After reviewing more than 460 applications, the U.S. National Team coaching staff selected a total of 216 players to participate in one of two tryouts – a west tryout in Dublin, Calif., November 8-9 and an east tryout in Charlotte, N.C., November 22-23.

Following the tryouts, coaches will select a total of 72 players – 24 each to the mixed, open or women’s squads.

The open and women’s teams will again be led by head coaches Reid Koss and Deanna Ball, both of whom have been at the helm of their respective teams since 2018. Koss led the open team to gold medals in the last three editions of the tournament (2018, ’22, ’24), while Ball guided the women’s team to a pair of world titles in 2018 and 2022 and a silver medal in 2024.

Martin Aguilera returns to the sidelines as head coach of the mixed team after leading his squad to a world championship last summer. It was the first iteration of the mixed division at the tournament since it began in 1988.

On the open team, Koss will be joined by assistant coaches Andy Nielsen and Stan Birdsong and selection coach Christie Lawry.

Tulsa Douglas and AnnaMaria Pape will join Ball as assistant coaches of the women’s team along with selection coach Judy Jarvis.

In the mixed division, Aguilera will run it back with assistant coaches Clarie Revere and Ken Porter with Alexia McCaskill returning as a selection coach along with Ari Lozano.

Scheduled for Saturday, September 6th, the series of free, one-hour instructional clinics are intended for middle school-aged kids (10-14) and feature a curriculum that is focused on simple, fun and engaging activities meant to familiarize newcomers to the sport with the basics. Participants will receive an introduction to ultimate, learn some basic skills and drills, and take part in a variety of disc games and small group activities.

DISCover Ultimate Day clinics will be offered in communities throughout the country in partnership with USA Ultimate’s Local Disc Organizations (LDOs) and other organizers. As part of this initial phase, USA Ultimate is currently seeking organizers to offer clinics through a simple, nationwide submission process.

As the experts in their geographic areas, local disc organizations will staff and manage activities in their communities, helping to create and cultivate relationships with new players and families, while USA Ultimate will support their efforts at the national level with programming, targeted marketing and outreach support and more.

“DISCover Ultimate Day will become a nationwide celebration of what makes our sport unique – community, inclusivity and the basic joy of play,” said USA Ultimate Chief Executive Officer Kevin Erlenbach. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for local organizations to introduce new players to the game, build connections and highlight the spirit of ultimate. We’re excited and proud to partner with local leaders to grow the sport and share the values of ultimate with more people in an easy and fun way.

For more information on DISCover Ultimate Day, including how to host an event in your community, visit www.discoverultimateday.com.

The two-day meeting is followed by a summary of each group’s discussion.

The Beach Working Group consists of USA Ultimate Senior Manager of Events David Raflo and Regional Beach Directors Grant Boyd (Pacific), Sam Broaddus (Atlantic), Max Grove (Gulf Coast), and Hayden Weaver (Great Lakes). 

After a successful 2023 Beach Nationals, USA Ultimate saw continued growth at the 2024 Beach Championships in Virginia Beach. With eight divisions, 75 teams and 1,100+ athletes, the tournament continues to see marked improvement. The group again considered plans for a youth mixed division, looking to bring U-20 teams to the event in 2025. 

With the strategic plan in mind, youth inclusion remains a key focus for the beach group along with growth in the women’s division. 

The group also welcomed several beach tournament organizers from across the U.S. as a way to learn and communicate with key individuals in a breakout session. The larger group discussed topics like resource development, increased competitive opportunities and promotional strategies for beach-specific events. 

The group saw participation from Ocean City Beach Ultimate’s Bryant Dean, Wildwood Beach Ultimate’s Beverly Barnum and Mike Adlis, Throwback Beach Ultimate’s Louis Gosart, former regional director and current WBUC Assistant Coach for Team USA Sean McCall, and Zig Zag Ultimate’s Mike Zaagman.

Last year, the group conducted several surveys in early 2024 to learn more from the community. They intend to focus on organizer feedback with another survey in Q1 2025. 

