Canberra Girls

Play Ultimate Frisbee

Project Plan v2.0

12 October 2018

2 Canberra Girls Play Ultimate Frisbee – Project Plan v2.0 - 12 October 2018

1. Overview

Project Description: ‘Canberra Girls Play Ultimate Frisbee’ (CGPUF) aims to deliver a fun

Ultimate Frisbee program in Canberra to girls aged 12-17, with particular appeal to young

women who have disengaged from 'mainstream' sports during 2019 and 2020.

Grant Request: Canberra Ultimate seeks $10,000 from the ACT Government’s Women

Sport and Recreation Participation and Leadership (WSRPL) Program to extend its part-time

Development Officer and enable the delivery of a distinctive Ultimate Frisbee program to

girls in Canberra, inspired by the current Girls Love Ultimate (GLU) project underway in

Victoria.

Evidence of Need: Women of all ages generally have lower physical participation rates than

men. Young women face a range of barriers including family support (including logistics,

transport, organisation, emotional support and financial support), peer support and

encouragement, time constraints, self-concept and confidence, and body image and

experience. Canberra Ultimate does not yet have a way of directly encouraging girls to learn

Ultimate Frisbee.

Fulfilling this Need: CGPUF provides a unique response. By providing a fun, non-

mainstream, low-cost social team sport, where all players commence with a limited existing

skill-base, in a convenient and safe environment, Canberra Ultimate aims to increase

participation in physical recreation by girls, and sustainably advance our sport in Canberra

from its current 48% female membership to over 50%.

Outcomes Sought: By the end of 2019 CGPUF will be established at four sites. At each site,

sessions will have attracted an average of 40 casual participants. In total, the program will

be reaching 160 girls by the end of the initial twelve months. We will review this, but

anticipate aiming to double these numbers to 320 by the end of the second year, when we

anticipate transitioning as part of the national roll out of GLU in late 2020.

3 Canberra Girls Play Ultimate Frisbee – Project Plan v2.0 - 12 October 2018

2. Contents

1. Overview ............................................................................................................................. 2

2. Contents.............................................................................................................................. 3

3. Background ......................................................................................................................... 4

What is Ultimate Frisbee? ...................................................................................................... 4

About Canberra Ultimate – ACT’s Peak Body for Ultimate Frisbee ....................................... 4

4. Strategic Alignment ............................................................................................................ 6

Alignment to Outcomes of the WSRPL Program .................................................................... 6

Alignment to Active 2020 ....................................................................................................... 6

Alignment to Canberra Ultimate Strategic Planning ............................................................. 6

5. Opportunities and Risks ...................................................................................................... 8

Ultimate has a Unique Appeal to Young Women .................................................................. 8

Girls Love Ultimate – Cutting Edge Victorian Program .......................................................... 8

Canberra Ultimate’s Untapped Capacity to Deliver............................................................... 9

2019 WSRPL Program Funding Availability ........................................................................... 9

6. Delivery ............................................................................................................................. 10

When and Where ................................................................................................................. 10

Benefits to Participation ...................................................................................................... 10

Goals and KPIs ...................................................................................................................... 11

Branding and Promotion ...................................................................................................... 11

7. Budget and Timelines ....................................................................................................... 13

Budget .................................................................................................................................. 13

Timelines .............................................................................................................................. 13

8. Contacts and Acknowledgements .................................................................................... 14

4 Canberra Girls Play Ultimate Frisbee – Project Plan v2.0 - 12 October 2018

3. Background

What is Ultimate Frisbee? Ultimate Frisbee, or Ultimate, is a non-contact team sport played with a flying disc (frisbee).

Ultimate Frisbee was developed in 1968 by a group of students at Columbia High School in

Maplewood, New Jersey. Although Ultimate Frisbee resembles many traditional sports in its

athletic requirements, it is unlike most sports due to its focus on self-officiating, even at the

highest levels of competition, including the World Games.

