Each August, teams from across the country travel to the Canadian Ultimate Championships (CUC) to compete for the national title in 7 different divisions: mixed, open, women's, junior open, junior women, masters open and masters women. Teams compete at this seven-day tournament not only to determine the national champion but also to determine who will represent Canada at the next world championships.[2]
From 2016 to 2019, the mixed divisions were held separately from the remaining divisions.
In 2022, the format was changed again with the three Masters divisions at their event, the three senior divisions at their event, and the two Junior divisions at their own event.
Canadian University Ultimate Championships (CUUC)
The CUUC started in 1995 and brings university teams from across the country to compete in the open & the women's division. Each fall Ultimate Canada operates two competitions for university Ultimate teams in Canada: the Canadian University Ultimate Championships (CUUC) and the Canadian Eastern University Ultimate Championships (CEUUC). The CEUUC began in 1998 and brings university teams primarily from Ontario and Quebec together to compete in the open & the women's division.[2]
History
Australia vs Canada at 2012 WUGC in Japan
In 2010, the Toronto Ultimate Club released a documentary film, 30 years in 30 minutes,[3] that traces the club's history as well as the history of ultimate Frisbee in Canada. Not far removed from the invention of ultimate in the late 1960s, Ken Westerfield and Jim Kenner (the founder and CEO of Discraft) ran the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships with guts, disc golf, freestyle, ultimate and individual field events in the early 1970s at the Canadian National Exhibition. In 1975, they moved the tournament to the Toronto Islands.[4] They also participated in several Frisbee show tours across Canada for Irwin Toy (Wham-O licensee and Frisbee distributor for Canada). Each year their show tours would end in Vancouver where they would set up the Vancouver Open Frisbee Championships on Kitsilano Beach and Stanley Park (1974-1977). This is where Jim Brown, Bill King, and John Anthony of freestyle fame made their first competitive appearances. From these championships and the presence of these touring professional Frisbee players (Westerfield, Kenner, and Bob Blakely of Irwin Toy), Toronto became the hub of Frisbee activity in Canada.[5] In the early 1970s, Ken Westerfield introduced disc sports including ultimate north of the 49th parallel at the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships in Toronto and by creating the Toronto Ultimate Club (TUC).[6] The Toronto Ultimate Club is one of ultimate's oldest leagues.[7]
Ken Westerfield lived in the Beaches in southeast Toronto, this is where he would set up shop, taking his Frisbees down to the beach on a grassy area next to the boardwalk called Kew Beach and would play with whoever wanted to join him.[8] Four of the original ultimate players, Ken Westerfield, Jim Lim, Stuart Godfrey, and Patrick Chartrand and others played a pickup game of ultimate Frisbee one afternoon with Westerfield outlining the rules. For this group, it became a regular thing and the group began to grow. In 1979, Westerfield using his local tournament player contact list, started weekly ultimate pick-up games in the Beaches on the same grassy area next to the boardwalk on Wednesday evenings. Christopher Lowcock, introduced to disc sports by his brother Les, became part of this group. Lowcock, Westerfield, and the others would recruit more players as they passed along the boardwalk, Wednesday's ultimate pick-up was becoming very popular.[9]
In 1980, Westerfield sent team invitations to Wards Island, West End, North Toronto and Westerfield's team the Beaches,[10] to join the Toronto Ultimate League. These were the first four teams, each taking turns hosting the league games at their home locations. The league starting night was at Kew Beach. These were the very first disc ultimate league games in the city of Toronto, the beginning of the Toronto Ultimate League (Club), and the first ultimate league in Canada. The Toronto Ultimate League developed into the Toronto Ultimate Club (TUC), which now has 3300 active members and over 250 Teams playing the year round.[11]
The first Canadian Ultimate Championships (CUC) was held, for the open division, Ottawa in 1987, produced by Marcus Brady and Brian Guthrie. OCUA subsequently hosted the 1993, 1999, 2002 and 2011 Canadian Ultimate Championships.[12]
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.[13]
In 2013, as a founding partner, the Toronto Ultimate Club presented Canada's first semi-professional Ultimate team, the Toronto Rush, to the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL). They went undefeated 18-0 and won the AUDL Championships.[14] In 2014, the Montreal Royal and the Vancouver Riptide joined the AUDL. In 2015, the Ottawa Outlaws became the fourth Canadian team to compete in the AUDL, of 26 teams.
1987: Winnipeg Ultimate League begun by Jean-Luc Forest and Mike Jones. The first full season in 1988 had three teams and roughly 14 people.
1988: MODS (first Provincial Sports Organization) founded
1989: Women's Division added to Nationals
1991: WFDF World Ultimate Club Championships in Toronto
1993: Canadian Ultimate Players Association begins
1994: Juniors Division added to Nationals
1995: Masters Division added to Nationals. First Annual University National Championships - open & women's divisions.
