Newcastle University Ultimate Frisbee

Our sports club would use the £250 from the Together Fund by discounting the price of tournaments for beginners to Ultimate. Ultimate as a sport is rarely played before university and therefore it’s very important for university teams to have a friendly, welcoming atmosphere to encourage beginners to take up the sport. Beginners are vital to the continuation of the club and the club’s success over the years has largely been down to successful recruitment of new players. Almost all of the club’s current members were complete beginners when they started; we are therefore aware of the importance of recruitment and the experienced players make a concerted effort to establish connections with new players and invest time to teach them the sport. One aspect which is central to recruitment is beginner’s tournaments where new players, along with some experienced players, play against beginners from other universities. These tournaments are vital for recruitment as they enable beginners to get a taste for the sport and develop their skills in a low pressure environment. The club has a high retention rate for players who attend these tournaments but unfortunately the cost of these tournaments can be a disincentive for potential players due to the constraints of the student budget. We already discount these tournaments for beginners as much as possible but the Together Fund would enable further discounts, allowing more beginners to try the sport and join the club, thus promoting teamwork by making us even more inclusive and welcoming.