AFDA Annual Report 2007

Australian Flying Disc Association I nc.

PO Box 269 phone 0405 188 599 St Leonards NSW 1590 web www.afda.com Australia email [email protected]

R e c o g n i s e d b y t h e A u s t r a l i a n S p o r t s C o m m i s s i o n

Australian Flying Disc Association Inc.

Annual Report 2007 President’s Report ......................................................................................................................2

Chief Executive...........................................................................................................................2

Finance.......................................................................................................................................4

Tasmania - TUA .........................................................................................................................5

Queensland - QUDA...................................................................................................................7

South Australia - SAFDA ............................................................................................................8

Victoria - VFDA...........................................................................................................................9

Western Australia - WAFDA .....................................................................................................10

New South Wales - UFNSW .....................................................................................................12

Administration...........................................................................................................................15

High Performance and Major Events ........................................................................................16

Juniors......................................................................................................................................17

Universities...............................................................................................................................18

Coaching ..................................................................................................................................19

Newsletter ................................................................................................................................20

Disc Golf...................................................................................................................................20

Insurance and Member Compassionate Fund ..........................................................................21

Awards .....................................................................................................................................22

Governance..............................................................................................................................23

Australian Flying Disc Association I nc


President’s Report Having survived the hurly-burly of World Clubs in 2006, there was no respite for the AFDA in 2007. With increased financial prosperity gained from hosting World Clubs, the AFDA was able to dramatically increase its staffing levels in 2007. The position of finance officer (approximately four hours per week) was expanded to a three day per week role now including national teams’ administration and development work. After interviewing a number of candidates, Simon Wood was appointed to the re-titled Finance and Development Officer (FDO) role in November. Simon’s experience, both as the owner-operator of a sporting business, and as an Ultimate administrator, makes him an invaluable addition to the AFDA. The AFDA would like to thank Emily Shuter, who has performed the role of Finance Officer for the past two years, for her excellent efforts and we wish her luck into the future. In other staffing news, Jonathan Potts was re-appointed as CEO (approximately five to ten hours per week). In September, Karen Parker was appointed on an interim basis to the role of coaching administrator. It is envisaged that this work will be subsumed into the FDO role once Simon has become familiar with his other responsibilities. 2007 was the year of schools Ultimate, with youth nationals being held in Sydney in July. 2008 will again see a focus on youth Ultimate as more and more junior players enter the sport. The AFDA Board had a face to face meeting in June in Sydney and a conference with key administrators from each of the states in Melbourne in November. In line with feedback from the conference, the AFDA will look to develop resources to grow the sport and undertake an upgrade of the AFDA website and registration system. 2007 also marked the start of efforts to improve communication and information sharing both within the AFDA and with state associations. The Document Management System purchased by the AFDA in December will go a long way to meeting these goals and will be useful in 2008 as we set about the process of drafting the next four year strategic plan. 2007 also saw the start of the 2008 World’s campaign, with selection camps being held in Sydney. Squads were chosen for the open, women’s, mixed and masters’ teams. In December. a representative team attended the first ever Asia Oceanic Ultimate Championships in Kaohsuing, Taiwan winning silver. The week after, representative teams attended the World Beach Ultimate Championships in Brazil, with the women’s team winning bronze and spirit, and the open team taking out gold. It is an incredible effort to win gold at an international event and the open team should be congratulated as the first Australian team ever to do so. 2008 will bring a frenzy of activity as preparations for WUGC in Vancouver go into full swing. These activities, as well as the implementation of changes to the coaching course, IT upgrades and increasing the organisations resources will keep many of our members occupied. A heartfelt thank you goes out to the AFDA board, executive officers and all members who have volunteered their time to help grow our sport in 2007. I look forward to working with everyone again in 2008. Mel Gangemi AFDA President

Chief Executive



The AFDA broke new ground in 2007. Here’s a selection of key firsts:

• Appointed a permanent three-days-a-week Finance and Development Officer • Sent representative teams to non-World Champs events • Hosted two National Youth Ultimate Conferences • Completed a handbook for Ultimate for ASC Active After School Care • Instituted qualifying events for Mixed Nationals • Developed and applied a sophisticated appointment process for national team selectors

and other key staff • Ensured a strong balance sheet, even without taking into account sponsorship proceeds

of WUCC2006. We are now spending a significant portion of our budget on wages. We’re an ambitious organisation, and we have a bit of catch-up work to do in the first half of 2008 before we can tackle new services for our members. In addition, we have continued to deliver and improve strong programmes in the following areas:

• Packed national event calendar including Regionals, Nationals, Youth Nationals, Mixed Nationals, and NUFL.

• Start of another WUGC campaign, involving hundreds of elite players and support staff • Renewed sponsorship agreement with ActiveSportz/Gaia for another two years. • Coaching courses, youth and uni development

Our membership at the end of 2007 hovered around 3400, representing some 10% growth on the 2006 figure. Hosting WUCC2006 has secured our medium-term financial future, and the Board has been discussing ways of converting that capital into development of our sport. We need not only ideas, but people willing to put those ideas into effect to create something better. We’ve identified that improving our IT resources is one of the best ways of improving recruitment and retention and providing better services to our members, so we’ll be looking towards putting significant capital into new initiatives for the website and associated resources. Another key focus for me in 2008 will be developing our strategic plan, and integrating that planning into our daily operations. And as our staffing and volunteer base grows, we need to be more sophisticated in how we recruit, retain, reward and manage that personnel. 2008 will no doubt be a successful year across the board, dominated by the impending success of our teams in Vancouver. Jonathan Potts, Chief Executive Officer.



Finance 2007 was a highly successful year in the development of the Association’s finances. Two significant activities boosted our income through the year, while our expenditure remained largely consistent with previous years. Income – EBF: The Event Based Fees system (EBF), introduced in 2005, has now become well established within the Ultimate administrative scene. It was estimated that the Association would collect $83,000 in fees from the members in 2007, this came in at $84,978. Significant however was our pursuit of EBFs collected by leagues, tournaments and affiliates in previous years that had yet to be passed on to the Association. We estimated there was approximately $10,000 owed to us from previous years, but we able to collect $30,463. That we have been able to collect these past moneys and that the EBF system has run smoothly through they years is thanks mostly to the efforts of our Financial Officer Emily Shuter. I thank her for her efforts. I should also acknowledge the efforts of my fellow Treasurers in the state and territory associations and their league and tournament organisers in supporting the scheme. Income – WUCC2006: The second significant item in terms of income has been the ongoing conclusion of the financials for the World Ultimate Club Championships 2006, which the AFDA backed. It is worth remembering the great risk the Association took on in backing an event of that size, and of course the success of the event has been well reported. Thanks to the effort and commitment of all involved, WUCC2006 has provided a dividend of $100,000 during the 2007 year to the national association, the profit for the tournament was $138,791 and once the remaining commercial and legal obligations are finalised the remaining balance will be transferred to the AFDA. This income will enable a degree of financial security the Association has never had. I thank in particular Mel Gangemi and the WUCC2006 Board, and the TD and ATD and staff and volunteers, along with everyone involved in the event for their outstanding effort. Expenditure: Expenditure through 2007 remained relatively similar to 2006 and thus on budget. The Association held a national Juniors conference at a cost of $525 which had not been budgeted for, but this cost was made up via underspending in other areas, particularly the national Administrators conference and the Newsletter. The major areas of expenditure for the Association in 2007 remained Insurance requirements and the Member Compassionate Fund ($34,754) and wages ($26,003). Summary: In the last year the Association generated $223,524 in income and expended $79,818. Leaving it with a surplus for the 2007 financial year of $143,706. For comparison, in 2007 income was $89,100 and expenditure $80,444. for a surplus of $8656. The Future: This year the Association will face the challenge of making effective use of its new financial security. Like some State and Territory associations, having money in the bank raises the question of how to use it in an effective, sustainable and transparent manner. The Board is examining significant expenditure in terms of improving our ICT and coaching/development/promotional resources though the year. We are also committing significant administrative resources in the lead up to the World Championships in Vancouver in August 2008, where we hope to send our best prepared teams ever.



