A message from the SOTG Committee: Spirit at University competition so far this season

Please remember this guiding principle from the WFDF Rules of Ultimate, 1.4:

“Highly competitive play is encouraged, but should never sacrifice the mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed-upon rules of the game, player safety or the basic joy of play.”

Spirit of the Game is an essential part of the way Ultimate is is played. We are seeing increased demand (especially from Uni players) for more understanding / visibility on what engagement occurs when people feel a team needs to work on their SOTG. We are seeing ongoing impacts of Covid-19 in relation to lost experience and understanding in Uni clubs - in part this is driving higher engagement from the SOTG committee with an emphasis on supporting those with triggering scores or comments. We have recently asked Uni clubs to have Spirit Captains - as part of this process we encourage all players to develop better knowledge and understanding. It is clear that this process will require time and so we expect to see more experienced teams in a club supporting their lower seeded and less experienced teams.

In the last two weeks we have been in touch with 7 teams who have had triggering scores or comments. If you have had an email, please ensure your reply to confirm receipt of our email. Triggering comments include those with reference to ‘dangerous play’ which automatically triggers the SOTG Committee’s attention and is addressed on a case-by-case basis. With Men’s Indoor Regionals this weekend and Women’s following soon after, please prioritise safety - being involved in an injury, whether you are the injured party or not, is a horrible experience.