Dear Valley Ultimate Friends,

Here’s the short version!

This has been an active year for our small organization. After a quiet time during the pandemic, we not only have seen our activities return, but in 2023 they expanded significantly (see below). And as this year ends, we want to let you know of another incredible opportunity to help us continue this activity into the future

Valley Ultimate has received an unrestricted anonymous pledge to match dollar-for-dollar up to $5000 (in total donations) to our non-profit before December 31st 

If you’d like to help us continue to grow in the future, please give now: 

• Please just click here to get to our secure Paypal link (we use paypal because they support us by providing a low “non-profit rate”) – 

• Or use this QR Code

• Or send a check to Valley Ultimate, 46 Oak St.Florence, MA 01062

Thank you!

and if you want to read more details – keep reading below.

***********************************************************

We have been considering an Annual Fund for a few years now – and it feels like this is the time to do it. 

To get an idea of the expanded scope of our activities, this year our organization:

• Created and managed league experiences for over 400 participants ages 12 – 65
• Co-sponsored local events – including 
  • the first-ever women’s semi-pro game in the Pioneer Valley with over 1800 tickets sold. 
  • a new regional youth club tournament with over 300 participants from all over New England and New York
• Organized and managed over 50 volunteers performing over 200 hours of work
• Managed a youth-club league with over 60 participants and sent a Youth Gx team to compete nationally at the Youth Club Championships in Colorado
• Brought back our end-of-season, Ultimate community ‘Hatgiving’ tournament. 

What will this $ be used for? Our intentions for the coming year are to: 

• Continue to expand opportunities locally for regional residents of all ages and abilities to learn and play Ultimate. 
• Continue to  support the growth of our Ultimate community through our monthly newsletter, our Western MA coaches annual meeting, and sponsorship of local events. 
• Continue developing & implementing successful sliding scale payments, which have proven to be an effective tool to allow people to participate regardless of economic ability. 
• Continue to develop access to our programs throughout our region with innovative strategies and direct support to individuals working in the field as coaches, organizers, educators, etc.
• Revamp our website

We give thanks for all the people who have participated, chaperoned, volunteered, and supported our efforts to promote Ultimate this year. We are excited by the possibilities that will open up for our Valley Ultimate community to receive a gift of this magnitude. And we appreciate you considering supporting this request to meet this $5000 matching donation opportunity.

Thank you for your consideration.

For the Valley Ultimate Board

Dan Kaplan

Dan Kaplan

President, Valley Ultimate

dan@valleyultimate.org

valleyultimate.org

Valley Ultimate is a non-profit 501© 3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible.

Indoor Mixed Hat League

2nd Session Draft Lettery Registration Is Still Open

Session begins on January 7th…….

When: Sundays,  7 – 11 pm
Dates : First Session – November 12 – December 17 (6 weeks)
Second Session – January 7 – Feb 11 (6 weeks)
Post-Season – Feb 25 & March 3 (2 weeks)
Location: Allsports, Northampton MA
Ages: 16 & over
Cost: $180 for full season (Sessions 1,2, and postseason)
($100 for one session) (sliding scale options available)
Registration: By lottery – October 8 – October 22nd
Ability Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Vibe: Mixed, Competitive, Fun Ultimate!
Coordinators: Dan Kaplan (he/him) & Mariana Lopes (she/her) & Ben Ayres (he/him) & Sage Campbell (she/her)

Registration – click here

For more information – click here

Indoor Mixed Hat League

When: Sundays,  7 – 11 pm
Dates : First Session – November 12 – December 17 (6 weeks)
Second Session – January 7 – Feb 11 (6 weeks)
Post-Season – Feb 25 & March 3 (2 weeks)
Location: Allsports, Northampton MA
Ages: 16 & over
Cost: $180 for full season (Sessions 1,2, and postseason)
($100 for one session) (sliding scale options available)
Registration: By lottery – October 8 – October 22nd
Ability Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Vibe: Mixed, Competitive, Fun Ultimate!
Coordinators: Dan Kaplan (he/him) & Mariana Lopes (she/her) & Ben Ayres (he/him) & Sage Campbell (she/her)

Registration – click here

For more information – click here

Welcome to VU Fall Leagues (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:

• • Oldsters Mixed – Female-Matching 30+, Male-Matching 40+– Mondays 
  • High School Mixed – Grades 8 – 12 – Wednesdays
  • Adult Competitive Mixed – ages 15+ – Thursdays  
    
    

  Registration – click here 

Questions: Contact Dan Kaplan – dan@valleyultimate.org

League Goals and Values
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.

– 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!

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

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:

• Mixed Hat League – adult, intermediate/advanced – Thursdays
• High School Mixed – Grades 8 – 12 – Wednesdays
• Oldsters Mixed – Female-Matching 30+, Male-Matching 40+– Mondays 

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.

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

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 15^th and 22^nd. 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.