Paris Mixed Fall League
Challenges
- Retain during off-season for beginners, players involved with club responsibilities or non-playing activities (i.e. coaches) Keep clubs engaged in social activities during the off-season
- Increase friendliness between neighbouring clubs
Background
The off-season is challenging for many clubs to keep their club members engaged, and finding the balance between rest to avoid burn-out and continue activities.
Case Study
Usually the competitive season ends in September or October, and the off-season will run through fall and winter. In France, ultimate clubs have a status of a sport association which includes accepting everyone to be a club member regardless of age, gender and abilities. During the season, the players are then selected within the club to form a team in a particular category and for a competition. As a sports association, the club gets more visibility during the start of the school year through local council promotion. Hence this time of the year is important for recruitment and local club visibility.
Iznogood from Noisy-le-Sec had the idea to set up a mixed fall league during the off-season to keep club members engaging with each other including players from all levels, all categories, and non-playing members. The aim is to allow everyone to play in a friendly environment regardless of abilities, to interact and play with players from other clubs in the region and to have a great time!
Moreover, Iznogood is a club with two distinct teams training and competing separately in women's and men's divisions. The event was a good opportunity for the two teams to collaborate together.
The league runs once a week, from early October to half term school break (approximately for six weeks). The individual registration for the event is free through an online form. The event is shared in September to all through social media and directly to all clubs of the region. Iznogood volunteers involved with organising the event must be diverse in gender and age groups. The past two events were organised by two of their U20 players.
The teams are not set from the start and can be changed to allow all players to have the choice to attend at least one game and more they have the possibilities. Several games are played per evening in 4v4 or 5v5 format. Each evening, the teams are made of equal levels, gender and number of participants. According to the number of registered participants the format of competition can be changed from round robin to ranking games and game length. The rules of play are adapted to be more inclusive. Each evening one adaptation of the rules is put in place. For example, if the assist has involved two players from different gender then the team is awarded an extra point. If all players from the team have touched the disc, the team is awarded an extra point.
There is an emphasis on allowing beginners and juniors to play and engage with experienced players and allow players engaged in the competitive seasons to take a break from the competition allowing them to play ultimate in a relaxed setting.
The mixed fall league has shown some good results in retaining new club members, increasing interaction of players within the region and from different playing categories. Participants have appreciated the event as their time to share their love of the sport with their family and friends, as it is encouraged for them to come and play.