Good Practices
Recruit
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Emphasise and promote what makes your sport special — Knowing what makes your association unique can help your promotion and recruitment efforts. All associations should strive to have gender equity as one of their key selling points, as this will help develop a gender-equitable ultimate community.
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Promote your association using different media channels — Your media strategy should reflect your association's identity, culture and critical principles. You should consider what messages you want to communicate through social media and which channels to use. Equity considerations should always be integral to media plans.
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Have a media strategy that compliments your recruiting strategy — How an association presents itself in the media strongly influences how potential new members perceive it. Making Gender Equity and Inclusivity one of the core messages of your public presence can raise your standing and be beneficial not only from a recruiting point of view but also from a marketing and sponsoring point of view.
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Have videos and links with engaging and exciting content — Short videos are great advertisements for a sport on social networks. These should emphasise what makes the sport or the event special. You can also use these videos to increase the representation and promotion of women matching athletes within the Ultimate community.
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Stand out at sports showcasing events — Using networks of more prominent sports associations allows you to present your sport to a broader audience. Additionally, sport-for-all associations are interested in expanding their portfolio, so they should be eager to be ultimately represented at their event. Having Gender Equity as a core message helps distinguish your sport from others.
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Create partnerships with other sports — Partnerships are hugely beneficial in sports, both from a resource and performance point of view. From a coaching perspective, it is crucial to break the mental patterns athletes might develop from repeating the same patterns during training. For instance, changing these patterns improves cognitive engagement and engages athletes’ muscles by playing a different sport as a warm-up. Partnering with associations that share the same gender equity values for training or events can benefit everyone involved and promote a supportive sporting community.
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Run targeted side programs at your sports event — Including side events about gender equity or small demonstrations for beginners as part of your sporting event can increase participation among spectators, especially those with families and kids. Including various attractions and side programmes at your event can benefit the participants and spectators.
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Showcase your sport as part of local public events — Partnerships with public / community sports groups and school events, etc. that attract an audience are excellent opportunities to showcase your sport and increase awareness. Consider partnerships with events that share your association's same player base, values, and targets. Events and organisations that support Gender Equity are ideal targets for this practice. Large events are often happy to have additional side programs, especially if you share and admire similar moral values. Lots of organisations for younger players are particularly impressed by the SOTG aspect of ultimate. School or college sports events are also a good platform for showcasing women matching players and mixed sports.
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Bring role models to beginner sessions — One of the key aspects of recruiting is having potential new players identify with a role model. Age, ethnicity, gender and other aspects play a role in the identification process. A role model plays a central role in showing new players what they can achieve.
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Cooperate with schools and PE teachers to showcase your sport — The most efficient way to recruit junior players is during physical education classes or after-school programs. Long-term collaborations with schools can ensure a continuous flow of recruits into your club or association. Cooperation with schools or teachers should be a key part of your recruiting strategy if your association targets students.
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Recruit relatives and get them involved in your association — Volunteers are the backbone of a successful association. Involving parents and retired members in running your association can be beneficial from an administrative and performance perspective. Recruiting and retaining more volunteers can help free up players from juggling administrative roles while playing. Additionally, having less pressure on more people will encourage people to volunteer within the club. Retaining club members should not solely focus on athletes; it should also focus on volunteers, supporters and organisers.
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Emphasise the social aspect of the sport to boost retention — As part of the onboarding procedure for new players, they have some social activities after training to help create a welcoming atmosphere and overcome any initial uncertainties. Building a supportive female network increases the chances that a player will stay in the association. Social activities help to create and establish networks.
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Recruiter Training - getting the most out of your recruitment efforts — A key objective for many associations is to grow; to grow, you need to recruit. Basic training can equip recruiters with simple skills to encourage new players to join. It also allows potential players to get a glance at the sport and what the community is like.
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Have a recruiting strategy — Set a SMART goal, create a plan to achieve it, reserve resources and keep the focus on your primary target.
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Have a welcome plan for new players — After all your efforts recruiting new athletes, it is crucial to have a plan for them as well as clear responsibilities, so that they feel included, when new players come into the training.