Note: At Beach Nationals, high school athletes are encouraged to compete. The clock for college eligibility will not begin for such athletes should they compete in the event. 

The Masters Working Group consists of USA Ultimate Senior Manager of Events and Masters Competition Byron Hicks, national directors Kyle Christoph (men), Jolien Munsterhuis (mixed) and Kristi Schmeling (women), at-large masters working group representative Chris Cianfrani, and special guest regional coordinator Jeff Berget (south central). 

A major highlight for the masters working group included the age reclassification for two divisions. In an attempt to create more consistency with WFDF, the group lowered the minimum age for the great grandmasters men’s and women’s divisions. The great grandmasters men’s division’s minimum age will move from 50 to 48. The great grandmasters women’s division’s minimum age will move from 47 to 45. The change was also made with growth in mind for the great grandmasters women’s division. 

The group discussed the 2024 Masters Championships, which hosted 2,600 athletes on 109 teams in eight divisions. The discussions also included how to grow the event with limited field space. 

Bid allocations will mostly remain the same as 2024 with the exception of a few minor adjustments. The previously named “super regional” will be renamed as “super qualifiers” with no changes to the format. 

Other topics, including division title names and potential growth strategies were discussed along with other questions posed by the community. 

The Club Working Group consists of USA Ultimate Manager for Competition and National Team Programs Marc Zigterman, national directors Mia Griner (women), Genevieve Leo (mixed), and Adam Goff (men), and player-elected representatives Clare Frantz and Eli Motycka (mixed), Kristin Johnson and Tayara Romero Peña (women) and AJ Merriman (men). 

The group decided on the redrawing of sections to provide quality sectional events and promote fair competition formats given the new restrictions on the number of games per weekend. Sections with more than 16 teams have been reviewed and redrawn. Sections with two or fewer teams may be combined for regionals. The specific redraws will be available in the club guidelines. 

The club group also reworked deadlines for roster flexibility with the goal of improving the women’s division in mind. Woman-matching players will have roster flexibility until July 30, which is the Wednesday before U.S. Open. Man-matching players have roster flexibility until June 25, which is the Wednesday before the Pro-Elite Challenge.

Also on the topic of roster flexibility, the group continued discussions from 2024 on a potential “academy” model. The proposal was suggested by the community as a way to allow increased roster flexibility for teams that have a closely-related developmental team. While no decisions were made, the group will continue to work out the idea in 2025. 

For the TCT, the group discussed using a “Swiss” draw format for earlier, major TCT events. The group reviewed the format for Nationals and is not recommending any changes. 

While the complete TCT calendar will be announced soon, the schedule will look similar to 2024 and again feature an east and west version of the Pro-Elite Challenge and Select Flight Invite, The U.S. Open, Elite-Select Challenge and Pro Championships. Notable elements of the TCT in the soon-to-be-released competition guidelines include: 

• The Pro-Elite Challenge will continue to be split into east and west events to reduce travel costs while continuing to provide meaningful playing opportunities for more teams.
• The Select Flight Invite will again be split into east and west and will include both Select Flight teams as well as high-ranking Classic Flight teams.
• The Elite-Select Challenge will continue to be required for Elite Flight teams with an opportunity for Select Flight teams to be invited. 
• The U.S. Open will again be required for the top-four ranked Pro Flight teams, with invitations being sent to teams ranked 5-8. Invites will again be extended to international teams. Games against international teams will again count towards overall game totals, but results will again not be factored into rankings.
• The Pro Championships will be limited to eight teams per division with initial invites going to Pro Flight teams. The expansion of divisions to 12 teams will be considered, based on interest. 

The club working group met with the college and rankings working groups to discuss the possible implementation of a “probabilistic model” for Nationals bid allocation in 2026. The group will review throughout 2025. 

The group also engaged in discussions regarding growth in the women’s division. The group recommended several improvements to the division including a matching or mentoring program for women’s leaders to discuss important topics and a volunteer role focused on women’s division growth, amongst other ideas. 