With the expansion of the Financial Officer role to encompass other development and administrative duties (extending weekly hours from 8 to 24 per week - welcome aboard here to Simon ‘Woodie’ Wood), our wages bill will increase significantly in 2008. Members should see significantly improved service levels in terms of day-to-day administration and the expansion of our sport as a result. John Hempel, AFDA Treasurer.

Tasmania - TUA The highlights of 2007 have been numerous including hosting the Southern Australian Ultimate Championships, the first Tasmanian women’s team to attend nationals, the Tiggers qualifying for Nationals in a competitive region, the success of the elite Tasmanian women Ultimate players, the further development of two divisions and the growth in our social league, the University of Tasmania’s success at AUG, the continued growth of the Two-Hat and the introduction of more Tasmanian juniors to the sport through the inaugural Gala Day. Hobart Leagues 2007 has seen further consolidation in Ultimate in Hobart. Social leagues continued outdoors in Autumn and indoors for Winter League. Summer League saw the last season of weekend A-League games in Hobart (which complemented the weekday evening B-League games). While the departure of A-League may be seen as a backward step, the Spring league ran two separate divisions on the one evening (social and div 1). This format produced enough interest for 6 teams in each division, and problems finding enough field space (a much more satisfying problem to deal with than problems finding sufficient players). This year saw some recycled league organisers coming back for more (thanks to Aaron Pinkus, Matt Smith, Dave Cooke and Basil van Riet) and some new league organisers, Jason de Puit and Masni Bennett, who deserve much credit for successfully introducing two divisions to Monday evening games. Thanks to Jeff Dunn for processing results for TUA leagues. Thanks also to all the new players for coming along to TUA social leagues to the old players for coming back for more! Two-Hat Thanks to Matt Smith for directing his second highly successful Two-Hat Tournament. Two-Hat IX was forced to move fields by sheer weight of player numbers with a record breaking 67 players and 7 teams playing back at Wentworth Park on Hobart’s eastern shore. Two-Hat IX had excellent support from interstate players with our first players from Newcastle and Brisbane, as well as good support from players from Melbourne and Sydney. Thanks to the following people for helping Matt to run the tournament: Alysia Cullen; Shavawn Donoghue; Masni Bennet; Helena Bilton; Joe Boyer; John Kristensen and James Bowe. Southern Australian Ultimate Championships The TUA hosted a very successful Southern Australian Ultimate Championships in March 2007 featuring 6 Open teams and 5 women’s teams, with 9 teams travelling from South Australia and Victoria to attend. This tournament was the largest tournament ever held in Tasmania, eclipsing both the famous Two-Hat and the Australian Championships, last held in Tasmania in 1986 and 1989. The Southern Australian Ultimate Championships featured the first Tasmanian women’s Ultimate team, Bush, who qualified for nationals at their first attempt, finishing 4th at this tournament and winning the spirit prize in their first tournament. The Tassie Tiggers also qualified for nationals by finishing in 5th place and securing a wild card. Both teams finished above their seedings at this tournament. Thanks to Ash Martens for putting her hand up and



running this tournament so successfully, and to Ash’s band of helpers (Matt Smith, Jeff Dunn, Chucky Wall, Mike Baker, Aaron Just, Charlie Prevost and Paolo). Australian Ultimate Championships Having qualified for Nationals at home, the Tassie teams only had to travel across Bass Strait once in 2007 to Nationals in Melbourne, where Bush finished a creditable 11th place (seeded 13th) and the Tassie Tiggers finished in 16th place. The Tiggers also reclaimed the coveted Spirit prize at Nationals, last won by the Tiggers in 2003. Thanks to Tiggers captain John Kristensen and Bush co-captains Shavawn Donoghue and Ash Martens for organising these teams. Australian Mixed Ultimate Championships A Tasmanian team, LOG!, captained by Shavawn Donoghue travelled to Sydney for Mixed Nationals in October 2007 and finished in a creditable 15th place in this increasingly competitive tournament. University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania Ultimate Frisbee Club again sent a team to the Australian University Games. This team was seeded 7th and improved on this seeding to finish in 5th place, the highest ranking for a Tasmanian team at a National tournament. Thanks to captain Tania King for organising this team and congratulation to Tania and Ash Martens who were both selected on the 2007 Green and Gold Merit Team. The University also entered a team (based on their successful AUG team) in Division 1 of Spring League. Elite Players In July 2007, Shavawn Donoghue, Kate Godber, Ash Martens and Tania King were selected for the Women’s National Training camp and Shavawn Donoghue, and Tania King played for Canberra and Kate Godber and Ash Martens for Sultry in the National Ultimate Frisbee League (NUFL) in 2007. Ashley Button played NUFL in the Open competition for Heads of State. Ex-Tasmanian men, Mike Baker, Ian Warren and Tom Caldwell were selected for the first Men’s National Training camp. These camps and leagues were the first step in the process of selecting Australian teams for World Championships in 2008. The next cut was the announcement of the Australian squads in October 2007, which saw Shavawn Donoghue, Ash Martens and Tania King and ex-Tasmanian Mike Baker all selected. Schools development Tania King initiated the first Gala Day held in Tasmania in November 2007, featuring Ultimate players from 5 Tasmanian High Schools and a band of TUA volunteer helpers. In addition to this gala day, Tasmanian Ultimate players helped run coaching sessions at Collegiate and Rosetta High School during the year. The TUA was sorry to see Tania return to Sydney at the end of 2007 chasing employment opportunities, thank her for her efforts on behalf of the TUA and wish her well with her continuing Ultimate career. Administration The TUA has strengthened its financial position thanks to the work of Shavawn Donoghue as treasurer and due to the number of well run TUA tournaments and leagues throughout the year. This puts the TUA in a strong position to continue development of the sport, by supporting junior players, women’s development, elite development and increasing the Ultimate playing opportunities in Hobart, ranging from social to competitive. In addition, 2007 saw the TUA’s first successful grant application with $2100 awarded to spend on equipment under the federal government’s Volunteer Small Equipment Grant scheme.