Points are scored by passing the disc to a teammate in the opposing end zone. Other basic

rules are that players must not take steps while holding the disc, and interceptions,

incomplete passes, and passes out of bounds are turnovers. Rain, wind, or occasionally

other adversities can make for a testing match with rapid turnovers, heightening the

excitement of play.

From its beginnings in the American counterculture of the late 1960s, Ultimate Frisbee has

resisted empowering any referee with rule enforcement. Instead it relies on the

sportspersonship of players and invokes "Spirit of the Game" to maintain fair play. Players

call their own fouls, and dispute a foul only when they genuinely believe it did not occur.

Ultimate Frisbee is played across the world in pickup games and by recreational, school,

club, professional, and national teams at various age levels and with open, women's, and

mixed divisions. Approximately 10,000 Australians play Ultimate Frisbee regularly, and

Australia routinely finishes in the top five in international competitions featuring up to 70

nations.

About Canberra Ultimate – ACT’s Peak Body for Ultimate Frisbee Ultimate Frisbee first arrived in the ACT in the late 1970s, with regular games being played

at the now University of Canberra campus as early as 1982 and ANU campus in 1984. The

ACT Ultimate Association (ACTUA) was formally incorporated as the sport’s peak body in

1999, and off-campus play was first established at O’Connor and then Dickson in 2001.

Canberra-based teams have competed in national and international competitions since

1999.

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In 2011-12, rebranding of ACTUA to Canberra Ultimate, constitutional reform, the launch of

a new website and registration system, and a second social league venue was established

south of the lake commenced a period of extended growth and development for the sport.

Improved records management shows that in October 2012 Canberra Ultimate had 555

regular players and approximately $38k in assets. By October 2018, improved delivery has

enabled us to grow to 1166 registered players. The Canberra Ultimate Board also sought

improved governance and model of financial growth with an eye to future employees and a

clubhouse, resulting in approximately $182k in assets.

As a non-mainstream sport that does not require specialised infrastructure (such as

goalposts or lined fields to assist officials), Ultimate in Canberra is advantaged in being able

to use almost any sporting venue in Canberra. As a non-traditional sport, Canberra Ultimate

is particularly motivated to ensure its legitimacy and move into the mainstream. As part of

this, Canberra Ultimate has successful gained and acquitted an ACT Sport and Recreation

Operational Program annually since 2013.

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4. Strategic Alignment

Alignment to Outcomes of the WSRPL Program Canberra Girls Play Ultimate Frisbee (CGPUF) aligns well with the WSRPL Program.

Specifically it:

will increase community awareness, access and participation by girls by the on-the-

ground delivery of activity opportunities for girls;

is a new initiative tailored to the needs of girls, where our sport currently lacks this;

fosters partnerships that help to understand and reach new cohorts of potential

female participants through engagement with high schools and the use of their

facilities;

will develop the skills of Canberra Ultimate’s female Development Officer and

coaches dedicated to women’s development by providing them with opportunities

for training and practical coaching; and

provides an opportunity for women to become coaches of girls in a supportive

environment.

Alignment to Active 2020 Canberra Girls Play Ultimate Frisbee (CGPUF) aligns well with Active 2020 Strategic Plan for

Sport and Active Recreation in the ACT and Region 2011-2020, particularly Priority Initiative

1 - Maximise community engagement (participation) in sport and active recreation.

Canberra Ultimate has grown substantially over the last six years. In October 2012, 555

Canberrans had played a Canberra Ultimate event in the preceding twelve months. By

October 2018 this number has doubled to 1166.

As a distinctively mixed sport (teams put four women and three men, or three women and

four men on the field) further success has been advancing towards our strategic goal of full

gender parity, with 224 women or 40% of our membership in 2012, growing to 564 women

or 48% of our membership in 2018.

The CGPUF project aims to continue this trajectory to foster this sustained growth.

Alignment to Canberra Ultimate Strategic Planning At the time of drafting, Canberra Ultimate is reviewing its 2016-2018 Strategic Plan and

developing its 2019-2021 Strategic Plan.

