Category: Discussion

UK and Ireland Ultimate Community Fundraiser for the Black Lives Matter Movement

Deep Space has taken the lead on fundraising for racial justice groups across the UK. Claire Baker explains why this cause is so important, with additional input from teammates Joanna Hamer, Leila Denniston, Matthew Hodgson, Miyen Ho and Robert White

The wave of protests across the world in the aftermath of George Floyd’s tragic death has brought issues of systematic racism to the forefront of many of our minds louder than ever before. Racism and racial inequity are systemic injustices not limited to the US; they pervade across the UK and Ireland as well. Despite our sport being built upon core values of respect and equality, particularly through the Spirit of the Game, the UK and Ireland ultimate community is not as diverse as the society we live in. Our sport isn’t always inclusive, and this has to change. 

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theShowGame podcast

Welcome to our new foray into podcasts! Sean Colfer interviewed Simon Hill, the UKU CEO, and they discussed a number of different topics. You can hear about:

  • Coronavirus and its impact (1:39)
  • EUCF thoughts (11:48)
  • Impact on the GB programmes for WUGC and World Games (16:45)
  • Positives to come from this? (19:20)
  • Black Lives Matter discussion (29:26)
  • EUCR-W and Nationals separation? (39:45)
  • UKU membership demographics (42:50)
  • Combining divisions to one Nationals – positive or negative (45:00)
  • Si’s call for teams to engage with schools (51:00)
  • BEST LINE: the top seven players Si would want in a must-score point (54:45)

We hope you enjoy, and if you have any feedback, suggestions or questions drop an email to showgameblog@gmail.com.

Devon Ultimate – a New Era

Sam Taylor demonstrates his passion for Ultimate in the South West and tells us about the vision that this community have created for Men’s Ultimate in their part of the country.

Devon Ultimate was established in 2004. To start with, it was a combination of students from Exeter and Plymouth universities. A local school, St. Peter’s, had already formed a team called AirBadgers a few years previous so some of the players from the newly-formed Devon team went to the school to help train and recruit the younger players. That connection led to an influx of young players that still continues today.

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Development Stagnation – A Discussion of Teams v Clubs

Mark Bignal delves into how he feels about the state of Development in the UK.

I’d like to start a well needed discussion about what I believe to be a factor limiting the development of the sport in the UK: how we are focusing too much on developing Ultimate teams, and missing out on the benefits of developing Ultimate clubs.

For clarity, I’ll be using the following definitions here:

Team – A team usually consists of one squad (sometimes two) and is only focused on providing a single type of opportunity: whether high, mid or low level competition, or even those for social players, beginners and juniors, etc.

Club – A club aims to create more than one type of opportunity for their player base.

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All-Stars are changing the conversation

Julia Dunn spoke to some of the women involved in the All-Star Ultimate Tour to discuss the effects the Tour is having on women and Women’s Ultimate around the world.

Fifteen female athletes from all parts of the United States, Japan, Canada and Australia recently undertook a trip of a lifetime, travelling over 4500 miles to play nine elite club teams in cities across the United States. The All-Star Ultimate Tour just wrapped up its second year after being founded to address the gender gap in media coverage, and has the goal of promoting the visibility of women in Ultimate. The women who made the Tour, selected based on an application, were the leaders on their respective college teams, played each other as adversaries on the field, and came together to showcase elite Women’s Ultimate. This project forms one of the many initiatives to promote Women’s Ultimate in the world, and has given female Ultimate players around the world a set of role models.

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VC Lookfly – An Interview with Steve Giguere

theShowGame had a quick chat with Steve Giguere of Lookfly fame. This post is sponsored by VC Lookfly.1437550218

As the only domestically based Ultimate shop and kit manufacturer, Lookfly have been a well-known brand to the UK Ultimate scene since their inception. They have grown and changed dramatically as a company, developing a specifically ethical focus at the core of their company. Despite their UK locality, and commitment to transparent and environmental practises, it is clear if you step onto an Ultimate field that Lookfly have faced competition from kit providers from Europe, the USA and beyond. Last year, Lookfly partnered with VC, who have over recent years become one of the largest Ultimate brands and kit providers in the USA. We spoke to Steve Giguere, founder of Lookfly and now Director of VC Europe to discuss the changes this has brought about, what it means for the future of Lookfly and for Ultimate apparel in the UK. Continue reading “VC Lookfly – An Interview with Steve Giguere”