Another important topic was signaling each athlete’s gender match on any given point in the mixed division. The group will add a best practice signaling suggestion to the guidelines which will require each player on the line to signal their gender match if requested by the opposing team. 

Other topics included the video review discussion, postseason registration timelines and a larger mixed club nationals format. 

The College Working Group consists of USA Ultimate Manager for Competition and National Team Programs Matthew Bourland, national director (developmental) Trois White, national directors Jeff Kula (men), Beth Nakamura (women), Grace Kiel (D-III women) and Kevin Kula (D-III men). 

While the group didn’t have many changes, the focal point of discussion was the restructuring of the developmental division. The group met with key volunteers across the country and collected feedback to discuss potential key changes to make for 2026 as the system in place isn’t meeting the needs of all and inhibits the growth of the entire division. The group intends to make structural changes to the regular season and postseason for 2026. 

The group also discussed the potential change of the D-III enrollment cutoff number but will want to evaluate further and assess how it could impact teams. 

The Youth Working Group consists of USA Ultimate Director of Youth Programs Dan Raabe, manager for youth competition Josh Murphy and regional youth directors Jack Kennedy (northeast), Joe Strong (west), Antonia Van Twisk (central) and Jamie Wolf (south).

The group’s focal point was to discuss the recent survey that sought perspective from organizers, coaches, parents and players on the future structure of the Youth Club Championships. The group discussed potentials for the improvement of YCC as the event has grown to capacity. 

The results were comprehensive and allowed for several decisions to be made and more discussions to take place. If you are interested in seeing the results of the survey, click here. 

One of the key decisions that was made is related to team participation in 2026. Divisions with more than 24 teams will be split into two different tiers (DI and DII). The two-tiered system will allow for more teams to participate and avoid turning teams away from the event.

The group also discussed other ways to include all teams at the event in addition to improving the experience and will continue to investigate potential solutions. 

One of the other decisions made was to not require summer regional event attendance for YCC teams, while still encouraging participation at such tournaments for YCC warm-up and seeding opportunities. 

More discussions are upcoming for the group as the youth guidelines are released at a different time of year, spanning from September through August. 

The award was presented to USA Ultimate Manager of DEI and Youth Engagement Gervon Williams during a reception at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Assembly in Colorado Springs.

Created in 2015, the award identifies two NGBs annually for the creation of DE&I best practices. Finalists are determined by the USOPC DE&I Advisory Council and winners are selected by a vote open to all NGBs.

In the category of NGB’s with less than $10 Million of annual revenue, USA Ultimate was nominated as a finalist alongside USA Speed Skating and USA Taekwondo before USA Ultimate was selected as the winner by a peer group of 61 NGBs of amateur sport and other USOPC Recognized Sports Organizations.

USA Ultimate was recognized for its efforts to bring ultimate to a younger and more diverse population in local communities through a partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). Earlier this year, USA Ultimate became a Verified Provider of ultimate. As part of the program, USA Ultimate provides educational resources to local BGCA clubs interested in implementing ultimate into their programming. Clubs are eligible to receive free equipment and teaching materials from USA Ultimate and are connected to local disc organizations in their communities, which offer instructional clinics and serve as an additional, local resource at the grassroots level. As a result, more than 50 BGCA clubs across the country have introduced ultimate to more than 3,000 kids since March.  

USRowing was awarded in the $10 Million + category for its United We Row Grant Program ahead of fellow finalists USA Basketball and USA Water Polo.  

“On behalf of USA Ultimate, we’re humbled and honored to receive this award and thankful for all those that have been so invested in the Verified Provider Program – Boys & Girls Clubs of America, local disc organizations and the kids who pick up a disc and try ultimate for the first time,” said Williams. “It’s been wonderful to hear from club leaders and staff on the ground who are seeing an increase in the number of kids that are becoming active in their clubs after introducing ultimate. As we continue to build on this program, we look forward to expanding the opportunities for kids to learn about and experience ultimate and elevate the profile of our sport to new participants.”

