Ultimate Frisbee Leagues
An ultimate frisbee leagues consists of many people from a certain area that enjoy playing ultimate frisbee and like to compete against other people. Leagues include many teams of players that play full games and compete for the top of the league. Leagues can be for fun or for prizes with multiple teams competing for a championship. Ultimate frisbee leagues are a great way to socialize and stay active. Joining ultimate frisbee leagues can help meet new people in a new area and is even a good way to professionally network with people in your area. Ultimate frisbee leagues are becoming increasingly popular across the country as more people are playing ultimate frisbee than lacrosse each year, even though lacrosse has three professional leagues.
American Ultimate Disc League
There are many popular ultimate frisbee leagues throughout the United States but the most popular league is the American Ultimate Disc League. This league has grown each year it has been in existence and so far, has been ruled a success by its creators. Many people view the AUDL as a great alternative sports scene that is being driven by the millennial populations that are driving the future of sports. This league began because people wanted to create a space where people could compete at the highest level of ultimate frisbee competition. It has proved to be a fun, family-friendly space for people to show their skills while also upholding the values that the creators looked at as the most vital: integrity, sportsmanship and staying active. The league's success has also led to growth of the league from eight teams in the inaugural 2012 season all the way up to 23 during last season.
Starting An Ultimate League
Creating an ultimate frisbee league is similar to that of creating a league focused on any other sport. The only things that are needed are interested athletes in the league as well as a place to play all the games that are desired. This being said, a large group of friends could start their own league if they wanted to. However, if you want to create an official league then there is more work that needs to go into it. Sufficient finance is necessary as well as permits to use public fields and enough people from a close enough area that would want to be involved and will actually show up. In order to start a league, rosters as well as league schedules must be created in order to give the league some structure. Lastly, to create a true competitive league, referees may need to be hired in order to have an unbiased perspective calling each and every game.
Ultimate League Season
The AUDL uses a regular season that lasts 15 weeks with each tea, playing 12 games during that 15 week span. At the end of their regular season a two-week playoff ensues that eventually crowns a champion. However, even though the AUDL uses this type of schedule an ultimate frisbee league could have many different schedule lengths all stemming from different reasons. A league schedule can differ drastically in length due to the weather conditions that the area has. A warmer climate throughout the year could lead to a longer schedule while a league in a place that only has a limited amount of time with playable weather conditions may have a shorter schedule. Also, leagues may have different schedules based on the members of the league. If this league is a corporate league, there may only be a few games in the season, while if the league is competitive more games might be played.
Cost To Join A League
League fees are going to differ depending on the league you are trying to join. Some leagues will charge you around $100 while some other leagues may not even have a fee in order to join. In order to join the USAU league you can pay up to $75 dollars for a one year membership or upwards of $300 for a five year membership. This is a professional ultimate frisbee league and may not be the league that the average ultimate frisbee player is looking for. Many towns have recreational sports leagues that may include an ultimate frisbee league. The price will differ with all of them depending on the cost of the permit to use specific facilities or fees from the town itself. In order to find the cost of a league near you, it would be best to identify the league you would like to join and view the league price on their website.
Popular Ultime Leagues
There are two main leagues when it comes to professional ultimate frisbee. There is the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) and United States of America Ultimae (USAU). The AUDL was founded in 2010 but did not have its first season until 2012. The league began with eight teams competing for the championship and have recently reached 22 teams. As this is a professional sports league, the players do not have to pay to be involved in it. The players receive a portion of gate receipts for the places they play as well as a stake in their teams. Another league is the USAU which is the ultimate frisbee league which is the recognized sport organization of ultimate frisbee by the United States. USAU is a not for profit organization that runs ultimate frisbee leagues for many different age groups. Other than these leagues there are not many well known ultimate frisbee leagues.