Vancouver Ultimate League Society

Annual General Meeting

Wednesday, November 6

7:30 p.m.

Heritage Hall

3102 Main Street

Vancouver, B.C.

Board members are in attendance: Chris Keam, Chris Lofft, Kelly Mah, Michael McCrae, Fergus Prentice

Regrets: Will Herd, Anne-Marie Carrey

1. Meeting called to order by Chris Keam at 7:35 p.m.

2. Motion made to accept the minutes by John Ellis. Valerie R. seconded. Membership voted on unanimous acceptance of minutes.

3. Board of Director's Reports

Chris Keam spoke first about the year and what was accomplished. He said that there was lots of support for touring teams, such as bridge loans that were offered to co-ed teams that went to Worlds in Hawaii. There was also support for the juniors team that went to Latvia. The concentration on spirit continued. Chris said that maintaining SOTG will be hard as the league continues to grow. Chris Keam said he enjoyed his time. There were no other reports from the board members.

Craig Davidiuk moved to accept the Board of Director's reports

Jessie Shoelin seconded.

Speedo asked about the nature of the support we gave touring teams. Chris Keam stated that the VULS gave bride loans, all of which were paid back.

Motion to accept Board of Director's Reports was passed unanimously.

4. Coordinator's Report

Jeff Malmgren spoke to his coordinator's report. (Coordinator's report is attached.)

There was a question about the mechanism used for expelling the team from the league. Jeff Malmgren stated that the mechanism is documented on the VULS website and should be known by the captains. Chris Keam added that he met with the team that was barred and they did have consultation with a number of the volunteers on how to improve.

Osh asked if there is mentoring. Jeff Malmgren said there is an ad hoc spirit committee.

There was a question about getting onto Hillcrest Fields. Jeff Malmgren said that soccer paid for the fields and they have them booked. He noted that the field aren't great and break down often.

Jessie motioned to accept the Coordinator's Report.

Max Urbanowski seconded.

The motion to accept the Coordinator's Report was passed unanimously.

Jeff Malmgren spoke to his Partnership in Parks report. (Partnership in Parks Plan's report is attached.)

5. Presentation of Financial Statements

Fergus Prentice, the treasurer, spoke to the financial statements. He said that there is an ongoing effort to develop a better financial picture of the VULS. Some of that work should be aided by the hiring of a part-time bookkeeper.

Allison Thompson motioned to accept the financial statements.

Craig Davidiuk seconded. Motion was passed unanimously.

6. Old Business

No old business.

7. New Business

There was questions regarding the capital plan. Some members were concerned that the money set aside for the capital plan does not have enough conditions placed upon its usage and the capital plan goals are not fully developed. Jeff Malmgren argued that it is very difficult to state when field space will become available. Having the money onhand will allow the board to act on any opportunities that arise.

Chris Keam reminded the audience that there could be no change to the agenda or motions passed unless they were submitted a week prior to the meeting.

8. Board Elections

There were four positions available and seven candidates running. Board members that were running were Anne-Marie Carey, Fiona Hughes, Fergus Prentice, Steve Remedios, Ken Su and Tony May. Tony was unable to attend since he was sick. Ken was away because of work commitments.

Winners were Fiona Hughes with 40 votes. Anne-Marie Carey with 45 votes, Steve Remdios with 36 votes and Fergus Prentice with 38 votes.

Speedo motioned to adjourn the meeting at 10:20 p.m. Allison Thomson seconded.

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Vancouver Ultimate League Society

Annual General Meeting 2002

Coordinators' Report

I. League and Tournament Play

Winter Hat 2002

26 teams played through February and March, weather permitting. Number of players increased from 2001 by about 5%. The league featured an R&B sponsored hat tournament on the final Saturday of the season.

Spirit Week

The second year of Spirit Week was extremely successful at some venues and on some nights, but less so on others. In total, 76 hat teams were chosen from close to 1,000 players to play over three nights, although that number was reduced by cold, wet weather (remember when it used to rain in Vancouver?).

