WFDF announces results of elections to the Athletes’ Commission – Ali Smith from Great Britain to chair the Commission and serve as Board member

23 July 2018

WFDF is pleased to announce the results of the 2018 elections to its Athletes` Commission, where Liam Grant (IRL), Davide Morri (ITA) and Véronique Riopel (CAN) were chosen out of a field of four candidates. The election voters were the athletes participating in the WFDF 2018 World Ultimate Club Championships that concluded on Saturday 21 July in Cincinnati, USA. The three were chosen to serve on the Athletes’ Commission for a term running from 2018 to 2022.

They join the three incumbent members of the Athletes’ Commission who were elected at the WFDF 2016 World Ultimate and Guts Championships (WUGC) in London, Great Britain: Felix Angue (PHI), Jon MacNaughton (AUS), and Alison Smith (GBR). The Commission is now composed of six elected members featuring two female and four male Commission members. The WFDF Board will appoint additional members to the Commission to reflect the principles of continental representation and gender equality.

The new Commission chairperson, who also will represent the Athletes on the WFDF Board of Directors, is Ali Smith (GBR), who commented on her election by the peers: “I am very happy to be elected as Chair of the WFDF Athletes Commission. There are exciting and possibly challenging times ahead for disc sports and I believe the Athlete’s voice is more important than ever. I look forward to working alongside the fantastic athletes we have on the Commission, and I’m excited to see what we can achieve together.”

“WFDF’s administration always has put great emphasis on the opinion of the athletes by conducting event participant surveys after each major event and taking into consideration Athletes’ feedback within its decision-making processes, in addition to having several of our board members still be active athletes,” stated WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch. “We are pleased to see that this years’ elections have continued to hold WFDF completely in line with the recently issued IOC guidelines relating to the creation of an IF athletes’ commission and will appoint additional members accordingly.”

WFDF Athletes’ Commission member and election delegate John MacNaughton (AUS) added: “The WFDF Athletes Commission was formed in 2014 to ensure that the playing community has a voice in the activities and decisions of the WFDF Board. With four-year terms, this is the first time that AC members have concluded full terms, and it's encouraging to see both new nominations and members standing for re-election. As the sport continues to grow, it's vital that we continue to value the perspectives of our playing community. We thank the many players at WUCC 2018 who voted in this election and look forward to the input we will see from the new AC, from here until the next elections at WUC 2020.”

Latest WFDF Communiques

WFDF is pleased to announce that the WFDF 2019 All Africa Ultimate Championships (AAUC 2019) will be staged in Johannesburg, South Africafrom Friday 14th to Monday 17th June, 2019 at the East Rand Polo Club.

AAUC will contest the mixed division and expects over 10 national/ club teams from around the Continent to participate.

WFDF is pleased to announce that the WFDF 2019 Pan American Ultimate Championships (PAUC) will be hosted at the Sarasota Polo Club in Florida, USA from Sunday 3rd November to Friday 8th November, 2019. PAUC will feature national and club Ultimate teams in the Men’s, Women’s and Mixed divisions, with this tournament also expecting to host master men’s, master Women’s and Master mixed divisions based on interest from teams.The Tournament Organizing Committee (TOC) expects over 50 national and club teams from the 13 member countries from North and South America.

With more participants, events and prizes than ever before, preparations are well underway for the 5th annual International Spirit of the Game Day (iSOTG Day) on Monday, December 3, 2018. This year, the day's theme is YOUTH -- how to ensure that the growing ranks of young athletes are informed and excited about Spirit of the Game in the sport of Ultimate.

Spirit of the Game is the mindful behavior practiced by Ultimate players worldwide in a mutual effort to protect the basic joy of play. It makes self-officiation possible, encourages personal responsibility, and encompasses attitudes and skills such as good knowledge of the rules, fair-mindedness, safe play, clear and calm communication, and a positive and respectful attitude.

WFDF is seeking enthusiastic, skilled and committed candidates for its 2018 Elections. Complete nominations must be received by the Nominating Committee by November 10, 2018. The target date for the start of the elections is November 15, 2018, with a targeted end date of December 15, 2018. Results should be announced by December 31, 2018 subject to confirmation of acceptance by elected candidates.

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) is pleased to announce that the WFDF 2019 World Overall Flying Disc Championships (WOC 2019) will be held from Monday 8th – Saturday 13th July 2019 in the city of Richmond, Virginia USA. It will be staged at various venues including the Bryan Park Disc Golf Course, Richmond Strikers West Creek Complex, Forest Hill Park, Henrico County’s Dorey Park and Gamble’s Hill Park.

The World Flying Disc Federation with greatest sadness had to take knowledge of the sudden passing of GAISF President Patrick Baumann at the Youth Olympic Games 2018 in Buenos Aires.

We are still under shock on the unexpected and sudden passing of our dear friend and GAISF President Patrick Baumann, IOC member in Switzerland.

"On behalf of the entire flying disc community, we mourn the sudden passing of Patrick", stated WFDF President Robert "Nob" Rauch. "He was not only dedicated to passionately promoting the sport of Basketball but played a great role in uniting all sports under the newly reconstituted GAISF. We send our heartfelt condolences to his beloved family and the entire Olympic".

WFDF Executive Director Volker Bernardi had the opportunity to attend the memorial held for Patrick Baumann on-site in Buenos Aires and signed the condolence book at the IOC Headquarters as a farewell to our friend Patrick Baumann.

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) is pleased to announce that it is putting out a request for proposals (RFP) for the WFDF Official Apparel partnership for the two year period from January 2019 through December 2020, with the potential to consider a four year term. The selected company will receive the exclusive opportunity to develop and sell selected official event merchandise and apparel for the WFDF Ultimate Championship events during that period.

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) is pleased to announce that it has opened a closed tender process for establishing a multi‐year WFDF Official Disc Supplier and Sponsorship for the period from January 2019 through December 2020. It has also established a new Approved Disc Policy which will go into effect beginning in January 2019, which can be found here.

WFDF is pleased to announce that the WFDF 2019 Asia Oceanic Beach Ultimate Championships, in association with BULA (AOBUC) will be hosted by the town of Shirahama, Japan, from Thursday 13th June to Sunday 16th June, 2019. The event will feature national and club Beach Ultimate teams in Men’s, Women’s, and Mixed divisions with a possibility of adding masters divisions if enough interest.

The successful bid came from the Japan Flying Disc Association (JFDA) supported by the Town of Shirahama. The organization is headed by Prof. Fumio Morooka, the President of JFDA, with Yuta Saito heading up the TOC.