Colorado Springs, Colo. (July 17, 2024)—USA Ultimate announced today a new youth-focused financial aid program designed to support local communities and help stimulate and accelerate growth of ultimate at the grassroots level.

Funded by the Ultimate Foundation, the Youth Growth Grant program provides assistance to local disc organizations with an emphasis on reducing barriers of entry and increasing participation in the sport.

USA Ultimate is aiming to award up to six grants throughout an initial application window that runs through August 26th (followed by second wave of grants later this fall).

To be considered for a Youth Growth Grant, which can include an investment of up to $5,000 per grant, candidates must complete the online application. As part of this process, organizations will be asked to describe the growth opportunity they envision for their local community, how they plan on utilizing and maximizing grant dollars, and the specific support and resources they need to implement and execute their plan.

The parameters used to evaluate the grant applications are intentionally broad, allowing for local communities to request funding for programs that best fit their specific and individual needs. For example, these grants can be used to construct new teams, develop new playing opportunities, purchase equipment, provide educational resources or support youth with direct financial aid.

“We are excited to collaborate with the Ultimate Foundation to bolster and support local communities’ efforts in expanding youth Ultimate,” commented USA Ultimate Director of Youth Dan Raabe. “This grant initiative – a component of USA Ultimate’s strategic plan – empowers local communities to identify and seize opportunities while providing them with the necessary resources to maximize their impact. By identifying and leveraging these opportunities, we aim to significantly enhance youth ultimate across the U.S.”  

To Apply, applicants must complete two forms:

• Budget Worksheet (Include a link to your budget in the application below.)
• Online Application (Preview here.)

 Organizational Requirements

• Must offer a consistent and structured opportunity to play ultimate for youth ages 6 through 18.
• Delivers programming through experienced and committed leadership
• Compliance with USA Ultimate’s policies and best practices
• Alignment of organizational goals with USA Ultimate
• Demonstrates an are of need and/or opportunity to create growth in youth ultimate and a plan to utilize grant dollars to capitalize on the opportunity
• Located in and serves youth in the United States

Applicant Requirements

• Must submit a grant application by the published deadlines
• Application must be submitted with the consent and knowledge of the referenced 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, along with an IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN)
• Must provide all requested data and output required by USA Ultimate and/or the Ultimate Foundation
• Must participate in post-project evaluation
• Must be 18+ years of age

Preferences

• Positive impact on girls’ playing opportunities or historically underrepresented groups (racial, socioeconomic, adaptive, geographic, etc.)
• Organizations whose actions show a high level of partnership and engagement with USA Ultimate
• Plans for program sustainability after the grant has expired
• Connection to higher level, strategic objectives
• 501(c)(3) nonprofit status

Can I apply for more than $5,000? Yes, $5,000 is more of a rough estimate for the upper limit of a grant. However, the expected impact of the grant should be proportional to the amount awarded by USA Ultimate.

Can an individual apply? Yes, but they must be in communication with their local disc organization or other 501(c)(3) nonprofit. USA Ultimate believes this will significantly increase the chances that the grant will be successful.

The six recipients were chosen from a pool of 30 applicants consisting of grassroots disc sports organizations and other nonprofit youth-serving sports and recreation groups. The grants are funded by The Ultimate Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds new and established programs that support players, coaches and organizers who help fuel the growth of ultimate in the United States.

“We are thrilled to partner with these six local communities to support the growth of ultimate locally,” said USA Ultimate Director of Youth Dan Raabe. “For many of these communities, this grant represents a powerful opportunity to push beyond their usual budget limitations to help expand the sport to new regions and engage new participants. Our collaboration with The Ultimate Foundation isn’t just about financial support. It’s about inspiring a movement. We hope these grants will lead to many success stories that will spark even greater generosity within our community and empower local programs to dream bigger and reach higher in their efforts to grow the sport we love.”

As part of the application process, organizations were asked to describe in detail the growth opportunity they envisioned for their local community, how they planned on utilizing and maximizing potential grant dollars and the specific support and resources they needed in order to implement and execute their plan.