Summer League 2002 - May-August

214 League teams played through twelve weeks of regular season and three weeks of playoffs. Although the number of teams was slightly reduced from 2001 (caused by capping each night at 56 teams in order to assure more playable fields through the summer for every team), the number of players registered actually increased - over 3,300 players were on VUL summer league rosters. There are no accurate numbers to corroborate this, but a reasonable assumption is that fewer players played on multiple teams, allowing population growth without league expansion.

Because the capping of league size on individual nights made necessary by field closures, some teams were unsuccessful in their bids to join the VUL summer league.

The VUL also saw the necessity to remove a team form the schedule and league prior to the playoffs. This was done only after every option within the VUL spirit guidelines had been exhausted.

Junior Hat League - July/August

5 junior hat teams were formed and played a 6 week schedule at the end of the summer. The league was a mix of very high caliber (national team level) teenagers and complete newbies, and it's a tribute to all of the players that it worked extremely well. The teams played all of their games on Monday nights at Memorial, with three out of the five playing double headers each week. The two teams playing a single header participated in skills clinics run primarily by players from Prime, which added immeasurably to the overall league experience.

End of Summer Tournament

For the second year, the summer tournament was separated from the playoffs, allowing teams on different nights to compete. 57 teams competed in 4 divisions, with semifinals and finals only held on Sunday, beginning what will certainly be a never ending debate pitting youth versus experience.

Fall League 2002

112 teams are winding down toward the end of fall league. A similar schedule structure to summer and winter hat was used, with morning and afternoon sessions and double headers three out of four weeks for most groups. Amazing weather to date has resulted in 0 weeks lost to field closures. As with summer, some teams were unsuccessful in their bid to gain access to the league, primarily because of late registration and/or their limited choice of time slots.

Fall Tournament - Thanksgiving 2002

23 teams played in the fall tournament held on the Thanksgiving long weekend, which used the same primarily one day format that the summer tournament followed. The sun shone the whole time∑.

Summary

In total, 357 league teams played close to 5,000 games of ultimate through the VUL this year, not including tournaments, Spirit Week or the VUL sponsored pickup that runs in the summer and through the fall and winter at Andy Livingston.

Total registered players: 3,700+

% of players M/F : 56/44

% of players residing in Vancouver: 91%

*These are based on figures taken from online registration, a system whose potential inaccuracies are being continually revisited.

II. Clinics

The VUL sponsored Clinic Team ran 12 clinics through the summer for players of every level, one of which was a double clinic at Jericho that had an estimated 500 participants (Clinic leaders donated their fees from this event to the Junior National teams which traveled to, and won, the World Junior Championships in Latvia this summer). In total, more than 1,100 players participated in the clinics held by the VUL this summer, at no additional cost to regular league fees.

The clinic team also participated in the captains' clinics held prior to the summer season.

III. Social Events

Fall Season End Party

About 250 people met up at Malone's downtown on the first Saturday of December to bring an end to league play for 2001. R&B's sponsorship was, as always, more than welcome, and the appies lasted until about 11:00 p.m.

League BBQ

As a cap to the Spirit Week and to kick off the summer season, the league BBQ held in conjunction with the double clinic at Jericho in May once again drew close to 500 people, in spite of cool and wettish weather.

Ultimate Video Party

A couple of hundred people came out to Performance Works to watch ulti videos produced by local film makers.

Summer League Party

The League Party this year was held in conjunction with the summer year end tournament, and took place outside at the rugby enclosure at UBC. 600+ people came to the pre-party BBQ, played frickets and danced on the grass, and no one had to wash the floors.

IV. Fields

The overall quality of fields utilized by the VUL improved this season, both because of conscious effort and due to excellent weather. Closures to city fields forced an increase in usage at UBC over the summer, but overall budget targets were more than met, largely because there just weren't any more playable fields to rent.

