30th March

Upcoming Events - Cancellation Update

Following our previous announcement regarding the April/May 2020 Club Outdoor Events, we can now confirm that London Moooxed - due to take place in May - is now cancelled. In addition, the following summer events are also cancelled:

• Nottingham Windfarm (6-7 June)
• University Mixed Outdoor Nationals (13-14 June)
• Junior Outdoor Nationals & School Championships (4 July) 

As outlined in the statement made on 23rd March, we will fully refund team entry fees that have been paid for the above events. However, we kindly ask that you please bear with us in this period as we will not be able to refund all entry fees straight away. More information on this can be found in the announcement here.

 

Please keep an eye out on the UKU website and UKU Events Announcement Newsletter for further updates.

Update Statement re Coronavirus (COVID-19) 30th March 2020

In these exceptional times, UK Ultimate has no ongoing income.  We have been reviewing how the organisation will manage financially over the short, medium and longer term under various scenarios of “life returning to normal”.  Our conclusion is that we should take action now, taking into account the possibility that disruption to Ultimate could well continue for much of the rest of 2020, and perhaps into 2021.

 

We have decided that it is in the best interest of the organisation, our staff and Ultimate in the UK, that we apply for support from the Government Job Retention Scheme.  Effective April 1st - May 31st, the following members of staff will all be “furloughed”.  This means that UKU will receive support for 80% of the normal wage costs associated with those members of staff:    

• Chesca Tyler Weddell (Coach Education Coordinator)
• Chris Bamford (UKU Administrator)
• Meg Price (Events Coordinator)
• Ruth Flight (GB Junior Programme Manager, part-time)

Simon Hill (CEO) and Laura Atkins (bookkeeper, part-time) will continue to work, however their hours will also be reduced.  

 

Under this scheme furloughed staff are not permitted to work for their employer, so please be aware that during this time there will be just one member of staff dealing with all ongoing work, and any incoming contact or queries.

 

The government scheme is in place until 31st May.  If it is extended we will review the situation and may extend these temporary staffing arrangements.

 

Whilst similar changes are being experienced by companies and individuals around the country, it is still unsettling for anyone affected.  The board of UK Ultimate would like to thank the staff for their hard work and flexibility throughout this time.  

 

Our board and staff also want to thank all UKU members for their support whilst we have been working, and continue to work through the impact on our events and programmes.  Like you, we are greatly looking forward to a time when we can all get back together to play Ultimate.

 

In the meantime, please follow the advice and stay at home.

 

---

 

24th March

WFDF Cancels or Postpones all World Championships over Next Six Months

 This morning, WFDF announced a decision to cancel or postpone all three of the WFDF World Ultimate Championships to be held over the next six months. This will at least affect the following:

• World Ultimate & Guts Championships, Netherlands, 11-18 July
• World Junior Ultimate Championships, Sweden, 18-25 July
• World Masters Ultimate Championships, Australia, 5-12 September

http://www.wfdf.org/news-media/news/press/2-official-communication/969-wfdf-cancels-or-postpones-all-world-championships-over-next-six-months

 

This is of course a huge blow for all the athletes, organisers and volunteers for whom these events would have been the culmination of months and years of hard work and dedication. 

 

As per the announcement, WFDF and the three Tournament Organising Committees are currently working through the details in order to return as much of the fees as possible to the players/teams.  

 

Also, WFDF is currently in consultation with the TOCs to discuss alternatives for the affected events (further details in their announcement). They will continue to evaluate what will be possible and will provide further information as soon as possible.  

 

As soon as we have more information we will be sharing that directly with the affected individuals.  You can also keep an eye on WFDF’s website for further news.

 

 

23rd March

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Advice - Stay at Home

We hope that you are safe and well.

 

Many members of the ultimate community are out doing critical work today.  On behalf of all UKU members and Ultimate players; a huge thank you.  We hope that you have what you need.  If you think we can help in any way, please let us know.

 

For the rest of us.  Please follow the advice and stay at home. 

 

We understand that some of you may want to go out throwing to try to keep active in this difficult time, but we would like to highlight that this involves the unavoidable aspect of sharing a disc and continues a level of non-essential social interaction. 

 

We love playing Ultimate as much as you do and throwing skills are an essential part of our sport, but bearing in mind government advice and the positive impact that staying at home could have, why not take this opportunity to build on other aspects of your fitness that are also key! There are lots of different resources out there at the moment, but here is a small selection of links that we’ve put together so that you can continue to keep fit within the comfort of your own home:

• This Girl Can - Home Exercises https://www.thisgirlcan.co.uk/activities/home-exercise/ 
• The Body Coach TV - P.E. with Joe (new 30 min videos every day - great for families) https://youtu.be/Rz0go1pTda8 
• Fitness Blender - Free Online Workout Videos https://www.fitnessblender.com/videos 
• NHS - Gym-Free Workouts https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/gym-free-workouts/ 
  
  

Also, please share your Ultimate specific home workouts with us! We’d love to see how you’re keeping fit at home with Ultimate in mind - simply tag @UKUltimate and use #UltimateAtHome so that everyone in the community can see and get involved. 