The parameters used to evaluate the dozens of applications were intentionally broad, which allowed for ultimate communities to request funding for programs that best fit their specific needs.

USA Ultimate will reopen its application for Youth Growth Grants on November 8th with a goal of awarding an additional $10,000 in grant money shortly after the new year.

One of the goals of these community outreach efforts, which targeted local disc organizations, parents, coaches and players, was to evaluate three potential competition structures. And while no clear and convincing consensus was reached with each of the three structures preferred equally across the community, USA Ultimate will continue to gather data and process additional feedback ahead of its annual competition working group meeting next month.

Results of the survey are publicly available and can been viewed here.

As part of its continued outreach, USA Ultimate is now collecting additional feedback via a follow-up survey through Friday, December 6.

Additionally, members of the ultimate community may also share their thoughts and ideas about USA Ultimate’s future youth competition structure via this online form. The youth competition working group, which consists of USA Ultimate staff and volunteer regional youth directors, will review data from both sources ahead of its annual fall meeting scheduled for December 7-8.

USA Ultimate would like to thank the members of the youth ultimate community who participated in the survey and continue to provide valuable input into the future of youth club ultimate in the United States.  

USA Ultimate and its Youth Competition Working Group, including staff and volunteer regional youth directors, have recently undertaken a multi-year process to reimagine how youth club ultimate is organized across the United States. Now, following several previous community engagement exercises, USA Ultimate is again asking stakeholders (including local disc organizations, parents, coaches and players) for more feedback as it continues to consider and evaluate changes.

Ultimately, by continuing to work with local communities and their members throughout this process, the goal is to create a new structure that increases club competition at the local and regional levels while still providing high-quality, national competitive opportunities. Anchored by a priority to elevate youth and grassroots ultimate as outlined in USA Ultimate’s most recent strategic plan, the next step is to gather additional input from the wider youth ultimate community.

As different constituencies may be affected by these changes in different ways, its important to hear and understand everyone’s opinions whether they play, coach or organize ultimate or make decisions about their children’s activities. By design, the survey is intended to be relatively simple and straightforward, while also allowing for the opportunity to provide optional, in-depth feedback for interested respondents.

The survey will remain open through Monday, October 21st.

Preview Survey

Additionally, anyone looking for an opportunity to ask questions, or just learn more about the three structures beyond the written materials provided in the survey, USA Ultimate will be hosting a pair of virtual online gatherings later this month. Participants my register via the links below.

Tuesday, Sept. 17, 12:00 p.m. ET

Thursday, Sept. 19, 8:00 p.m. ET

Youth Competition Guidelines will now mirror the timing of a typical school year (September through August) instead of a traditional calendar year. As a result, guidelines will now be published in August. (With 2024 guidelines currently in effect through December 31, the initial set of new guidelines won’t begin until January 1, 2025. Once USA Ultimate fully completes its youth club restructuring process, its guidelines will last from September 1 2025 through August 31, 2026 and continue with that timing.)

Additionally, the youth guidelines will now be issued as three separate documents: General Youth Competition (applies to all levels and types of youth play), School-based Competition (High School and Middle School State Championships) and Youth Club Competition (Youth Club Championships and Regional events.)

For more information, review each set of 2025 guidelines via the links below:

With the Youth Competition Guidelines now published for the first half of 2025, players, coaches, organizers, parents and other stakeholders in the community should be aware of some of the key updates and deadlines listed below:

• The 2025 Youth Division Guidelines (January – August) are now available.
• High School and Middle School State Championships
  • New teams competing at High School State Championship and all teams competing at Middle School State Championship events will no longer be required to have a youth-certified coach.
  • Coaches of those teams will still be required to meet USA Ultimate’s Foundational Coach Requirements.
• Youth coach certification clinics are now offered fully online and are available through your USA Ultimate membership account. Coaches may register for, and complete, the certification process at their leisure.