Finally, I would like to thank all the members of the TUA committee, and others who attended TUA committee meetings, for helping to make things happen. In particular I would like to thank Treasurer Shavawn Donoghue for her continued work and John Kristensen and Joe Boyer for stepping up into executive positions. I look forward to seeing more people stepping up to help run Ultimate in Tasmania in 2008. Jemery Day TUA President

Queensland - QUDA 2007 was a pretty exciting year for Queensland Ultimate – there’s too much to write about so lets consider a few highlights. Leagues and Locales The Brisbane Premier League grew to six teams during 2007, but remains the most significant Open league in the country outside of NUFL. The Yeronga Mixed League has grown to the limit of its field-space and more will be sought next year. The Brisbane Women’s League continues to introduce new women to Ultimate every season. And the UQ League remains the historic backbone of Ultimate in Brisbane. A new League was started at Capalaba on Brisbane’s eastside, and regular play started on the Gold Coast. Play in Townsville continued. Tournaments Tournament play was a highlight for 2007, with sixteen teams participating in the biggest Halibut ever. Well done to all those who visited us from interstate – we hope to see you again in 2008 when we hope to host Mixed Nationals … and of course have you all again for Halibut. Northern Regionals was also the largest its ever been … and of course Australian University Games was held on the Gold Coast and featured 20 teams, leaving Ultimate the largest University sport in the country! Excitingly too, it looks like Australian University Sport are planning to return to the Gold Coast every second year – a big coup for us. A range of local tournaments were also held – Lovefest, Fight the Phat, Badman’s Birthday Bash (over the border, but we call it ours) Disc Golf

QUDA's support of disc golf included the purchase of 9 portable baskets that were used for a

series of events in local parks throughout the year. At the end of the year, a new 9-hole basket

course was installed at Yeronga, Brisbane's first permanent course. Representation Queensland teams have had one of their best years ever in terms of success at major events. Following their stellar efforts in Perth, Bootius Maximus conquered all at Sydney to become Australian Mixed Ultimate Championships. Meanwhile, the UQ Lovers broke through to become Australian University Champions at AUGs on the Gold Coast. Meanwhile, Firestorm, Thor, Sultry, the QUTies, GU-nit and the Lounge Lizards also represented northern Ultimate with pride and beauty at Nationals, NUFL, Mixed Nats and AUGs.



Queensland players also had a major role in Australia’s success at the World Beach Ultimate Championships in Brazil. Administration With all this on field success, 2007 seemed a bit of a tougher year on the administrative side in Queensland – probably everyone was too busy playing to get keen on doing anything new off-field. QUDA was successful in furthering its funding through the Queensland Government. The big exception to this has been the single-handed renewal of Ultimate at Griffith University on the Gold Coast, including the arrival of Gold Coast Pickup on Sundays. Oh yeah, and then there’s the new QUDA website! And the QUDA Bash and awards night was a great way to finish up the year …hmmm, maybe lots of stuff did get happening!?! Jason de Rooy for Dustin Czok QUDA President

South Australia - SAFDA 2007 was a year that successfully continued the transformation of SAFDA. We continued with the policy of high level competition and training for nationals and an increase in the competitiveness of the playing membership. SAFDA has continued to be more efficient, professional, accountable and is able to focus on the strategic issues. We are concentrating on supporting our successful and growing clubs. Information Since the beginning of 2006 to the present the SAFDA board has been producing a monthly E-news that keeps the membership informed about issues such as board decision, events calendar and tournament reports. This is also complemented by the new established web-site that is informative AND current. Governance SAFDA has now been running its clubs policy since late 2005. Whilst the income from the clubs is equivalent to that from the membership in previous years, the administration is considerably easier. Further more, we now how 6 additional boards (of the clubs) working towards developing flying disc sports. It has been a HUGE success. Clubs also benefit from the following:

1. Access to the competitive league. 2. Apply for grants. 3. Being a member of the SAFDA congress and thus contributing towards the strategic

direction of SAFDA. 4. Clubs can now borrow SAFDA assets such shade tents, field lines, etc. 5. (Most importantly) Clubs and their members qualify for awards at The SAFDA's.

The SAFDA congress, which consists of the SAFDA board and the club boards provides a forum for clubs to be fully informed and provide feedback and input to the direction of SAFDA. Frisbee central 2007 has continued the great relationship between ALSARA (Adelaide Lutheran sports and Recreation Association) and SAFDA. We have applied for a grant for lights on the fields being resurfaced at present which will be largely for SAFDA use.



Social The SAFDAs end of year tradition continued with much acclaim. Social ultimate has grown with a Flinders social league as well as the league at Frisbee central. Marketing SAFDA has managed to increase the exposure of flying disc sports in SA through the media and community and sporting events. This includes the Glenelg Bay sports day and Ultimate Evolutions 24 hour event for charity being broadcast on sports tonight all over Australia. Competitions In 2007 SAFDA has continued the 2006 set up for leagues, with a two league season for the clubs that is coordinated with AFDA, i.e. open and ladies in autumn and mixed in the spring. Running concurrently with these leagues are the Development and Social leagues, with the hat leagues run between seasons. Leagues are now run by clubs to continue with the club community we created in 2005. Supporting the local community In 2007, the SAFDA membership managed to raise nearly $1400 for the Roberts Family Trust through their attendance of The SAFDA’s and Little Kev’s beach tournament. $ was raised for the Womens and Childrens Hospital from the UE 24hour tournament. Finance See financial report Clubs Under the current clubs policy the clubs continue to flourish. Clubs on a whole have increased their membership and have significantly contributed to the SAFDA community as a whole with events, recruitments, running leagues and come and try events. SAFDA has continued to support clubs financially and providing equipment. The Future With the administration and finance of SAFDA secure, the board will now turn its energy towards support of our club community. The SAFDA board has started to implement this aim with setting up the leagues to be run by clubs and supporting clubs with their events and tournaments. We are aiming to have social leagues in the north start up this year as well as Frisbee central and flinders social league.