 

Why not tell VC Ultimate too! They want to know if you’re at home and doing your part to keep your community safe.  Post a picture of you exercising, working, cooking, playing board games – whatever you’re doing to keep yourself occupied – in your VC gear and they’ll send a surprise gift pack out to a winner every day until the end of March. Be sure to tag @VCUltimate and use #VCstayconnected to enter.

 

Following the recent cancellation of a number of upcoming UKU events (full details in our previous announcements published on the UKU website), we have been working on plans to refund team entry fees that have been paid to UK Ultimate so far.

 

We can now confirm that we will be processing full refunds for ALL team entry fees that have been paid for the following UKU outdoor events:

• Y Ddraig Goch
• Grey Towers of Durham

Should the following also be cancelled, we will fully refund entry fees for these UKU events as well:

• Nottingham Windfarm
• University Mixed Outdoor Nationals
• Junior Outdoor Nationals

 

We kindly ask that you please bear with us in this period, as we will not be able to refund all entry fees straight away. However, if you are an individual who has paid the team fee(s) out of your own pocket and are in urgent need of the cash, please contact us by emailing events@ukultimate.com and we will prioritise your refund. 

 

Alternatively, if your team/club would prefer to take your entry fee payment as credit towards a future UKU event, please let us know. This means that we will not refund you at this point, instead we will work with you to take it off one of your team entry fees in the future.  

 

Also, in response to those of you that have kindly been in contact with us asking about how UK Ultimate’s financial position will be affected by the situation - thank you for keeping us in your thoughts. This is still a work-in-progress, but here are some things we can say:

• This situation means that all usual sources of income for UK Ultimate have effectively stopped until further notice.
• We have always been quite careful about UKU reserves and so we have every reason to believe that UKU will still be here when this is done.
• We will have to make some adjustments to the way we work - for example staff members may reduce their hours for a while.  This is something we are discussing openly internally, but isn’t something we can appropriately share in any more detail today.

 

For people who have wondered if there is anything they can do to help:

• Thank you, and please do continue to be patient whilst we work through all the details.
• If you have detailed knowledge of the HMRC Job Retention Scheme announced on Friday, we’ve got a few questions that we haven’t been able to resolve so far - please email or call Si Hill.
• If your team/club is in a position to do so and would like to donate your team entry fee from the event(s) that you’ve entered so far this year, all donations will be gratefully received. Please just let us know by emailing events@ukultimate.com 
• If you’re able to renew your UKU membership for this year, despite the fact that few events may be happening this season, then that would be highly appreciated - UKU membership fees are one of the key contributors to UK Ultimate’s income and every little bit can help in this uncertain time. 
• If you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to contact us via admin@ukultimate.com but please bear in mind that we may not be able to get back to you right away. You can keep an eye out for further updates regarding Ultimate in the UK and COVID-19 on the UKU website and through the UKU Event Announcement Newsletter. 

 

 

---

 

19th March

April/May 2020 Club Outdoor Events - Cancellation Update

Following recent updates from the venue and taking into account the latest government advice, sadly we have to announce that the Grey Towers of Durham event, due to be held on 25th-26th April, is now cancelled. This is in addition to the recent announcement that all Tartan Tour events in Scotland will be cancelled, including the Glasgow Caledonia’s Call event that was previously planned to take place on 31st May.

 

We are currently waiting to hear back from the team organising London Moooxed. We anticipate that this event will also be cancelled, although please look out for confirmation of this in due course in the UKU Events Announcements Newsletter.

 

For now, we are remaining optimistic that Nottingham Windfarm 2020 may be able to go ahead. Of course, we’d love for Ultimate to resume as soon as possible, and fortunately our event partners are helping us to keep our bookings as planned despite it being unclear exactly how this will all look in a couple of months, so we are currently holding off on cancelling this event! However, should this change then we will update everyone as soon as we can. 

 

Also, thank you for your patience and understanding whilst we continue to monitor the situation. We will share as much information with you as we can throughout this uncertain time, so please keep an eye on the UKU Event Announcements Newsletter and the UKU website for all of our updates. 

 

---

 

18th March

University Men’s & Women’s Nationals 2020 - Cancelled

As the COVID-19 situation continues to develop, unfortunately University Men’s & Women’s Outdoor Nationals 2020 (4th-5th April) is now cancelled. 

 

BUCS will also announce this cancellation on their website - https://www.bucs.org.uk/. 