Canberra Ultimate’s 2016-2018 Strategic Plan had as a specific and ambitious goal

‘Developing and implementing a plan to bring women players to 50% of the membership’.

This recruitment and development plan was drafted in late 2016 and implementing on an ad

hoc basis, reflecting volunteer availability. As at October 2018, Canberra Ultimate reported

its membership as 48% female, a significant achievement moving up from the 40% base in

2012.

It is anticipated that the 2019-2021 Strategic Plan will reflect the ground-breaking work of

the Australian Ultimate League in making gender equity cut across all elements of the

7 Canberra Girls Play Ultimate Frisbee – Project Plan v2.0 - 12 October 2018

organisation’s strategy. Canberra Ultimate is also likely to seek to enhance its paid staffing

arrangements.

By giving girls the opportunity to develop their skills and confidence in a safe environment,

our Canberra Girls Play Ultimate Frisbee project prepares them to continue their playing

career in gender equity-based mixed local Ultimate competitions, or to transition along the

representative playing pathway and be part of ACT-based teams competing at the

Australian Ultimate Youth Championships (for under 18s), the Australian Ultimate u22

Championships, the Australian University Games and the Australian Ultimate

Championships.

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5. Opportunities and Risks

CGPUF takes advantage of four opportunities available to girls, Ultimate Frisbee and the ACT

Government in 2019 – the uniqueness of Ultimate, inspiration and guidance provided by the

Victorian ‘Girls Love Ultimate’ project, the additional capacity to deliver available to

Canberra Ultimate, and the availability of leveraging funds from the ACT Government

WSRPL Program. Each brings risks that Canberra Ultimate is confident can be ameliorated.

Ultimate has a Unique Appeal to Young Women Unlike many other sports, gender equity is largely the default mode for Ultimate. The sport

is played in the gender equity format at the highest level, the World Games, where teams

field either three men and four women or four men and three women during each point.

Weekly League Ultimate in Australia is almost 98% mixed.

Ultimate Frisbee is highly distinctive for being self-refereed. For young women, Ultimate’s

emphasis on the spirit of the game reduces the competitiveness of sport, provides

opportunities for social connection between equals (because everyone is a referee), and

advances conflict resolution and leadership skills.

As a non-mainstream sport, most girls aged 12-17 will come to their initial session with

some applicable skills to build on – for example fitness and field sense – but most

participants will have a similar low level of skill with throwing and catching a Frisbee. This

removes a significant barrier to girls starting a new sport – the feeling that other players are

already superior. Finally, throwing a Frisbee is just plain fun!

Girls Love Ultimate – Cutting Edge Victorian Program The Girl’s Love Ultimate (GLU) program draws heavily on Victoria’s earlier experience with

developing Ultimate for girls and women, successful overseas programs, and the latest

research on engaging with girls who are likely to drop out of sport, or already have.

There are limits to this opportunity. The Victorian Girl’s Love Ultimate program, which we

are inspired by, is presently half way through its three year development. However, as

9 Canberra Girls Play Ultimate Frisbee – Project Plan v2.0 - 12 October 2018

demonstrated in the attached Letter of Support, the GLU team are eager to share their

knowledge and experience with us.

Canberra Ultimate’s Untapped Capacity to Deliver In May 2018 Canberra Ultimate hired Ms Hannah Monty as a permanent Development

Officer to work three days a week to assist the volunteer Board in growing Ultimate through

youth development activities, establishing and coordinating a coaching cadre, and providing

administrative support to the Canberra Ultimate Board.

Significantly, Ms Monty is an inspiring young woman herself, having represented Australia in

2017 after only playing the game for two years. She is presently taking a break from her

studies of law to focus on working to advance Ultimate and

continue playing at the highest level.

Ms Monty came to the role as the current part-time NSW

Ultimate Development Officer, and has now relinquished that

role, providing potential capacity to Canberra Ultimate. She

is accredited to deliver the national Level 1 Coaching Course,

and has commenced doing so in Canberra. The Board has

judged Ms Monty’s work to date as highly successful and is

eager to expand her work.