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Let respected figures introduce coaches — When a respected figure introduces or praises the competencies of a coach or athlete, they pass on the part of their authority to that person, directly influencing the perception the audience has of them.
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Focus on recruiting women matching players to grow your community — Women's sports are shown to grow much faster than established men's ones. So by investing in the recruitment of women matching players, you invest in the quick and sustainable growth of your club or association and contribute to community efforts to make Ultimate more gender equitable.
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Show the competitive side of the sport especially for women matching athletes — Presenting how women-matching athletes play sports helps break stereotypes and allows young women matching athletes to approach these sports.
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Benefits of Mixed Ultimate for young athletes — Recruiting in schools and after school programmes can be a great way to introduce ultimate to young athletes. Since the physical differences between 14 year olds are negligible, Mixed Ultimate helps create an equitable and respectful atmosphere when they get older.
Train
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Practising gender equity at training sessions — Gender equity can be encouraged through participation in specific drills. Changing behaviours regarding gender equity on the field can also affect how we perceive others and deconstruct our biases off the pitch.
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Adopt pedagogical methods in training — Coaches should have pedagogic knowledge and training to make the dissemination of information more effective and engaging.Pedagogical methods are an easy way to structure training, ensure effective communication and deliver results.
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Give beginners short-term goals — It is hard for athletes to commit to sport as long as they are not invested. Short-term goals help to keep their focus during practice and encourage athletes to begin investing in their progress.
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Create seasonal milestones for your team: Start of the season, Mid-season review, End-of-season celebration — Successful teams use milestones and team meetings to set and focus on their seasonal goals, track their progress and celebrate their successes at the end of the season.
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Consider the needs and safety of women matching players when choosing a location — Things like the commute to and from training can determine your team's ability to recruit and retain women matching players.
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Ensure that the training facilities have the necessary infrastructure — Clean and well-suited toilets and changing rooms should be a minimum standard in your plans to create a safe and inclusive environment for athletes. The lack of hygienic conditions may become a stark barrier for players to join the practice or may even lead to dropouts. Such hygiene standards are essential, especially for menstruating people.
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Take new players to a fun beginners-only tournament — Your first experience of an ultimate tournament is unique. Allowing new players to experience this only bolsters your chance that they will stay playing in the club for longer.
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Define seasonal budgets and goals as a team and plan how you will achieve them — Seasonal goals can help your team plan the season and give purpose and direction to the team. To archive those proficiently, clear rules about the desired commitment from both the players and the association is a must.
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Create a buddy system — Having experienced players act as buddies to new players can help with advice/motivation in a more personal way.
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Create a mentorship program for coaches and leaders — As important it is for new players, it is also important for new leaders to be supported and guided in their development by an experienced person
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The benefits of developing leaders in your club — For an organisation to function, it requires the time and effort of volunteers and leaders. It is important not to overwhelm a few with the significant responsibility to keep an organisation running. By creating a new pathway for leaders, you can make a direct pathway into a leadership position within the organisation and work to develop the skills of those involved.
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Junior Mixed Clubs - Have additional open and women's practices and tournaments — Various studies show that young under 17 prefer to participate in sports in a women-only environment. This changes as athletes get older women and more confident in their athletic abilities and social skills.
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Elect gender-equity captains — Gender Equity captains are trusted persons that are the first point of contact for gender issues and are responsible for implementing gender equity measures within the association or the team. Some players already take this responsibility unofficially. However, it is good to make it an official and clear role within your team or association.
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Support the development of your women's team leaders and coaches. — The development of women-matching players, their teams and coaches can and should be aided in many different ways.
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Challenge your athlete's abilities appropriately — Coaches are constantly challenged to develop and create drills that are difficult enough to stimulate concentration and favour skill development. One of the most challenging tasks for coaches is handling a player base with varying levels of ability and skill.
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Create a safe and inclusive environment — A safe and inclusive environment can foster the development of trust between players on and off the field. It will also positively affect the sense of camaraderie and group identity with the team or association. As a team leader, manager or player, you directly contribute to the atmosphere and culture of your team or club.