 

We will continue to provide updates about the events due to take place this year on an event-by-event basis for now. We will continue to monitor the situation closely over the coming weeks and we will update you as soon as we can. As a reminder, entries remain suspended until further notice. 

 

Keep an eye on the UKU website for all updates regarding COVID-19 and the UKU Events Announcement Newsletter for event-specific information.  

 

---

 

17th March

Update Statement re Coronavirus (COVID-19) 17th March 2020

On March 16th, the government announced that everyone should stop all non-essential travel and social contact.  Obviously we all love playing Ultimate very much, but we cannot see any situation where playing Ultimate is essential.

For that reason, unless and until there is a change or relevant clarification in official guidance, UK Ultimate’s position is that all Ultimate in the UK should now stop until further notice.    

So, further to our announcement yesterday 

• All Ultimate clubs should stop club training sessions
• All GB training is cancelled
• The UKU Level 1 Coaching Course on 21st March is cancelled

We will continue to provide updates about the events due to take place this year as soon as we can, and still on an event-by-event basis for now.  We do not know when the guidance will change; we do not have any more information that you do. Keep an eye out on the UKU Events Announcements Newsletter regarding each event’s individual status.

Please note that we have - exceptionally - sent this message on our Weekly Digest newsletter because that newsletter has the largest number of subscribers.  

 

---

 

16th March

Update Statement re Coronavirus (COVID-19) 16th March 2020

Given the developing situation it is clear that we will be making substantial changes to the 2020 outdoor season.  We are in contact with our tournament venues and other partners about our events and how to handle the impact. Please click here to read the full statement.

Events Update:

• Y Ddraig Goch (Cardiff) 2020 will not take place on 28-29 March.
• We are working with BUCS to clarify the plan re University Outdoor Nationals (Nottingham) on 4-5 April and will provide a further update later this week.
• We are not making any statements about other UKU Ranking Events today, except to say that we have temporarily suspended team entries to all UKU events.
• We will send further details about all of the above as soon as we can. Our small team has limited capacity to deal with large numbers of individual queries. Thanks for your patience and support.

 

GB teams:

• GB U20 team training sessions on 21-22 March and 28-29 March have been cancelled.

 

Coaching courses:

• The UKU Level 1 Coaching course on 21st March in Sheffield will still go ahead following relevant guidance. Participants will receive further information directly by email.

 

Club training sessions:

A number of clubs were in contact with us last week about whether they should continue to run club practices. 

• For the time being this is a decision each club will need to make for itself, taking into account all of the relevant guidance, and in particular emphasising to individuals within the club that they must take personal responsibility for making the right decision about whether to attend or not.
• Sport England issued this statement on 12th March which we think is relevant for club committees to read and think about: https://www.sportengland.org/news/coronavirus-information-sector

 

Announcement to confirm cancellation of Y Ddraig Goch 2020

Given the developing situation it is clear that we will be making substantial changes to the 2020 outdoor season.  We are in contact with our tournament venues and other partners about our events and how to handle the impact.

Today we are announcing that YDG 2020 (28-29 March) has been cancelled.

Please see our latest statement.  We will provide more information about YDG and other events as soon as we can over the coming days.  Thanks for your patience.

 

---

 

5th March

Update Statement re Coronavirus (COVID-19) 5th March 2020

UK Ultimate’s response to the ongoing situation with the coronavirus will be led by government advice to the general public and to sports organisations where it applies to our circumstances.  The situation is changing rapidly, and we may be required to make last minute changes to our plans.

We will issue further updates as and when it is appropriate.  Please read on for the rest of the statement.

 

General Comments

Current advice is that “there is presently no rationale to close or cancel sporting events”, but we make the following comments:

• Anyone with flu-like symptoms should avoid the risk of spreading their infection, whatever that infection may be, by staying at home and recovering;
• All participants and attendees should be up to date with latest government advice and take appropriate action as it applies to them; https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response
• You will already be aware of the importance of washing your hands, and should expect additional measures at sports venues that encourage or even mandate regular hand-washing and/or the use of hand-sanitiser, especially on arrival.

 

UK Ultimate-specific comments

We note the following points that are more specific to UKU events:

• Participants must respect that some people will prefer to avoid shaking-hands, high-5s, standing in a close huddle for a spirit circle or timeout.
• That said, players who decide to compete must accept that they will, at times, be in relatively close contact with opponents, especially their marker. This is not avoidable.
• Participants and attendees deciding to attend UKU events are expected to take responsibility for themselves - just like they do on the field. Be self-sufficient: as individuals or perhaps as a team.
• We are reviewing whether to put in place any steps to enable players to clean discs periodically.
• You should expect that competition schedules will be finalised even later than usual so that we are better able to adapt to teams dropping out.
• The detailed arrangements for our events vary. So for now at least, we will deal with the implications of any cancellations on a case-by-case basis.

 

---