Robyn Palmer SAFDA President

Victoria - VFDA The past 12 months have seen Victorian teams perform well at the National championships. Chilly won the Open title for the third consecutive year and new team Team Box made the final of the Women’s division. Heads of State emerged as a new elite Open club, the club developed from a team which attended Youth Nationals, the first such transition from Youth to Open team. The VFDA has been involved in a number of highly successful tournaments. The 2007 National Championships was successfully held in Melbourne and the annual ‘Melbourne Hat’ continues to reap the rewards of a renewed committee presence with new ideas and enthusiasm. This has resulted in ‘The Hat’ cementing itself as the premier social tournament in Australia. Leagues



continue to develop in player numbers and although the current drought is causing considerable damage to the fields, our growth is steady. Our leagues consist of Albert Park (Div1, Div2, Social Div and Coaching Sessions) and Box Hill (Social Div and Coaching Sessions). Victoria also hosted a Youth Training Camp which was a part of the selection process for the Youth teams which will be attending WUGC08. There is a very strong youth presence in Victoria and a strong group of people who are committed to encouraging and assisting youth to play Ultimate. Victoria will be hosting the Australian University Games at Monash University in 2008 and this is seen as a great opportunity to increase the participation of University students in Ultimate. Plans are also underway to develop an ongoing league at Geelong in 2008, which is hoped to expand the Ultimate community beyond its current strongholds in Melbourne and Ballarat. The VFDA continues to apply and receive annual funding upwards of $10,000 from the state sports department funding which assists us undertake our activities. As a new member to the VFDA executive I have been impressed with the level of commitment of all the volunteers who make Ultimate work in Victoria and I would like to acknowledge the tireless work of the VFDA Committee, the Melbourne Hat Committee, and the 2007 Nats Committee, who have been outstanding and a big part of our success and growth over the past 12 months. I would also like to thank all the club captains, coaches and volunteers who have worked very hard to develop our sport in Victoria. Without their ongoing participation, Ultimate would not be sustainable and our progress in the past few years would evaporate. Rueben Berg VFDA President

Western Australia - WAFDA Major changes were made to WA Ultimate since the 2006 Annual General Meeting. Firstly, a new Constitution of the WAFDA was approved by our members, and then approved by The Department of Consumer and Employment Protection (DOCEP). The World Ultimate Club Championships came to Perth in 2006 and we took this unique opportunity to gain from the attention given to Ultimate. WAFDA ran "Come and Try" clinics both north and south of the Swan River. Through this initiative we gained enough interest to develop a whole new league, and from this the Social Ultimate League (SUL) was born. Two separate leagues of five weeks were trialled and deemed successful. The first league consisted of four teams, the second and third grew to six teams and the current league is hosting eight competitive social league teams. With the influx of new players the structure of League was altered to a two-division format, therefore allowing the experienced players to coach and develop the new players coming through the ranks while still being able to enjoy their regular Perth Ultimate League (PUL) games each week. Our Division One league (PUL) is now at seven full teams. WA more than doubled its participation rate in local leagues from less than 100 to over 230 in 2007, a growth rate WAFDA hopes to maintain and build on going forward, particularly in the areas of Junior and Women’s development.



The WA Ultimate website has been a far more effective tool than ever before. Maintained by our IT expert Steve Baker we were able to make all WA Ultimate information accessible to all our members. New league modules were introduced providing current fixtures and results for the leagues and members are communicating regularly via the forums. All league and tournament registrations are now done via the AFDA online registration system. WAFDA Treasurer Paul Denyer took the time to set all this up and help streamline the administrative workload of record keeping for all WA competitions. To assist in accurate financial documentation and association auditing WAFDA now issues official receipts for all transactions. This year Western Australia had two representative teams competing at the Australian Ultimate Championships (AUC) 2007 hosted by the Victorian Flying Disc Association and held at La Trobe University, Melbourne. In the Open division, Sublime placed 6th. In the Women’s division, Primal placed 12th. Still excited about the achievements at AUC 2007, Monday night Women’s and Men’s sessions were established to maintain development of our separate gender teams. These sessions have now created the pathway to the launch of Men’s and Women’s Leagues in October 2007 here in Perth. With the success of Sublime’s Nationals campaign, the team earned the right to compete in the National Ultimate Frisbee League (NUFL) 2007. This is a first for any WA team! With dedication, hard work and some smart draft picks Sublime took it to the country’s best and finished in a highly respectable third place over the two-tournament league held in Sydney and Melbourne. WA Women were also represented for the first time at NUFL 2007. Debbie Ng, Viviane Bartlett and I were accepted into the National League as free agents and played with Sara Lee (NSW), Sultry (QLD) and Factory Girls (ACT) respectively. In preparation for team selection for Worlds 2008 an invitation was sent for Australian Ultimate players to attend a National Training Camp. Western Australia was well represented at this elite training camp with John Damiani, Billy Alexander, Paul Denyer, Daniel McNaughton, Paul Staples, Debbie Ng, Viviane Bartlett and Anna Haynes attending. The Phoenix Has Risen 2007 tournament (aka the WA Regional Championships – Mixed Division), which is usually held in January, was moved to the later time slot this year. The first weekend of September bought wonderful spring conditions to a successfully run state mixed title. Thank you to all who participated, making this a fantastic local event with a great display of skills and sportsmanship. Big thanks go out to Paul Denyer, John Damiani, Andrew Delane, Debbie Ng, and Amanda Kelly for their assistance throughout the tournament, and to Royd Aisbett, Melanie Barter, Natalie Kippin and Mike Donn and Adrian Trott for food preparation duties. Western Australian Minister for Sport and Recreation John Kobelke opened the event resulting in some good press coverage for Western Australian Ultimate, including a colour photo in the Sunday Times newspaper. With so many WAFDA members present we were able to take the opportunity to officially present Steve Baker with the Rob Hancock Memorial Award, awarded to Steve at the Australian Ultimate Championships earlier in the year, during the tournament presentations. After much preparation for this "A Tier" classed disc golf event, the Perth Open was held in March this year. This was the second event of the inaugural ADG Tour. International tournament director Chris Himing hosted the event. Day one was held at the Rob Hancock Memorial Course in Greenwood it was at this time the award of Honorary Lifetime Membership



to the ADG and membership number 0001 to late Rob Hancock and Rob’s parents were on hand to accept the award. Day two was held at the newly developed Disc Golf course at The Maze. Murdoch University and UWA competed at these years Australian University Games held on the Gold Coast. UWA finished in 10th place and Murdoch in 15th. I would like to express gratitude to all the AASC deliverers this year. Demand for Ultimate sessions is very high and it’s fantastic way to promote this great sport to all age groups. The full WAFDA Annual Report is available on-line at http://www.waultimate.com/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_download/gid,49/Itemid,43/

To the WAFDA 2007 Committee - Russell Slaughter, Andrew Hutcheon, Paul Denyer, Debbie Ng, John Damiani, Andrew Delane, Melanie Barter & Ross Macbeth - your commitment and support this year is most appreciated and I thank you for all your hard work. To Russell Slaughter, Andrew Hutcheon and Melanie Barter who step down from the WAFDA Committee at this time I sincerely thank you for your time given to the WAFDA, your efforts and dedication to making this association a more professional and stronger organisation is commendable, it has been a pleasure to work along side you and I genuinely am grateful for all your input. Anna Hayes WAFDA President

