Enough teams have committed to a 2021 event to move to the next stage of rescheduling.
July 21, 2020 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 0 comments
The World Flying Disc Federation is moving forward with plans to reschedule the 2020 World Championships for next summer, according to WFDF organizers.
The large majority of teams that were signed up for the event opted in for next year, according to an email sent last week from WFDF Event Manager Karina Woldt to national ultimate federations.
“WFDF and the WUGC [tournament organizing committee] have been working diligently to deal with the complicated issues around moving WUGC to 2021,” said WFDF Vice President Brian Gisel. “With 90 teams responding positively about attending a postponed event, the minimum threshold to move forward has been reached. If we can conclude negotiations of a new contract with the TOC on mutually acceptable terms, plans will be able to move forward to hold WUGC in July 2021.”
Budget issues have been a sticking point. The TOC estimated a substantially higher number of teams and players in their original 2020 WUGC budget than actually signed up, and, well before July, the organizing committee was over-budget on staff salaries and legal expenditures by 26%. The 2021 estimated budget released by WFDF shows substantial cuts to many line items to keep additional player costs down.
The player fee is estimated to increase by €142 ($160) for the 2021 event, with other committed funds rolling forward, though the exact amount will depend on the number of teams and players that attend and the final negotiated contract. No further payments will be required until early 2021 given the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and whether large international events will be possible by next summer.
WFDF is expected to make an announcement about the event in the coming weeks, with a final decision about whether or not to move forward coming by late December.