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Create seasonal training plans and distribute them in advance — A seasonal training plan creates a structure for the season. It allows athletes to plan their season and ensure they maximise their training. All bodies are different and, as a result, react to intensive and rest periods differently.
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Menstrual cycle and training — The menstrual cycle should be considered, and more awareness should be raised about how hormones interact with an athlete's performance and injury prevention.
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Define how and by whom personal feedback should be given — Feedback allows a player to improve. But there should be clear rules on how to give it and who should do it to avoid confusing players with contradicting suggestions. Feedback is a central tool in developing a person and their skills, but all involved need to know how to use it.
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Player responsibilities should involve development activities — Sports associations are mainly run by volunteers; therefore, as many people as possible must dedicate time to recruiting for and developing the organisation. Each association must invest in development to generate a continuous flow of new members and raise the quality of the existing player base.
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Menstruation and its potential effect on training plans — The menstrual cycle has a massive impact on the training and life of an athlete. Coaches should be aware of issues associated with the menstrual cycle and be able to adapt and personalise their program to suit the needs of their athletes.
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Don't compare the women's and men's divisions of the same sport — Although a sport may be played by the same rules regardless of gender, there are often tactical differences between women’s and men’s sports that make any comparison between the two ineffective and inappropriate. There is often the tendency to measure women's sports according to how men's sports are played and reduce the former as a lesser copy of the latter.
Retain
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Organise social events during the off-season — People who find friends will keep playing and can motivate each other to improve and develop their athletic abilities.
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Organise hat tournaments or pick-up leagues where people at all playing levels can participate — Hat Tournaments have various advantages in recruiting new players and retaining existing ones, especially during the off-season.
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Create a policy for safe and inclusive sport — A safeguarding policy helps your organisation categorise issues and support and inform all involved parties on how to react if incidents regarding discrimination, bullying or inappropriate behaviour occur.
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Keep retired players engaged — Retired players are an essential resource for each association. Staying in contact with them increases the chances of retaining or re-recruiting them as volunteers, mentors or sponsors for your organisation.
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Focus on improving empathy for each other — Winning the support of a diverse group of athletes will act as a catalyst for establishing a non-discriminating structure in your association. Having empathy and understanding will facilitate the creation of these relationships.
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Using statistics to make gender equity targets more objective — Statistics can help create awareness of gender equity and act as a tool to track progress.
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Use inclusive language — Language is a powerful tool and can have a massive impact on athletes. Using the correct language, depending on the situation, is hugely important to ensuring everyone is included and respected.
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Stereotypes in language — Gender stereotypes involve assigning gender when gender is unknown or irrelevant. These stereotypes are harmful to those subject to them and perpetuate false narratives about stereotypes.
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Junior coaches should have a communication channel with the parents — Direct communication with the parents is helpful in the organisational aspects of managing a team and can also improve the player's performance.
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Set specific measures to reduce the dropouts — As a coach, you need to use tactics and methods that use the strengths of everyone. This means using different coaching methods and playing strategies catered to the individual players' strengths and the team as a whole. As a result, an inclusive and conscientious approach to this issue is essential.
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What is toxic masculinity and how to tackle it — Understanding toxic masculinity and how to tackle it.
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Address toxic masculinity within yourself — Practical suggestions on how to become a better person
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Tackling toxic masculinity as a witness — Whenever you encounter toxic behaviour, make sure you can talk to the person instigating it. The confrontation doesn’t need to be a monologue about why it is bad. Instead, create the room to reflect and educate the person.
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Impact and consequences of toxic masculinity — As individuals, many men don’t recognise the inherited power or privilege they experience in their day-to-day lives due to their presented gender.
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Be aware of the objectification of bodies — Objectification involves viewing and/or treating a person as an object devoid of thought or feeling. This is most commonly seen in the sexualisation and commodification of feminine bodies and the proliferation of ideal body standards represented in media.
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Objectification Definitions Summary — There are many different aspects that contribute to objectification. Here we explain some key terms and aspects often included in discussions on objectification.
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Get feedback from players who quit or retire — As an organisation knowing the reasons why players leave your club or quit the sport helps find ways to improve your retaining program.