New South Wales - UFNSW There has been movement a-plenty in NSW this past year. There have been many interesting events, but as with any volunteer organization, it is much more illuminating to talk about the people behind events, as the vast majority of events only happen because a particular person or group of people initiate them and bring them to fruition. While the inimitable Sally Basten brought to the Treasurer's position and to the meeting room qualities to which we mere mortals can only hope to aspire, no more worthy successor to this challenging job could be found than the woman who reigns uncontested as the Wildcard Administrator of the Year, Rachel Grindlay. Within months of the handover, Rachel had streamlined an operation involving three people (including a paid accountant) into a one-person job in which she sorts out the mess of invoices and payments, keeps tabs on current and forecast expenditure, produces a monthly spreadsheet of these figures, and does the same thing for the household bills of each of the other committee members. For the moment the federal government has kindly averted a showdown between UFNSW and the threshold for compulsory GST registration by increasing the allowable turnover from $100 000 to $150 000, but there is no-one I would rather have in charge of the financials if GST registration is required than Rachel. Her eye for detail, efficiency and planning abilities are invaluable not just in the Treasurer's role but throughout the activities of UFNSW. Good intentions and generous spirits do not necessarily go hand in hand with an ability to deliver results in the most efficient manner, and Rachel is very good at steering meetings and people in more effective directions. Frank Milthorpe has in the last year grown to be an integral part of UFNSW. While I have in the past struggled to appreciate the work done by the great bureaucracies of this world, Frank’s



sharp mind and ability to see a better procedure for making something happen have not only been incredibly useful to UFNSW but they have convinced me that there are probably many, many great minds stuck in the Machine wasting their powers on matters much less important than passing on the joy of a perfect arcing backhand to a new Ultimate player. His work with the Beginners portfolio has seen the twice-yearly between-leagues Hat competitions flourish as an entry point for new players, with an average of about 40 first time players each competition and between 150 and 200 players overall. He is currently working on improving the player development pathway for those players and teams who want to increase their skill level from beginner to intermediate and beyond. Belinda Scott has joined us this year in the Secretary position, and is starting to warm to the role. She brings a quiet authority and order to the meetings and I’m sure will become more involved in the decision making process over the next year. Simon Farrow retains his title as the high achiever of the committee. His enthusiasm, commitment and passion for Ultimate remain undented and inspirational to all around him, and not just within the committee - as evidenced by the rapid growth of the Hills area scene. Several years ago George Atton, with financial assistance from UFNSW, initiated Ultimate in the area, but it is Simon who has overseen a rapid transformation in the last couple of years. Even better is that he has managed to delegate successfully and there is a strong core of players involved in the management. There is now not only a strong club and leagues throughout the year (including an indoor winter league attracting players from all over Sydney) but the club is hosting Mixed Nationals in October this year. Simon has also continued his vital work liaising with various councils and maintaining Ultimate’s excellent relationships with these bodies in times of growing field restrictions, water shortages and high demand from all sports. His Leagues Officer portfolio also requires him to keep a finger on the pulse of the many leagues around Sydney, providing advice as and when requested. The main Sydney league, the NSL, continues to provide not only the bulk of UFNSW’s income but the only outlet for top quality regular Ultimate in Sydney. Its size is really only limited by the availability of fields, with most of the growth occurring in the lower divisions. Around 40 teams consistently play across the four divisions, across 4 different venues, a tribute to the logistical skills of the league administrators and Simon. The other leagues around Sydney have experienced mixed fortunes, largely related to the fluctuating presence, or not, of committed and organised volunteers to run them. Manly has continued as a strong presence in the area, with a good organisational structure led by Steven Hayes and not only a two division Summer competition but a smaller Winter league as well. The Hills league, as stated earlier, is going from strength to strength, but the Sydney University league, SUUFL, suffered from a typically university-esque sudden exodus of players. Supporting the ESL is a bit like supporting Philippoussis - great potential but you can’t justify betting your house on him - but I am hopeful that the enthusiasm of Cameron Stone and others in the area will turn a flourishing pickup game into something more regular outside the University. On this front, Newcastle is the year’s other success story. Capitalising on the presence of some of the country’s foremost administrative minds and a great depth of playing talent, the city put together a funding proposal to UFNSW and, following much hard work, now boasts a strong league not affiliated with the university, in addition to the competition which continues inside the university club. This setup is crucial to attracting the wider public into the sport and growing the sport in the area. Well done to all involved.



Other contributors around NSW include the one and only Andrew Pennington in Tamworth and the rising star of the Western plains, Jamie Bozza of Bathurst, organiser of the recent and very successful Ultimate Stampede tournament. While we are still on leagues, I would like to make people aware of UFNSW’s introduction of a UFNSW fee, similar to the AFDA fee. The purpose of this is that the money which players pay to UFNSW and which goes to funding development across the state, used to come almost entirely from the NSL players (in addition to the NSW Department of Sport and Rec grant - thank you Jim). The pay-per-play fee, for leagues and tournaments, spreads this load more evenly amongst players, and also diversifies the income sources of UFNSW, so that eventualities such as NSL breaking up into a number of regional Sydney leagues does not mean no income for UFNSW. Talking about tournaments, NSW hosted just under 20 tournaments for the year, the numbers boosted by the four cost share warm-up tournaments conducted prior to WUCC that were in NSW as the most cost-effective destination. The Midwinter Solstice has established itself as a great opportunity for intermediate players, Australian Youth Nationals has developed to the point where it should be possible for it to be run in another state next year, and there are murmurings in the undergrowth about invigorating the beach Ultimate scene by adding another tournament or two to the Longest Day and Terrigal Towel. Back on the officers, Hari Vijaykumar recently took over from the enigmatic and seldom seen but hard-working Alex Leung as the Universities Officer, although I understand, now that I am back in the uni scene, that Alex never really left his post totally. This year has been a tad tumultuous for the universities, with the introduction of VSU and the debate over whether university Ultimate (and the wider Ultimate community) would be better off with or without Australian University Sport running the intervarsity competitions. The paid Development Officer position is, almost by definition, a revolving door type position. Matt ˜Fatty" Faulkner did a great job in the tricky circumstances of the move out of Sally's offices, and liaising with the Juniors Officer, Fiona Myers, as her circumstances changed from having a lot of free time for Ultimate matters to becoming more and more involved in running her own business. Fiona put in, and continues to put in many hours of work running individual coaching sessions for students and teachers around Sydney, but most of the communication and coordination work is now overseen by the new Development Officer. Nice Segue. And so we come full circle, to another of the imitibles, Nikki Shires, who after a couple of years recharging her administrative batteries, put her hand up for the part time paid Development Officer role. No one ran the Juniors portfolio with quite the same gusto and success as Nikki, and so she was the perfect choice for completing the process that Fatty started of refining what was formerly called the Admin Officer into more of a Development Officer role. In addition to coordinating another successful high schools Gala Day prior to the equally successful Youth Nationals run by Matt Faulkner and Matt Dowle. Nikki has worked on various projects which will reap immediate and future benefits, such as: sorting out a usable database of junior players, coaches and schools' contacts; reworking the coaching manual for teachers; and restocking the kit bags. We look forward to the coming year with Nikki;s vitality back in our midst. I would also like to thank Andrew Olennick and Tom Brennan for their regular attendance at meetings, wise input, and in Tom's case, his work as the IT officer for UFNSW as well. Tom does things with computers I don't need to confuse my tiny brain with, but I know they work good. I would also like to acknowledge the many people across NSW who put in many hours of their time organising teams or tournaments or pick up games or field hire or coaching sessions without a formal UFNSW position or any individualised official acknowledgement. Without all of you, this sport wouldn't continue to thrive. Thank you.