The VULS continued its increasing involvement with the Vancouver Field Sports Federation, with league representative sitting on subcommittees that helped form the overall fields plan for the city, and making presentations to Parks Board on behalf of disc sports and field sports as a whole.

The VULS is looking to become even more actively involved in Parks programs and projects (See Partnership in Parks).

V. Communications

The website has seen incremental upgrades while dealing with the inclusion and support of onlyultimate.com, the online registration developed by Gaia and utilized for the first time this year by the VULS. Although the system has had some expected bugs at inception, it has streamlined the registration process, and both Gaia and the VULS are committed to supporting and improving the system for use by the league and its members.

VI. Sponsorship

The league once again this year worked with two primary sponsors. R&B Brewery increased their presence, not only supporting all league social events but also providing spirits prizes for trimester winners over the summer season.

Gaia again provided major team and individual spirit awards for summer and fall leagues, and provided an invaluable service as a point of public contact fro league team and individual registration for all leagues and seasons.

VII. Touring Team Support

The VULS provided support to numerous touring teams in our area this summer, and in a number of ways:

- Provided interest free bridge loans in the amount of $2,000 each to three Vancouver based teams that participated in the World Club Championships in Hawaii this summer

- Provided field space at no cost to Farm Accidents for use in their fundraising tournament

- Utilized VUL run events, including BBQ, clinics and fall hat tournaments, as fundraisers for the Junior Nationals Teams

- Provided practice space through the summer to Furious George, which went on to win the UPA Open Championship in Sarasota, Fla in October

- Provided practice space through the summer to Prime, as well as providing field space without charge for the women's team to run clinics and tournaments in their fundraising efforts

VIII. Other Initiatives

Through St John Ambulance, the VULS offered Emergency First Aid Training for Ultimate to members from all of the summer league teams. Close to 100 people went through the five hour course, which focused primarily on triage and first response actions at field level.

The VULS also took over ownership and responsibility for the Ultimate Handbook website, with tremendous gratitude to David Jez, not only for the gift of the site itself, but for the thousands of hours that he has put in over the years toward making it what it is today, the single best ultimate training site available. With the training material recently rewritten and updated, the VULS intends to bring the new information online and maintain the site as an up to date source of ultimate info.

Coordinator Initiatives for 2003

- Pursue the Partnership in Parks plan at every level, including the high level of sponsorship that may become necessary to see parts of the plan to fruition

- Address ongoing website upgrade in a proactive manner

o Online users' questionnaire

o Focus group meetings with primary users (captains)

o 24 month plan

- Proceed with ongoing update of the Ultimate Handbook website

- Continue to work with Gaia in the ongoing development of the onlyultimate interface, with the clear goal of better online service for VUL members

- Maintain and increase involvement with the Vancouver Field Sport Federation

- Utilize both the VUL Clinic team and the Ultimate Handbook as vehicles to develop VUL produced training materials.

- Increase volunteer participation and player input at every level

- Maintain focus and awareness of spirit issues across the VUL, with an understanding that a spirited league is our strongest asset

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Vancouver Ultimate League Society

Partnership in Parks

As an organization, the VULS has enjoyed tremendous support from the Vancouver Park Board and its staff since the league's inception in 1985. Without that support, the league couldn't have risen to its strength and size of today, with over 3,200 players and over 220 teams in the summer league, and growing numbers in both fall and winter sessions each year. We hope and believe that this support has come in recognition not only of our game but of our attitude in dealing with the playing fields themselves and the neighbors and other users of those facilities. But we also think that the time has come to step up our participation in the stewardship of playing fields in Vancouver, to become an active partner with the city in developing solutions, programs and even facilities that will better serve not only the ultimate community but the population Vancouver as a whole.

Certainly, we'd like to take our game to a wider audience, to increase our league's access to Vancouver fields and even establish some field facilities that we can call home within the city, but we're also looking for opportunities where we can take on larger responsibilities, for the care and development of the fields themselves and also for the delivery of some services and initiatives that the park board commissioners have come to see as vital within the scope of recreation in the city.

