Canadian Ultimate Championships (CUC) is an annual Ultimate Frisbee tournament organized by Ultimate Canada and the player association of the city where the championships are held.[1] Until 2016, all divisions were hosted in the same location. Beginning in 2016 the mixed divisions have been held as a separate event.
Australia vs Canada Ultimate players at WUGC 2012 in Japan. Ultimate Canada
Organized disc sports began in the early 1970s, with promotional efforts from Irwin Toy, the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships, Toronto (1972–1985), the Vancouver Open Frisbee Championships (1974–1977) and professionals using Frisbee show tours to perform at universities, fairs, and sporting events.[2] Disc sports such as freestyle, double disc court, guts, ultimate and disc golf became this sports first events.[3][4] Two sports, the team sport of ultimate and disc golf are very popular worldwide and are now being played semi-professionally.[5][6] The World Flying Disc Federation, Professional Disc Golf Association, Freestyle Players Association are the official rules and sanctioning organizations for flying disc sports worldwide. Ultimate Canada is the official rules and sanctioning organization for ultimate in Canada.[7]
Ultimate is a team sport played with a flying disc. The object of the game is to score points by passing the disc to members of your own team, on a rectangular field, 120 yards (110m) by 40 yards (37m), until you have successfully completed a pass to a team member in the opposing team's end zone. In the early 1970s, Ken Westerfield and Jim Kenner (Discraft founder) introduced ultimate along with other disc sports North of the 49th parallel at the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships, Toronto (1972–1985) and the Vancouver Open Frisbee Championships (1974–1977). In 1979, Ken Westerfield and Chris Lowcock created the Toronto Ultimate Club (TUC). The Toronto Ultimate Club is one of the ultimate's oldest leagues.[8][9]
The first Canadian Ultimate Championships (CUC) were held for the open division in Ottawa in 1987, produced by Marcus Brady and Brian Guthrie. OCUA subsequently hosted the 1993, 1999, 2002, 2011 and 2017 Canadian Ultimate Championships.[10]
Canada has been ranked number one in the Ultimate World Rankings several times since 1998 in all the Ultimate Divisions (including Open and Women's) according to the World Flying Disc Federation.[11]
In 2013, as a founding partner, the Toronto Ultimate Club presented Canada's first semi-professional ultimate team, the Toronto Rush[12][13] to the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL).[14][15] In their first season they went undefeated 18–0 and won the AUDL championships.[16] The American Ultimate Disc League and the now defunct Major League Ultimate (MLU) are the first semi-professional ultimate leagues.[17]
Past Championships
Locations
Year
Location
Tournament Director(s)
Ultimate Canada
Competition Director
2024
CUC: UPI, Ottawa, ON
CUC Masters: RIM Park, Waterloo, ON CUC Grandmasters: Saskatoon, SK
Andrew Portwine
2023
CUC: Newton Athletic Park. Surrey, BC
CUC Masters: Kelowna, BC
Surrey LOC with Troe Weston
Kelowna LOC with Troe Weston
Andrew Portwine
Andrew Batchelor
2022
CUC: Creditview Sandalwood Park. Brampton, ON
CUC Masters: UPI. Ottawa,ON
Troe Weston
Andrew Portwine
Andrew Batchelor
2021
UCI (Senior): UPI. Ottawa, ON
UCI (Masters): UPI. Ottawa, ON
Note: These are not considered CUCs
Teri-Lynne Belanger
Andrew Batchelor
2020
CUC: Creditview Sandalwood Park. Brampton, ON
CUC Mixed: Laval, QC
Cancelled due to COVID-19
2019
CUC: Ivor Dent Sports Field. Edmonton, AB
CUC Mixed: Creditview Sandalwood Park. Brampton, ON
Edmonton LOC with Teri-Lynne Belanger
Teri-Lynne Belanger
Andrew Batchelor
Jen Stark & Andrew Batchelor
2018
CUC: Creditview Sandalwood Park. Brampton, ON
CUC Mixed: Newton Athletic Park. Surrey, BC
Teri-Lynne Belanger
Brian Gisel with Teri-Lynne Belanger
Andrew Batchelor
2017
CUC: UPI. Ottawa, ON
CUC Mixed: Saskatoon, SK
Ottawa LOC: Venissa de Castro, Isabelle Blanchard, Naomi Garneau
with Teri-Lynne Belanger Saskatoon LOC with Teri-Lynne Belanger
A frisbee, also called a flying disc or simply a disc, is a gliding toy or sporting item that is generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly 20 to 25 centimetres in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitively for throwing and catching, as in flying disc games. The shape of the disc is an airfoil in cross-section which allows it to fly by reducing the drag and increasing lift as it moves through the air, compared to a flat plate. Spinning the disc imparts a stabilizing gyroscopic force, allowing it to be both aimed with accuracy and thrown for distance.
