Organise events
We run a large number of events every year as part of our national championships across all divisions. We also run major Outdoor tournaments - and a few smaller ones - which are part of the UKU Tour of ranking events. We often enlist the help of local TDs who either support our staff or run the events themselves. For these events we do almost all of the pre- and post-event planning and logistics.
We want Ultimate competition to be more accessible across the UK, and so we want to support and encourage clubs and individuals to run more events and leagues, whether or not they are ranking events that are part of The Tour. So how does that work?
Running events in partnership with UKU - How does it work?
We suggest starting here to think about the venue and any possible requirements. It’s a long list of questions - most of which are really easy to answer. Some will not be particularly relevant for smaller events.
If you want your event to be part of the UKU Tour and once you have a slightly more detailed plan, please use this document to get your plan written down, do some financial planning, and apply to put the event into the UKU Tour. Please email events@ukultimate.com.
The budget tab sets out how we expect to share the costs and any eventual surplus between UKU and you / your club. We would rather work with clubs because this creates a bigger support network for running the event and will help develop tournaments as a fundraising activity for clubs (but of course we’re happy to work with individual members too). We expect these events to make a “reasonable profit” - in particular so as to provide some contingency for things that might go wrong, but also because this also allows us to share risk across the whole events-programme. Moreover, events are a sensible way for clubs and UKU to raise funds to invest in the sport and the community.
UK Ultimate is a not-for-profit organisation. Surplus income from events is invested in the organisation and the sport.
When planning your event, you should plan for between 3 and 4 teams per pitch. For each event-weekend (or perhaps over a cluster of 2 or 3 weekends) we aim to coordinate enough events to provide capacity for all interested clubs across the UK. We’re interested in the total capacity across a number of events that happen around the same time for the same division(s).
We all love weekend Ultimate events. But they are not accessible to everyone, and we want to encourage alternatives. We would love to hear from you if you want to build a local league into the ranking series.
UK Ultimate is an unfunded National Governing Body (NGB) meaning that we do not receive funding from Sport England or other UK sports councils. Events are an important source of UKU income.
Event organisers, Tier 2 Mixed event in London, 2019
UKU Sanctioned Events
As above, we suggest you start here to help you think about a venue and other possible requirements.
If your event isn’t suitable as part of the Tour of ranking events, you can still access some help from UKU. Sanctioned events offer some limited support in the form of template documents and access to UKU insurance.
There are a number of requirements to get your event sanctioned that are outlined in the pack.
Want to run a hat tournament or a local league?
In general we would like to see more, regular and local Ultimate that provides lots of opportunity for new and existing players. One-day hat tournaments or local leagues are a great option if you’re interested in running something on a smaller or more local scale. These events can be a great opportunity for people to ‘give it a go’ and can help university or school players with the transition to club Ultimate.
As with the other events listed above, you may want to start here. Also take a look at the sanctioned events pack. If you want your league to be part of the UKU Tour please see the details above.
If you plan to run a Women’s Hat event, UKU can offer additional support. Please contact the women’s committee to talk more about your plans.
Running your own event?
We advise that you take look at the reference and help documents linked on this page for sanctioned or partner events. Please consider the things that will make your event safe and equitable for all participants, and ensure that your event upholds the core values of Ultimate.
Do you want your Ultimate event added to the UKU Events Calendar? Please complete this form.