In the last couple of years, we've shown an ability to raise and retain substantial capital, earmarked for capital projects, through our league operations alone, without the assistance of government grants or funding and without undue imposition upon our membership. As well, we've developed and protected a demographic that may be among the most attractive in the amateur sports community, by both its makeup and its very targeted nature. As we move to involvement in projects that may have budgets running in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, we expect to be able to leverage that demographic to attain significant sponsorship. In looking at a closer partnership in Vancouver's parks, we see opportunities to begin to spend some of this capital, in a manner beneficial to ultimate and the community that is Vancouver.

At the outset, we see three distinct opportunities to begin the next phase of what has already been a positive working relationship:

Winona Park

Winona has seen growing use by our league in recent years. Our summer, fall and winter leagues utilize at least one of the three levels on an ongoing basis and, with the recent opening of the newly refurbished artificial turf at Eric Hamber, we expect that usage to increase as field hockey cedes the upper level as agreed. Rugby, too, is leaving Winona, as local clubs make new homes outside of the city limits, and the lower field is one that we would very much like to see developed for use by ultimate. Although it currently has a ball diamond and backstop in place, the area is not large enough to accommodate the minimum 300' outfields that the slow pitch community has clearly stated it needs, and the pitch is of sufficient size to accommodate two ultimate fields, as long as the backstop and infield can be removed and the field upgraded.

This would give us a field facility large enough for six fields on three levels, one that allows for people to sit on the banks and watch during tournaments, one with running water and washrooms. It would allow us to stage small tournaments for league, junior league, high school and youth rec program play and, perhaps most importantly, it would give us the opportunity, as primary users, to ensure that the fields were properly maintained and never misused. It also provides an opportunity to act as real partners in the process, as follows:

o contribute to funding necessary to remove the backstop, resurface infield area and upgrade the field

o install a member of our organization in the on site custodian house, someone who would act to ensure that the fields are never abused, to make necessary minor repairs (i.e. fixing divots and filling holes) to extend field life, and to become a visible presence at the park and contribute to overall security of the facility

o utilize the fields as a site for ultimate based youth programs run in partnership with the Parks & Rec department and the community centers in the area (see below).

Youth Programming

Already, we are developing an ultimate day camp program for 11 to 14 year olds that will be offered through the Parks Department in the summer of 2003. The three - week long day camps will be marketed through individual community centers, and the VULS will provide the program itself and proffer qualified individuals to act as staff. Ideally, these day camps will run from Winona, but other facilities may also be used.

MoreSports

The VULS is extremely interested in becoming involved in the MoreSports program being developed for youth in the northeast corner of the city. Ultimate as a sport has some assets that make it ideal for introduction within that area:

o as a non-contact and mostly 'man to man' coverage sport, it can be enjoyed by players of a wide mix of age and gender within the same game

o it can be played on almost any field or flat grass space, without the need for goalposts, backstops, wickets or bases

o the only real requirement, cost-wise, is a $12 disc

o with no referees, ultimate relies heavily on an understanding of the 'spirit of the game', a tenet which encourages the need to understand a point of view other than your own, and relies on both honesty and the ability to quickly resolve conflict

o the sport encourages a high level of fitness

o it's a lot of fun

While much of the MoreSport program is geared toward developing the resources - coaches and teachers - that will increase participation in sports in the area, we look at ultimate as a game that, once learned, can and will be enjoyed without the necessary administration needed to get some other sports going.

In its initial stage, we would look to add a fourth week of ultimate day camp in the summer of 2003, one that targets east side youth, and incorporate a bus pick up and drop off as well as a lunch program for that group. The VULS would be interested in both providing funding and actively seeking corporate support in order to ensure the program's success.

Ultimate Fields Vancouver

Canadian National Training Facility

While there is an understanding that much of ultimate's future growth in this area will come in the surrounding communities, both because the game is not yet widely played in the suburban communities around Vancouver and because the facilities within the city are currently utilized at or even beyond capacity, ultimate's potential growth in the city is far from over. A strong high school league that has led to the development of provincial, national and world championship junior teams has been augmented by inclusion of ultimate within the public school physical education curriculum, and the number of high school aged and graduating players coming into the VUL each year has risen dramatically. The league's summer junior hat league program, although in its infancy, has been tremendously successful and will continue to grow, and the rising awareness of the game within the schools is driving new players numbering in the 100's to the adult league each year. So ultimate in Vancouver needs more field space, and it needs a home to call its own.

At the same time, Canada enjoys a stature in the world ultimate community far beyond its relative size, with open, women's and junior teams that annually compete among the very best. Two of the best teams in the world, the open (or mens') team Furious George, which recently returned from Sarasota, Florida with the UPA (Ultimate Players' Association) championship trophy, and Prime, the women's team that won the World Ultimate Championship only a couple of years ago, make their home base in Vancouver, and the respective national teams are made up in majority by players from those two teams (Canada sent a mixed team consisting of mainly players from Furious and Prime to compete at the World Games in Akita, Japan in the summer of 2001 - they won the gold medal). Although the game has strong bastions across the country, particularly in Toronto and Ottawa, the best players seem to be drawn to Vancouver by both the weather and the opportunity to play on the best teams. So the city makes an ideal location for the development of a national ultimate training facility, one that can be enjoyed by ultimate players here of every level, and utilized our best players to train and play in their ongoing effort to remain the best in the world.

The VULS is committed to partnering with the city and potential corporate sponsors to turn undeveloped park property into such a facility. We see an opportunity to contribute both energy and funding to a project that would be a world class facility for Vancouver based athletes at the public school level and beyond, and could host international play at its highest level.

The site that has been identified is located at 37th Avenue and Oak Street, adjacent to Eric Hamber High School and the artificial turf there, across the street from Van Dusen Gardens and near to Queen Elizabeth Park. The unlandscaped space is currently utilized as an off leash dog walking area, as well as an unsanctioned bicycle motocross area, with earth mounds that have been created by the riders.

We intend to work closely with neighborhood groups and other interested parties to resolve the concerns that will certainly be brought up at the outset of the project. The area is large enough that five full sized ultimate fields can be developed, and many of the existing surrounding trees can be left in place. These can offer sight and sound protection for the neighborhood, and provide ultimate players with a necessary curtain to keep wayward discs off of Oak Street. The treed surround may incorporate pathways and maintain the natural habitat of the indigenous wildlife of the area.

We look forward to working closely with the administrators and PAC at the high school to create a facility that can be accessed by the students (and offers much greater safety and visibility than the current unmonitored bush), and become a home to ultimate and other high school sports leagues. We're also involved in discussions with the other sports groups that operate in and around the existing high school facility to discover ways that they can access and benefit from the project.

At the outset, we're looking to build the fields themselves, as well as address the landscaping of the area that surrounds them. In the longer term, we envisage an on-site building that will house training and physiotherapy areas, as well as potential clubhouse and administration space. Because of the elevation of the site, most if not all of this facility can be built at or below grade.

We're looking forward to working closely with Park Board staff to develop an initial plan for the project, and to providing both immediate and ongoing funding necessary to help bring it to fruition.

Conclusion

Ultimate is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and the Vancouver Ultimate League is recognized as one of its best and biggest organizations. Without the help of the Vancouver Park Board, getting the game to this level would simply not have been possible. The VULS as a whole is truly appreciative of the support our sport and organization have received to date, and we look forward to becoming ever more active partners, in support of Park Board initiatives as well as our own.