The key to maintaining and growing our sport appears to be sourcing volunteers. Certainly, UFNSW can do more in this area to attract greater numbers of current players into the administrative ranks. But I believe the time has also now come for us to try to attract the parents of the younger players to act as coaches and administrators in the same way they would if their offspring played soccer or cricket or netball. Anyone with tips or ideas is most welcome to pass them on to us, and we’ll obviously pass any successful feedback on to other Ultimate organizations. As a final note, I would just like to talk about the position of UFNSW President for a minute. There are obviously different ways of performing the role, and I have very much enjoyed my time in the role, watching motivated and effective people make things happen out in the Frisbee community from my lofty position as figurehead and decision-making focal point. I know that both these roles are more useful than they might seem as they take these loads off the others who can then put more energy into performing their own roles. And there are able and self-motivated volunteers already involved in UFNSW, as I have described above. However, the spare energy and time that I have left over between work and actually playing Frisbee I want to put primarily into my university studies, and I would like to see someone in the President role who wants to put that energy into proactively driving initiatives in the NSW Ultimate scene instead. I will definitely not stand for re election next year, and will be happy to stand down at any point from now until then if someone is interested in taking on the role. It is very exciting being part of helping make things happen that affect a large number of people and a sport you love, and there is great potential for new projects in NSW at present. And with the calibre of the current committee to support you, there is plenty of opportunity to ease into the position. As I said, for the moment I am happy to continue, but I would encourage anyone who has enjoyed an administrative role or thought about what they would like to see improved about Ultimate in NSW to approach us. Charles Blumer President, UFNSW

Administration During 2007, I worked an average of five hours per week as financial officer for the AFDA on top of another full-time position. This position involved chasing tournament / league directors for event based fees, processing mail, paying bills and managing payroll. Quickbooks® was fully implemented and is now used to manage payroll, PAYG, superannuation payments, accounts receivable and accounts payable. The implementation of on-line banking with the new Westpac account was revolutionary! Real-time access to account information helped with chasing up fee payments. Being able to make quick on-line payments instead of writing and double signing cheques made the paying of bills a pleasure. My obtaining access to the AFDA mailbox greatly increased the speed at which incoming cheques were deposited. At the end of 2007, additional duties were added to the role of “Financial Officer” forming a new position, “Financial and Development Officer”. Simon Wood agreed to take on this position and all my duties, files and mailbox key were handed over to him at the end of December.



I’ve enjoyed working for the AFDA over the last two years and wish Simon all the best in his new role! Emily Shuter Outgoing AFDA Financial Officer In December 2007 handover of Emily’s role was completed and Em continues to be a source of knowledge as I learn the new role. My new role as FDO will also include:

- Managing the National teams. - Updating website - Development - Assisting CEO

During 2008 this role may be expanded further. Simon Wood AFDA Finance and Development Officer

High Performance and Major Events Australia's elite and international activities have been highlighted throughout this annual report, but some key points: The World Beach Ultimate Championships saw Australia snag its first ever international gold medal in Ultimate – congratulations to the Open team. And the Women’s team picked up Bronze to cap off the outstanding effort it took to even get people to Brazil! The first WFDF Asia-Oceanic Ultimate Championships were held in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Japan continued to display their strength, but Australia were proud to take the Silver medal in a game broadcast live on state television and involving resulting celebrity status! Australia hopes to return to KC in 2009 for the World Games, although we have to get through WUCG2008 first. Nationals was hosted in Melbourne and congratulations to National Open Champions Chilly (Melbourne) and National Women's Champions Wildcard (Sydney) – The Tassie Tiggers and Newcastle’s Sugar Magnolias took Spirit. The event was also one of the best organised in recent memory – kudos to the organisers. Regionals also entered their third year and have firmly cemented their place in the National calendar, with some tough competition in the East and South regions. NUFL 2007 continued to provide opportunity for elite development, this year with the addition of Perth’s Sublime. [Where / When / Who Won] Mixed Nationals saw the increasing professionalism of organisation of Ultimate events continue to astonish with a great tournament in Sydney. Queensland’s Bootius Maximus took the championship north of the border for the first time in ages in trumping their runners-up from last year, while [someone] took Spirit. The Australian Junior Ultimate Championships are discussed more fully below, but also have become a firm piece of awesomeness on an increasingly busy national calendar. Congrats to Panic! At the Disc for a close win



The year also saw significant strategic planning and policy development for the AFDA in the areas of High Performance and Major Events. Preparations for the selection of teams and development of the overall campaign strategy in the lead-up to the World Ultimate and Guts Championships in Vancouver in August 2008 dominate the elite calendar. Meanwhile, model contracts and memorandums of understanding with the successful bidders for AFDA Major Events are being progressed, to foster an even higher standard of event management. Its looking good everybody! Piers Truter AFDA Director of High Performance Nic Footer AFDA Director of Events

Juniors 2007 was the national Year of High Schools Ultimate. For the AFDA it also saw a focus on the co-ordination of Youth Ultimate throughout the country. Youth Conferences: One of the major developments was the arrival of the Australian Youth and Coaching conferences in April and September. These conferences featured representatives from most states and were a forum for people to share information related to issues with Youth and Coaching. Information was shared about Coaching Elite Junior teams, Being a Team Manager, Running your own Gala Day and Changes to Youth Rules. A major result of the two conferences is the creation of a database that is currently underway that will include contact details of all coaches, volunteers and High School contacts Australia wide. This will speed up the process of finding volunteers for High School clinics in all cities. Personnel: A changeover of Director of Development occurred in July after the resignation of Lisi Jarrott. Dan Rule filled the position shortly after. Lisi stayed involved by becoming the National Youth Co-ordinator when Joel Pillar vacated the position at a similar time. Championships: The Australian Youth Ultimate Championships held in July were a huge success. Macquarie University in Sydney hosted the event, with Matt Dowle and Matt Faulkner as Tournament Directors. For the first time the tournament featured a team from Darwin (not many other National championship events can claim that)! This team was comprised of U/16 players but they competed in the U/18 division as the U/16 division competition didn’t run. Darwin were Spirit winners at the tournament. For the first time we also saw two teams from Victoria – these hailed from Ballarat and Melbourne. There was also a team from Canberra and four teams from Sydney. Players also travelled from South Australia and Tasmania to participate. AYUC 2007 took a big step forward from previous years when all teams arrived with a coach (or multiple coaches) and chaperone(s). The event seemed a lot more professional as a result of these volunteers. Training Camp: There was also a Youth Training Camp held in the days preceding AYUC in Sydney. Piers Truter co-ordinated this effort and the camp was aimed at players of all levels with a basic skills focus.