Concurrently, the general upward trend of good governance

shown by Canberra Ultimate, reflected by all its key performance indicators over the last

decade, demonstrates the organisation as a ‘safe bet’ for grant funding. The current

Canberra Ultimate Board of three men and four women has a strong mix of professional and

sporting experience and enthusiasm.

2019 WSRPL Program Funding Availability Funding is sought from the WSRPL Program to give Canberra Ultimate the confidence to get

going on delivering to girls in 2019. We could sit back and wait for the Victorian GLU

program to be completed and ready to roll out in late 2020, but these leaves our needs

unfulfilled, misses opportunities, and most importantly, means that the current cohort of

girls won’t get access to Ultimate now!

Here’s the Victorians - this could be us!

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6. Delivery

CGPUF sessions are designed based on Ultimate’s understanding of successful program for

girls, and the latest research on engaging girls to participate in sport.

When and Where CGPUF is intended to be delivered in school sports halls and sheltered areas on netball and

basketball sized courts, after school on weekdays. This provides maximum opportunities for

girls to enter the program and maintain activity.

Playing indoors is the best and most welcoming environment for beginners, as wind can

make learning to throw a Frisbee difficult. Running CGPUF indoor means it is unaffected by

poor weather, increasing participation. The smaller space provides ease when teaching and

learning. No specific attire is required (eg cleats, bibs or uniforms), increasing general

access and reducing feelings of insecurity about how participants appear to others. Playing

indoor also reduces exposure to unwelcome outsiders and intrusions.

Canberra Ultimate has already engaged with a number of high schools with potential

interest in hosting the program. Venue access remains the highest priority and potential

risk to the program.

Benefits to Participation All CGPUF program participants will develop friendships, leadership skills and sports skills.

Opportuntities are provided locally, provide value for money, and will be held in the best

conditions to support initial Frisbee skill development – indoors.

CGPUF will address perceived barriers to sports participation for young girls – time, no one

to exercise with, and accessibility.

Time: CGPUL will run once per week, for 1.5 hours. By participating in the CGPUF

program, girls will receive their own Frisbee. This gives girls the skills and ability to

11 Canberra Girls Play Ultimate Frisbee – Project Plan v2.0 - 12 October 2018

increase their activity and confidence between sessions, by throwing the Frisbee

with a friend or parent in their local park, and grow their love for the activity.

No one to exercise with: CGPUF will provide a supportive, inclusive environment for

girls to experience the team sport of Ultimate, supported by the partner experience

of throwing a frisbee. CGPUF will build social networks with a common love for

Frisbee.

Accessibility: CGPUF is low cost – it requires no special clothing or equipment and

the staff time involved in 2019 is an investment from Canberra Ultimate and the

WSRPL Program.

In addition, the program will achieve engagement with the target group of 12-17 year old

girls through:

- non-competitive play

- casual commitments

- leadership growth

- personal development

- safe and secure

- social media engagement

- variety of skills and games

Goals and KPIs By the end of 2019 we will aim to be established at four sites, one per term. At each site,

we expect the sessions to attract an average of 40 casual participants (not all participants

will attend every session). In total, the program will be reading 160 girls by the end of the

initial twelve months. We will review this but anticipate aiming to double these numbers in

2020.

Our other measure of success relate to:

- retention and progression

- marketing effectiveness

- participant satisfaction

- coach development

We will evaluate and monitor each site the end of each term to facilitate continuous

program improvement, primarily through online surveys of participants.

Branding and Promotion As with other Canberra Ultimate activities, reflecting funding received through the SROP

program, ACT Government branding would be prominent on all materials. Indeed, our

demonstrating ACT Government support assists us in building confidence in the community

towards our non-mainstream sport.

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A dedicated www.canberraultiamte.com/girls website would be established, as would a

Facebook group. These sites would look to pass on ACT Sport and ACT Health messages

targeted to girls, and also respectfully link to the work of Girls Love Ultimate.

We would develop signage to be used when taking photos players with their certificates of

completion at the end of each term.