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Vancouver Ultimate League Society

BALANCE SHEET

as at September 30, 2002

14 12

Months Months

2001 2002

ASSETS

Current Assets:

Petty Cash 1,797 1,489

Royal Bank 74,801 14,070

Credit Union 113

Accounts Receivable 545

Term Deposit 110,000

76,598 126,217

TOTAL ASSETS $76,598 $126,217

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LIABILITIES

Accounts Payable 6,190 6,199

GST Refund 710 3,788

5,480 2,418

Accumulated Reserve 71,118 123,799

TOTAL LIABILITIES $76,598 $126,217

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Vancouver Ultimate League Society

Income Statement

as at September 30, 2002 14 12

Months Months

2001 2002

Revenue:

League Fees

Winter League - Individuals 8,368 8,087

Summer League - Teams 61,043 58,035

Summer League - Individuals 1,080

Fall League - Teams 48,816 16,756

Fall League - Individuals 288

VULS Membership 96,080 104,341

BCDSS Membership fees 16,425 10,255

230,732 198,842

Merchandise

Disks sales 4,847 2,071

Cone sales 1,448 1,570

6,295 3,641

Other Revenue

Social Event (2002 - Net of disbursements) 17,400 1,849

Interest Revenue (term deposit) - 545

Advertising & Sponsorship 6,000 6,000

23,400 8,394

TOTAL REVENUE 260,427 210,877

Expenses:

Field Fees

UBC Field fees - summer 26,850 27,300

Vancouver Field fees - winter 5,075 5,084

Vancouver Field Fees - Summer 18,693 12,475

Vancouver Field Fees - Fall 14,554 9,366

Vancouver Field Fees - Other 48

Vancouver Field Fees - Pick Up 6,479 3,733

71,699 57,958

Social Event Costs

Venue Costs 1,883 2,629

Beer Costs 1,376 3,027

Spirit Costs 514 3,568

Food & Catering 2,802 2,674

Security 788 816

Band Costs 2,550 1,000

Licenses 543

Other Costs 10,997

20,910 14,257

Cost of Merchandise

Disks Costs 7,698 315

Cone Costs 1,331 2,376

9,029 2,691

Personnel Expenses

Coordinator Administrative Expenses 27,193 30,000

Coordinator Expenses 10,725

Board expense Reimbursements 817 545

Team & Spirit Awards 5,700 5,763

Mentor Appreciation 1,124 -

Honoraria (Non Board) 225 -

35,059 47,033

Communications

Web Site Costs 14,189 4,651

Captains Manual 1,160

14,189 5,811

League Events

Clinics 3,900 3,800

Captain Meetings - Summer 385 235

Captain Meetings - Fall 53 80

AGM 465 410

First Aid 2,296

Other 50

4,853 6,821

Other Expenses

Bank Fees 358 289

BCDSS Fees 21,500 10,255

Handling Charge (GAIA) 3,350 7,295

Fee Refund (2002 -revenue offset) 1,521 -

Insurance - 4,800

Storage - 792

Other 6,840 425

33,569 13,601

TOTAL EXPENSES 189,310 158,427

INCOME FOR PERIOD $71,118 $52,450

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Vancouver Ultimate League Society

Equity Position - 2002

As of fiscal year end 30-Sep-01 30-Sep-02

Royal Bank Balance $74,108.23 $14,070.00

Vancity $113.00

Term deposit $110,000.00

Petty Cash $1,797.68 $1,489.00

Accounts Payable ($9,892.48) ($6,199.00)

Accounts Receivable $1,025.00 $545.00

GST account $644.26 $3,788.00

Net equity $67,682.69 $123,806.00

Anticipated Expenses - Balance of 2001 Balance of 2002

Coordinator Contract $15,000.00 $15,000.00

Insurance Fees $4,800.00 $5,800.00

AGM Costs $300.00 $300.00

Fall Tournament $230.00

Fall Awards $400.00 $400.00

Fall Windup $1,000.00 $1,000.00

Web site server $450.00 $650.00

Board expenses $225.00 $225.00

Handbook costs $500.00

Misc admin cost $200.00

Equipment costs - discs and fields $2,300.00

Total projected expenses to December 31 $22,175.00 $26,605.00

Projected Equity at December 31 $45,507.69 $97,201.00