Gala Days: South Australia and Tasmania held their first Gala Day competitions in 2007! Victoria and New South Wales also continued to run Gala Days. New South Wales also held a mini training camp in December as a lead-in to the 2008 Worlds campaign. Dan Rule AFDA Director of Development

Universities 2007 was an exciting year for University Ultimate. I’ve never seen so much energy on the scene. The Australian University Games were held on the Gold Coast, with the much coveted spirit prize being shared between University of Ballarat and University of Western Sydney, and at least one local player enjoying an entertaining night in the lockup (all in fun). Congratulations to the University of Queensland, who took the Championship trophy out of New South Wales for the first time. Final placings were:

1. University of Queensland 2. Macquarie University 3. University of New South Wales 4. Monash University 5. University of Tasmania 6. Australian National University 7. University of Sydney 8. New Zealand 9. University of Melbourne 10. University of Western Australia 11. Queensland University of Technology 12. Flinders University 13. University of Ballarat 14. University of Adelaide 15. Murdoch University 16. University of Western Sydney 17. La Trobe University (Bundoora) 18. Griffith University (Gold Coast) 19. Charles Sturt University 20. University of Technology, Sydney

Most Valuable Players at the Championships were Tim Gee (UWS) and Beckie Zipp (Macquarie). The 2007 Green and Gold Merit Team included: Sebastian Barr (Monash); Julian Boca Negra (Macquarie); Rebecca Carman (Macquarie); Chris Cunliffe (UQ); Matt Dowle (Macquarie); Chris Freise (Melbourne); Abra Garfield (UNSW); Mel Jackson (Monash); Tania King (Tasmania); Ashleigh Martens (Tasmania); Brett Matzuka (UQ); John McNaughton (UQ); Warwick Shepherd (UNSW); Lucy Stevenson (ANU); Tom Watson (ANU); and Beckie Zipp (Macquarie).



2007 also saw the retirement of Andrew Olennick as AFDA National Universities Coordinator. Andrew has held one of the toughest jobs in Australian Ultimate since 2003, putting countless hours in behind the scenes, and herding the student-horde through significant growth and change. Thanks Andrew – you have left big shoes to fill. Jason de Rooy for Andrew Olennick AFDA National Universities Coordinator

Coaching Coaching for Ultimate progressed significantly during the past year. Here’s a list of key actions: • Level 1 AFDA Ultimate Frisbee Coaching Courses were held in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth

and Adelaide. There were over 60 attendees. The demand for future courses continues to be high.

• A plan was laid out for the redesign of the Level 1 Coaching Course, in delivery, design and

administration. This plan will be implemented in 2008 and will involve reaccreditation of a new structured course with the ASC, new presenters, and administration split between the AFDA and states. Additionally the AFDA will create other coaching courses (e.g. 3 hour courses) to meet different needs, as the Level 1 Coaching Course currently is the only coaches' professional development product offered by the AFDA, or any Ultimate organisation in Australia.

• Karen Parker was appointed to the newly created position of AFDA Coaching Administrator,

to handle the centralised marking of assessments for the Level 1 course. • Due to changing insurance arrangements, the AFDA will now use the designation of "Coach

for Insurance Purposes" for those coaches which the AFDA covers with its professional indemnity insurance. This should integrate in 2008 with the upcoming new database of all Ultimate coaches accredited by AFDA and affiliate bodies.

• Four teams at AUG had non-playing coaches. This continues the trend over recent years for

the larger, more established uni teams to employ coaches. • Piers Truter was appointed Head Coach of the Australian U19 Open Team and Matthew

Faulkner was appointed Head Coach of the Australian U19 Women’s Team • The AFDA Coach of the Year was Andrew 'Goldy' Goldstiver, of the Hills Ultimate club. Owen Shepherd AFDA National Coaching Co-ordinator



Newsletter Only one issue of Australian Ultimate was released in 2007. After completing 17 issues of Australian Ultimate from 2002-2007, it was with a weary laugh that I hung up the editorial keyboard. The AFDA Board and Executive are currently reviewing the newsletter with plans to relaunch in 2008. Thanks to everyone for their support! Jason de Rooy Former AFDA Newsletter Editor

Disc Golf It’s been a great year for Disc Golf in Australia. So many things have happened there simply isn’t enough room to write about it all. 2007 brought new courses, new tournaments, new clubs, and new stories from visiting Pro’s and long lost Aussies from abroad. New Tour: 2007 marks the inaugural year of the Australian National Disc Golf Tour (ADGTour) with a total of 7 major events and 5 smaller events was held throughout the tour year from February to October across 6 of Australia’s states. Local tournament directors worked closely with ADG to provide a series of compelling events with players competing for tour points. In the end Tim Marchbank of Brisbane ran away with it and was crowed tour champion. The tour finished with the Australian Disc Golf Championships held in Sydney. A special thanks to Chris Himing for helping us all get this off the ground and running during this year of many new initiatives in Australian Disc Golf. Bag Tags: Also new for this year from ADG was the availability of the National and State Bag Tag Challenge Bag Tags. State tags were made available from local clubs and national tags were provided to all competitors at the Australian Disc Golf Championships in October. Throughout the ADGC tags were being actively swapped giving everyone something to compete for, regardless of whether they were in the running for victory at the championships. Some tags even found their way to the USA so don’t be surprised if some Aussies show up looking to claim them back! New Clubs: A number of local Disc Golf clubs have sprung up during the year to support the local communities with new events and course development. These include the Sydney Disc Golf Club, Perth Disc Golf Club and Geelong Disc Golf Club. New Courses: Course development has also being going strong with several new courses installed during the year. A 9 hole basket course was installed early in the year at The Maze in Bullsbrook north of Perth in Western Australia. Second to go in the ground in August was a new 9 hole basket course on the historic heritage listed Newington Armoury site in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct. Finally in November another fully basketed 9 hole course was installed in Yeronga minutes from downtown Brisbane in Queensland. Nationals: The newly installed Newington Armoury course and the existing temporary Macquarie University course played host to this year’s Australian Disc Golf Championships (ADGC). Newly designed, top level layouts for the Macquarie course proved especially



challenging with several ’water holes’ testing players’ confidence. While tough on many players’ scores, the layouts were deemed, appropriate, by most players given the nature of the event. In the end Kurt Karlsson emerged victorious as the men’s Australian Disc Golf Champion with Cassie Anderson taking out the women’s championship. Following the ADGC, Sydney Olympic Park welcomed Juliana Korver and Shawn Sinclair for a Professional Disc Golf clinic which was attended by local players. Victoria: Disc Golf in Victoria has come a long way in the past year. November 11th, 2007 saw the first ever Disc Golf event in Geelong. Located 40 minutes south of Melbourne, sunny Geelong hosted the Eastern Park Disc Golf Event at the picturesque heritage gardens overlooking the city’s bay. The field of 45 players, including 13 women, enjoyed the challenge of the two rounds of golf and delighted in the many giveaways from the putting games. Tournament directors Andrew Ferguson and Jarrath Sweetten have set a new benchmark for Disc Golf in Australia and were really pleased with their first tournament. They believe it’s the beginning of bigger and better things to come in Geelong and Victoria. The next step for the Geelong Disc Golf Club (GDGC) is to successfully install a permanent course in Eastern Park and in the future host a major event on the PDGA Tour. GDGC has also just announced that Disc Golf will be a feature sport in the ’Australasian Masters Games’ to be hosted in Geelong in February 2009. It will be a huge boost for promoting the sport as the games attract over 10,000 entrants from all over Australia and it’s surrounding countries. The Future: As we write, several events are still to be played this year including the Tasmanian Open to be held at the Poimena Disc Golf course in early December and the inaugural Dirty Cup at the Ferguson Valley course in Western Australia. Many local events are also expected to spring up rapidly with the abundance of new courses. Regular events at the new courses in Brisbane and Sydney are also planned. 2008 will prove to be an exciting year with further course development planned and the second year of the ADGTour updated with feedback from this year’s participants and TD’s. More courses, more players, more events. Paul Arden, Albert Munoz and Andrew Ferguson AFDA Disc Golf Committee

