Youth Ultimate Summer Season 2021!
Atlanta Flying Disc Club Juniors is excited to announce that we will have programs for U20 & U17 players this summer! The program will be different from former programs, due to COVID-19. Please read details below and sign up to play!
2021 YEU REGISTRATION »
2021 tryouts are on and they’re free! Come check out AFDC Jrs. Youth Elite Ultimate free of charge (except for your required USA Ultimate membership).
Youth Elite Ultimate (YEU): The most skilled players will be placed on a team that practices 2 to 3 times per week, culminating July 31 with the competitive Southeast Showdown tournament in the triangle region of North Carolina. Players will work with very experienced youth coaches to develop discrete skills and strategies and hone them in scrimmages. These players are also invited to tryout for the U20 Mixed team that will participate in the Blaine MN Youth Club Championships (YCC) tournament*.
(Note: If a player wants to play on the North Carolina travel team — ending their season July 31 — but not the Blaine MN travel team — ending their season August 8 — that is fine!) Practices begin June 1 for all and the season goes through July 31.
YEU (North Carolina travel team) tryouts: Tryouts will occur during the first 2-3 practices for each team, between June 1 and June 9. After 2-3 practices, coaches will select YEU players to practice throughout summer and travel to North Carolina on July 31. At the time of selection, YEU players will be asked to pay the $150 registration fee. Players who are not selected will be encouraged to tryout for the Core Skills Development (CSD) program for younger/less experienced players.
YEU (North Carolina travel teams) tryouts will be for 4 Atlanta teams:
- U-20 Boys “ATLiens” (must not turn 20 in 2021, cannot be in college*)
- U-20 Girls “cATLanta” (must not turn 20 in 2021, cannot be in college*)
- U-17 Boys “ATLas” (must not turn 17 in 2021)
- U-17 Girls “rATLers” (must not turn 17 in 2021)
YEU (U20 Mixed Blaine MN travel team) tryouts*:
- U20 Mixed ‘flATLine” (must not turn 20 in 2021, cannot be in college**)
In order to be eligible for the U-20 Mixed team, you must be playing on one of the U-20 (North Carolina travel) teams. Tryouts for the U-20 Mixed team will occur on two dates. You need to attend ONLY ONE tryout in order to be selected for the team, but you are welcome to attend both. The team will be selected by June 12, and a quick turnaround rostering of the team with USAU will then occur.
* Due to COVID, some college teams did not have a 2021 season. If you do not turn 20 in 2021 and did not play ultimate at all with a college team this year, you are invited to tryout for a North Carolina travel team.
** Due to COVID, some college teams did not have a 2021 season. If you do not turn 20 in 2021, you did not play ultimate at all with a college team this year, and you want to play on the U20 Mixed team traveling to Blaine, you may do so only if granted an eligibility exemption directly from USAU.
Additional Player Requirements:
- Must be a middle school or high school student in the academic year 2020-2021
- Must have a USAU Youth Affiliate ($17) or Youth Membership ($40) before attending tryouts and we require that you secure this before completing this registration form. (https://usaultimate.org/membership/) [Note: If you have only an affiliate membership in place and you are selected for the NC travel team, you will be required to bump this up to a youth membership.]
Fees:
- We never want money to get in the way of play. Tryouts are open for no fee. If you are placed on a team and have questions about financial assistance, please reach out to Elizabeth Hearn at yccatlanta2015@gmail.com.
- All players selected for the NC travel teams will need to pay $150 for the YEU tryouts and season (or apply for a scholarship). If not selected, the player will be encouraged to register (and pay a lower fee) for the Core Skills Development program. Information to follow after details for that league/program are established.
- $150 fee for those on the travel team covers:
- Coaches’ stipends
- Reversible sleeveless practice jersey
- Practice fields in Atlanta all summer
- Regional Southeast Showdown tournament team entry fees
- All players selected for the Blaine Minnesota YCC travel team will need to pay additional fees for the tournament, as well as uniforms, airfare, hotel, bus, and food costs. The specifics for these players’ fees will be determined over the coming weeks, and before June 11.
A final note: The YCC Coordinator does not have the capacity to be the Coordinator for YEU summer play in Atlanta and the trip to Blaine. So… a note to those players trying out for the Blaine team: we will need you and your parents to plan this trip for the team. It’ll likely be very exciting and well worth it, but we’ll need everyone helping out to pull it off. We normally get a much bigger head start on all of this, but due to COVID and the unknowns throughout the spring, we were not able to plan it. Also keep in mind, USAU will finalize their decision about whether or not to hold the tournament based on COVID conditions as of June 14. At this time, it appears the tournament is on.
Spread the love!
As you get excited to engage ultimate this summer, we ask that you think not only of your personal interest, but of ways we might build and expand our community of players. Nearly half of the residents in Atlanta’s 29-county metro area identify as non-white, so a representative ultimate team would have this same mix. Yet that is far from the reality. Many in metro Atlanta have never been exposed to ultimate and/or never had the support required to access youth ultimate programs. Playing ultimate (in particular under the guidance of this set of expert coaches) is a special opportunity and one that we want to share with a wide range of individuals, especially to those who do not typically have such opportunities. Ultimate is, in truth, a historically white, upper/middle class sport, so it is worth considering what can be done to attract and include a more diverse range of participants. Let’s ask ourselves collectively how we can generate an inclusive community that both attracts and welcomes all others. Some coaches and others at AFDC Jrs are making efforts to start youth ultimate teams in communities of color — this is a start, but it is a problem we should all co-own. Additionally, AFDC Jrs offers some scholarships for anyone who cannot afford modest fees, and individuals have volunteered to cover fees or even provide transportation for those who need it. What can you do? Please join us in taking on our collective responsibility to reach out, share our love of the game, and strengthen connections with people who identify differently and may feel shut out of this wonderful sport. Let’s keep moving toward an inclusive community together, a step at a time.
2021 YEU REGISTRATION »
Thank you!
Elizabeth Hearn
Youth Elite Ultimate Coordinator, 2021
yccatlanta2015@gmail.com
Check out our 2019 YCC Champs!
Congrats to our 2019 YCC Champs U-20 ATLiens and U-17 rATLers!
Read all about their successful tournaments here: U-20 day 3 recap | U-17 day 3 recap
Congrats to all our teams and coaches for continuing to represent Atlanta Ultimate so well! #WhatsThatSmell #A-T-L