Ultimate frisbee,, is a non-contact team sport played with a disc flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by Joel Silver in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its athletic requirements, it is unlike most sports due to its focus on self-officiating, even at the highest levels of competition. The term "frisbee" is a registered trademark of the Wham-O toy company, and thus the sport is not formally called "ultimate Frisbee", though this name is still in common casual use. Points are scored by passing the disc to a teammate in the opposing end zone. Other basic rules are that players must not take steps while holding the disc, and interceptions, incomplete passes, and passes out of bounds are turnovers. Rain, wind, or occasionally other adversities can make for a testing match with rapid turnovers, heightening the pressure of play.
The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) is the international governing body for flying disc (Frisbee) sports, with responsibility for sanctioning world championship events, establishing uniform rules, setting of standards for and recording of world records. WFDF is a federation of member associations which represent flying disc sports and their athletes in 100 countries. WFDF is an international federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a member of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF), GAISF, and the International World Games Association (IWGA), and it is a registered not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation in the state of Colorado, U.S.
Sports in Canada consist of a wide variety of games. The roots of organized sports in Canada date back to the 1770s. Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Other major professional games include curling, basketball, baseball, soccer, and football. Great achievements in Canadian sports are recognized by numerous "Halls of Fame" and museums, such as Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
Flying disc sports are sports or games played with discs, often called by the trademarked name Frisbees. Ultimate and disc golf are sports with substantial international followings.
The Ottawa-Carleton Ultimate Association (OCUA) is a registered non-profit corporation dedicated to the sport of disc Ultimate in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Ultimate in Ottawa began in 1984 as a result of individuals coming together to play Ultimate in scrimmage games. In the summer of 1985, local Ottawa players organized the first "No Borders" tournament, with visiting teams from North Bay, Toronto, and the United States. In 1986 formal league organization meetings took place to organize a league with basic principles and guidelines.
Ultimate Canada is a not-for-profit organization that serves as the governing body of the sport of Ultimate in Canada. It runs the Canadian Ultimate Championships (CUC) and Canadian University Ultimate Championship (CUUC) series.
Kenneth Ray Westerfield is an American pioneering frisbee disc player, who achieved numerous disc sports accomplishments in the 1970s. A disc sports Hall of Fame inductee in freestyle, ultimate, and disc golf. In addition, he was voted "Top Men's Player" in the 1970–75 Decade Awards. Westerfield produced tournaments, set world records, and won awards in every disc sport. He was a tournament co-director for the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships (1972–1985) in Toronto, the Vancouver Open Frisbee Championships (1974–1977) in Vancouver, BC, the 1978 Santa Cruz Flying Disc Classic in Santa Cruz, California, the 1985 Labatt's World Guts Championships in Toronto, and the 1987 World PDGA Disc Golf Championships in Toronto. Westerfield founded the first ultimate league in Canada – the Toronto Ultimate Club (1979). As one of the original freestylers from the 1960s, used his expertise in several company-sponsored touring Frisbee shows in the U.S. and Canada. Irwin Toy,, Molson Frisbee Team (1974–77), Adidas Canada (1974–1979), Goodtimes Professional Frisbee Show (1978–82), Orange Crush Frisbee Team (1977–78), Air Canada Frisbee Team (1978–79), Lee Jeans Frisbee Team (1979–80) and the Labatts Schooner Frisbee Team (1983–85).
The Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA), formerly the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL), is a professional ultimate disc league that consists of 24 teams divided between the South, Central, East, and West divisions. The UFA is located in North America. Each UFA season has 12 regular season games which run from April to July. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the top three teams from every division advance to the playoffs, a single elimination tournament that culminates in a final four style showcase known as the UFA Championship Weekend, which is contested in late August over two days.
The Toronto Rush are a semi-professional ultimate team based in Toronto, Canada. They compete in the Ultimate Frisbee Association’s East division.
Brodie Smith is a former American Ultimate Disc League player, and current professional disc golf player and YouTube personality best known for his frisbee trick shot videos.
The Montreal Royal is a professional ultimate franchise based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Eastern Division of the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA). The team was the second Canadian franchise to join the UFA – originally branded as the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) – after the Toronto Rush. The Royal play their home games at Claude-Robillard Sports Complex in Montreal, Quebec. They played their inaugural game on April 19, 2014, where they hosted the Toronto Rush and lost by a score of 22-14. In this game, the Royal broke the UFA attendance record previously held by the Rush with more than 3,000 fans. The team name has several references: a spring Association de Ultimate de Montréal league team called Royal that the co-owners play on, the Montreal hill Mount Royal, and a nod to the former minor league professional baseball team Montreal Royals.
Ultimate, originally called ultimate frisbee, is a non-contact team field sport played with a flying disc, invented in New Jersey, USA, in 1968. Japanese players and teams rose to prominence in the 1990s, and today are among the strongest competitors in the sport globally.
The Madison Radicals are a semi-professional ultimate team that competes in the Central Division of the Ultimate Frisbee Association. The Radicals play their home games at Breese Stevens Field in downtown Madison. Since the team's inception in 2013, they have won five regular season divisional titles in eight seasons. After losing in the AUDL championship games in 2013 and 2015, the Radicals claimed its first championship in 2018. Madison also hosted AUDL Championship Weekends in 2016, 2018 and 2022, winning the championship in 2018.
The Atlanta Hustle is a professional ultimate frisbee franchise based out of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. They compete as one of 25 teams in the Ultimate Frisbee Association, playing in the league's South Division.
Beau Kittredge is a former Ultimate player, author, illustrator, and mobile video game entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the greatest Ultimate players of all time, noted for his top-end speed and athleticism. Kittredge won one college title, six USA Ultimate club titles, seven world championships, and five AUDL titles. He also won the AUDL Most Valuable Player award twice. He is popularly known for a video in which he jumped over an opponent to catch the disc while playing with the University of Colorado.
The Dallas Legion, formerly the Dallas Roughnecks, are a professional ultimate team that competes in the South Division of the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA). Founded in 2015, the team played their first year in the 2016 AUDL season, wherein they won the championship title.
The Premier Ultimate League (PUL) is a professional women's ultimate league that formed in 2019. The mission of the PUL is "to achieve equity in the sport of ultimate by increasing accessibility to the sport for, and visibility of women, transgender, intersex, non-binary, genderqueer, and genderfluid people through high-quality competition, leadership experiences, and community partnerships". The league strives for gender, racial, and economic diversity in the sport of ultimate frisbee. PUL players are paid $40 per league game.
Team "EuroStars" is an Elite European Ultimate women's team formed from over 10 nations each year to challenge the top North American teams in the "Americus Pro Cup" and promote the European women's game. The EuroStars provide an opportunity for these world class players to play in a strong team, learn about other cultures and promote female European talent. Founded in 2017 by captain Rebecca "Bex" Forth. EuroStars Tour were shared in 6 simultaneous clinics in 6 different European countries. The "You’re a Star" clinics will happen each spring to increase outreach.
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