Insurance and Member Compassionate Fund Our public liability insurance was renewed for a further year during 2007, and provides coverage up to $10 million for any liability a member may incur for damage to property or injury to another person whilst participating in any AFDA sanctioned event. Our policy also provides professional indemnity cover up to $2 million. Our death or total permanent disablement insurance was also renewed, and provides cover for serious injury or death resulting from participation in an AFDA sanctioned event, or related activities (meetings, organised social events, etc). The maximum claim is $50,000, but payouts range from 3% to 100% of that amount depending on the type of disablement. As of 15th March 2005, the AFDA ceased its Personal Injury Insurance. Injuries suffered before that date remain covered by the old insurance scheme. The AFDA viewed the rapidly increasing premiums required for an association-wide personal injury insurance as untenable, and introduced a Member Compassionate Fund (MCF). Under the MCF, the members of the AFDA essentially ’self-insure’, by setting aside annual savings to assist members who suffer



financial hardship due to injury. However, late in 2007, new entrants into the market saw premiums drop considerably, and on 31 December 2007, the AFDA took out Personal Injury Insurance for 2008. As these competitive prices are not expected to continue in the medium term, the AFDA will continue to fund the MCF and members will be able to make claims for losses not covered by the new insurance. Jason de Rooy for: Tom Brennan, Lisi Jarrott, Andrew Olennick Colin Wagstaff AFDA Member Compassionate Fund Committee AFDA Insurance Officer

Awards Rob Hancock Award: For their extraordinary contribution to Australian Ultimate, Steve ’Bakes’ Baker and Bruce McNaughton became the 24th and 25th recipients of the Rob Hancock award. The Award was announced at Nationals in April 2007. Steve has played Ultimate since 1984 and has clocked up over 20 years as a member of WAFDA, leading many activities. He was Captain of the Australian team for Worlds in 1988 and played again at Worlds in 1990. A thousand flowers have grown in between, but more recently, Steve was the WUCC06 Volunteer Services Manager. He is the current WAFDA Juniors Development Officer and is an accredited coach. Bruce first started playing Ultimate in 2000, and by 2002 he had a vision for Australian youth Ultimate. During the ensuing four years, Bruce filled the role of team manager for both the Australian junior men’s and women’s teams at both the World Guts and Ultimate Championships in Turku, Finland in 2004 and the WJUC in Boston in 2006. While being a manager of any team is demanding, the manager of a team comprising junior players has an unenviable work load. Bruce has also been highly active on the local Queensland scene. AFDA Awards: The 2007 AFDA Awards were announced at Mixed Nationals in October 2007, recognising the best in Australian Ultimate volunteer organisation and administration. • Recruiters of the Year – Matt Dowle and Matt Faulkner • Party of the Year – the Ultimate Stampede (hosted by Jamie Bozza and Heather Brown) • Coach of the Year – Andrew 'Goldy' Goldstiver • Club/Team of the Year – Fakulti • Administrator of the Year – Rachel Grindlay • Tournament of the Year – WUCC2006 Jason de Rooy AFDA Secretary



Governance

Board of Directors At the end of 2007, the current Board of Directors (along with their year of first election) is

President – Mel Gangemi - 2005 Treasurer – John Hempel - 2006 Secretary – Jason de Rooy - 2005 Director of Human Resources – Leon Smith - 2004 Director of Events – Nic Footer – 2007 Director of High Performance – Piers Truter – 2004-5, 2007 Director of Marketing – Simon Talbot - 2007 Director of Development – Dan Rule - 2007

At the Annual General Meeting in April 2007, Board elections were held. A new Director of High Performance role was added to the Board, with the Director of WUCC2006 being removed. Standing down at the AGM were Andrew Olennick (2005-7), Matt Boevink (2005-7) and Tom Walcott (2006-7). Many thanks to them for their time and effort. Mel Gangemi, Leon Smith, Jason de Rooy, John Hempel and Lisi Jarrott were returned to the Board. Mel succeeded Leon as President (with Leon becoming Director of Human Resources), and Jason succeeded Matt Boevink as Secretary. John remained as Treasurer and Lisi as Director of Development. Newly elected to the Board at the AGM were Piers Truter (Director of High Performance), Nicole Footer (Director of Events) and Simon Talbot (Director of Marketing). In August, Lisi resigned from the Board, and was replaced by Dan Rule from September onwards. 2007 saw an explosion of use of on-line polls to determine Board motions – 70 were voted on through the year, relative to 18 in 2006. Directors participated as follows. Directors do not normally vote while off-line for several days (for example, while on holiday).

Director # of polls # voted in Percentage Mel Gangemi 67 65 97% John Hempel 67 52 78% Jason de Rooy 67 66 98% Leon Smith 67 47 70% Andrew Ollenick 15 13 87% Tom Walcott 15 14 93% Lisi Jarrott 28 20 71% Piers Truter 51 37 72% Nic Footer 51 50 98% Simon Talbot 51 41 80% Dan Rule 26 25 96% Three other polls were set up incorrectly and did not yield individualised results usable for this table. Leon was voted off the Island.

All current Board members attended the annual Board Planning weekend in Sydney in June 2007.



2007 also saw the return of the posting of AFDA Board meeting minutes on the afda.com website, providing further information on the decision making within the association. Jason de Rooy AFDA Secretary

Executive Through 2007, the executive was headed by the Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Potts, who is employed on a part-time basis. Emily Shuter was also employed on a part-time basis, beginning in March 2006 as Financial Administrator who handed her duties over to Simon Wood when the role was revamped as the Finance and Development Officer (FDO). At the end of 2007, other key staff, all volunteers, include: • Member Compassionate Fund Committee – Tom Brennan, Lisi Jarrott, Andrew Olennick • Insurance Officer - Colin Wagstaff • National Universities Coordinator - Vacant • National Coaching Coordinator - Owen Shepherd • Coaching Development Officer - Piers Truter • National Youth Coordinator - Joel Pillar • National Events Coordinator - Vacant

• National Selection Coordinator - Owen Shepherd • Anti-doping Officer - John French • Member Protection Officers - Ross McKerracher, Bel Kinneally, Mel Gangemi • Newsletter Editor - Vacant • Media Officer - Megan Maurice • Assistant Media Officer - Tim Lindsay-Brown • Website Coordinators - Tom Brennan and Jonathan Potts Jason de Rooy for: Leon Smith AFDA Director of Human Resources

AFDA Annual Report 2007

Documents

Transcript of AFDA Annual Report 2007