Your weekly ultimate news!
May 26, 2020 by in News with 0 comments
Welcome to Opening Pull, your weekly wrap-up of the previous week in ultimate. We’ve gathered the news you need to know and highlights you need to see, and we’ll let you know what’s coming up in the next week.
Live ultimate is on pause for the time being, without a clear end to the shutdown in sight, as the global community combats the spread of COVID-19. For more details, including a timeline, see The Latest on the Coronavirus Impact on Ultimate.
North Carolina’s Anne Worth, Pittsburgh’s Michael Ing Win 2020 Callahan Award
North Carolina’s Anne Worth and Pittsburgh’s Michael Ing were selected by their peers as the 2020 Callahan Award winners. The duo, each having completed their fifth year, are accomplished players with Ultiworld award honors, Team USA selections, and club success. They are the 49th and 50th Callahan Award winners and were presented their award during our live Callahan Award shows.
Congratulations to both Anne and Michael!
WUGC and Masters Worlds Postponed, WJUC Canceled
The World Flying Disc Federation had plenty of news to announce following the Memorial Day weekend holiday: the World Junior Ultimate Championships have been canceled, while the World Ultimate and Guts Championships have been moved to July 2021, and the Masters Worlds Championships have been moved to September 2021.
With only a two-year cycle, there wasn’t much space in the calendar for WJUC to be moved back. There were also health and safety concerns, particularly dealing with minors. The next WJUC will remain scheduled for 2022.
After the Olympics were moved, it opened up for space in the calendar to reschedule WUGC. The tournament is still slated to take place in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, though WFDF says costs will be increased by €150 per player. A decision about whether or not to move forward with the event will be made by July 15, 2020, pending team interest in next year’s event, with a final decision coming by December 2020.
Masters Worlds has been moved to September 5-11, 2021, on the Gold Coast in Australia.
AUDL Has Potential Return Format
The AUDL owners approved a plan that calls for a modified league competition structure that could start as soon as early July. The new format puts the league into mostly-regional groupings of three or four teams, which would serve as playoff qualifiers. While the date of July 3rd has been floated as a season start date, it has been made clear that league has no firm plan and is awaiting for conditions to be safe enough for competition. Currently, teams are unable to even practice.
CUCs and Other Canadian Competition Canceled
The Canadian Ultimate Championships, and all other Ultimate Canada in-person competition up until August 31, 2020, have been canceled. There’s no hard date on when Ultimate Canada will announce the plans beyond that date, as they await additional information and progress regarding the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis.