator for our July to August 2021 Youth League.

The Coordinator would be expected to handle the following tasks, in collaboration with the VU Board.

  • Recruit and hire appropriate number of coaches
  • Manage scheduling of coaches
  • Assist coaches with session planning
  • Assist with marketing and player recruitment
  • Manage registration process
  • Manage player and family communication
  • Manage and assist with field set up and equipment needs.
  • Assist with post-league feedback process/program assessment.

The position is temporary. Expected time commitment is approximately 20 hours over an approximately 13 week period (ending August 27). Pay is $500 stipend–schedule of pay to be determined at hiring.

An understanding of Valley Ultimate’s commitments to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and how it relates to Valley Ultimate’s programming is important. Coordinator may be asked to provide basic training to coaches on how to engage in conversations of equity, diversity, and inclusion with league players.  Coordinator will be expected to ensure that the league is run in alignment with Valley Ultimate’s commitments.

Find the full job description here.

Fill out the online application here and/or submit your resume and a note of interest to valleyultimateboard@gmail.com

Valley Ultimate is an equal opportunity employer.