According to a press release, USA Ultimate will move forward with the Triple Crown Tour, but have made "important adjustments," including a reduction of required tournaments for Pro Flight teams from three to two and a new board of elite players elected to have much more input into the TCT structure.
January 15, 2013 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 56 comments
On the heels of a meeting last week with representatives from top teams who signed letters of intent to join the NexGen league in addition to a biannual board meeting, USA Ultimate issued a statement about the Triple Crown Tour late tonight.
According to the statement, USAU will continue with the Triple Crown Tour, but have made “important adjustments,” including a reduction of required tournaments for Pro Flight teams from three to two.
“We remain committed to implementing future adjustments and modifications to the TCT in 2014 and beyond in order to strike the right balance between giving teams a great experience and growing the sport by achieving the number one goal in our new strategic plan: increasing the visibility of Ultimate,” Mike Payne, President of the USAU Board of Directors, said in the statement.
USAU will also give elite teams more input into the TCT structure going forward. From the press release:
[quote]Effective immediately, we will create new committee structures to ensure that our top athletes and teams have an opportunity to provide direct feedback and advice into the TCT and its elements. We want to assure the athletes and teams that they will have continual input into decisions regarding the TCT. As part of an ongoing process, we are also restructuring the composition of our board over the next two years to reserve seats for elite athletes, to be elected by fellow elite athletes. We recognize that many of these athletes have made tremendous commitments and sacrifices over the course of many years to their teams, communities and the sport of Ultimate, and we want them sitting at the table with us, giving a voice and representation to their peers for important decisions about the sport. [/quote]
These changes appear to be directly in response to pressure from pro and elite flight men’s teams, who balked at the increased cost and length of the regular season.
Additionally, the board reaffirmed their commitment to gender equity, and will keep the TCT structure, as written, for the Mixed and Women’s divisions. They did note that if outside broadcast partners demand more exposure for the men’s division at showcase events, they “intend to supplement that exposure with additional partners interested in providing video or streaming coverage of the other divisions.”
You can read the entire press release on USA Ultimate’s website. We will have further details soon as we speak with USA Ultimate, elite teams, NexGen, and other interested parties.
