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
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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.
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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 [email protected]) and Canberra Ultimate’s Development Officer
Hannah Monty (04252 30394 or [email protected]).
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.