The application process and key deadlines for the 2025 Youth Club Championships are as follows:

• Week of January 8: Applications open.
  • February 5: Phase 1 application deadline.
    • USA Ultimate will begin assigning bids based on completed applications and in accordance with the bid priority chart. Applications will continue to be accepted after this date, which will be added to a waitlist (Phase 2).
  • February 10: Publication of Phase 1 applications with corresponding priorities and qualifying criteria.
  • February 17: Phase 1 bids are awarded.
  • March 3: Deadline for Phase 1 teams to accept their bids.
  • March 17: Deadline for Phase 1 teams to roster at least on USA Ultimate youth-certified coach on their YCC event roster.
  • April 16: Phase 2 application deadline.    
  • April 28: Phase 2 bids are awarded.
  • May 12: Deadline for Phase 2 applicants to accept their bids.
  • May 26: Deadline for Phase 2 teams to roster at least on USA Ultimate youth-certified coach on their YCC event roster.
  • June 6: Final bids awarded.

Colorado Springs, Colo. (July 17, 2024)—USA Ultimate announced today a new youth-focused financial aid program designed to support local communities and help stimulate and accelerate growth of ultimate at the grassroots level.

Funded by the Ultimate Foundation, the Youth Growth Grant program provides assistance to local disc organizations with an emphasis on reducing barriers of entry and increasing participation in the sport.

USA Ultimate is aiming to award up to six grants throughout an initial application window that runs through August 26th (followed by second wave of grants later this fall).

To be considered for a Youth Growth Grant, which can include an investment of up to $5,000 per grant, candidates must complete the online application. As part of this process, organizations will be asked to describe the growth opportunity they envision for their local community, how they plan on utilizing and maximizing grant dollars, and the specific support and resources they need to implement and execute their plan.

The parameters used to evaluate the grant applications are intentionally broad, allowing for local communities to request funding for programs that best fit their specific and individual needs. For example, these grants can be used to construct new teams, develop new playing opportunities, purchase equipment, provide educational resources or support youth with direct financial aid.

“We are excited to collaborate with the Ultimate Foundation to bolster and support local communities’ efforts in expanding youth Ultimate,” commented USA Ultimate Director of Youth Dan Raabe. “This grant initiative – a component of USA Ultimate’s strategic plan – empowers local communities to identify and seize opportunities while providing them with the necessary resources to maximize their impact. By identifying and leveraging these opportunities, we aim to significantly enhance youth ultimate across the U.S.”  

To Apply, applicants must complete two forms:

• Budget Worksheet (Include a link to your budget in the application below.)
• Online Application (Preview here.)

 Organizational Requirements

• Must offer a consistent and structured opportunity to play ultimate for youth ages 6 through 18.
• Delivers programming through experienced and committed leadership
• Compliance with USA Ultimate’s policies and best practices
• Alignment of organizational goals with USA Ultimate
• Demonstrates an are of need and/or opportunity to create growth in youth ultimate and a plan to utilize grant dollars to capitalize on the opportunity
• Located in and serves youth in the United States

Applicant Requirements

• Must submit a grant application by the published deadlines
• Application must be submitted with the consent and knowledge of the referenced 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, along with an IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN)
• Must provide all requested data and output required by USA Ultimate and/or the Ultimate Foundation
• Must participate in post-project evaluation
• Must be 18+ years of age

Preferences

• Positive impact on girls’ playing opportunities or historically underrepresented groups (racial, socioeconomic, adaptive, geographic, etc.)
• Organizations whose actions show a high level of partnership and engagement with USA Ultimate
• Plans for program sustainability after the grant has expired
• Connection to higher level, strategic objectives
• 501(c)(3) nonprofit status

Can I apply for more than $5,000? Yes, $5,000 is more of a rough estimate for the upper limit of a grant. However, the expected impact of the grant should be proportional to the amount awarded by USA Ultimate.

Can an individual apply? Yes, but they must be in communication with their local disc organization or other 501(c)(3) nonprofit. USA Ultimate believes this will significantly increase the chances that the grant will be successful.