1997: WFDF World Ultimate Club Championships in Vancouver
1998: Team Canada Masters wins first gold medal for Canada at Worlds (WUGC) - quickly followed by Gold in Mixed and Open. Since 1998, Canada has been ranked number one in the World, for several years in all divisions, by the WFDF World Ultimate Ranking.
The Toronto Ultimate Club was founded in 1980.[19] It is Canada's oldest ultimate league with teams participating every season, on most days of the week and various fields (indoor and outdoor) throughout the year. It is a not-for-profit organization that was incorporated in 1995. The club consists of three full-time managers, a strong board of directors that represents the membership, and over 100 volunteers.
London Ultimate Club
London Ultimate Club (LUC)[20] is a growing league in London, Ontario. The club was founded in 1998 and incorporated as a not-for-profit in 2008. The club runs outdoor leagues in the summer and indoor leagues in the fall and winter.
Ottawa Carleton Ultimate Association
Ultimate is popular in Ottawa, Ontario. OCUA is currently one of the two largest leagues in Canada (alongside the Vancouver Ultimate League), and for a time was the largest ultimate league in the world. In 2004, there were 354 teams in the summer league and approximately 5000 members.[21]
Vancouver Ultimate League
The Vancouver Ultimate League has around 5300 active members who play throughout the year.[22] Its primary focus is recreational play. It also hosts clinics and introductory programs for new players and supports several elite club teams that compete in provincial, national and international championships.
Calgary Ultimate Association
Founded in 2004, the CUA coordinates year-round leagues, annual tournaments, a growing juniors program, and outreach efforts to promote the sport of ultimate frisbee within Calgary and surrounding areas. Each year in June the CUA hosts the annual Ho-Down and Slo-Down tournament that draws more than 30 teams from across Western Canada and the United States.[23] Calgary Juniors Ultimate hosts an annual tournament and youth league.
Windsor Ultimate
Windsor Ultimate in Windsor, Ontario since 2007.[24] In 2010, Windsor Ultimate officially became a non-profit entity in the province of Ontario, this move allowed the organization to better situate itself as a legitimate sports league in Southern Ontario.
Montreal Ultimate
The Montreal Ultimate Association has enjoyed incredible growth and has become one of the largest Ultimate associations in Canada. Although the sport first came to Montreal in 1984, the 1993 season truly signaled the start of an Ultimate league that eventually became the association we know today. In 1997, players felt the need to create a non-profit organization that they called Association de Ultimate de Montréal.[25]
Canadian Ultimate Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame Inductees 2011 was the inaugural year. Ultimate Canada created the Hall of Fame to recognize contributions from pioneers in the sport.
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 8 to 10 inches 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, originally known as 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.
Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are paid for the time they spend competing and training. In the majority of sports which feature professional players, the professionals will participate at a higher standard of play than amateur competitors, as they can train full-time without the stress of having another job. The majority of worldwide sporting participants are amateurs.
USA Ultimate is a not-for-profit organization that serves as the governing body of the sport of ultimate in the United States.
Flying disc freestyle, also known as freestyle Frisbee in reference to the trademarked brand name, is a sport and performing art characterized by creative, acrobatic, and athletic maneuvers with a flying disc. Freestyle is performed individually or more commonly in groups, both competitively and recreationally.
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, culminating in the development and popularization of the major professional games of ice hockey, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, soccer, football and cricket. Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Golf, baseball, tennis, skiing, ringette, badminton, cricket, volleyball, cycling, swimming, bowling, rugby union, canoeing, equestrian, squash, and the study of martial arts are widely enjoyed at the youth and amateur levels. Great achievements in Canadian sports are recognized by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, while the Lou Marsh Trophy is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete by a panel of journalists. There are numerous other Sports Halls of Fame in Canada.
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.
Tom Monroe is a champion of virtually all flying disc sports, including ultimate, freestyle, field events and especially disc golf.
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. Until 2016, all divisions were hosted in the same location. Beginning in 2016 the mixed divisions have been held as a separate event.
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.
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 American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) is an ultimate disc league in North America. The AUDL was founded in 2010, and played its inaugural season in 2012 with eight teams. Regular season games are played April through July. The playoffs consist of three rounds: divisional wild card round, division championships, and finally culminating in a final four style showcase known as AUDL Championship Weekend in August. The winner of each division's championship game advances to Championship Weekend, with semifinals on Saturday and the championship game played on Sunday.
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.
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 Atlanta Hustle is a professional ultimate frisbee franchise based out of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. They compete as one of 25 teams in the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL), 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 Premier Ultimate League (PUL) is a professional women's ultimate disc 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.
↑ "History of Frisbee and Flying Disc freestyle". Development of Frisbee in the US and Canada. Retrieved February 12, 2018. Note: The Canadian Open Frisbee Championships (1972) in Toronto Canada and the Vancouver Open Frisbee Championships (1974) along with the IFT Guts Frisbee tournament in Northern Michigan were the first tournaments to introduce Frisbee as a disc sport (up until then, the Frisbee was only used as a toy.
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