Canberra Ultimate’s existing network of players and parents would be heavily utilised to

promote the activity.

As noted above, we will need to exercise care in branding the program, to ensure we

respect the ongoing work of the Victorian GLU program, while positioning us to align with it

when it is ready for national rollout in late 2020.

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7. Budget and Timelines

Budget Canberra Ultimate is seeking a grant of $10,000 for 2019-20, and with the confidence this

would bring Canberra Ultimate is willing and able to absorb both half of the estimated cost,

and any additional costs that may arise.

The primary cost to the program is staffing, in terms of extending the hours of the existing

part-time development officer from three days to four days a week, and additional casual

coaches as required.

Venue costs would be negotiated with providers – early indications are that they may be

provided for free or at minimal cost. Session and promotional materials would be

appropriately adapted from the GLU.

The GLU program charges $10 a session or $25 for four sessions including a Frisbee (valued

at approximately $18). While fees can offset the cost of delivery, the primary driver is to

encourage participation (hence, a desire to keep fees low), while ensuring an appropriate

level of commitment (hence, not going too low, and ensuring a sense of good value for

money). Fees may be gradually increased from late 2020 onwards.

Estimated Expenditure 2019-2020 $ Estimated Income 2019-2020 $

Salary – extending Development

Officer from three to four days a

week, for two years.

$20,000 WSRPL Grant $10,000

Venue hire (estimated peak of

$500 per site per term) over

two years

$11,000 Participant fees (approximate –

and budgeted primarily to

offset venue costs)

$12,000

Materials production $600 Canberra Ultimate input $16,000

Discs - $18 per disc per new

player per year (160 x 2) plus

delivery etc.

$6,400

Total $38,000 Total $38,000

Timelines Project development occurred during August-October 2018, commencing with discussions

with Victoria Ultimate and concluding with the submission of a grant request under the

WSRPL program.

WSRPL program funding is anticipated to be announced in February 2019. If CU’s grant

request is successful, the project will commence with the extension of the CU Development

Officer’s hours.

14 Canberra Girls Play Ultimate Frisbee – Project Plan v2.0 - 12 October 2018

Immediate priorities will be knowledge transfer from the GLU program, and identification of

preferred sites and booking of venues to commence in Terms 2, 3, 4 and Term 1 2020.

The two year milestone for the project would align with the national roll out of the GLU,

providing the impetus for long term sustainability.

Task/Event Estimated

Commencement

Estimated

Completion

Project Development August 2018 October 2018

WSRPL Program Grant Announcement February 2018 February 2018

Site and venue identification February 2019 March 2019

Delivery of Level 1 Coaching Course March 2019 March 2019

Delivery for Term 2 at Site 1 April 2019 June 2019

Review and Evaluation of Term 2 June 2019 July 2019

Delivery for Term 3 at Sites 1 and 2 July 2019 September 2019

Review and Evaluation of Term 3 September 2019 October 2019

Delivery of Level 1 Coaching Course October 2019 October 2019

Delivery for Term 4 at Site 1, 2 and 3 October 2019 December 2019

Review and Evaluation of 2019

Preparation of 2020 plan

December 2019 January 2019

Continue delivery in 2020 January 2020 December 2020

Alignment with anticipated national rollout of GLU October 2020 January 2021

Transition to sustained delivery January 2021 n/a

8. Contacts and Acknowledgements

This project plan was developed by the President of Canberra Ultimate, Jason de Rooy (0422

45054 or president@canberraultimate.com) and Canberra Ultimate’s Development Officer

Hannah Monty (04252 30394 or development@canberraultimate.com).

For queries or to suggest potential amendments, please contact Jason. We are here to learn

and eager to advance Ultimate in Canberra in any way.

Thanks go to Dan Rule of Ultimate Australia (and formerly of Ultimate Victoria) and Simon

Talbot, Program Manager, Girls Love Ultimate for their enthusiastic encouragement and

wise support, and to Dougal Reed of ACT Sport and Recreation for brainstorming assistance.