Return to Play Guidelines & Upcoming Events

10/19/20, From Tim Streit:

Players,

We are planning to restart VOTS events with some small leagues for the end of this year. We will open registration this week, with teams playing at 8pm either Mondays or Thursdays, starting October 29 through Dec 14. Games will be at a combination of PHX Pecos Park and Tempe Parks. These will be small 4 team divisions and new rules will be in place to conform to VOTS and city parks and rec requirements.

As part of meeting requirements, we are going to need some additional volunteers to make this league go. We will need field monitors to help with some of our new rules. While you are looking at your schedule in regard to this league, please also consider whether you would be able to come to some opposite evenings to help with this. More about that to follow soon.

And to let you consider what is coming out with registration this week, here is a rundown of new rules that we will be operating under:

In order to protect our fellow members and guests, as well as to satisfy requirements for field usage, the Valley of the Sun Ultimate Association (VOTS) has adopted rules and guidelines relating to COVID-19. Following these rules and guidelines is a requirement to participate in VOTS events. Failure to adhere to them is grounds for removal from VOTS events.

1. Attendees will self-screen for symptoms on the day of the VOTS event, prior to arrival, and will not attend if symptomatic or tested positive for COVID-19 until meeting Release from Isolation Guidance.
2. Attendees will follow the Maricopa County Dept. of Public Health Quarantine Guidance for Household and Close Contacts including the provision for those who live in the same home or were in close contact (within 6 feet for longer than 10 minutes) with someone with COVID-19 being asked not to attend for 14 days after last contact with the person with COVID-19.
3. Attendees will sanitize hands upon arrival.
4. All attendees must wear masks covering nose and mouth during arrival and departure and when on the sidelines or not playing in the event. Spectators must wear masks covering nose and mouth during arrival and departure and throughout the event on or in proximity to the field or sidelines.
5. All attendees should maintain 6 foot distancing from anyone not in their household during arrival and departure as well as all times on sidelines.
6. Game discs will be sanitized prior to the game and again at halftime if they have been used or more often if instructed by event organizers or directors.
7. Social gatherings before and after the game are not allowed. Attendees should leave the field wearing masks after the conclusion of the game.
8. Only one ultimate field will be placed on a soccer field. Only one team will gather on and use each opposite sideline and will stay off the opposing team’s sideline. Each team will have ample space to gather away from the opposing team and close team huddles should be avoided. High fives, hugs and similar contact should be avoided.
9. Players are encouraged to wear a mask as much as possible and should consider pulling up a mask when marking an opponent in possession of the disc.

VOTS History Archive

Note from Katherine:

Not a lot of play going on at the moment, but that doesn't mean we can't yearn for the olden days...

Earlier in the year Kevin Hatch and Kody Lippincot gathered up some VOTS materials from various storage bins and started scanning and taking photos. I decided to take the opportunity to reorganize the league and New Year Fest archive pages. I'm also continuing to add other information (including more about Valley club teams) as I come across it. If you have any info or feedback on the pages, please, let me know.

The first bunch of 80s and 90s VOTS newsletters from Kevin are available on the new History Pages!

History Archive | Email Webmaster

Club Ultimate

AZ Mixed Ultimate – Update

June 17, 2020

Dear Phoenix, Tucson, and Flagstaff Club ultimate communities,

We hope this message finds you healthy, safe and well. As you may know, USA Ultimate released its Return to Play Guidelines on Thursday, June 11. While this 33-page document is quite comprehensive, Ultiworld followed up with a Quick Summary to help folks understand key takeaways. After further review and discussion, we write to share our plans for the 2020 season:

1. We are not holding tryouts or forming teams for the 2020 Club season

From the outset, our mission has been to bring our communities together for a unified mixed system—one built on Spirit of the Game, a commitment to both development and competitiveness, and a focus on fair tryouts and team selection. In our current situation with Covid-19, we cannot safely or fairly execute the goals and plans that we promised to the mixed club community in 2020.

The recently released USA Ultimate Return to Play Guidelines are clarifying: where before perhaps there was some debate about how risky playing ultimate frisbee outdoors would be, the guidelines indicate that ultimate is, indeed, a high-risk activity. They rate the risk of scrimmage, any kind of full team practice, and especially competition against other teams as greatly contributing to chances of transmitting or contracting Covid-19. And, given these ratings, USA Ultimate has stated that all players must take full liability for any ultimate-related activities in which they choose to participate.

There are other teams around the country who have hung up their cleats for the 2020 season. But those teams have taken this moment to look forward to the next season. In that spirit, we remain excited to pursue the vision that we all started with. We want to make sure Arizona can stay connected and engaged as we look forward to the 2021 club season (We’ll talk more about that in Part 2 of this update).

And while this restructuring committee will not form teams for the 2020 season, it will not interfere with any efforts to form teams to participate in any kind of Club Series that may be announced by USA Ultimate for 2020.

We will reconvene in late 2020 to continue the pursuit of a unified club system in the 2021 season. And, regardless of how you choose to engage with ultimate in 2020, none of these results will factor into your candidacy for the 2021 season. No matter what, though, please be safe out there.

2. Launch of our Phoenix Area Mixed Club Ultimate Frisbee Facebook Group

Our mission of creating a united ultimate frisbee community continues even as the 2020 Club season is abbreviated, limited, and uncertain. To continue working towards getting us all to where we want to be, this group will be organizing events and inviting more volunteers to organize events that will help keep people engaged in ultimate frisbee as much as possible. The 2021 season is something we can start working towards today.

The overall goal of this Facebook Group is to provide a collective, comprehensive, virtual community that can be used to stay informed and connected to mixed club ultimate here in the valley:

• We will post all updates about the mixed club system, including updates, resources and discussion forums here.
• We will post any virtual and in-person workouts for the extended 2020 off-season here as well.
• These activities are primarily aimed at mirroring USA Ultimate's 'Stage 1' and 'Stage 2' return-to-play guidelines for now.

We invite and want you to contribute to this group: please post and share any virtual and/or in-person workouts and activities that you are comfortable opening up to the larger community, reach out to the community for help and support -- with our current situation, we want to reignite the energy and enthusiasm for ultimate and for this system through this platform that we eventually will bring back to the fields.

We appreciate your patience as we do our best to balance the community’s well-being with their desires to gather for ultimate-related activities. If you have any comments, concerns or questions on any of these items, please don’t hesitate to contact us at azmixedultimateproject@gmail.com.

Stay safe,
Arizona Mixed Club Ultimate Restructuring Committee

Professional Ultimate

Arizona Sidewinders

The Arizona Sidewinders are the first professional Ultimate team in the state of Arizona. As part of the Western Ultimate League, the Sidewinders want to foster growth within the sport and provide a way for all womxn to compete on a stage which showcases high-level, competitive Ultimate.

Alas, the inaugural WUL season has been sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic.

WUL COVID-19 Statement

Regardless, find out more and consider supporting pro ultimate in Arizona!

Let's Play!

Pick Up Games

Past VOTS Events

New Year Fest 38

NYF: More Information | NYF 2020 Program & Schedule | Email TD Evan Yamada